Philippines
to remain as largest rice importer next year
Louise Maureen
Simeon (The
Philippine Star) - December 12, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The
Philippines will maintain its status of being the world’s biggest rice importer
by 2020, according to the United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign
Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS).
The country is seen importing
some 2.7 million metric tons of rice next year, higher than the 2.4 million MT
imports of China.
“There is an expected
continuation of import trends,” USDA said.
While the Philippines will tone
down its rice importation amid excessive supply coupled with improvements in
the local production next year, this will still remain above the five-year
average.
The country is officially ending
2019 as the world’s biggest rice importer for the year, reaching a record 3.2
million MT as the country opened up the industry to liberalization.
“Global trade is nearly unchanged
with reduced imports for China partially offsetting higher imports for Ghana
and the Philippines,” USDA said.
Rice imports of the country had
nearly quadrupled from just 800,000 MT three years ago to 3.2 million MT this
year, representing over seven percent of total global rice imports.
In comparison, China’s share of
global rice imports almost declined by half even as China’s population has
reached 1.4 billion compared with the 110 million population of the
Philippines.
This year’s importation for the
Philippines is 68 percent higher than the 1.9 million MT imports in 2018.
In March 2019, the Philippines
implemented the Rice Tariffication Act which led to a considerable increase in
imports and a decline in domestic prices.
Rice is a staple food in the
country and the law is intended, in part, to spur imports in order to quell
domestic unrest caused by inflation. While this helped lower inflation, USDA
said the adjustment to rice liberalization remains a challenge for the
Philippines.
Production of milled rice went up
to 12 million MT. Rice consumption, on the other hand, is seen to increase to
14.4 million MT from 14.1 million MT in 2018.
USDA said there is a slight
decrease in area planted as rice areas reach 4.7 million hectares this year or
0.8 percent lower.
Yield, on the other hand, is
expected to improve to 4.05 MT per hectare per harvest from 3.93 MT.
The country’s rice inventory
maintained its upward trend, surging 43 percent to 2.28 million MT in
October.
Based on the average daily
consumption of Filipinos of 32,000 MT, the current inventory is sufficient for
71 days.
Farmers receive P3B worth of rice seeds
December 11, 2019 | 7:45 pm 
PHILSTAR
MORE than 300,000 bags of inbred
seeds worth P3 billion have been given out to 46 provinces under the Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), the Agriculture department said on
Wednesday.
In a statement, the agency said
282 municipalities and cities nationwide benefited from the program. The seeds
accounted for 16% of the total 2.11 million bags that will be distributed in
985 cities in 57 provinces, it said.
These areas have an annual
planted area of more than 500 hectares for the dry season 2019 to 2020, which
began in October and will end in April, the agency said.
The 2 million bags of seeds will
be planted in about 1 million hectares of riceland, which is expected to
increase the yield to as many as six tons per hectare in high-yielding
provinces by 2024, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in the statement.
The P3-billion seed distribution
is one of the components of the P10-billion rice fund, which is financed by
tariffs on rice imports.
The program aims to cut the
country’s rice production cost of about P12 per kilo to make it more globally
competitive.
Niger/Kogi customs intercept 79 bags of
foreign rice, despite border closure
December 11, 2019
The Niger/Kogi Command of the
Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), on Wednesday declared that it has intercepted no
fewer than seventy-nine bags of foreign rice.
Public Relations Officer (PRO), of
the command, Mr. Benjamin Lomba in a statement made available to DAILY POST,
said that despite the border closure, the command, through intelligence
gathering, intercepted and arrested one (1) Mitsubishi Canter loaded with
Seventy-Nine (79) 100kg bags of foreign rice along Yauri road in Kontagora axis
of Niger State. 
He added that the duty paid value
of the seized items is put at two million, six hundred and eighty-six thousand
naira (N2,686,000.00.)
Lomba said, “The Niger/Kogi Command
of the Niger Customs Service has continued to reinvigorate and intensify
efforts in its anti-smuggling drive, on Sunday 8th December, 2019 at 0300hours
through intelligence gathering a patrol team intercepted and arrested one (1)
Mitsubishi Canter loaded with Seventy-Nine (79) 100kg bags of foreign rice
along Yauri road in Kontagora axis of Niger State.
“The Duty Paid Value for this bags
of rice is put at N2,686,000.00.
“This seizure is coming on the
heels of One Iveco fourteen (14) tyre truck loaded with Two hundred and
Ninety-Two (292) 50kg bags of imported rice concealed with sugarcane in order
to beat our officers on routine patrol. 
“The Customs Area Controller is
using this medium to state that there is no hiding place for smugglers within
the Niger/Kogi Command area, especially during this Christmas season.
“We Officers and men of Niger/Kogi
Command are ready to confront all the challenges that militate against our
successes.
“We will continue to build on the
achievements so far made in both revenue generation and anti-smuggling feats,
while the Command wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year
ahead”.
Prime Minister
appeals to rice millers not to lower paddy prices
Thou Vireak |
Publication date 11 December 2019 | 21:32 ICT
Paddy prices have been dropping since last week due to poor
quality, including many varieties of broken rice. Heng Chivoan
Prime Minister Hun Sen on
Wednesday appealed to rice millers and paddy buyers not to lower prices and to
secure better rates for farmers facing difficulties in the early harvest
season.
The Cambodian Rice Federation
(CRF) said the low prices were due to an influx of poor quality paddy in some
areas.
“I ask buyers of paddy from
farmers for milling to sell in the market and for export, please do not to take
any action that will depreciate harvested rice prices,” Hun Sen said at a
Cambodia University of Specialties (CUS) graduation ceremony on Wednesday.
The CRF said in a press release
that paddy prices had been dropping since last week due to poor quality, including
many varieties of broken rice.
“The cheapest are sra nge paddy
and mixed paddy that does not have an export market demand,” the CRF said.
The statement said that consumers
had found aromatic phka malis and somaly paddy from some areas of Pursat province
to be lacking in aroma and unacceptably hard.
There were also issues with
broken paddy and brown spot disease in Banteay Meanchey and Siem Reap
provinces.
However, some areas in Kampong
Speu, Takeo, Kampot and Kandal provinces were producing good quality paddy that
fetched high prices.
“The price of good quality paddy
such as phka malis, phka romduol and sen kra op has dropped by 100 riel ($0.02)
per kilogramme,” the statement said.
CRF secretary-general Lun Yeng
told The Post on Wednesday that the drop in quality was due to drought.
“The price of the good quality
crops – phka malis, phka romduol – is the same as last year, which is around
1,200 riel ($0.30) per kilogramme, while sen kra op paddy costs 1,000 riel
($0.24),” he said.
“Rice millers did not want to
lower the price of paddy, but [they had no choice] because of the poor quality
of the crop,” he said.
Heng Pheng, the CEO of Thmor Korl
Rice Import Export Co Ltd, a Battambang-based rice exporter, said the price of
sen kra op paddy has risen from 950 riel ($0.23) to 1,012 riel ($0.25) per
kilogramme.
“The decline in paddy prices
resulted from most rice millers having bought only good quality paddy, phka
romduol, so the price of sen kra op paddy dropped slightly, but it has
recovered,” he said.
Centre for Policy Studies
director Chan Sophal said the prime minister’s call would not affect the free
market due to it being only an appeal and not a regulation.
“The appeal is to give comfort to
the farmers, but it is now down to the big buyers who depend on the
international market,” he said.
The Rural Development Bank last
week loaned $50 million to the Cambodian rice industry to address capital
shortages to buy paddy and stabilise prices.
The CRF said $50 million will buy
nearly 300,000 tonnes of paddy for stockpiling.
According to an official report,
in the first 11 months of this year, rice exports to the international market
totalled 514,149 tonnes. This was a 3.4 per cent increase compared to the same
period last year.
Major boost for local rice
millers as banks provide funds to clear harvest
The Ghana Rice Millers Association says it is
ready to meet the market demand for Ghana rice
The Ghana Rice Millers Association says it is ready to meet the
market demand for Ghana rice this festive season.The assurance comes after the association secured a deal with some banks to provide funds for the millers at an affordable rate.
The banks include GCB Bank, National Investment Bank, Barclays and ADB Bank. Members of the association have been asked to present their individual proposals to their respective banks.
The campaign to encourage people to consume Ghana Rice was started by the CEO of Citi FM and Citi TV Samuel Attah-Mensah.
Speaking to Citi Business News on the progress made so far, the convener of the Ghana Rice Millers Association Yaw Poku stressed that the millers will hit the farm gate to clear the rice by next week.
“We are moving out there, by this weekend, a lot of us will be in the milling floor. It is Christmas, by next week will be sending milled rice to the market,” Mr. Poku said
He maintained with the new arrangement, rice millers now have an opportunity to access loans at a favorable rate from local banks to buy the produce at farm gate for processing.
Background
The Chief Executive Officer of Citi FM/TV, Samuel Attah-Mensah declared himself a campaigner for the consumption of locally-produced rice in the country.
According to him, this is to help reduce the government’s forex expenditure on rice imports by at least 50 percent in the next two years.
Ghana spends over GHS 1.1 billion annually on importation of rice.
Local rice farmers bemoan lack of buyers for their produce
Earlier, rice farmers operating in the Fumbisi Rice Valleys in the Builsa South District of the Upper East Region, were asking the government to get them a ready market for their produce.The farmers said their produce was getting rotten on the farms due to lack of ready market.According to them, if urgent steps are not taken to address their concerns, their investments will go waste.
First lady officially joins eat Ghana
rice campaign
First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo
First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo has officially joined the eat
Ghana rice campaign.She made a firmed pledge to support Ghana rice millers,
marketers, farmers the best way she can.Mrs. Akufo-AddoAddo made the pledge
when she hosted executives of Ghana rice millers, marketers, John Agyekum Kufuor
Foundation, the Ghana Rice Interprofessional Body, on Wednesday, December 11,
2019, at her office in Accra.
The visit by various stakeholders in the rice subsector was to seek her support for the promotion and marketing of Ghana rice.
After being briefed about the prospects, challenges of Ghana rice millers, farmers and marketers, the First Lady expressed her profound interest in supporting the growth and development of the Ghanaian rice industry.
“You have my full support,” she told the delegation comprising of Nana Adjei Ayeh II, President of the Ghana Rice Interprofessional Body; Nana Ama Oppong Duah, Policy Advisor of the Kufuor Foundation; Ebo Graham, among others.
On the agenda for discussion was the need for Government and the financial sector in Ghana to invest in Ghana rice cultivation, milling and marketing.
The First Lady who was presented with a few bags of Ghana rice brands such as Copa, Champion, Bongo Grains, among others, was briefed about the huge financial potential of the rice industry in Ghana.
She said it was very exciting that Ghana was growing its own rice.
It was her belief that the growth of the rice industry in Ghana would lead to creation of jobs and saving of foreign exchange for the country.
She spoke about how a lot of Ghanaian youth are in search of job and that the rice sector could be one area where they can gain employment.
Meanwhile, another meeting has been scheduled between the Office of the First Lady and the stakeholders to find ways in which they can come out with a communication strategy for the promotion of Ghana rice.
The visit by various stakeholders in the rice subsector was to seek her support for the promotion and marketing of Ghana rice.
After being briefed about the prospects, challenges of Ghana rice millers, farmers and marketers, the First Lady expressed her profound interest in supporting the growth and development of the Ghanaian rice industry.
“You have my full support,” she told the delegation comprising of Nana Adjei Ayeh II, President of the Ghana Rice Interprofessional Body; Nana Ama Oppong Duah, Policy Advisor of the Kufuor Foundation; Ebo Graham, among others.
On the agenda for discussion was the need for Government and the financial sector in Ghana to invest in Ghana rice cultivation, milling and marketing.
The First Lady who was presented with a few bags of Ghana rice brands such as Copa, Champion, Bongo Grains, among others, was briefed about the huge financial potential of the rice industry in Ghana.
She said it was very exciting that Ghana was growing its own rice.
It was her belief that the growth of the rice industry in Ghana would lead to creation of jobs and saving of foreign exchange for the country.
She spoke about how a lot of Ghanaian youth are in search of job and that the rice sector could be one area where they can gain employment.
Meanwhile, another meeting has been scheduled between the Office of the First Lady and the stakeholders to find ways in which they can come out with a communication strategy for the promotion of Ghana rice.
Sri Lanka to cut import duties on wheat flour as rice prices spike
Thursday December 12, 2019 10:27:23
Sri Lanka in the past kept wheat flour prices high
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka will cut import taxes to temporarily
break a wheat milling and duopoly and bring prices down, as rice prices spiked,
cabinet spokesman Minister Ramesh Pathirana said.“The cabinet decided to cut
import duties on wheat flour temporarily to keep prices down in the festival
season,” Minister Pathirana said.
“This will break the monopoly on wheat flour.”
Sri Lanka has a government sponsored duopoly on wheat flour high
maintained by a high tax on wheat flour and a by a lower tax on wheat grain to
give high profits (rents) to a milling oligopoly and block a free market in
wheat.
Wheat grain has a general duty of 15 percent, while milled flour
is taxed at 30 percent.
Minister Pathirana said a gazette notice on the new import tax
will be issued shortly.
It is not clear for how long the duopoly would be broken and
when it will be re-instated.
“Our stance is that there should not be a monopoly on any
essential food,” Minister Dulles Akahapperuma said.
The high prices on wheat flour has also generated the background
for an oligopoly of rice millers to keep rice prices high.
Rice prices rose sharply over the last month, with several large
millers, who store most of the rice paddy in the country, raising retail prices
of their branded rice.
Opposition politicians have charged that the blocking of
un-husked paddy from government stores to small millers had pushed up prices.
The government hoped to quickly release 42,000 metric tonnes of
stored rice to millers.
Pathirana said the government hoped to keep retail rice prices
at 99 rupee a kilogram.
Rice prices soared from around 85 to 90 rupees a kilogram at the
beginning of November to over 110 rupees by the first week of December.
(Colombo/Dec12/2019 – Update II)
Yuletide: Report predicts likely rice scarcity
December 12, 2019
There are indications that the
Federal Government’s border closure policy is set to trigger rice scarcity and
price hike during and beyond the Yuletide.This is as Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RPAN) battle to
meet consumers’ demand for the grain with total consumption estimated at seven
million tonnes and local production at four million tonnes.
Although, the rice processor
group affirmed that its members had the capacity to meet the demand for rice
during and beyond the Yuletide.
According to a report by
Pricewaterhousecooper (PwC), the shortfall of three million in rice production
is expected to trigger scarcity of the commodity during this period as
Nigerians rush to buy available ones in the market.
PwC said in the report that
Nigeria needed to increase its rice production to 7.2 million tonnes next year
to meet local demand and sufficiency.
According to the firm, to
achieve this, it estimated that Nigeria would need to, at least triple, its
current stock of machinery over the same period, saying that the border closure
could worsen the set objective of meeting local consumption demand.
It described rice as one of the
most consumed staples in Nigeria, with consumption per capita of 32 kilogram,
adding that in the past decade, consumption had increased by 4.7 per cent,
almost four times the global consumption growth, and reached 6.4 million tonnes
in 2017 – accounting for 20 per cent of Africa’s consumption.
Given the importance of rice as
a staple food in Nigeria, the report said boosting rice production had been
accorded high priority by government in the past seven years.
“Significant progress has been
recorded; rice production in Nigeria reached a peak of 3.7 million tonnes in
2017.
“In addition, as population
increases, along with rural to urban migration, ensuring food security in key
staples becomes critical. However, food security cannot be achieved by a system
that depends almost entirely on human muscle power and other manual methods,”
it said.
While responding to the three
million rice production shortfall, the RPAN Chairman, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar,
assured that 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.
He said members were aware that
there will be mass rush for the commodity during and beyond Yuletide and, as a
result, were already putting things in order to minimise scarcity.
Abubakar said the figure was
apart from millions of metric tonnes produced annually by small scale millers.
He said that speculations that
there would be scarcity of rice during this Christmas period should be
disregarded, adding that there would be enough supply in the country.
“I can assure Nigerians that
they will find rice everywhere and throughout this festive period,” he said.
The RPAN chairman also noted
that the positive impact of 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 can 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 that since the borders were
closed, they had since exhausted their stock.
Climate Change
Will Affect Rice Crops, Study Finds
Tuesday, 10 December, 2019 - 07:15
A farmer transplanting rice in a field near Khon Kaen,
northeastern Thailand. (Reuters)
Cairo - Hazem Bader
Rice is the largest global staple crop, consumed by
more than half the world's population -- but new experiments from Stanford
University suggest that with climate change, production in major rice-growing
regions with endemic soil arsenic will undergo a dramatic decline and
jeopardize critical food supplies.
Arsenic is a chemical that is found naturally in the soil, and is not generally transmitted to plants, but according to the new study, climate changes can transfer it, especially to rice.
The experiments' findings, which are published in the Nature Communication journal, show that rice production in future climate conditions could drop about 40 percent by 2100, and that changes to soil processes due to increased temperatures will cause rice to contain a high level of arsenic.
The researchers specifically looked at rice because it is grown in flooded paddies that help loosen the arsenic from the soil and make it especially sensitive to arsenic uptake.
While many food crops today contain small amounts of arsenic, future changes in soil due to higher temperatures combined with flooded conditions cause arsenic to be taken up by rice plants at higher levels, and using irrigation water with naturally occurring high arsenic exacerbates the problem.
While these factors will not affect all global commodities in the same way, they do extend to other flood-grown crops.
The researchers created future climate conditions in greenhouses based on estimates of a possible 5 degree Celsius temperature increase and twice as much atmospheric carbon dioxide by 2100, as projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
While previous research examined the impacts of increasing temperature in the context of the global food crisis, this study was the first to account for soil conditions in combination with shifts in climate.
For the experiments, the group grew medium-grain rice. The greenhouses were controlled for temperature, carbon dioxide concentrations and soil arsenic levels, which will be higher in the future due to its buildup in soils from irrigating crops with arsenic-contaminated water, a problem that is worsened by over-pumping groundwater.
The researchers found that with increased temperatures, microorganisms destabilized more of the soil's inherent arsenic, leading to greater amounts of the toxin in the soil water that is available for uptake by the rice. Once taken up, arsenic inhibits nutrient absorption and decreases plant growth and development, factors that contributed to the 40 percent decrease in yield the scientists observed.
Scott Fendorf, co-author and professor at the University of Stanford said "The findings highlight a 'dangerous issue' that would lead to negative consequences on the global food security".
In a report published on the university's website, Fendorf said: "By the time we get to 2100, we're estimated to have approximately 10 billion people, so that would mean we have 5 billion people dependent on rice, and 2 billion who would not have access to the calories they would normally need. We have to be aware of these challenges that are coming so we can be ready to adapt."
Dr. Khaled Abdel Sattar, nutrition expert at the Egyptian Ministry of Health, sees that along the crop failure challenge, the high levels of arsenic highlighted in the study is concerning, not only because of rice's global significance, but also because it is a low-allergen food often introduced early to infants.
"Because infants are a lot smaller than we are, if they eat rice, that means that they take up more arsenic relative to their body weight," he added. Chronic exposure to arsenic leads to skin lesions, cancers, aggravation of lung diseases and ultimately death.
USMCA
Moves One Step Closer to Replacing NAFTA
WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy
Pelosi announced yesterday that she had come to an agreement with U.S. Trade
Representative (USTR) Ambassador Robert Lighthizer on a revised version of the
U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA) text.
Since the USMCA was unveiled late last year, lawmakers have worked with the Administration through USTR on tweaks, particularly around labor and environmental policies to make it more palatable for Democrats to support. The revisions to USMCA have been cleared by both Mexican and Canadian negotiators and now depend upon passage by both chambers of Congress and the President's signature.
Renegotiation of the existing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) had significant bipartisan support to update outdated provisions and incorporate language that addresses biotechnology and other issues that have crept up since first implemented in 1994. The changes primarily benefited the dairy, poultry, and wheat commodities within the agricultural sector, but the duty-free access that U.S. rice farmers enjoy into the Canadian and Mexican markets was preserved.
"While NAFTA has certainly been a boon for the U.S. rice industry, making Mexico our top export market and Canada one of our top export markets, this renegotiation will allow our industry to continue to maintain those great relationships with our partners to the North and South," said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. "It is important this legislation gets passed so the Administration can turn their attention toward other trade deals in 2020, like a comprehensive agreement with Japan and a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom."
"While I am very encouraged by [yesterday's] breakthrough, we must not lose sight - the House and Senate need to work diligently to pass USMCA by Christmas," said U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
USA Rice continues to support ratification of USMCA. A vote by the House of Representatives is expected before breaking for the Christmas recess on December 20, with the Senate to follow.
Since the USMCA was unveiled late last year, lawmakers have worked with the Administration through USTR on tweaks, particularly around labor and environmental policies to make it more palatable for Democrats to support. The revisions to USMCA have been cleared by both Mexican and Canadian negotiators and now depend upon passage by both chambers of Congress and the President's signature.
Renegotiation of the existing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) had significant bipartisan support to update outdated provisions and incorporate language that addresses biotechnology and other issues that have crept up since first implemented in 1994. The changes primarily benefited the dairy, poultry, and wheat commodities within the agricultural sector, but the duty-free access that U.S. rice farmers enjoy into the Canadian and Mexican markets was preserved.
"While NAFTA has certainly been a boon for the U.S. rice industry, making Mexico our top export market and Canada one of our top export markets, this renegotiation will allow our industry to continue to maintain those great relationships with our partners to the North and South," said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. "It is important this legislation gets passed so the Administration can turn their attention toward other trade deals in 2020, like a comprehensive agreement with Japan and a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom."
"While I am very encouraged by [yesterday's] breakthrough, we must not lose sight - the House and Senate need to work diligently to pass USMCA by Christmas," said U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
USA Rice continues to support ratification of USMCA. A vote by the House of Representatives is expected before breaking for the Christmas recess on December 20, with the Senate to follow.
Can Crops’ Wild Relatives Save Troubled
Agriculture?
Cultivating a limited number of crops reduced the genetic
diversity of plants, endangering harvests. Seed collectors hope to fix it by
finding the plants’ wild cousins.
Photo by Shakeel Ahmad
Jatoi
By: Lela Nargi
December 10, 2019
In September 2017,
when temperatures in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region were mild and the thick
snow blankets that block passage around the Himalayas later in the season were
a still-distant threat, Sadar U. Siddiqui and his companions trekked up through
the mountains on a mission to find a wild variety of chickpea. Back in
Islamabad, he’d visited the National Herbarium and gotten a good look at the
plant species called Medicago sativa subsp. falcata that
had sickle-shaped fruit and thin, spiky leaves. If the plant was somewhere out
there on the precipitously rocky slopes, Siddiqui, Genebank curator of
Pakistan’s Plant Genetic Resources Program (PGRP),
had yet to find evidence of it.
One day, though, driving along “no
roads, only dangerous jeep tracks” as the afternoon waned, Siddiqui and his
companions spotted a goat “finding something to eat,” he says. That something
was Medicago
sativa subsp. falcata. The goat had ravaged the shrubby clump of
plants until all that remained were a few pods and leaves. Siddiqui and his
companions—taxonomist Amir Sultan and biologist Shakeel Ahmad Jatoi—chased the
animal off. They poured seed from two or three of the remaining pods into paper
sacks and counted themselves lucky. Jatoi had gone on a similar expedition to
Balochistan and had found, rather than Octhochloa compressa and other
species, “A housing colony, cemented roads, and not a single plant,” says
Siddiqui.
Were these efforts enough to ensure longterm global food
security in the face of climactic upheaval?
Siddiqui’s efforts ran parallel to
those of seed collectors from 24 developing countries in Europe, Africa, Asia,
and the Americas, who have spent the last several years in a race against
ravenous livestock, habitat loss, and the effects of climate change as they
search for wild relatives of crops vital to human diets. The endeavor,
called Crop
Wild Relatives Project (CWRP) and overseen by the Crop
Trust in Bonn and Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) outside London, has three
phases. Phase one was a gap analysis to identify what critical seeds were
missing in gene banks in certain regions. Phase two, which Siddiqui took part
in, entailed seed collecting and distribution to international gene banks.
Phase three, currently ongoing, focuses on pre-breeding—identifying desirable
characteristics in those collected wild seeds.
As phase three begins, the question
is: Were these efforts enough to ensure longterm global food security in the
face of climactic upheaval?
The Tilt toward
Genetic Erosion
For all the evident diversity in
your supermarket shopping cart, agriculture has a dirty secret hidden in plain
sight. Only nine crops out of a 120 cultivated worldwide supply three-quarters
of the energy we get from plant-based foods. A mere three crops—wheat, rice,
and maize—supply half of that, according
to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). By
comparison, when our ancestors began to transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to
agriculture some 13,000 years ago, they were eating thousands of
different plants.
Once upon a not-so-distant time,
there was also much greater variety in the species of seeds that produced our
wheat, rice, and maize. Wheat is the main staple crop in Pakistan, which once
grew hundreds of varieties of it. That number has dwindled to 95. Almost all the remaining
varieties of wheat were genetically modified to be high-yield and
disease-resistant monocultures, and to grow with chemical inputs. This story
repeats in many countries—China had 10,000 varieties of wheat in 1949, but only
1,000 in 1970, and considerably fewer now. Chickpeas, barley, lentils, sorghum,
pigeonpeas, carrots, apples, millet, alfalfa, sweet potatoes, and rye have all
been whittled down to a handful of mostly-engineered species. They’re
controlled by massive international agrochemical conglomerates: Dow/Dupont,
ChemChina/Syngenta, Bayer/Monsanto.
Mexican investors
to reach agreement on rice import: Mandviwalla
By admin
December 11, 2019
Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Deputy Chairman Senate Saleem
Mandviwalla Tuesday said Pakistan was keen to enhance trade and business
interaction with Mexico and investors from both the sides could be benefited
from the available trade opportunities in different sectors.Taking to the media
persons at the Parliament House, he said Pakistani rice was banned in Mexico
few years back and the recent visit of parliamentary delegation had paved the
way for abolishing embargoes on Pakistani rice.
He termed his visit successful
and said one of the major achievements of the visit was convincing counterparts
in the Mexican Parliament on allowing Pakistani rice in Mexico.
Mandviwalla said soon a delegation of Mexico would visit Pakistan to explore ways and means for signing a memorandum of understanding on lifting the ban on rice import.
He said our business community was keen to invest in Mexico and a mechanism needed to be evolved for reviving business potential between the two sides.
He called for enhanced interaction at political and economic level to strengthen people to people contacts and parliamentary interaction.
Mandviwalla said soon a delegation of Mexico would visit Pakistan to explore ways and means for signing a memorandum of understanding on lifting the ban on rice import.
He said our business community was keen to invest in Mexico and a mechanism needed to be evolved for reviving business potential between the two sides.
He called for enhanced interaction at political and economic level to strengthen people to people contacts and parliamentary interaction.
Decision on Army Act after SC detailed judgment: Mandviwalla
December 10, 2019
ISLAMABAD: Senate Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla
has said that the decision to amend the Army Act for the extension in the
tenure/reappointment of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) would be taken after the
detailed judgment of the Supreme Court.
The deputy chairman was telling the details
about the parliamentary delegation’s visit to Mexico in a press conference
along with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Shaza Fatima Khawaja and
Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP’s) Usman Kakar.
Elaborating the delegation’s efforts for the
possible lifting of ban on Pakistani rice in Mexico, the deputy chairman
expressed optimism that from the next year, the export of rice to Mexico would
be resumed as the crop was much preferred and liked in the Latin American
country and was banned due to some crop virus.
Mandviwalla said that the delegation took
advantage to discuss the agricultural issues in the parliamentary visit.
Shaza noted that the delegation’s visit was
primarily about the parliamentary affairs.
Speaking about the rumours of his summoning
by the NAB, Mandviwalla said that the anti-corruption watchdog should follow a
proper procedure to call people.
“The news spread in media first and then the
clarification comes,” he lamented.
NAB had clarified that the deputy chairman
was not summoned for any investigation and the anti-graft buster spokesperson
had termed media reports in this regard totally baseless and contrary to facts.
Mandviwalla said that there were amendments
pending in NAB laws on which legislation would be done.
The deputy chairman maintained that due to
the fear of NAB, officials were not willing to work. He stressed that the
national graft-buster’s laws should be without prejudice.
Commenting on NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal’s
rhetoric that the “direction of winds was changing” (of accountability), Kakar
said that the direction would more be on the opposition instead.
USMCA trade deal: 'It's going to be huge for Louisiana agriculture'
Vice President Pence is touting
his administration's win following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's announcement
that an agreement on the North American trade pact had been reached Tuesday. He
spoke at a veterans event in Rochester, Pennsylvania. (Dec. 10) AP
A new trade deal that secured the
blessing of President Donald Trump and House Democrats this week could lead to
"unparalleled growth" for Louisiana agriculture, producers and
politicians said. The deal among
trading partners the United States, Mexico and Canada, known as USMCA, will
replace the North American Free Trade Agreement if passed by the House and
Senate.
"It's going to be huge for
Louisiana agriculture," said state Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain,
who said he's been working with federal officials on the pact for years.
"I believe we'll see unparalleled growth in our ag economy because of this
deal and others expanding our markets." The deal has a broad impact
nationwide on agriculture, auto manufacturing and other industries.
Mexico buys more Louisiana rice
and corn than any other country, while Canada is the No. 4 importer of U.S.
rice.
"I can make the argument
that no state will benefit more from this trade deal than Louisiana," said
Scott Franklin, a Richland Parish farmer and president of the Northeast
Louisiana Rice Growers Association.
Louisiana Farm Bureau President
Ronnie Anderson said USMCA is a significant win for the state.
"We need this, especially
after being hammered by Chinese tariffs and the weather," Anderson said.
"It's a significant opportunity for us."
Acadiana rice farmer Richard
Fontenot said the deal "keeps us connected with our No. 1 export partner.
It's a high point for Louisiana rice and Louisiana agriculture."
Most members of Louisiana's
congressional delegation immediately hailed the deal.
Congressman Ralph Abraham,
R-Alto, Louisiana's only member of the House Agriculture Committee, said the
said the deal will add $68 billion and 176,000 jobs to the U.S. economy.
He accused Democratic House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi of dragging her feet before agreeing to support the pact,
which has been in limbo for a year.
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"Agriculture exports are
expected to increase by more than $2 billion annually – that’s $2 billion for
our farmers and ranchers we can never get back," said Abraham, whose
daughter and son-in-law run the family farm back home. "It’s a shame the
benefits of this historic agreement have been delayed by petty politics and
partisan animosity."
“Louisiana heavily relies upon a
vibrant trading relationship with Canada and Mexico," said Congressman
Mike Johnson, R-Benton. "Last year alone, our state exported $12.7 billion
in goods to these nations. The USMCA builds upon this success by expanding
market access and modernizing our trading relationship with Canada and Mexico
in a way that is favorable to Louisiana businesses and workers."
Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy
also said the deal will boost Louisiana's economy.
“The USMCA will directly benefit
Louisiana’s farmers and manufacturers, allowing them to build on the success of
our national economy," Cassidy said. "I look forward to this
legislation passing.”Republican U.S. Sen. John Kennedy is the only member of
the delegation who has expressed reservations about the deal, questioning
concessions made to the Democrats during negotiations.
"I don't know how I'm going
to vote on it because I don't know how bad they screwed it up," Kennedy
said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters. "I supported the
original (bill). I think the document has been weakened."
Kennedy said he will review the
bill before making his final decision."I can't fathom an elected official
from Louisiana not voting in favor of USMCA," Franklin said.The House
could vote on the trade deal before the end of the year, while the Senate isn't
expected vote on USMCA until early 2020.Greg Hilburn covers state politics for
the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
The USMCA trade deal will benefit
Louisiana farm families like the Fontenots in Acadiana. Louisiana rice farmer
Richard Fontenot with his wife Rhonda and son Lance on their farm near Ville
Platte. (Photo: COURTESY PHOTO)
https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/2019/12/11/usmca-trade-deal-may-spark-unparalleled-growth-louisiana-agriculture/4396689002/
Release P6 billion fund for rice farmers — DOF, DA urged
Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) -
December 12, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Sen.
Francis Pangilinan urged yesterday the Departments of Finance (DOF) and
Agriculture (DA) to release the P6-billion cash compensation for rice farmers
this December.
At the bicameral conference
committee meeting on the proposed P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020, the
former food security secretary said, “Let this (P6 billion) be our Christmas
gift to our rice farmers devastated by the flood of imported rice. They need
this reparation now.”
The senator started to sound the
alarm on the plight of Filipino rice farmers last August during a privilege
speech, where he proposed several measures to ensure that they will survive the
devastating effects of the flood of imported rice.
Pangilinan last month filed a
bill seeking to augment the 2019 budget with P6 billion to immediately provide
unconditional cash transfer to rice farmers from unprogrammed funds in the
2019 national budget.
Senate Bill 1191 proposed a
P6-billion supplemental budget from the unprogrammed 2019 budget for direct
cash transfers to vulnerable rice farmers who are planting one hectare or less,
“as compensation for the reduction or loss of farm income arising from the
influx of imported rice.”
Of the country’s 2.11 million
rice farmers, 1.14 million plant at most one hectare of land. However,
according to DOF, only 416,972 are in provinces that experienced an income loss
of at least P2 per kilo. DOF will decide on the actual number of farmers who
will be compensated.
The cash transfer will give them
a lifeline to continue farming while the government tries its best to fix the
law, he said, referring to Republic Act 11203 – or the Rice Tariffication Act –
which imposes a minimum 35 percent tariff on rice imports in lieu of
quantitative restrictions (QRs).
The liberalization of rice
imports, while intended to give the country a steady supply, has led to
declining palay farmgate prices in many rice-producing areas.
Eight months since the passage of
the law, farmgate prices of palay have plunged to as low as P7 to P10 per kilo
in some provinces, while the price of rice dropped by 2.9 percent and the price
of palay by 17.48 percent.
The drop in the farmgate price of
palay has resulted in huge income losses for rice farmers and the industry, now
estimated at around P60 billion, and projected to double by yearend, he
warned.
Pangilinan said releases from the
proposed supplemental fund will be made by the Department of Budget and
Management (DBM) directly to the DA, which shall make the fund available to the
farmers.
The fund will be valid until Dec.
31, 2020.
Earlier, both the Senate and the
House of Representatives approved on third and final reading their respective
bills extending the validity of the 2019 budget until Dec. 31, 2020.
This would allow agencies to
spend funds for capital outlays and maintenance and other operating expenses in
the 2019 budget until next year.
According to Pangilinan’s bill,
the DBM will submit to Congress and the Commission on Audit a quarterly report
on the utilization of funds.
At the House in November, Quezon
City Rep. Christopher Belmonte also filed House Bill 5629 as a counterpart
measure, saying that the cash compensation will encourage rice farmers to
continue farming.
“The damage to their livelihood
is not our farmers’ fault. We need to save our rice farmers because if not,
all of us who consume rice will, in the end, suffer and face rice shortage,”
Pangilinan said.
Philippines to remain as
largest rice importer next year
Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine
Star) - December 12, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will maintain its status
of being the world’s biggest rice importer by 2020, according to the United
States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS).
The country is seen importing some 2.7 million metric tons of
rice next year, higher than the 2.4 million MT imports of China.
“There is an expected continuation of import trends,” USDA said.
While the Philippines will tone down its rice importation amid
excessive supply coupled with improvements in the local production next year,
this will still remain above the five-year average.
The country is officially ending 2019 as the world’s biggest
rice importer for the year, reaching a record 3.2 million MT as the country
opened up the industry to liberalization.
“Global trade is nearly unchanged with reduced imports for China
partially offsetting higher imports for Ghana and the Philippines,” USDA said.
Rice imports of the country had nearly quadrupled from just
800,000 MT three years ago to 3.2 million MT this year, representing over seven
percent of total global rice imports.
In comparison, China’s share of global rice imports almost
declined by half even as China’s population has reached 1.4 billion compared
with the 110 million population of the Philippines.
This year’s importation for the Philippines is 68 percent higher
than the 1.9 million MT imports in 2018.
In March 2019, the Philippines implemented the Rice
Tariffication Act which led to a considerable increase in imports and a decline
in domestic prices.
Rice is a staple food in the country and the law is intended, in
part, to spur imports in order to quell domestic unrest caused by inflation.
While this helped lower inflation, USDA said the adjustment to rice
liberalization remains a challenge for the Philippines.
Production of milled rice went up to 12 million MT. Rice
consumption, on the other hand, is seen to increase to 14.4 million MT from
14.1 million MT in 2018.
USDA said there is a slight decrease in area planted as rice
areas reach 4.7 million hectares this year or 0.8 percent lower.
Yield, on the other hand, is expected to improve to 4.05 MT per
hectare per harvest from 3.93 MT.
The country’s rice inventory maintained its upward trend,
surging 43 percent to 2.28 million MT in October.
Based on the average daily consumption of Filipinos of 32,000
MT, the current inventory is sufficient for 71 days.
Prime Minister
appeals to rice millers not to lower paddy prices
Thou Vireak | Publication date 11 December 2019 |
21:32 ICT
Paddy prices have been dropping since last week due to poor
quality, including many varieties of broken rice. Heng Chivoan
Prime Minister Hun Sen on
Wednesday appealed to rice millers and paddy buyers not to lower prices and to
secure better rates for farmers facing difficulties in the early harvest
season.
The Cambodian Rice Federation
(CRF) said the low prices were due to an influx of poor quality paddy in some
areas.
“I ask buyers of paddy from
farmers for milling to sell in the market and for export, please do not to take
any action that will depreciate harvested rice prices,” Hun Sen said at a
Cambodia University of Specialties (CUS) graduation ceremony on Wednesday.
The CRF said in a press release
that paddy prices had been dropping since last week due to poor quality,
including many varieties of broken rice.
“The cheapest are sra nge paddy
and mixed paddy that does not have an export market demand,” the CRF said.
The statement said that consumers
had found aromatic phka malis and somaly paddy from some areas of Pursat
province to be lacking in aroma and unacceptably hard.
There were also issues with
broken paddy and brown spot disease in Banteay Meanchey and Siem Reap
provinces.
However, some areas in Kampong
Speu, Takeo, Kampot and Kandal provinces were producing good quality paddy that
fetched high prices.
“The price of good quality paddy
such as phka malis, phka romduol and sen kra op has dropped by 100 riel ($0.02)
per kilogramme,” the statement said.
CRF secretary-general Lun Yeng
told The Post on Wednesday that the drop in quality was due to drought.
“The price of the good quality
crops – phka malis, phka romduol – is the same as last year, which is around
1,200 riel ($0.30) per kilogramme, while sen kra op paddy costs 1,000 riel
($0.24),” he said.
“Rice millers did not want to
lower the price of paddy, but [they had no choice] because of the poor quality
of the crop,” he said.
Heng Pheng, the CEO of Thmor Korl
Rice Import Export Co Ltd, a Battambang-based rice exporter, said the price of
sen kra op paddy has risen from 950 riel ($0.23) to 1,012 riel ($0.25) per
kilogramme.
“The decline in paddy prices
resulted from most rice millers having bought only good quality paddy, phka
romduol, so the price of sen kra op paddy dropped slightly, but it has
recovered,” he said.
Centre for Policy Studies
director Chan Sophal said the prime minister’s call would not affect the free
market due to it being only an appeal and not a regulation.
“The appeal is to give comfort to
the farmers, but it is now down to the big buyers who depend on the
international market,” he said.
The Rural Development Bank last
week loaned $50 million to the Cambodian rice industry to address capital
shortages to buy paddy and stabilise prices.
The CRF said $50 million will buy
nearly 300,000 tonnes of paddy for stockpiling.
According to an official report,
in the first 11 months of this year, rice exports to the international market
totalled 514,149 tonnes. This was a 3.4 per cent increase compared to the same
period last year.
Rice import: Mexico delegation to visit Pakistan for lifting ban
By APP
Published: December 11, 2019
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is keen on enhancing trade and
business interaction with Mexico and investors from both the countries can
benefit from the available trade opportunities in the different sectors, said
Senate Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla.
Speaking with the media at Parliament House
on Tuesday, he said that Pakistani rice was banned in Mexico a few years back
and the recent visit of a parliamentary delegation had paved way for abolishing
the embargoes on Pakistani rice.
He viewed the visit as successful and said
one of the major achievements of the visit was convincing counterparts in the
Mexican Parliament on allowing Pakistani rice in Mexico. ”Our business
community is keen on investing in Mexico,” he said.
Published in The Express
Tribune, December 11th, 2019.
Rice Production:
“Afghanistan will soon be self-sufficient
Tuesday, December 10, 2019 1:48 pm | International
FILE PHOTO: Rice farm
Afghan Ministry for Agriculture,
Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) on Tuesday said the country is moving towards
achieving self-sufficiency in rice production as 66 per cent of rice has been
produced inside the country.
According to a statement,
Afghanistan produced over 383,000 tons of rice in 2019, up to nine per cent
increase, compared to 2018.
“The country has now become
self-sufficient by 66 per cent in rice production in 2019 as a result of using
improved seeds, modern machinery, providing technical assistance to farmers by
government and the favourable weather,” the statement read.
A survey, jointly conducted by
the Central Statistics Office and MAIL, indicates a sharp increase in paddy
cultivation in the country.
The total amount of rice-fields
in 18 out of the country’s 34 provinces has increased from 116,000 hectares in
2018 to 128,000 hectares 2019.
Afghanistan usually imports
588,000 tons of rice yearly, and with the noticeable growth in rice production,
the country has become self-sufficient in 2019.
Therefore, the rice import would
fall to enable the country to earn $65 million in 2019.
Rice and wheat flour are two main
food sources in Afghanistan.
For the Afghan citizens, the
bumper harvest in the rice production is a rare piece of good news in a country
critically affected by drought, conflict and high food prices and where
millions of people are pushed into food insecurity.
Local rice farmers face challenging
2019 season resulting in low rice yields
by: Sylvia Masters
Posted: Updated:
In Acadia Parish, they’re the number one rice producing parish in
the State of Louisiana.
Rice yields were much lower this year because of the challenging
season many local farmers faced.
Dustin Harrell, Extension Rice Specialist for the State of Louisiana and a Rice Research Agronomist for the LSU Ag Center Rice Research Station in Crowley, said, “When you look at the state as a whole, we are probably about 70% lower in our rice yields this year than we were in 2018.”
Dustin Harrell, Extension Rice Specialist for the State of Louisiana and a Rice Research Agronomist for the LSU Ag Center Rice Research Station in Crowley, said, “When you look at the state as a whole, we are probably about 70% lower in our rice yields this year than we were in 2018.”
Harrell said this year, yields were around 39 barrels of rice per
acre. Compare that to last year of well over 40 barrels per acre.
All because of the challenging season rice farmers endured.
Harrell added, “Last year was pretty difficult for us as far as
rainfall events. We actually had three different rainfall events throughout the
growing season that caused trouble for our growers.”
Had Hurricane Barry dumped more rain as forecasted, Harrell said
it would’ve been a complete disaster for rice farmers.
Still, many yields were lost.
“What happened was we didn’t get as much rain, but the rice was
flowering and the flower was open, and that’s when it sheds pollen and it
pollinates that grain, and if you get rain and wind during that time, that can
disrupt that pollination process. It’ll actually blank the grain and you can
lose yield that way,” explained Harrell.
Acadiana farmers told Harrell their rice yields were about 30%
lower than previous years.
“Another thing that hurt our yield potential last year was smuts,
and it’s a type of disease that’ll hit the rice as it’s maturing and it’s a
disease that we really haven’t worried about in the past, but we had epidemic
levels of it this year,” said Harrell.
This past year, Louisiana saw 415,000 acres of rice with Acadia
Parish producing 80,000.
December 12, 2019
File photo: A farmer in Buenavista in Santiago City, Isabela,
checks his rice crops soon ready for harvest.
THE Department of Agriculture on Wednesday said 46 out of the 57
target provinces have already received 341,203 bags at 20 kilos per bag of
inbred rice seeds under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Seed
Program.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the 46 provinces, which
make up 81 percent of the accomplishment, include 282 municipalities and cities
with high potential for competitiveness in rice production.
Among the rice seed varieties distributed include NSIC Rc 160,
Rc 216, Rc 222, and two location-specific inbred varieties.
“The provinces have been identified based on the size of area
harvested, yield level, cost of production, and share of irrigated area. These
municipalities and cities have an annual area planted of more than 500 hectares
for dry season 2019-2020,” said Dar in a statement, citing recent data released
by the DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).
According to Dar, seed distribution is ongoing to cover the
remaining 11 provinces, including 703 municipalities/cities.
He said the remaining 1,766,805 bags of seeds are scheduled for
distribution this 2019-2020 dry season.
He said DA-PhilRice has already contracted out 97 percent of the
seed requirement for this cropping period. “The 2 million bags of certified
seeds will translate to planting around 1 million hectares of rice land which
can contribute to increasing the yield up to 6 tons per hectare in
high-yielding provinces by 2024,” Dar said.
Earlier, the DA forged a P432.78-million deal with the country’s
top seed growers to kick-start the government’s seed-distribution program via
the RCEF. The DA said it forged a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with five seed
growers’ associations and cooperatives for the seed component of the RCEF. The
deal accounts for 21.64 percent of the P3 billion allocated for the RCEF seed
program.
Under the MOA, the seed growers will supply 25 percent, or about
500,000 bags, of the 2 million bags of inbred rice seeds to be distributed to
farmer-beneficiaries of the program.
The seeds procured by the government from the seed producers
will be distributed to rice farmers in 57 provinces identified to have high
potential for competitiveness.
The eligible farmer-beneficiaries should be listed in the
Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture. Each farmer could receive a
maximum of four bags of inbred seeds, depending on farm size for the October to
December planting season.
The creation of the RCEF was mandated by the rice trade
liberalization law, which took effect on March 5. The P10-billion fund will
bankroll various programs for improving the productivity of planters who will
have to compete with cheaper imports in the aftermath of rice liberalization
Giving back
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:14 AM December 12,
2019
I am Filipino,” says Rachel Renucci-Tan, who with her Italian-French husband
Patrick Renucci, have disrupted the local rice industry with Dalisay Rice.
“I’ve been
there, done that, away half my life, lived in eight countries. Now I have come
home.
“The Philippines
has nurtured me. Everything I know, everything I’ve learned, came from here.”
“Friends ask
why I don’t have a French passport. What if things turn bad here, they say. I
tell them, what will happen to make me want to leave? My roots are here.”
In the
Philippines where many citizens dream of going abroad, it is refreshing to meet
someone who has chosen to return.Her spouse has grown to love it as well.
“Manila is
safer than Paris [in many ways],” says Patrick. “People here are nice. I am not
saying other peoples are not nice, but Filipinos are sincere [when treating
each other].”
It takes a
foreigner to view our country with fresh eyes, I say.“The future is here,” says
Patrick.
There is a
lot of poverty, I say.
“There is
poverty, but you don’t see misery,” says Patrick. “People may be poor, but they
are happy. And there are so many opportunities here.”
“But Rachel and I do not want to go just for the easy money.”
“But Rachel and I do not want to go just for the easy money.”
Ever
pragmatic, Rachel adds, “Instead of doing another restaurant, franchise,
clothes store, we want to contribute in a way that will give lasting value to
the country. Here I have access to resources, networks [to do so].”Last week,
we discussed how despite the daunting roadblocks the couple faced, from
skeptical farmers to dishonest managers, they have succeeded in producing
fresh, tasty, healthy rice in Alangalang, Leyte.
Chen Yi
Agventures gives farmers access to seeds from the Philippine Rice Research
Institute, and technologies to maximize yields. Their rice processing facility,
the most modern in Southeast Asia, with temperature-controlled silos and
computerized dryers, formally opened in July 2019 in Alangalang.The structure
can withstand supertyphoons of more than 350 kph (Yolanda, whose havoc had
motivated the couple to help in the first place, had winds of 315 kph). With
500 pipes buried 21 meters deep in the earth, the plant can withstand
earthquakes of intensity 7.The result is literally pure Dalisay rice, with
seeds stored perfectly so that no sprays need to be used to counter pests.
Palay is milled on demand—not so much a marketing strategy—but to ensure the
freshness of the rice.
After
launching Dalisay rice in Forbes Park, “we have made rice sexy,” says Rachel.
Substance
lies beneath the style. I listen as Rachel, a philosophy major with an MBA, and
Patrick, a printing press entrepreneur, analyze the rice crisis in the country,
shattering economic myths with sobering facts and figures (did you know that
farmers use up 50 percent of their profit to pay off their never-ending spiraling
debts?). That’s another story in itself.
The proof
lies in visible, incontrovertible facts. The couple first traveled to Leyte in
2015. In only four years, the benefits have been immense.
Many farmers have increased their take-home income by at least 10 times, transforming Alangalang into a second-class municipality, with Jollibee and Andok’s chicken stores.
Many farmers have increased their take-home income by at least 10 times, transforming Alangalang into a second-class municipality, with Jollibee and Andok’s chicken stores.
In
July 2019, Rachel received the Bravo Award for Empowered Women in S & T,
sponsored by the Zonta Club of Makati and Environs and Security Bank.
In August,
after a tour of the rice processing facility, President Duterte was so
impressed that he raised the possibility of a Philippine citizenship to
Patrick.
In November,
Dalisay Rice won third prize at the World Rice Conference held at the Makati Shangri-la,
beating 30 of the world’s top rice varieties.
“Thailand,
Vietnam, India, China, Japan, the US, all top rice producers, are net
exporters,” says Rachel. “Only the Philippines is a net importer and not known
for producing good rice.
“The other
countries continued to perfect their varieties and sent samples to the
committee for feedback. Their rice was presented on velvet-lined boxes. We
joined at the last minute, with no preparation, just a two-kilogram pack off
the supermarket. By some miracle, we won.”
Queena N. Lee-Chua is on the Board of
Directors of Ateneo’s Family Business Center. Contact the author
at blessbook.chua@gmail.com.
