Việt Nam is not expected to reach its rice export target at US$3 billion this year due to reduction in export prices. — Photo congthuong.vn
Author Name: https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/570425/rice-sector-to-focus-on-developing-high-quality-varieties-next-year.html
RESEARCHERS BRING BACK RICE ‘ANCESTORS’
Thu, 12/26/2019 - 11:00am
The LSU
AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station is collaborating with a Cornell
University-based project aimed at studying the ...
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Lack of transparency over
agricultural tax incentives
Sok
Chan / Khmer Times
When the government announced a series of tax
incentives for the agriculture sector last year, there was applause from the
private sector because it hoped to boost agricultural production. However, so
far the implementation of the move remains murky and there are unresolved
issues among taxpayers.
One of the government’s stated tax incentives
is the exemption of value-added tax (VAT) to enterprises importing or
supplying various fertilisers, crop seedlings, animal medicines, animal feed,
agriculture equipment and machinery. It also applies to those supplying
unprocessed agriculture products. This exemption has been absorbed by the
government.
In addition, there was to be no VAT for
enterprises engaged in producing, supplying or exporting unmilled (paddy) rice,
processed rice, corn, beans, pepper, cashew nuts, cassava, or rubber from March
2019 until the end of 2023.
Prime Minister Hun Sen announced in April that
dropping VAT charges on exports of agricultural products – including milled
rice, corn, cassava, and pepper – would enhance the competitiveness of the
agriculture and export sectors.
In addition to those enterprises engaged in
producing, supplying or exporting paddy rice, milled rice, corn, beans, pepper,
cashew nuts, cassava, or rubber were eligible for exemption of profit tax
prepayments for five years, starting from January 2019 to the end of 2023.
Accounting
standards
Another government tax incentive is the minimum
tax. It applies to enterprises engaged in producing, supplying or exporting
paddy rice, milled rice, corn, beans, pepper, cashew nuts, cassava or rubber.
To be eligible, for the minimum tax, enterprises must have proper accounting
standards and show full compliance with inspectors. Producers of the above are
are exempted from this tax from 2019-2023.
What is known as the withholding tax service is
also exempted for enterprises engaged in producing, supplying or exporting
paddy rice, milled rice, corn, beans, pepper, cashew nuts, cassava, or rubber
from March 2019 until the end of 2023.
However, to receive the withholding tax
exemption, enterprises must fulfill three conditions.
First, they have to apply for a VAT certificate
to state that it is the state’s burden from the general department of taxation
(GDT) with a validity of one-year, attached with the monthly VAT declaration
and a declaration that the proper accounting standards have been upheld.
The government also exempted tax on profits for
small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in what is regarded as the priority sector
in agricultural products from October 2018. The concerned enterprises must use
at least 60 percent of local raw materials, increase the number of employees by
20 per cent or be located in the SME Cluster zone. The exemption applies
to the monthly 1 per cent of pre-payment of tax on income and the annual
minimum tax.
According to the General Department of Taxation
(GDT), those applying for income tax, prepayment of income tax and minimum tax
exemption must present their memorandum and articles of associations, business
licences – including the certificate of commercial registration – certificate
of tax registration and patent card, business plan and financial statements,
goods and services contracts, employment contracts and employee training plan,
as well as rental agreement and property title certificate.
Eligibility
The GDT says that firms who want to be eligible
for tax deductions must submit the memorandum and articles of association,
business licenses, business plan and financial statements, goods and services
contracts and employee training plan.
Secretary-General of the Cambodia Rice
Federation (CRF) Lun Yeng, says that the majority of the rice-exporting companies
have applied for the tax incentives from the government and they have a proper
accounting system. However, some small rice millers have yet to meet the proper
accounting standards. Therefore, at present, the CRF is working with Banhji
Fintech Co Ltd, a local company providing accounting solutions tailored to
Cambodian SMEs, to help 20 small rice millers to prepare proper accounts, Lun
adds. “All enterprises must apply to the GDT in the capital or provinces to
receive the tax incentives and the CRF must also facilitate this task,” he
says.
General Manager of Signatures of Asia Chan
Pich, one of leading rice exporters in Cambodia, says that his firm has applied
to the GDT to be eligible for the tax incentives from the government.
“For rice exports, the VAT is zero, and the
withholding tax is zero. Before, the withholding tax was 1 per cent, but it is
exempted now. For the rice milling sector, the VAT and withdrawing tax are huge
for the milling sector,” he adds.
Competition
tough
Chan says that the competition with
neighbouring countries in the rice sector is challenging in terms of pricing
and productivity. However, the government’s tax incentives – the withholding
tax, VAT and tax on income – will help the rice millers, and encourage them to
register legally as well as boosting their productivity and competitiveness.
Chan adds that the information on the tax
incentives has spread to almost all the members of the rice sector.
However, Vice-President of Cambodia Chamber of
Commerce Lim Heng says that until now, there is no clear guideline for the
private sector on the income tax, prepayment of income tax and minimum tax
exemption from the government.
He says that government offered the tax
exemption to the private sector, particularly in the agriculture sector, to
boost competitiveness. However, the government is asking companies to provide
proper and clear accounting standards that are audited by independent qualified
firms – which is a challenge for taxpayers, especially family-owned businesses.
Lim says that more than 90 per cent of
enterprises will be punished if they are found to have no proper accounting
system regarding the tax audit. “To be eligible for the tax incentive,
enterprises must hold to the accounting standard, but the majority of them do
not have the proper accounting systems and when the GDT (General Department of
Taxations) is coming to audit, they could be punished afterwards,” Lim says. He
adds that if they get punished they will not eligible to receive tax
incentives.
Compliance
requirements
“We are discussing with the Deputy Prime
Minister and the Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmonirath to find a way
out,” Lim adds. “After auditing, if it is discovered a company has not complied
with tax requirements, they will not be eligible for the government’s tax
incentives – the minimum tax, withholding taxes for exports and income tax,” Mr
Lim said.
“We are not clear about this job. We cannot
implement the tax incentive so far. The rice industry is also in discussion in
this task to manage the financial report. Now, the tax authorities ask the
private companies to pay the 1 per cent withholding taxes, while they have not
yet done the auditing from the independent audit firm,” Lim pointed out. He
says that when they have the auditing statement from an independent audit firm,
the GDT will cut the cost. We are discussing this,” he added.
“Before we had the withholding tax of 1 per
cent for exports, but since there was the directive issued for the exemption
from the government, we have not paid it. However, GDT officials affirmed that
if there is no authorised letter from the audit firm with the proper accounting
system, the GDT will ask for payment of the withholding tax otherwise the
relevant company is punished,” Lim says.
“We have yet implemented it fully because it is
under discussion,” Mr Lim adds. “Mostly Cambodia has a lot of family-owned
businesses and they have difficulties inviting an independent audit firm to
carry out auditing for them every month, so if the GDT audits every two years,
there is a problem,” he adds.
Situation
unclear
Mr Lim adds that taxation officials say that if
a company does not pay withholding tax and lacks proper accounting, when there
is the audit from the GDT, they would be fined from the date they have not paid
it. “Now we are not clear,” he adds.
“We want the GDT to audit yearly, but they do
not have enough officials to do that because there are so many firms, yet they
ask the company to submit the forms to the GDT to audit. However, if 1,000 companies
apply, will they have the office space to work?” Lim asks.
“Now the GDT is working with the rice sector
and will apply the same mechanism to the other six agricultural products,” he
says. “If there is no audit, we are afraid that the 1 per cent is a punishable
burden,” Lim added.
Chour Chheng, director of Ky Siv Chheng Protein
Food Enterprise, a local producer of dried meat, fruits and jams, says that his
enterprise has not obliged to pay the tax because his annual turnover is less
than $60,000 per year. “I have never paid the tax because our profit is low by
taxation law,” he adds.
Mr Chour says because the annual turnover is
low, he cannot register his company fully to obtain a patent from the GDT. “I
got the audit from GDT, but I am not asked to pay the tax because my company is
small and turnover is low,” he adds.
“Without a patent, our products could not sell
in malls – for example Aeon Mall – because it does not accept them. However, we
can sell our products to other supermarkets, but we have to sell our products
to big companies to sell in the mall, so my profit is going down,” Chour adds.
Chan says that government has put its effort
toward help the rice sector from year to year. However, to make it better and
increase competitiveness, the government should consider the electricity
tariffs, transportation fees and interest rates to reduce costs to the rice
millers, so that they can afford to collect and take the paddy to the
warehouses,” Chan points out.
He adds that for indirect support the government
should subsidise and offer financial support or attract other companies to
invest in processing products besides rice, such as pericarp – the ripened
ovary wall that surrounds the kernel – for animal feed. “If we can process or
use these products, it can also boost competitiveness and add value to rice
millers’ by-products,” he argues.
Rice prices skid in wholesale
market as output surges
Date :27-Dec-2019
|
Business Bureau :
The prices of rice in the
market have skidded by 10 to 15 per cent as compared to the year ago period
(YoY). Sources attributes the drop in the prices to the rise in 25 per cent
production as compared to last year. The prices at the rice millers have
descended by Rs 300 to Rs 400 per quintal. The new rice have just arrived in
the market. Last year, the prices of rice at the mill were quoted at Rs 4500
per quintal which this year have tumbled to Rs 4100 per quintal.
Sources said that in the
market there was rumour that State Government will give a subsidy of Rs 500 per
quintal to the farmer. However, traders in the market are wondering how it
would be possible for the State Government to give the subsidy when there is
paucity of funds. There is cloudy weather. Taking cue of both these factors,
farmers have increased the prices by Rs 100 to Rs 150 per quintal. Rice in
grown in places like Mul, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Sakoli, Tiroda, Chimur,
Chandrapur, Bramhapuri etc. Mills operating in this area are directly selling
to places like Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Solapur, Satara and Sangli. When
contacted, Pratap Motwani, Secretary of The Wholesale Grain and Seeds Merchants
Association said, in 2018, rice was cultivated on 10.01 lakh hectares of land.
In 2019, the area covering rice cultivation was 12.55 lakh hectares.
The production this year will
increase by 20 to 25 per cent as compared to last year. He said, “The month of
January is good for stocking rice in households as the prices will inflate
after Mahashivratri when the marriage season will commence.” In the local
wholesale market, the prices of rice per kg quoted as against the year-ago
period were Chinnor- Rs 55 to Rs 56 per kg (Rs 60 to Rs 65 per kg), Jaishriram-
Rs 26 to Rs 46/kg (Rs 45 to Rs 50/kg), Jaishriram old- Rs 50 to Rs 55/kg (Rs 55
to Rs 60), Basmati- Rs 50 to Rs 90/kg (Rs 60 to Rs 110), Basmati branded- Rs 70
to Rs 110/kg (Rs 90 to Rs 130), Suvarna - Rs 23 to Rs 25/kg (Rs 28), Suvarna
old- Rs 27 to Rs 28/kg (Rs 29 to Rs 31).
Effective
intervention needed to ensure fair paddy prices
Published:
00:00, Dec 27,2019
HEAVY
losses stare in the face of aman growers as the government procurement
programme, which began on November 20, has so far failed to afford them any
relief because of irregularities in the process, controlled by middlemen and
millers. The government has set the price of Tk 1,040 for 40 kilograms of paddy
and will buy six lakh tonnes of paddy and four lakh tonnes of rice directly
from farmers, but farmers complain that the government is not buying paddy or
rice directly from them, which has forced them to sell 40 kilograms of paddy
for Tk 700, Tk 300 below the production cost. The government has, moreover,
plans to buy only 10 lakh tonnes, which is 6.5 per cent of the total harvest of
1.53 crore tonnes. The government, as the food ministry web site says, has
already procured 22,667 tonnes of rice from millers in November 20–December 22
and has begun procuring paddy from farmers on 16 locations. A situation like
this stands farmers where they would not even get their investment in
production.
In the
boro season of May–July, farmers faced a similar problem and had to sell paddy
for prices between Tk 500 and Tk 600, much below the production cost, prompting
wide protests among farmers, some of whom are reported to have burnt their
produces before harvest. The government procurement programme that time proved
to be futile and could not afford the farmers any relief although the
government, later, procured paddy directly from farmers at a few places.
Farmers and experts have for long blamed a syndicated hoarding by millers and
middlemen for the decline in paddy prices in the absence of any regulating
mechanism to protect farmer’s interest. Besides, the growing production cost
because of a cumulative dependence on agro-industry leaves farmers in a
vulnerable position, many of whom were reportedly disappointed about rice
production and started opting for other crops. Any such happening might have an
alarming consequence. The government’s intention, as the food minister said in
July, to build 200 silos across the country and procure more rice directly from
farmers to save them has so far remained in words only.
The
government, under the circumstances, must intervene and look into whether there
is any syndicated hoarding or manipulated procurement and take necessary steps.
The government must also scale up its procurement programme to cover a
significant amount of the total production and buy paddy and rice directly from
farmers. Long-term initiatives such as building an adequate number of silos to
increase the government’s storage capacity, which now stands at a worryingly
low level, are a must too.
Festive
season brings boom to local rice farmers, businessmen
• Stakeholders say govt
policies boosting local production of Nigeria’s popular staple
Ngozi
Nwoke
Without a
doubt, rice is one of the most popular foods in Nigeria, with the people
consuming as much as seven million tonnes each year.
Virtually every part of the country is blessed
with arable land suitable for the cultivation of rice. Indeed, from time
immemorial, places like Abakaliki in Ebonyi State, several communities in Kebbi
State, Ofada in Ogun State, Igbemo-Ekiti in Ekiti State and many others across
the length and breadth of the country have been known as the home of rice.
In spite of these, however, the country, for
many years, relied more on rice imported from other parts of the world. Many
derided rice planted in the country as too local. Billions of dollars was
expended on the importation of food, most of which could be cultivated in the
country. In muffled tones, impoverished farmers bemoaned their fate.
But that culture began to change recently. To
support local farmers, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration embarked
on some policies that have been encouraging local cultivation, especially rice.
Government also curbed imports of some food items, including rice. All that,
coupled with the sudden closure of land borders in the country as well as the
continued confiscation of bags of suspected foreign rice by operatives of the
Nigeria Customs Service, has encouraged local farmers, rice millers and
traders. And local rice has suddenly become the most popular commodity in the
country.
Stakeholders said the Federal Government has
been boosting agriculture by supporting local farmers in many ways. Some of the
support offered to farmers includes grants by the government, loans offered to
farmers at cheap interest rates, grants and technology given by non-profits and
funding from foreign agencies, such as the World Bank.
One of the major policies was the Central Bank
of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers Programme, which was launched by President Buhari
on November 17, 2015. The programme is intended to create a linkage between
anchor companies involved in the processing and small holder farmers of the
required key agricultural commodities.
The CBN set up a $130m initiative offering
farmers who have at least one hectare of land loans at a nine per cent interest
rate, which is below the benchmark interest rate of 14 per cent. The apex bank
has announced that about a million farmers have benefitted from the programme.
Besides the CBN, the World Bank is also funding
a number of schemes to encourage farming and help boost agriculture and food
security in the country. There are centres now offering equipment and machines
at greatly subsidised hire prices to farmers.
Most of the interventions seem to have favoured
rice farmers. All of a sudden, there is a sudden boom in that sector. Rice
grown and milled in Nigeria is now neatly packaged and consumed all over the
country. And farmers, traders and even consumers are happy.
Recently, the United States Department of
Agriculture, World Markets and Trade asserted that the reforms in Nigeria’s
agriculture sector have begun to yield the desired fruits, noting that Nigeria
now produces 3.7 million tonnes of rice annually. A rice farmer in one of the
Northern states, Aminu Ndakogi, explained that one of the international
development partners in the country, the non-profit organisation, International
Forum for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has also been helping farmers in the
area.
“I started farming with only one hectare, and
the average yield was two to three tonnes. When I integrated with IFAD, I was
able to increase my cultivation to three hectares with an average of eight
tonnes. Now, I’m planning to increase my cultivation to five hectares,” he told
the BBC.
There is also an ongoing partnership between
the German government and the Bill and Mellinda Gates Foundation to help boost
rice farming in the country.
With support from the foundation, the Federal
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in Germany, it was gathered,
provided two million Euros for implementation of the rice farming project
tagged CARI-2. The project aims to help smallholder farmers to increase their
income and provide their families and the country with high quality rice,
according to the programme director, Jean-Bernard Lalannehe.
Lalannehe said the programme commenced in June
2018, and would last till June 2021. He informed that the project would be
focused on business linkages in the rice sector to ensure that the producers
were well connected with the markets, processors, rice millers, aggravators and
input dealers.
Besides the various interventions that
encourage local cultivation of rice, stakeholders have partly attributed the
current popularity of local rice among consumers to the closure of land borders
by the government.
In August, the Federal Government suddenly
closed the country’s land borders, and they have remained closed till date.
Many people were caught unawares by the unexpected move. But according to many
rice farmers and traders, it has remained one of the best actions of the
current administration.
In fact, the Rice Farmers Association of
Nigeria (RIFAN) has urged the Federal Government to ensure that the borders
remain closed for now. The body said the policy was helping to boost the
nation’s economy.
Idris Abini, chairman of the association in
Niger State, said the closure has increased rice production in the state due to
increased demand by marketers and consumers.
“We have started the journey to produce more
rice due to the closure of our borders because efforts will be made by both
government and farmers to produce enough food.
“The border closure is a right step in the
right direction because it is already increasing wealth among farmers as
consumers are beginning to patronise our local rice. Those criticising the
closure of the borders are not true Nigerians because it is one of the best
decisions of this administration,” he said.
Abini expressed gratitude to the Federal
Government for providing the enabling environment for agriculture to thrive by
supporting farmers with inputs and implements.
“The Federal Government has demonstrated this
through the Central Bank of Nigeria Anchor Borrowers Scheme by allowing farmers
to access more loans even when previous ones have not been fully repaid,” he
said.
Vice president of RIFAN in the South West, Mr.
Victor Korede, was delighted that rice farming has been witnessing a boom
across the country. He praised the Federal Government for closing the nation’s
land borders and for introducing initiatives that encourage local farmers.
“I’m a farmer and a Nigerian and I know the
good it will do for the country. It will ginger us because farmers will know
they have a market and in that sector there will be progress owing to increased
production. We know production now is slow but we know we have to rise to the
occasion and develop our market. When you’re producing and there’s a market,
you keep improving and expanding.”
To the chairman of All Farmers Association of
Nigeria (AFAN), Kano State chapter, Alhaji Faruk Rabi’u, the Federal Government
has boosted the confidence of farmers. He noted that the Federal Government had
shown its readiness to boost agricultural production by insisting on the
patronage of the home products.
“With this development, farmers will have more
confidence that their products will be patronised. Therefore they can invest
more on their farms because they know that after harvesting, their farm
products will be sold. If we continue to import foreign rice, despite the fact
that the locally produced one is the best for our health, people will continue
to buy it,” he said.
The rejuvenation of the local rice industry has
also increased the activities of businessmen, as more rice mills have sprung up
in many parts of the country.
Alhaji Aminu Ahmed, managing director of Tiamin
Rice Milling Plant in Kano, said the new rice mills are giving jobs to hundreds
of hitherto unemployed individuals. His own mill, he noted, now employs over
300 permanent staff and 600 casual workers.
Another rice farmer, Alhaji Muhammadu Jega,
said after achieving self-sufficiency in rice production, Nigerian farmers
would be targeting exporting rice to other countries.
A rice consultant and general manager, project,
Elephant Group, Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashola, told Daily Sun that the border closure
was a great decision by the Federal Government, especially since the Anchor
Borrowers Programme of the CBN was offering tremendous support to Nigerian
farmers. He urged even tighter regulations at the borders to enhance the growth
of Nigeria’s local rice industry.
In his words, for the demand-supply gap created
by the ban on smuggled foreign rice to be bridged, and to bring down the cost
of locally produced rice, increased investment and consistency on the part of
farmers and patience on the part of consumers were needed.
Mr. Francis Toromade, the director-general of
Premier Agribusiness Academy, said the closure of Nigeria’s land borders was a
good development.
“If closing the borders will make our local
production grow, it is better for us. When the borders are porous, some
individuals are enriched and not the economy. Why must we continue to buy
foreign rice when rice is produced in Kebbi, Ebonyi and other states?” he
queried.
Traders in local rice are also in a happy mood
in this festive season. Many of them said they had been making good money,
noting that the ban placed on importation of foreign rice had boosted their
business tremendously.
“Banning foreign rice and encouraging local
rice farmers has been a blessing. Even if that is the only good thing by this
Buhari administration, I fully support it. Those of us doing this business are
happy. Suddenly, everyone is patronising local rice and we are making money.
Business has been quite good,” Ndubuisi Okeke, who has a small rice
distributing business in Lagos, noted.
Many consumers have also attested to the
quality of the species of rice planted in Nigeria. Experts have insisted that
the brown rice produced in Nigeria is far better and healthier than foreign
rice. The local rice, they noted, has a carbohydrate content that is of high
quality, and its rich fibre content aids in the body’s digestion processes. It
also has fewer calories than the imported white rice, its protein is
gluten-free, it protects the heart, reduces the risk of diabetes, and is good
for the bones and heart. The local rice, experts insist, also fights cancer,
helps in weight loss, reduces sleep disorder, has anti-aging properties and is
rich in the mineral folate, a form of folic acid essential for pregnant women
and women trying to conceive, among other health benefits.
PM urges farmers to diversify
crops amid shortage of water
May
Kunmakara | Publication date 26 December 2019 | 21:22 ICT
Farmers
grow rice in a field in Kampong Speu province. Prime Minister Hun Sen urges
farmers to switch to crops resilient to a shortage of water, such as sugar
cane, to shield themselves from price drops and fluctuating yields during the
dry season. TANG CHHIN SOTHY/afp
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday called for
farmers to diversify beyond rice during the dry season, amid meteorologists’
warnings that a decline in water levels due to drought will adversely impact
output and prices.
The prime minister urged farmers to switch to
crops resilient to a shortage of water, such as sugarcane, to shield themselves
from price drops and fluctuating yields during the dry season.
“According to a report from the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, we are approaching the harvests at the end
of the rainy season. So far, we have harvested two million hectares of paddy
fields out of a total of 2.7 million hectares.
“I hope that rice yields in the rainy season
will not be affected by a shortage of water. However, paddy fields will face a
shortage of water during the dry season – that’s why I issued a directive to
farmers last week to grow rice only once during the dry season and then switch
to another crop,” Hun Sen said.
In a statement released last week, the
Cambodian Rice Federation (CRF) said the poor condition of paddy fields due to
water shortages in some areas had affected prices.
It added that certain parts of Pursat province
that produced phkma malis (jasmine) and somali rice had grown tough grains
lacking aroma “that consumers cannot accept”.
Rice crops in Banteay Meanchey and Siem Reap
provinces, the statement said, had also struggled due to poor quality paddies
and disease.
However, some areas in Kampong Speu, Takeo,
Kampot and Kandal provinces yielded quality crops that demanded high prices.
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 – phkma
malis and phka romduol – is the same as last year, around 1,200 riel ($0.30)
per kilogramme, while sen kra op rice costs 1,000 riel ($0.24).
“Rice millers did not want to lower the price
of rice, but [they had no choice] because of the poor quality of the crop,”
Yeng said.
Hun Sen said that while the government had
called on millers not to lower the price of rice, it did not set prices as
Cambodia is a free-market economy.
The prime minister advised farmers in areas
suffering from water shortages to switch from rice to crops that would ensure
better yields and bring higher prices.
A Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries report showed that in the first 11 months of this year, rice exports
to the international market totalled 514,149 tonnes – an increase of 3.4 per
cent on the same period last year.
Rice exports up 39pc
to 1.6mln tons in 5 months
ISLAMABAD: Rice exports increased
38.58 percent in the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to
the corresponding period last fiscal, mainly owing to a strong demand for
Pakistan’s high-quality grains, latest data showed.
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS)
stats presented that over 1.601 million tons of rice ($835.686 million) were
exported in July-November period of FY2020, as against 1.115 million tons
($603.149 million) in the same period a year ago.
Basmati rice exports increased 61.47
percent to 343,885 tons during the period under review compared to 190,997 tons
($193.855 million) in the July-November FY2019.
The country exported about 1.257
million tons ($522.846 million) of other varieties of rice, as against 964,539
tons ($409.294 million) in the same period last fiscal.
On a month-on-month basis, rice
exports increased 24.49 percent in November 2019 to 440,488 tons ($202.069
million), compared to 355,488 tons ($162.321 million) sold overseas in the same
month of 2018.
In November 2019, basmati rice
exports also grew 24.49 percent as 58,421 metric tons ($54.522 million) were
exported, against 29,185 tons ($28.504 million) in November last.The food group
exports during first five months of this fiscal increased 16.20 percent over
the corresponding period of the last year.
Food commodities worth $1.757
billion were exported in July-November FY2020 period as against $1.512 billion
in the same period of FY2019.On the other hand, import of food commodities
during the period under review decreased 15.36 percent to $2.088 billion, as
compared to $2.467 billion in the same time last year.
Food group exports grew 16.30
percent month-on-month as products worth $397.708 million were exported in
November this year against $341.975 million in the same month of 2018.
However, on a month-on-month basis,
imports in November 2019 increased 5.14 percent to $505.503 million as against
$480.775 million, same month last year.
From rubbish to rice: the cafe that gives food in exchange for
plastic
The Garbage Cafe in Ambikapur, India, is helping
to tackle the country’s plastic waste problem – and their novel idea is
catching on
India generates approximately 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste every
day, only about 14,000 tonnes of which are collected. Photograph: Divyakant
Solanki/EPA
On bad days, when his employer made some excuse
for not paying him his paltry daily wage, Ram Yadav’s main meal used to be dry
chapatis, with salt and raw onion for flavour. Sometimes he just went hungry.
For a ragpicker like him, one of the thousands of Indians who make a living
bringing in plastic waste for recycling, eating in a cafe or restaurant was the
stuff of fairytales.
But last week, Yadav was sitting at a table at
the Garbage Cafe in Ambikapur, in the state of Chhattisgarh, over a piping hot
meal of dal, aloo gobi, poppadoms and rice. He earned the food in exchange for
bringing in 1kg of plastic waste. “The hot meal I get here lasts me all day.
And it feels good to sit at a table like everyone else,” he said.Opened in October by the Ambikapur municipal corporation, the cafe is designed both to encourage awareness about the need to collect and remove plastic waste and to give a meal to anyone – ragpicker, student or civic-minded individual – who does so. The tagline? “More the waste, better the taste.”
The Garbage Cafe, opened by the Ambikapur Municipal Corporation in
October, gives a meal to anyone who brings in plastic waste. Photograph: Amrit
Dhillon
The
launch was attended by the Chhattisgarh health minister, TS Singh Deo, who
emphasised that the cafe was for everyone by bringing in half a kilo of plastic
himself.
“It’s become well known fast, because it’s
located right by the main bus stand in the city,” said the city’s mayor, Ajay
Tirkey. “We’re getting about a dozen people coming in every day. One day a
whole family came in with huge sacks weighing seven kilos.”Most Indian cities are struggling with huge amounts of unsegregated waste. There are few effective waste-management systems, and according to the country’s environment ministry the country generates approximately 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day – only about 14,000 tonnes of which are collected.
Chhattisgarh health minister, TS Singh Deo, right, brought half a
kilo of plastic to the launch of the Garbage Cafe to emphasise that the scheme
was for everyone. Photograph: Amrit Dhillon
A modest effort to push back against single-use
plastic received a boost in October, when the prime minster, Narendra Modi,
used the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth to
announce that India would phase out single-use
plastic by 2022 (though he stopped short of a blanket ban).
Later that month, during a visit to Tamil Nadu state, he went for a morning
walk by the sea at Mamallapuram and ended up “plogging” on
the beach.Ambikapur is one of the cities at the front of the charge. It boasts 100% door-to-door waste collection and segregation, and was the second-cleanest in government rankings this year. It also generates about 1.2 million rupees (13,000 pounds sterling) a month selling plastic and recycled paper to private companies. The collected plastic from the Garbage Cafe will be used to construct roads – in 2015, the Ambikapur authorities built an entire road out of plastic. “It has lasted really well, even during the monsoon rains,” said Tirkey.
The cafe’s concept of bartering food for plastic waste is catching on elsewhere, too. In Siliguri, West Bengal, the alumni of a local school are distributing free food on Saturdays to anyone who deposits half a kilo of plastic waste. At the other end of the country in Mulugu in Telangana state, the town authorities give one kilo of rice in return for one kilo of plastic. Local school children also go around collecting plastic. The district collector of Mulugu has said he wants to make his district the first in India to be free of single use plastic. The enthusiasm is proving infections: one local couple sent out wedding invitations printed on reusable cloth grocery bags.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi collects rubbish from a beach in
Mamallapuram. Photograph: AP
It has
now reached the capital, New Delhi, where municipal authorities plan to open
several Garbage Cafes along the lines of the one in Ambikapur. About 70% of the
city’s plastic waste is single use, and most of it ends up in landfills or
clogging drains. It is a particular menace for hungry cows who end up rummaging
through garbage bins and eating plastic. Last year, a vet in Delhi removed 70kg
of plastic from a cow’s stomach.Simar Malhotra, co-founder of Parvaah, a not-for-profit in New Delhi which campaigns against plastic, believes the Garbage Cafe is worth emulating across the country.
“How many schemes solve two problems in one go? The cafe tackles waste and also gives hungry people a hot meal which in turn motivates them to collect more plastic,” she said.
Tirkey stresses the importance of that loop. “What’s important is that our meals are nutritious and tasty. We didn’t want to give rubbish.”
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As the climate crisis
escalates...
… the Guardian will not stay quiet. This is our
pledge: we will continue to give global heating, wildlife extinction and
pollution the urgent attention and prominence they demand. The Guardian
recognises the climate emergency as the defining issue of our times.
We chose a different approach: to keep Guardian
journalism open for all. We don't have a paywall because we believe everyone
deserves access to factual information, regardless of where they live or what
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Our editorial independence means we are free to
investigate and challenge inaction by those in power. We will inform our
readers about threats to the environment based on scientific facts, not driven
by commercial or political interests. And we have made several important
changes to our style guide to ensure the language we use accurately reflects
the environmental catastrophe.
The Guardian believes that the problems we face
on the climate crisis are systemic and that fundamental societal change is
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around the world who are fearlessly taking a stand for future generations and
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We will also report back on our own progress as an organisation, as we take
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Rewind 2019: A Look Back at Significant Developments in Indian
Science This Year
By Dinesh C Sharma | ISW
TWC India
Representational
image: A young science enthusiast peering at the sky using a telescope
(Credits: Piyal
Bhattacharjee/TOI, BCCL, Delhi)
Chandrayaan-2
may have dominated popular imagination during 2019 despite the Vikram Lander
failing to soft-land on the lunar surface, but the year was marked by several
significant developments by Indian scientists in fields ranging from
nanotechnology to climate change.The run-up to the lunar mission with planned landing of the lander-cum-rover, the launch campaign, the journey to the lunar orbit and the landing sequence all attracted national and international attention. The year ended in triumph for citizen science when Chennai-based software engineer, Shanmuga Subramanian, discovered debris of Vikram on the lunar surface using publicly available high-resolution images of the landing site. This development comes close to a rise in citizen science initiatives in the country.
Staying with space and astronomy, star of an exoplanet was named after Indian physicist, Bibha Chowdhury. During the year, Indian software engineers got readied software that will run the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), which is slated to be the world’s largest ground-based telescope operating at optical and infrared wavelengths. Details about TMT and other international Big Science projects in which India is participating were on display in a roving exhibition called Vigyan Samagam which attracted huge crowds.
Climate change: Responding to climate change impacts being seen in the Himalayan region, Indian scientists developed a common framework for assessment of climate change vulnerability in all the states in the region, using an index based on socio-economic factors, demographic and health status, sensitivity of agricultural production, forest-dependent livelihoods, and access to information, services and infrastructure. This knowledge will now be applied to develop a countrywide map of climate vulnerability.
Scientists from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) found a link between warming of the Indo-Pacific Ocean and changing rainfall patterns in many parts of the globe, including India. The warming pools of the Indo-Pacific Ocean are expanding, and this, in turn, is altering a major weather phenomenon known as the Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO). The warming of Indo-Pacific Ocean is occurring due to man-made emissions. Another group from the Indian Institute of Science warned that as many as 55 percent of glaciers in the Satluj basin may disappear by 2050. and 97 percent by 2090, under extreme climate change scenario. Using ice thickness of glaciers as the basis, scientists also estimated that glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayas might contain 27% less ice than previously suggested.
Eco-friendly technologies: The year saw progress towards development of less polluting crackers, with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) releasing first set of ‘green crackers’. A national centre to pursue R&D in clean coal technologies was also opened in Bangalore. Eight teams of innovators from different parts of the world were selected for an international competition to develop more efficient and climate-friendly cooling solutions for residential buildings. The team will get seed money to translate their ideas into prototypes. The final winner of the Global Climate Prize will be announced in November 2020.
Representational
image: Microscopic bacteria
(Credits: IANS)
Indian
genomic data: In an important development, Delhi-based
Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) and Hyderabad-based Centre
for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) completed whole genome sequencing of
1008 Indian individuals representing diverse ethnic groups in the country. The data
will act as baseline information for developing various applications in
predictive and preventive medicine.Scientists from CCMB also found underlying genetic factors for infertility among Indian men. This knowledge could help in developing a genetic test for male infertility in near future. As part of genetic studies to trace the origins of population groups in the Indian sub-continent, it had been seen that sizeable population group of Mundas in central and northeast India shares genetic ancestry with Southeast Asian populations as well. A study revealed how and when this admixture between Mundas and Southeast Asian populations took place.
The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) launched a new human atlas initiative called Manav to develop a unified database of molecular network of all the tissues in the human body, and to derive a holistic picture of the working of human body. This mega project will collate and integrate molecular information on human tissues and organs that currently lies hidden in research articles in an unstructured and disorganized form.
Developments in gene editing: Indian scientists developed a new variant of currently popular gene editing tool, CRISPR-Cas9, and showed that it can increase precision in editing genome while avoiding unintended changes in DNA. The researchers showed that this type of gene editing can be used to correct sickle cell anemia, a genetic blood disorder. The experiments were done in human-derived cells from patients of sickle cell anemia, according to findings published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
New nano materials: Continuing their work in nano science and technology in 2019, scientists at the Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) used gold nanoparticles, and by rearranging size and gaps between them, developed a new material with unique properties like capacity to absorb light and carbon dioxide. Gold does not have these properties, and therefore, the new material has been named ‘black gold’, dye to its black appearance.
Boosting rice productivity: Scientists at the National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR) identified a gene involved in regulating the size of rice grain. The new development represents a new approach towards developing rice varieties that produce bigger and consequently heavier grains. Scientists from the Bose Institute came up with a new salt-tolerant transgenic rice plant by over-expressing a gene from a wild rice called Porteresia coarctata into the commonly used IR 64 indica rice variety.
Other important developments during the year included a new plan to establish a museum for marine archaeology at Lothal, a new satellite-based weather information service for deep sea fishers, grand challenge for cancer research to develop affordable cancer diagnostics and treatment, a white paper on e-cigarettes that led to its ban in India, and new initiative to boost malaria research in the country.
(This article was originally published on India Science Wire.)
https://weather.com/en-IN/india/science/news/2019-12-26-significant-developments-indian-science-2019
Government urged to
provide assistance to farmers
Czeriza
Valencia (The Philippine Star) - December 27, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA,
Philippines — The government should hasten the provision of assistance to rice
farmers affected by the rice tariffication law as the brunt of losses will
continue to be felt in the next five years, according to state-run think tank
Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).
Citing a
recent study, PIDS senior research fellow Roehlano Briones said that despite
the positive impact to consumers, palay farmers will experience significant
loses in the next five up to 10 years.
The
policy think tank’s study on the effects of the change in the rice trade regime
showed that imports over a decade will grow at about 29 percent, a 22-percent
difference from the projected growth of 7.1 percent without tariffication. In
the next five years, imports will grow by 52.8 percent.
On the
production side, palay production is seen to decline by 1.8 percent, a reversal
of the 2.5 percent projected growth if tariffication is not in place.
For the
five year projection, palay production is expected to decline by 5.7
percent, in contrast to a 2.8 percent growth without tariffication.
Harvest
area for palay is also seen declining by 1.1 percent within 10 years versus a
0.9 percent growth without tariffication.
Within
the next five years, a 3.3 percent decline in harvest area can be expected in
contrast to a one percent growth without tariffication.
Farmgate
prices of palay can be expected to grow by only 0.8 percent under the law in
contrast to the projected 1.6 percent growth without tariffication.
In line
with increased rice supply, retail prices will continue to plummet at a
negative 1.7 percent rate by 2030 under the law in contrast to a 0.6 percent
growth without tariffication.
Farmers’
income will grow by only 0.9 percent in 10 years’ time with the tariffication
law in place in contrast with the 2.7 percent growth projection without it.
Within
the next five years, farmers’ income growth will be flat compared with a 2.5
percent projected growth rate in the absence of the law.
Despite
these results, Briones said the government should continue to implement the
Rice Tariffication Law because of its long-term benefits to consumers who were
paying for rice at 100 percent more than other Asian countries like Vietnam and
India.
“If you
want Philippine society to benefit in the long run, we should maintain the
law,” said Briones.
At the
same time, the government should hasten the provision of compensation for
farmers affected by the reform.
“We do
not deny the analysis that clearly points out the loss suffered by palay
farmers. They actually have a point when they ask, ‘Why are we going to take a
hit for the Filipino consumer?’” said Briones.
“If the
consumers really benefit, maybe rice farmers can share in the benefit,” he
added.
The Rice
Tariffication Act amends the two-decade-old Agricultural Tariffication Act of
1996 and replaces the quantitative restrictions (QR) on rice imports with a 35
percent tariff.
Under
the new import regime, legitimate rice traders can import rice from various
sources without permit from the National Food Authority (NFA), provided they
secure a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance from the Bureau of Plant
Industry of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and pay the appropriate tariff
to the Bureau of Customs.
The law,
which had been languishing in the legislative mill for years, was hurriedly
passed early this year to drive down rising inflation.
The law
provides for a P10 billion Rice Fund to be used for productivity measures in
affected rice farms.
Additional
revenues from tariffs can be used for other purposes such as financial
assistance, expanded crop insurance on rice, and crop diversification program
for farmers who want to shift to other crops.
Hun Sen Says
Gov’t Will Not Regulate Rice Prices As Farmers Decry Lowering Profits
26 December
2019
FILE: A Cambodian vendor cleans her rice as she prepares it to sell
at a rice store in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, April 27, 2019. Cambodia's
close friend China agreed to buy 400,000 tons of rice from Cambodia for this
year and next year. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
In 2016,
the government also initiated a plan to nationalize almost all major markets
across the country, on account of elections in 2017 and criticism for market
vendors about past management.
PHNOM PENH —
Prime Minister Hun Sen said his government will
not intervene to prop up rice prices, saying Cambodia was not a “communist
country” and that the open markets will determine rice prices.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony in Phnom
Penh, Hun Sen said farmers growing high quality rice were getting the same
prices as last year, and those farmers complaining of low prices were selling
subpar quality paddy.
“The Ministry of Agriculture…has already
explained why the price of rice is falling. It has its reasons,” Hun Sen said.
He added that Cambodia was not a “communist
country” and could not regulate prices because it had adopted an open market
system.
However, the government routinely regulates
water and electricity prices, lowering the prices for certain kinds of workers
and sections of the population. It also instituted a pricing mechanism for
petroleum companies in 2016 and even capped interest rates for microfinance
loans in 2017.
In 2016, the government also initiated a plan
to nationalize almost all major markets across the country, on account of
elections in 2017 and criticism for market vendors about past management.
“We could only make an appeal, but the market
mechanism does not require the state to set the prices,” Hun Sen said on
Thursday.
Farmers have complained that rice prices have
fallen significantly this year, while millers, who buy the paddy for export,
say they do not have the working capital to purchase the rice. The government
has only been able to provide $50 million of the $200 million shortfall.
The sector was also hit with tariffs to the
European Union for three years, after Italy triggered protectionist safeguards
in the “Everything But Arms” trade preferences.
Choeun Socheat, a 41-year-old farmer in
Battambang province’s Oral commune, who said that prices had dropped by almost
half, from 1300 riel per kilogram for fragrant rice to 700 riel. Fragrant rice
is high quality rice.
“The rice buyers say they won't buy [rice],” he
said. “But, I am just selling it to the millers, even if it is cheap. I need to
sell rice to pay the fertilizer and farmland.”
Agriculture expert Yang Saing Koma said the
government needed to help under resourced farmers, whether it be pricing,
access to new technology or irrigation facilities.
He added that countries intervened in critical
agriculture sectors to prevent scarcity and food insecurity, pointing to
Thailand, Japan and Malaysia.
“It is needed if we produce less food and there
is a potential risk, such as serious natural disasters or to face economic or
other sanctions, that makes it impossible for us to produce large quantities of
rice,” he said.
Chan Sokheang, deputy director of Cambodia Rice
Federation, claimed that climate change was affecting the quality of the rice,
but that if millers had enough working capital they could buy the rice at
reasonable prices.
While
exports to the European Union have dropped this year, rice exports have been
steady on account of China significantly increasing its imports of Cambodian
rice.
Researcher
from Ghana arrives in Pendleton during Round-Up week
·
Kofi
Boateng left his home country of Ghana and arrived in town during Pendleton
Round-Up week. The Ph.D. student is living in Pendleton and working at the
Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center until March.
PENDLETON — Kofi Boateng will never forget that
he was born on a Friday.
It’s easy, he says, because boys in his native
Ghana, who are born on a Friday, are traditionally named Kofi. Boys born on
Saturday are called Kwame. And so it goes for every day of the week. Girls have
different day-related names.
That’s just one of the differences between life
in Ghana and his new world — Eastern Oregon.
In September, the 35-year-old Ph.D. student
traveled 7,000 miles from Ghana to work at the Columbia Basin Agricultural
Research Center near Pendleton. He arrived in town just as Pendleton Round-Up
week revved up. Boateng, new to rodeo, rustled up a ticket and sat in utter
fascination as he watched the wild, colorful competition of bull and bronc
riders, ropers, steer wrestlers, barrel racers and his favorite event, Indian
relay racing.
The foray into the Wild West was a prelude to
his first day at the agricultural center where he would assist in studying crop
production and greenhouse emissions. Boateng has a special interest in this
research as it relates to his own Ph.D. studies regarding rice production and
greenhouse gases.
“We want to produce more rice without damaging
the environment,” he said, “but rice production comes with greenhouse
emissions. We want more production without increased emissions.”
The Oregon research project focuses on wheat,
but Boateng says the principles of emission research are the same.
When he isn’t analyzing gas and soil samples,
he is exploring his temporary new home. The weather is colder in Eastern Oregon
than in Ghana, where the temperature ranges from around 66 degrees to 104.
Ghanan food also is hotter than American fare.
Think tank urges making compensation for rice farmers
a priority
Franco
Luna (Philstar.com) - December 26, 2019 - 8:53pm
MANILA, Philippines — Government think tank
Philippine Institute for Development Studies said government efforts should be
refocused on compensating farmers already adversely affected by the Rice
Tariffication Law.
Roehlano Briones, PIDS senior research fellow
and agricultural trade expert, said consumers would benefit more from the RTL
in the long-term with an estimated P197 billion earned “every year for the
first five years,” according to his analysis on 2019 data from the Philippine
Statistics Authority.
In ten years, the top income group would gain
some P367 billion, a stark contrast to the P87 billion earned by the bottom
income group of consumers. He also said that within that time frame, “if we
value all of those benefits and convert them as if we got them today, the
equivalent value is P 2.26 trillion.”
The PIDS study found it would be palay
farmers who would absorb the worst of the losses within the next five years.
He said that using data from before the law was
implemented was not a good basis for measuring its effects as 2018 did not
provide a sufficient picture of a "normal rice market" to begin with
due to the gap between the highest and lowest palay prices shooting up to
"almost 90 percent" for that year.
Economic sabotage
Republic Act 11203, or the Rice Liberalization
Law, replaces restrictions on rice importation with tarrifs and aims to use the
revenues to fund rice storage and research initiative programs under the Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) worth P10 billion a year.
Briones also warned that “imports over the
decade will grow at about 29 percent” and would remain on pace to reach 52.8
percent under the law.
According to the US Department of
Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service, the Philippines is already currently
the world's top importer of rice, beating out China despite its population of
more than a billion.
Lawmakers have called for the departments of
Finance and Agriculture to release funds to assist the farmers adversely
affected by the law. Farmer groups, too, say that their situation has not
improved since the passage of the law due to depressed farmgate prices of
palay, which they said has been "economic sabotage of the rice
sector."
As of November 2019, the listed farmgate price
of palay, or the price of palay purchased directly from farms, was P15.52 per
kilogram, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Farmers themselves say the actual costs, especially
in far-flung areas, are as low as P7 per kilo, much lower than their production
cost of around P12.
"[The law is] primarily triggering
depressed farm gate prices as low as P7 per kilo this year, but the retail
prices never dropped accordingly," Bantay Bigas spokesperson and Amihan
Secretary-General Cathy Estavillo said in a December 9 statement.
As early as August, Estavillo and similar
groups have been saying that the RCEF has only existed "[t]o show that
there is government support to affected rice farmers."
Negative production growth
Although defending the logic of the law itself,
Ateneo economics professor Ser Pena-Reyes, PhD in an earlier phone interview
with Philstar.com also
acknowledged that there were lapses in the aid extended to farmers as
originally promised in the law.
"You’re going to gain revenues there which
you should use to subsidize the farmers with. That needs to be implemented more
forcefully [because] you also have to make sure that you support people who
need it," Peña-Reyes said.
"We generate revenues from tariffs, [so]
why don’t you help the farmers?"
The study by PIDS also showed that the
production side would not fare that much better, either.
The think tank projected "-1.8-percent
growth under the law versus a 2.5-percentage growth without tariffication"
in ten years, while the five-year projection yielded a -5.7-percent growth
rate with tariffication and a 2.8-percent growth without it.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros was also prompted in late
December to urge the administration to include rice infrastructure initiatives
in its Build, Build, Build program to ease strains and guarantee growth in the
agriculture sector.
Even with the overwhelmingly negative results,
though, Briones said that this should still not prompt the repeal of the Rice
Tariffication Law, despite what the affected farmers in question have long been
calling for.
“We do not deny the analysis [that] clearly
points out the loss suffered by palay farmers. They actually have a point when
they ask, ‘Why are we [going to] take a hit for the Filipino consumer?’ If the
consumers really benefit, maybe they [rice farmers] can share in the benefit,”
Briones said.
The researcher, though, urged that the
government accelerate the rolling out of further RCEF funds.
Pena-Reyes, too, asserted that food security
should be the broader goal rather than focusing on rice production and
self-sufficiency. The professor echoed what economists have long been saying:
that the lethal combination of low productivity and high production costs has
always held the country's naturally-limited agriculture industry back.
"It’s not just rice that we should be
focusing on," he said. “We’re not agronomically endowed to produce
rice as much as Thailand and Vietnam do. They have the mighty Mekong River to
serve as a natural source of irrigation. We do not have that."
By the year 2030, farmgate prices are seen
to grow at only 0.8 percent under the law, in contrast to the projected 1.6
percent without it.
Retail prices, on the other hand, will shrink
to the tune of a -1.7-percent growth by 2030 under the law, as opposed to 0.6
percent growth without tariffication.
For the farmers affected by this and who still
remain without the substantial compensation recommended by the think tank, life
is only getting harder
Think tank urges making compensation for rice farmers a priority
‘Take back golden rice approval’
December 27, 2019
ENVIRONMENTAL group Greenpeace has urged the Department of
Agriculture (DA) to revoke its recent approval of the genetically modified
golden rice for human and animal consumption, citing irregularities throughout
the approval process.
The group formally submitted their appeal to
the DA’s Office of the Secretary, with several other appeals from farmer,
consumer and other public interest groups.
On December 10, the DA, through the Bureau of
Plant Industry (BPI), gave golden rice a biosafety permit for its direct use in
food, feed and for processing.
Greenpeace, however, claimed that the approval
was unwarranted due to “the incomplete data submitted by the project
proponents” and “the lack of transparency and adequate public participation
throughout the approval process.”
“The BPI’s approval of so-called ‘golden rice’
is extremely irresponsible and completely misguided,” said Wilhelmina
Pelegrina, senior campaigner at Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
“Greenpeace condemns the BPI’s systematic
disregard of the precautionary principle and of robust data that clearly show that
the safety assessments submitted by GR (golden rice) proponents are flawed. We
also believe the application was not transparent and feel that the approval was
railroaded, with no attempt to include any meaningful public consultation,” she
said.
On October 24, Greenpeace submitted to the DA,
the BPI and the Department of Health comments on the “Consolidated Report of
PhilRice and IRRI’s GR2E rice application for direct use as food and feed or
for processing.”
According to the group, the scientific critique
showed that the supporting information and studies submitted by PhilRice and
the International Rice Research Institute show deficiencies in the data
provided for the risk assessment. These deficiencies, the group noted, cast
major doubt on the assessment and the safety of “golden rice” or GR2E for food
and feed.
Furthermore, Greenpeace said that the approval
process for the golden rice failed to take into account the potential
socio-economic impact to farmers and indigenous peoples, as well as to local culture,
ethics and risks to social cohesion.
“[T]he assessment did not cover what the impact
of golden rice will be on further loss of markets for farmers due to crop
contamination from genetically modified species,” it said.
Greenpeace said that the approval process for
genetically modified organisms in the Philippines should abide by the
precautionary principle and provide standards for safety and security of the
citizens.
“There are already proven solutions to Vitamin
A deficiency which are cheaper, more practical, do not require the risky
genetic modification of food crops, and which are not beholden to giant,
foreign, agri-chemical companies,” said Pelegrina.
Golden rice is unnecessary, more so at a time
of climate emergency when resilient food and farm systems are imperative. We
believe the DA should be working with other government agencies to promote
healthy eating and healthy diets rather than promote unproven quick fixes like
‘golden rice’ that have not been proven to contain any nutritional value,” she
added.
Local farmers relying more on machinery due to labour
constraints
27 DEC 2019
Myanmar workers
collect sesame to prepare it for drying at a field on the outskirts of Nay Pyi
Taw. Photo - EPA
Due to a
shortage of manual labour, farms in two villages in upper Myanmar – Inn Kone in
Natmauk township, Magwe and Si Thar in Kyaukpadaung township, Mandalay - have
been appealing for donations from the public to keep their fields fertile for
the past three years.
The
number of young and able men to sow crop and gather the harvest in rural
Myanmar has dwindled sharply over the years, as most have left home to seek
better jobs in bigger cities and overseas. According to the Ministry of Labour,
Immigration and Population, a total of 274,890 Myanmar nationals went abroad
for work between January and October this year.
“Most
available labourers are aged between 40 and 50 and they demand a lot of money,
sometimes in advance,” said U Than Tun, a local farmer who abandoned his bean
farm because he could not find enough labourers to work for an affordable
wage.
Due to
the shortage of manpower, wages have risen to a level that is now on par with
the cost of leasing agricultural machinery such as tractors and combine
harvesters, farmers said.
While
mechanisation has helped bigger farms gain productivity and rely less on manual
labour, smaller farms are mostly unable to afford the cost of leasing and have
struggled to keep up. With wages now rising, many rural farmers are finding it
harder to manage their fields and some, like U Than Tun, have given up farming
altogether.
Mechanising
farming
Myanmar
began importing agricultural machinery in 2012. The mechanisation of farming
became widespread three years later, government data shows. Currently, there
are half a million ploughing machines, 40,000 tilling machines and 9000
harvesters in the country.
“The
reasons for transitioning to machineriesare lack of workers and to speed up the
sowing and harvesting process,” said U Soe Hlaing, director general of the
Agricultural Mechanisation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture,
Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI).
“Twelve
labourers are able to sow only an acre of paddy fields in one morning. If we
use machines, we are able to finish six acres in a day. The work can be done
much quicker using mechanised equipment and machinery,” said U Soe Hlaing.
Human
talent needed
On the
face of it, humans are at a disadvantage as machines get the work done much
faster and for the same cost. But officials said there is still a need for
farmers to man and maintain the machinery and train others to use them as
well.
“The
labour shortage can be fixed by using machinery but human knowledge is
necessary to support improvement and development of the agriculture sector over
the long term,” said Myanmar Rice Federation adviser U Min Aung.
“Machinery
cannot be used to grow all kinds of crops. We still need humans for crops that
are sown and harvested on a smaller scale compared to paddy or maize,” said U
Myo Tint Tun, deputy secretary of MOALI.
U Soe
Hlaing said “many farmers are not familiar with operating the machines and
maintaining them, resulting in less than optimal output.”
As such,
nearly 5000 farmers have attended and completed training on the operation of
agricultural machinery. Courses and workshops on how to operate and maintain
the machinery have also been scheduled to take place in various townships
across Myanmar.
Quality
lacking
There is
also demand for trained talent to help Myanmar meet international standards like
adhering to Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) and diversify into higher quality
crops that will raise export revenues and draw foreign direct investments into
the country.
At a
Yangon conference organised by EuroCham Myanmar recently, U Aung Thu, Union
Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, said Myanmar requires
support in adhering to GAP and demonstrating that farmers can remain or become
even more profitable by improving the quality of their crops.
The
minister also made a commitment to furthering collaborations between the public
and private sector in addressing issues and improving best practices in the
industry.
Myanmar
will need to lure talent to its shores to meet the needs of the agriculture
sector though, and that will take time. “Currently, only the elderly and
children remain in the villages. Most of the young people are now in China
working in watermelon fields for K3000-K5000 a day,” said U Than Tun, the local
farmer.
Ko Aung
Shin, who left his hometown in Myaing township, Magway, 20 years ago andnow
lives in Yangon, said he sees significant changes every time he visits
home.“There are fewer farm workers than before, and people no longer take much
care of their land. The farmers have great difficulties getting workers during
the harvest season,” he said.
“Job
opportunities are rare in Myanmar. In Yangon, we usually need a foreign
language to get a job. But I got to know that one can work abroad while
learning a foreign language. That’s why I’m preparing to go to work in Japan,”
said Ma Thuzar Myint, a native of Palae township, Monywa District, Sagaing.
At
first, Ma Thuzar Myint’s parents, who have been farmers all their lives, were
hesitant about their daughter leaving the country. But now that it’s clear
she’ll be better off working abroad than in the farm, they have changed their
minds.
Rice exports up 39pc
to 1.6mln tons in 5 months
ISLAMABAD: Rice exports increased 38.58 percent
in the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to the
corresponding period last fiscal, mainly owing to a strong demand for
Pakistan’s high-quality grains, latest data showed.
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) stats
presented that over 1.601 million tons of rice ($835.686 million) were exported
in July-November period of FY2020, as against 1.115 million tons ($603.149
million) in the same period a year ago.
Basmati rice exports increased 61.47 percent to
343,885 tons during the period under review compared to 190,997 tons ($193.855
million) in the July-November FY2019.
The country exported about 1.257 million tons
($522.846 million) of other varieties of rice, as against 964,539 tons
($409.294 million) in the same period last fiscal.
On a month-on-month basis, rice exports
increased 24.49 percent in November 2019 to 440,488 tons ($202.069 million),
compared to 355,488 tons ($162.321 million) sold overseas in the same month of
2018.
In November 2019, basmati rice exports also
grew 24.49 percent as 58,421 metric tons ($54.522 million) were exported,
against 29,185 tons ($28.504 million) in November last.
The food group exports during first five months
of this fiscal increased 16.20 percent over the corresponding period of the
last year.
Food commodities worth $1.757 billion were
exported in July-November FY2020 period as against $1.512 billion in the same
period of FY2019.
On the other hand, import of food commodities
during the period under review decreased 15.36 percent to $2.088 billion, as
compared to $2.467 billion in the same time last year.
Food group exports grew 16.30 percent
month-on-month as products worth $397.708 million were exported in November
this year against $341.975 million in the same month of 2018.
However, on a month-on-month basis, imports in
November 2019 increased 5.14 percent to $505.503 million as against $480.775
million, same month last year.
Shipping Activity At Port Qasim
Four ships Mol Globe, Diamand
Sky, white Purl and bulk Carina carrying Conatiners, Rice, LPG Mix and Coal
were arranged berthing at Qasim International Container Terminal, MW-2, EVTL
and Pakistan International Bulk Terminal respectively during last 24 hours
KARACHI, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News
- 26th Dec, 2019 ) :Four ships Mol Globe, Diamand Sky, white Purl and bulk
Carina carrying Conatiners, Rice, LPG Mix and
Coal were arranged berthing at Qasim International Container Terminal, MW-2,
EVTL and Pakistan International
Bulk Terminal respectively during last 24 hours.
Meanwhile Four more ships named Al Salam-II,
African Tern, Almahboobah and Stanley Park
with Gas Oil, Steel Coil, ETC
and Phosphoric Acid also arrived at Outer anchorage of Port Qasim during
the same period.
A total of Eleven ships were engaged at PQA
berths to load/offload Containers, Coal Rice, Plam Kernel, LPG Mix, LNG
and Palm oil respectively. Out of them, a container vessel
Mol Globe sailed out to sea from QICT on
Thursday morning, and Six more ships, SM Charleston,
Maersk Chicago, Feronia, Umm Bab, Amber Sun and White Purl are
expected to sail from QICT,
PQEPT< EETL, FOTCO and EVTL on the same day in the
aftrernoon.
Cargo throughput during last 24 hours stood at
180,630 tonnes, comprisng 103,487 tonnes imports cargo and 77,143 tonnes export
cargo, inclusive of containerized cargo carried in 3,723 containers (TEUs), 926
TEUs imports and 2,797 TEUs exports) was handled
at the Port.
Five ships named Hoegh Garnet. Nagoya Express,
Maersk Benton, Song Wind, and Almehboobah scheduled to load/offlaod Containers, ETC,
Palm oil and LNG are expected take berth at QICT,
PGPCL, EVTL and LCTrespectively on December 26, 2019
Over 1.601 million
tons rice worth $835.686 million exported
APP
ISLAMABAD
Rice exports from the country during first five
months of current financial year increased by 38.58% as compared the exports of
the corresponding period of last year.
Over 1.601 million tons of rice valuing
$835.686 million was exported from July-November, 2019 as against the exports
of 1.115 million tons worth of $ 603.149 million of same period of last year,
according the trade data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
Meanwhile, country earned $313.017 million by
exporting about 343,885 metric tons of basmati rice during the period under
review as compared the exports of 190,997 metric tons valuing $193.855 million
of same period of last year.
The exports of basmati rice from the country
grew by 61.47% during last five months as compared to the exports of the same
period of last year, the data revealed.
On month on month basis, the exports of rice
form the country grew by 24.49% in November, 2019 as about 440,488 metric tons
of rice worth $202.069 million tons rice exported as compared to exports of
355,488 metric tons valuing $162.321 million of same month of last year, it
added.
In November, 2019 exports of basmati rice also
grew by 24.49% as 58,421 metric tons of basmati rice worth of 54.522 million
exported as against exports of 29,185 metric tons costing $ 28.504 million of
same month of last year.
It may be recalled that food group exports from
the country during first five months of current financial year increased by
16.20% as compared the exports of the corresponding period of last year. Food
commodities worth $1.757 billion exported from July-November, 2019-20 as
against the exports of $ 1.512 billion of same period of last year.
On the other hand, import of the food
commodities into the country during the period under review decreased by 15.36%
as it was recorded at $2.088 billion as compared to imports of $ 2.467 billion
of same period of last year, it added.
Meanwhile, on month on month basis, the exports
of food commodities registered growth of 16.30% as food products worth $397.708
million exported in November, this year which was stood at US $ 341.975 million
of same month of last year.
However, the imports into the country during
the month under review increased by 5.14% as it went up to $505.503 million in
November this year as against US $ 480.775 million of same month of last year.
https://nation.com.pk/27-Dec-2019/over-1-601-million-tons-rice-worth-dollar-835-686-million-exported
SEARCA experts share Rice Tariffication
perspective
posted December 26, 2019 at 09:30 pm
by Brenda Jocson
by Brenda Jocson
Los
Baños, Laguna―Diverse perspectives on the Rice Tariffication Law emerged at the
session on regional implication of the Philippine RTL.
The
session was convened by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study
and Research in Agriculture during the recently held Inaugural Rice Research
Symposium of the World Rice Conference organized by The Rice Trader.
Republic
Act 11203 or RTL was recently passed with the purpose of lifting existing
quantitative import restrictions on rice. It has amassed mixed reactions from
various stakeholders of the local rice industry, raising the question as to
whether it is indeed beneficial for the Philippine rice industry.
According
to Searca, this is so because of the current influx of imported rice and the
consequent plunge in domestic farmgate prices, nonetheless, the current push
for the establishment of an ASEAN common market has steered regional strategies
toward promoting and strengthening intra-ASEAN trade and market integration.
The
SEARCA forum sought to assess the policy implications on regional trade, rice
reserves, food security, agriculture and rural development, and rice farmers’
income and competitiveness in relation to the implementation of the RTL.
Dr.
Glenn B. Gregorio, SEARCA director, said that the medium by which people
are informed about the RTL is also of crucial importance to ensure that
stakeholders are given the proper information about the law.
“[Thus]
there is that need to discuss and determine the right price and the right
rice,” Dr. Gregorio said.
The
Philippine Institute for Development Studies has provided an overview of the
immediate aftermath and potential long-term impact of rice industry
liberalization in the Philippines.
Dr.
Roehlano M. Briones, Senior Research Fellow at the PIDS, said that despite the
immediate decline in farmgate and retail prices of rice, the implementation of
the RTL or liberalization of the industry, in the long-term, can benefit the
society as a whole.
In
terms of regional trade, the UP School of Economics said: “With the
liberalization of rice import policies in the Philippines, we can possibly
experience an increase of around 10% in rice imports for local consumption.”
Dr.
Ramon L. Clarete, UPSE Professor, explained that the expected boost in
productivity and efficiency in rice farming (i.e., milling and logistics) will
encourage modernization and farm aggregation as part of the productivity effect
of import liberalization.
“We
raise the average productivity of the industry and its value chain by getting
rid of the marginal producers on which for a long time the quantitative
restrictions has been designed to protect,” Dr. Clarete said.
Nonetheless,
Dr. Clarete clarified that the marginal producers can still be part of the
industry as the farm can actually boost its productivity if it joins an
alliance of several others and get their aggregated farm managed
professionally.
An
associate research fellow from Nanyang Technological University of Singapore
claimed that climate change and the failure of rice production systems to
upgrade or adapt has caused a sudden reversal of the state of undernourishment
in the region.
Describing
food security in Southeast Asia as a U-shaped “love-hate relationship, Jose Ma.
Luis P. Montesclaros of NTU cited that the lack of exposure to trade
competition in markets, caused by quantitative restrictions such as the import
quotas, has prevented rice production systems to upgrade and adapt.
He
explained that for the rest of the region, the Philippines’ opening up to more
rice imports may cause international demand to expand faster than supply (short
or medium-run), harming the growing number of urban consumers in rice-importing
and -exporting countries.
Top 10
scientific-technological events in Vietnam in 2019
Friday, December 27, 2019 14:36
The Vietnamese Science & Technology
Journalists’ Club yesterday announced the result of the voting for the 10 most
significant scientific-technological events in 2019. These events happen in
various aspects of state policies, social science, natural science, research
implementation, globalization.
Representatives of scientific researchers,
teams, and individuals received the certificate of honor in the event to
announced the top 10 scientific-technological events in Vietnam
This is the 14th year that the
voting has been held, attracting the participation of nearly 60 journalists and
reporters in the scientific-technological field coming from 30 news agencies,
newspapers. The following list ranges from the first position to the tenth.
1. Resolution No.52 about the Fourth Industrial
Revolution (Industry 4.0), issued by the Politburo
General Secretary of the Communist Party of
Vietnam cum President of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong represented the Politburo to
approve Resolution No.52-NQ/TW on ‘Guidelines and Policies for Active
Participation in the 4th Industrial Revolution’ (Resolution No.52)
on September 27, 2019.
This Resolution clearly states that Industry
4.0 brings about both opportunities and challenges for each nation,
organization, and individual. It has powerful effects on all aspects of the
economy and society.
Therefore, it is essential that Vietnam
actively participate in the revolution. This is a strategic mission, both
short-term and long-term, of the whole community, especially the political
system as it closely connects with the globalization process. Vietnam must be
fully aware of the nature of Industry 4.0 to make crucial breakthroughs in its
socio-economic development.
2. National scientific conference
‘Sino-Vietnamese War – 40th Anniversary’
On February 15, 2019, the Vietnam Academy of
Social Sciences cooperated with the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences
to organize a national conference ‘Sino-Vietnamese War – 40th Anniversary’,
attracting the participation of several renowned scientists and lecturers from
prestigious universities and research institutes nationwide, veterans of the
War.
The conference honored all citizens who bravely
fought and died for the war against China to protect the Vietnamese border. It
also served to boost patriotism in the society, especially the young. It
mentioned the valuable lesson of solidarity and its implementation in today’s
community in order for Vietnam to grow sustainably, of caution against all
kinds of harmful plots to destroy peace in the country.
3. Successful manufacturing and launch of
MicroDragon satellite
On January 18, 2019, the made-in-Vietnam
satellite MicroDragon was successfully launched into the orbit in Japan. This
is a historic moment of the Vietnamese space industry, signaling the ability to
master observation satellite and telecommunications technologies of the country
(from the design, data collection, part assembling, ground system installation
stages) in order to serve commercial purposes.
The MicroDragon satellite was designed and
created by Vietnamese engineers, with the support of Japanese experts. Its
goals are to capture pictures of seawater colors in coastal areas to evaluate
quality and components there in order to timely inform Vietnam’s aquaculture
sector.
With the maturity of the space industry,
Vietnam will become more active in preparation for potential natural disasters.
4. Grand opening of Vietnam Data Exchange
Platform (VDXP) and National Public Service Portal (NPSP)
On March 12, 2019, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan
Phuc and leaders of ministries, state organizations pressed the button to
formally launch VDXP.
VDXP is the foundation for the digitalization
process of the government, aiming at becoming a paperless and efficient
government in the future. VNPT is responsible for component installation, and
the Government Office hires the hardware in a long term.
On December 9, 2019, NPSP at the address
dichvucong.gov.vn was launched to support citizens and businesses to perform
administrative procedures more conveniently.
It had 6 main sections of the national database
on administrative procedures; one-time sign-in for all procedures; online
payment; feedback and suggestion submission; integration of administrative
services among ministries, industries, and local authorities; online support.
At the moment, NPSP offers 8 public services at
63 areas.
5. Rice type ST25 selected as the best in the
world
In the 2019 World Rice Conference held in
Manila of the Philippines from November 10 to 13, 2019, the rice type ST25 won
the title ‘World Best Rice’.
ST25 is cross-bred using the improved back
crossing technique by a research team from the southern province of Soc Trang,
namely Ho Quang Cua, Dr. Tran Tan Phuong, and Nguyen Thu Huong.
The ST rice types, with the latest version of
ST25, are high-yield climate-resilient ones that can adapt to saline, alum soil
and resist pest. It is long-grain white rice with an aroma of pineapple. It can
provide 2-3 crops per year.
6. First successful mobile call in Vietnam
using 5G network
On May 10, 2019, Viettel successfully made the
first call on its 5G mobile network with an Ericsson device. This event belongs
to the piloting program of Viettel to evaluate possibilities of applying
technology in the Vietnamese reality.
Viettel aims at being the pioneer in developing
and implementing cutting edge technologies, including 5G technology, in the
nation to keep up with the world in order to serve the digitalization process
and be well prepared for Industry 4.0.
Viettel’s engineers are now researching for
more innovative methods to conveniently install 5G stations.
This event marks Vietnam as one of the first
countries in the world to successfully pilot 5G technology.
7. Grand opening of DNA Analysis Center for
skeletons of martyrs
On July 25, 2019, the DNA Analysis Center under
the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology formally operated, right in the
event of the 72th anniversary of Viet Nam's War Invalids and Martyrs Day. It
aims at finding the identification of martyrs via their skeletons.
At the moment, the center is closely
cooperating with large organizations from the US like the International
Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), the Armed Force DNA Identification Lab
(AFDIL) and QIAGEN from Germany in projects such as Project USAID to help
improve technological capability and precision in detecting the identity of
dead people.
Since this August, the Center has processed
more than 200 samples per month, with an impressive success.
8. Formal introduction of IVACFLU-S to protect
people from influenza
On January 15, 2019, the Institute of Vaccines
and Medical Biologicals (IVAC) officially announced the use of IVACFLU-S,
produced by this Institute. This is the first made-in-Vietnam vaccine to
protect users from the three most common flu viruses of A/H1N1/09; A/H3N2 and
B.
From 2003, when the A/H5N1 epidemic spread
widely in the world including Vietnam, the Ministry of Health asked that all
vaccine manufacturing institutes concentrated on the research and development
of an effective domestic vaccine.
In May 2018, IVACFLU-S has been proved to
satisfy the safety and immune demands at the rate of 60.3 – 86.6 percent (equal
to the one from Europe). This vaccine is produced under the form of injection
solution for people 18 – 60 years old. Around 1.5 doses can be manufactured per
year.
9. Ramanujan Awards presented to Prof. Pham
Hoang Hiep
In October 2019, the International Center for
Theoretical Physics (ICTP) delivered the 2019 Ramanujan Award to Prof. Pham
Hoang Hiep from the Mathematics Institute under the Vietnam Academy of Science
and Technology.
Prof. Pham Hoang Hiep is honored because of his
valuable contribution to the field of complex analysis, and in particular to
pluripotential theory, where he obtained an important result on the
singularities of plurisubharmonic functions; complex Monge-Ampère equations and
log canonical thresholds, which have important applications in algebraic and
complex Kähler geometry. The prize is also in recognition of Dr. Pham's
important organizational role in the advancement of mathematics in his home
country, Vietnam.
The professor had nearly 40 articles printed in
international mathematics journals, 2 textbooks for graduate and post-graduate
programs.
10. First time Techfest Vietnam introduced to
the world
Techfest Vietnam 2019, a festival for
innovative startup in the country, happened from December 4-6, themed ‘Vietnam:
Globalise’. It was able to collect the best startup ideas in the whole nation
via several contests. It could attract the interest of investors through the
process of sending domestic businesses to developed nations for training
sessions.
2019 is the first year that the Ministry of
Science and Technology has held Techfest in other countries like the US (from
September 7-14), the Republilc of Korea (from November 3-9), and Singapore
(from November 10-14) to introduce potential startups and the Vietnamese
innovative startup ecosystems.
In the event, several discussions, seminars
with practical topics were held simultaneously. Many investors, managers,
successful startup entrepreneurs, experts took part to discuss matters and
shared experience, boosting the strong connections between the Vietnamese and
the global community.
It aims at helping Vietnam to achieve
sustainable development.
