MOU study finds the fingerprint
of paddy rice in atmospheric methane concentration dynamics
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
NORMAN, OKLA. - A University of
Oklahoma-led study shows that paddy rice (both area and plant growth) is
significantly related to the spatial-temporal dynamics of atmospheric methane
concentration in monsoon Asia, where 87% of paddy rice fields are situated in
the world.
Methane is one of the major
greenhouse gases. It has a lifetime of 12.4 years and its global warming
potential is approximately 86 times higher than carbon dioxide over a 20-year
period.
"Rice paddy is a large
source of methane emission; however, it has been a challenging task to
attribute relative role of rice paddy in the spatial distribution, seasonal
dynamics and interannual variation of atmospheric methane concentration as
measured by spaceborne sensors," said Xiangming Xiao, a member of the
Earth Observation and Modeling Facility at OU and a professor in the Department
of Microbiology and Plant Biology who coordinated this interdisciplinary study.
Over the past few years,
researchers at OU developed annual paddy rice maps at 500-meter spatial
resolution and quantified the spatial-temporal changes in rice paddy area in
monsoon Asia during 2000-2015. By combining the annual paddy rice maps, rice
plant growth data and atmospheric methane concentration (XCH4) data,
researchers found strong spatial consistencies between rice paddy area and XCH4
and seasonal consistencies between rice plant growth and XCH4, including both
single rice and double rice fields. Results from the study also yielded a
decreasing trend in rice paddy area in monsoon Asia since 2007. This suggests
that the change in rice paddy area could not be one of the major drivers for
the renewed XCH4 growth since 2007.
The findings of this study
demonstrate the importance of satellite-based paddy rice datasets in
understanding the spatial-temporal dynamics of XCH4 in monsoon Asia. These
annual maps of paddy rice are the first of their kind and could be used to
further improve simulations of biogeochemical models that estimate methane
emission from paddy rice fields, which are critically needed for analysis of
spaceborne XCH4 data and simulations of atmospheric chemistry and transport models.
###
This OU-led study,
"Fingerprint of rice paddies in spatial-temporal dynamics of atmospheric
methane concentration in monsoon Asia," was published by Nature
Communications. The lead author of the paper, Geli Zhang, completed a large
portion of the work as a post-doctoral researcher at OU and recently returned
to work at China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. Three graduate
students, including two from OU, have also made contributions to the study.
For more information about this
study, please contact Professor Xiao at xiangming.xiao@ou.edu.
Okey Ikenna, 28, teases a grain
of rice with his fingers from a bowl in his grocery store in Lagos. The grain
is a blend of milk-white and scanty black seeds in a bag embossed with flower
patterns.
It’s part of a new economic
design that Nigeria is molding. Since the oil boom of the 1970s, Nigeria
has built its economy around crude, which contributes 90
percent of the nation’s external earnings and 70 percent of its total revenues.
In the process, Africa’s largest economy neglected agribusiness and domestic
food production, even as its population soared. By 2015, only 30 percent of the
7 million metric tonnes of rice — the country’s staple food grain — consumed in
Nigeria was produced locally, the rest imported. But the serial shocks the
country’s economy has suffered because of fluctuations in global oil prices is
now forcing a rethink.
An instructor teaches rice
cultivation for the Competitive African Rice Initiative in Kebbi State in
northwestern Nigeria.
SOURCE THOMAS
IMO/PHOTOTHEK VIA GETTY
Private sector investments,
government regulations, border control, loans and even jingles are driving a
quiet but rapid rice revolution that’s fast helping Nigeria meet its food needs and could
soon turn into a major export-based revenue earner. Africa’s richest man, Aliko
Dangote, has promised to invest $1 billion in rice production. He started in
2017, with the first major private production of an annual 225,000 metric tons
of parboiled rice. In November, another wealthy businessman, Cosmas
Maduka, launched a rice processing mill that’s expected to produce 120,000
metric tons by the end of 2020.
IN THE PAST, THERE WAS NO WAY MOST OF THE
RICE IN MY SHOP WOULD HAVE BEEN MADE IN NIGERIA.
OKEY IKENNA, GROCERY STORE OWNER IN LAGOS.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of
Nigeria won’t facilitate foreign currency transactions for imported foods,
including rice. And to cement that move, Nigeria’s land borders with her West
African neighbors have been closed to reduce smuggling. Since 2015, the
government has offered loans to small-scale farmers. It is partnering with the
World Bank to introduce jingles and programs on the radio to help rural farmers
relearn their approach to the use of different seed varieties, pest control,
fertilizers and chemicals, while also educating them about climate change.
These steps are encouraging local
rice brands to take off like never before. New brands such as Mama Choice, Mama
Pride and Pure Nigeria have just emerged over the past year.
“In the past, there was no way
most of the rice in my shop would have been made in Nigeria,” says Ikenna,
tapping bags of local rice stacked on a wooden threshold. “But it’s
happening.”
A worker at the Labana Rice
Limited mill in Birnin Kebbi, Nigeria.
SOURCE THOMAS
IMO/PHOTOTHEK VIA GETTY
The results are showing up
quickly. The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), estimates that
Nigeria’s annual rice production has risen to 8 million metric tons, and at
current growth rates could reach 18 million metric tonnes by 2023, which would
allow significant exports after feeding the country’s 190 million people. By
reducing Nigeria’s dependence on crude, the crop would fortify the economy
against shocks in the global oil market, drive economic diversification,
improve food security and create new jobs.
Changing a giant nation’s
approach to its economy isn’t easy. For decades, Nigeria ploughed crude oil revenue into food
imports even as domestic food production declined. Young people moved away from
farms to instead take up small-paying jobs in cities. Smallholder farmers
relied heavily on family labor and crude tools. In most cases, they produced
just enough to feed their families. “Farming rice was torture in the past,”
says Onyeneke Okorie, a rice farmer based in Nigeria’s southeastern state of
Enugu. “It scared people.”
Local brands sold poorly because
imported rice was cheaper, as well as better processed and packaged. Then there
was a mentality crisis. “People loved anything foreign – not for genuine
reasons,” says Omolehin Raphael, professor of agriculture at Federal University
Oye-Ekiti. “They believed it was better.”
The efforts at reversing Nigeria’s
apathy toward local production have been anchored in making agriculture
attractive for young people and major investors who can help ensure that both
the quantity and quality of domestically grown rice improve. “The agri-food
sector in Nigeria as a whole is expanding,” says Kwaw Andam, Nigeria Program
Leader and research fellow with the International Food Policy Research
Institute. He links recent progress to “government protection of domestic
production.”
For sure, there is still much to
learn from global competitors, says Andam, before Nigeria can fully realize “a
thriving, competitive domestic rice sector.” Nigeria has arable land,
irrigation opportunities and a pool of youth. But there’s more to do. “The
countries that have become competitive – mainly Asian countries –invested
heavily in research and development and infrastructure.”
The effectiveness of some of the
government’s measures is also unclear. Figures from the Thai Rice Exporters
Association shows that Nigeria’s rice imports from Thailand fell by 95 percent,
from 644,131 tons in September 2015 to around 23,000 tons in September 2017.
Thailand is the world’s second-largest rice producer and was Nigeria’s biggest
source of imported rice. Yet at the same time, Benin’s rice imports from Thailand
doubled in this period, leading to suspicions that smugglers were using the
small country to illegally bring the grain into Nigeria, despite border
restrictions. And the 2015 loan scheme has failed in several parts of the
country, with the government unable to recoup large amounts.
Still, there’s a shift for the
better that’s finally turning Nigerian rice farming into an attractive
profession, says Okorie. “We now can compete with imported rice,” he
says.
Quest for rice export
• Nigeria should make haste
slowly
Editorial
For a country that only recently ranked among the world’s
leading importers of rice, the quest for domestic sufficiency in record time
would ordinarily be deemed admirable. Not so the frenetic race to join the
league of exporters, even when basic infrastructure are far from being in place.
That would be akin to putting the cart before the horse.
That perhaps best describes the press conference in Lagos last
week during which an apparently upbeat agriculture and rural development
minister, Muhammad Sabo Nanono, announced that the country was ready to join
the league of rice exporters. He listed, among his reasons, the country’s 11
rice milling plants with the capacity to produce from 180 tonnes to 350 tonnes
of rice per day; another mill with a capacity to produce 400 tonnes of rice per
day expected to come on board soon, and this aside other upcoming 34 smaller
mills and countless other clusters in different parts of the country.
According to the minister, “Before the closure of our land
borders, most of these rice milling plants were partially operating, but now,
they not only operate in full capacity but are also expanding. And if we
maintain the momentum in the next two years, we may export rice to other
countries”.
Like his predecessor, the minister may have succumbed to the
pressure to overstate the reality of possible achievement.
No doubt, a lot of money has been poured into the CBN-initiated
Anchor Borrowers Scheme. As at May, last year, over N190 billion had reportedly
been disbursed to more than 1.1 million smallholder farmers through the
programme. In all, over 1.3 million hectares of land were said to have been
brought under cultivation.
Overall however, the indication is that the country still has a
long way to go. The US Department of Agriculture and the World Markets and
Trade, for instance, both put the total rice production at 3.7 million tonnes
annually – and this against an annual demand of 6.4 million tonnes
(representing 20% of Africa’s consumption). Unfortunately, the figures from the
Federal Government have remained one of wild guestimates.
However the government tried to wish the problems away, the
truth of the matter is that they have endured. Top on the list is relatively
low output. Here, mechanisation remains a major drawback at 0.3 hp/ha, relative
to 2.6hp/ha in India and 8 hp/ha in China.
In a rather graphic picture, PWC – the global accounting firm –
says that increasing the mechanisation rate from 0.3hp/ha to 0.8hp/ha in the
next five years can double rice production to 7.2 million tonnes. That, says
the firm, would involve tripling the current stock of machinery over the same
period. At the moment, that remains a tall order.
Add to the aforementioned the emerging complaints about the
quality of local rice on offer. As it seems, there can be no further shying
away from asking tough questions – about what our millers are doing to ensure
that the locally produced rice is world-class, both in quality and packaging.
As for the farmers, they certainly can do with more help in
extension services to boost output and to cut post-harvest losses. Moreover, to
the extent that the current credit architecture for rice remains not only ad
hoc but restrictive – there is a lot to be said of the role of the apex bank as
sole promoter of the anchor borrower initiative.
The giant killer of course remains smuggling. By closing the
borders, the government has since demonstrated its resolve to tame the monster.
Unfortunately, despite government’s efforts to make our ECOWAS neighbours
see reason, they have remained unyielding, if not recalcitrant. Since the
closure cannot be permanent, the government ought to be considering targeted
measures as alternative to punish non-compliance.
The government will do well to address the identified challenges
first before venturing into the highly competitive export market. In other
words, rather than setting unrealistic time frame for itself, the quest should
be more about developing a sustainable eco-system for the entire sector. That
will not only put the country in better stead to sustain the current momentum
but will supply the launch pad for our export aspirations.
Farmers benefit from China-Myanmar
agriculture cooperation
·
ASEAN+
·
Monday, 03 Feb 2020
Farmers seen working in a rice
field on the outskirts of Yangon. There has been quality yields for farmers in
Myanmar after they had been planting paddy seed varieties from China and
practiced related farming techniques since 2017 due to the healthy working
relationships between the two countries. - AFP/Xinhua/ANN
NANNING/NAYPYITAW:
As the time for growing rice in Myanmar approaches, Kyaw Thet Naing, a farmer
who lives on the outskirts of the nation's capital Nay Pyi Taw, already has
high hope for his harvest.
His confidence has grown from experiencing years of rich and quality yields on his five acres of rice, where he has kept planting paddy seed varieties from China and practiced related farming techniques since 2017.
His confidence has grown from experiencing years of rich and quality yields on his five acres of rice, where he has kept planting paddy seed varieties from China and practiced related farming techniques since 2017.
"With our traditional ways
of cultivation, we would normally produce about 60 baskets (1,260 kg) per acre.
With China's assistance, we have added nearly 50 baskets per acre," he
said.
In the past year, rice seeds and related techniques from China have become widely accepted among nearby farmers, he added.
In 2017, the Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GAAS) in Nanning, capital of southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, worked with agricultural authorities in Myanmar as well as companies from both sides to build several research platforms in Nay Pyi Taw.
The platforms, which aim to introduce, select, demonstrate and publicize high-quality crop varieties from both countries, launched research projects targeting new ways to plant and grow crops more efficiently and with greener methods in pest and disease prevention and control.
Yang Mingtong, chairman of the Guangxi Haokay Biotechnology Co. Ltd., one of the contributors to the platform, said that the company has been conducting tests and plant trials for about 102 Chinese crop varieties, including rice, corn, cucurbit and vegetables, in Myanmar to see if they are suited to the local climate and soil conditions.
"For now, two rice varieties and two corn varieties we developed have received plantation permits in Myanmar," said Yang, adding that the high-yield hybrid rice from China helps improve the taste of Myanmar rice, allowing it to be sold at higher prices.
Ruan Shiyun, a farmer from a village near Nanning, planted two new varieties last year. "The yield increased substantially to around 3,000 kg per acre, versus 2,100 to 2,400 kg per acre in previous years, with improved disease-and-lodging resistance," he said.
The new varieties were hybridized from rice introduced from Myanmar and local ones in the China-ASEAN crop experimental station in Nanning.
Introducing Myanmar crops to China or vise versa benefits farmers from both sides, said Yang, noting that his company, among others, has tested 39 crop varieties from Myanmar for planting in Guangxi.
Meanwhile, bilateral exchanges and cooperation among scientists and technical personnel have laid a solid foundation for long-term cooperation between the two countries.
Earlier in January, Myanmar researcher Cho Cho San concluded her one-year exchange as a beneficiary of the ASEAN Talented Young Scientists (Guangxi) Program in GAAS and went back to Myanmar.
She now serves as a plant pathologist for the Department of Agricultural Research in Myanmar Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI).
For the past two years, hundreds of Myanmar students and scientists gained opportunities to study and conduct research in China under programs sponsored by the Chinese government and companies.
Guangxi, the only region in China that boasts water and land gateways to ASEAN countries, attracted nine young scientists from Myanmar to advance their research. Most of them study bio-science, a field closely related to agriculture.
Soe Thet Naung, the Myanmar Consulate General to Nanning, said that Guangxi's climate is similar to that of the Shan and Kachin states of Myanmar, an aspect that could help fructify and deepen bilateral exchanges in agricultural research. He highly valued the bilateral cooperation in agricultural research between China and Myanmar. - Xinhua/Asian News Network
In the past year, rice seeds and related techniques from China have become widely accepted among nearby farmers, he added.
In 2017, the Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GAAS) in Nanning, capital of southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, worked with agricultural authorities in Myanmar as well as companies from both sides to build several research platforms in Nay Pyi Taw.
The platforms, which aim to introduce, select, demonstrate and publicize high-quality crop varieties from both countries, launched research projects targeting new ways to plant and grow crops more efficiently and with greener methods in pest and disease prevention and control.
Yang Mingtong, chairman of the Guangxi Haokay Biotechnology Co. Ltd., one of the contributors to the platform, said that the company has been conducting tests and plant trials for about 102 Chinese crop varieties, including rice, corn, cucurbit and vegetables, in Myanmar to see if they are suited to the local climate and soil conditions.
"For now, two rice varieties and two corn varieties we developed have received plantation permits in Myanmar," said Yang, adding that the high-yield hybrid rice from China helps improve the taste of Myanmar rice, allowing it to be sold at higher prices.
Ruan Shiyun, a farmer from a village near Nanning, planted two new varieties last year. "The yield increased substantially to around 3,000 kg per acre, versus 2,100 to 2,400 kg per acre in previous years, with improved disease-and-lodging resistance," he said.
The new varieties were hybridized from rice introduced from Myanmar and local ones in the China-ASEAN crop experimental station in Nanning.
Introducing Myanmar crops to China or vise versa benefits farmers from both sides, said Yang, noting that his company, among others, has tested 39 crop varieties from Myanmar for planting in Guangxi.
Meanwhile, bilateral exchanges and cooperation among scientists and technical personnel have laid a solid foundation for long-term cooperation between the two countries.
Earlier in January, Myanmar researcher Cho Cho San concluded her one-year exchange as a beneficiary of the ASEAN Talented Young Scientists (Guangxi) Program in GAAS and went back to Myanmar.
She now serves as a plant pathologist for the Department of Agricultural Research in Myanmar Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI).
For the past two years, hundreds of Myanmar students and scientists gained opportunities to study and conduct research in China under programs sponsored by the Chinese government and companies.
Guangxi, the only region in China that boasts water and land gateways to ASEAN countries, attracted nine young scientists from Myanmar to advance their research. Most of them study bio-science, a field closely related to agriculture.
Soe Thet Naung, the Myanmar Consulate General to Nanning, said that Guangxi's climate is similar to that of the Shan and Kachin states of Myanmar, an aspect that could help fructify and deepen bilateral exchanges in agricultural research. He highly valued the bilateral cooperation in agricultural research between China and Myanmar. - Xinhua/Asian News Network
U.S.
Rice Exports May Gain Edge as Australian Drought Reduces Production
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA -- Last week, USDA Foreign Agricultural
Service (FAS) published a report projecting the lowest domestic rice
production in decades, as the country enters its third consecutive year of
drought conditions. Australian rice production has grown in recent years,
concentrated primarily in the states of New South Wales and Victoria, and
targeting medium and short grain varieties bound for Asian export markets.
In a normal year, Australian rice competes with U.S.-grown temperate japonica in markets like Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and others because of some logistical advantages and similar varieties. The recently implemented Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (the successor of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, without the U.S.) provides Australia a quota for access into Japan, further complicating that market for U.S. exports.
Australia's 2020 production is projected to be nearly one-tenth of its 10-year average, primarily due to increased water prices, estimated to be 19-times higher in January 2020 than in January 2017. With lower production comes lower exports, projected to be 20,000 tons, down from 262,000 tons just two years ago.
"Australia's rice consumption is expected to fall as a result of the small crop, and nearly all of consumption will need to be met with imports," said the report. "Because of the dearth of domestic rice, mills have had to lay off staff in Australia and sharply reduce milling operations."
USA Rice Director of Asia Promotion Programs Jim Guinn said, "As the U.S. rice industry has had its share of weather challenges over the years, we know just how debilitating it can be to domestic and export markets as well as operational infrastructure. That said, after two years of seriously reduced exports by Australia, the U.S. may earn back some market share in those countries where we're both doing business."
In a normal year, Australian rice competes with U.S.-grown temperate japonica in markets like Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and others because of some logistical advantages and similar varieties. The recently implemented Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (the successor of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, without the U.S.) provides Australia a quota for access into Japan, further complicating that market for U.S. exports.
Australia's 2020 production is projected to be nearly one-tenth of its 10-year average, primarily due to increased water prices, estimated to be 19-times higher in January 2020 than in January 2017. With lower production comes lower exports, projected to be 20,000 tons, down from 262,000 tons just two years ago.
"Australia's rice consumption is expected to fall as a result of the small crop, and nearly all of consumption will need to be met with imports," said the report. "Because of the dearth of domestic rice, mills have had to lay off staff in Australia and sharply reduce milling operations."
USA Rice Director of Asia Promotion Programs Jim Guinn said, "As the U.S. rice industry has had its share of weather challenges over the years, we know just how debilitating it can be to domestic and export markets as well as operational infrastructure. That said, after two years of seriously reduced exports by Australia, the U.S. may earn back some market share in those countries where we're both doing business."
USA Rice Daily
Watch one year in the life of
a Northern California rice farm in one minute
JANUARY 31, 2020 08:34 AM
A year in the life of a Northern
California rice farm in one minute
The California Rice Commission released a video of all that
happens on a rice farm throughout the year. The clips were taken at the McKenzie
family rice farm in Sutter County.
A year in the life of a Northern
California rice farm in one minute
The California Rice Commission released a video of all that
happens on a rice farm throughout the year. The clips were taken at the
McKenzie family rice farm in Sutter County.
The California Rice Commission
released a video on Thursday showing all that happens on a rice farm throughout
the year.
The time-lapse video used clips
taken at the McKenzie family rice farm in Sutter County. Jim Morris, communications
manager for the California Rice Commission, shot the footage and edited the
video.
The nation’s second-largest rice
producing state, California cultivates about 500,000 acres of rice, he said.
Each year, the state produces more than 4 billion pounds of rice, and 97
percent of the state’s rice acreage is in the Sacramento Valley.
Morris said California rice
growing provides 25,000 jobs and adds more than $5 billion a year to the
economy.
As a side benefit, area rice fields
are home to nearly 230 wildlife species.
Morris noted Sacramento Valley
rice fields provide more than 60 percent of the fall and winter diet for the 7
million ducks and geese that migrate through the Central Valley.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article239837788.html
Pak can export quality rice
to curb food shortage in Africa
By admin
February 1, 2020
Observer Report
Nairobi
Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) has organized
Pakistan-Africa Trade Development Conference on 30th and 31st January 2020 in
Nairobi, Kenya. Following dignitaries were present on this occasion: This
Conference was attended by huge number of delegates from many countries of the
world belong to different business & trade sectors. As Kenya is the largest
buyer of Pakistani rice, Pakistani rice sector was given special preference in
this conference.
Following members from Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan were present in this Conference. On behalf of REAP, Rafique Suleman, Ex-Chairman REAP has given a presentation on Pakistani rice sector. He said that Pakistan is the 10th largest rice producing country of the world.
Pakistan’s annual rice crop is ranges from 7.0 to 7.5 Million tons. Pakistan is the home land of world’s best basmati & non-basmati rice. Pakistan exports more than 4.0 Million Metric Tons of rice amounting to US$ 2.0 Billion and our rice is being exported to more than 100 countries of the world. Staple diet of Pakistan is wheat and we have a good stock of rice surplus for export purpose only. Currently, rates of rice are increasing in international market, however, Pakistani rice is more competent than other origin rice.
Approx. 25% share of total Pakistani rice exports goes to African countries and Kenya is the largest buyer of Pakistani rice, whereas other 75% share goes to rest of the world. Value of Pakistani rice exports to African countries is approx. 600 Million US Dollars annually. Top African destinations are Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Mozambique & Côte d’Ivoire.
Following members from Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan were present in this Conference. On behalf of REAP, Rafique Suleman, Ex-Chairman REAP has given a presentation on Pakistani rice sector. He said that Pakistan is the 10th largest rice producing country of the world.
Pakistan’s annual rice crop is ranges from 7.0 to 7.5 Million tons. Pakistan is the home land of world’s best basmati & non-basmati rice. Pakistan exports more than 4.0 Million Metric Tons of rice amounting to US$ 2.0 Billion and our rice is being exported to more than 100 countries of the world. Staple diet of Pakistan is wheat and we have a good stock of rice surplus for export purpose only. Currently, rates of rice are increasing in international market, however, Pakistani rice is more competent than other origin rice.
Approx. 25% share of total Pakistani rice exports goes to African countries and Kenya is the largest buyer of Pakistani rice, whereas other 75% share goes to rest of the world. Value of Pakistani rice exports to African countries is approx. 600 Million US Dollars annually. Top African destinations are Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Mozambique & Côte d’Ivoire.
Myanmar sets 2.5 mln tons of rice
export target this fiscal year
Xinhua, February 3, 2020
YANGON, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar
has set a target to export 2.5 million tons of rice in present fiscal year
2019-2020 which started in October, official media reported on Monday.So far,
the country exported 986,345 tons of rice and broken rice, earning over 282.9
million U.S. dollars as of Jan. 10, said figures recently released by the
Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF).
From Oct. 1, 2018 to Jan. 10, 2020,
Myanmar earned 245 million U.S. dollars from the export of over 842,342 tons of
rice via sea routes while 144,002 tons of rice were exported through border
gates with 37.8 million U.S. dollars of income.
During the period, 29 percent of
Myanmar's rice and broken rice came from neighbouring countries including
China, followed by EU member states, African countries and others, the MRF's
figures said.
From 2018 to 2019, Myanmar exported
over 2.35 million tons of rice and broken rice with over 709.6 million U.S.
dollars' export revenue. Enditem
India’s rice export prices extend gains as
Thailand battles drought
India's
rice export prices scaled a near four-month peak this week on increased demand
from buyers in Africa, in anticipation of a further jump in rates in Asia as a
persistent drought in Thailand squeezes supply. Prices of India's 5-percent
broken parboiled variety rose to their highest since the first week of October,
around $369-$373 per tonne, from $366-$371 last week, also helped by a
depreciation of the rupee. Buyers from Africa have been making purchases
fearing prices could rise further due to the drought in Thailand, said an exporter
based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Second largest
exporter Thailand's benchmark 5-percent broken rice prices eased slightly to
$432-$453 a tonne from $440-$460 last week, which was the highest level since
June 2017. Traders attributed the slight dip to the fluctuation in the baht,
the domestic currency, which has softened by 4% so far this year after gaining
more than 8% last year. “(However) The prices remain high due to concern over
supply and that has put off many overseas buyers," a Bangkok-based trader
said. In Vietnam, markets reopened after the Lunar New Year holiday, with rates
for 5-percent broken rice unchanged from two weeks ago at $345 a tonne.
“There
haven't been any transactions as traders have not returned to work after the
Lunar New Year holiday," a trader based in the Mekong Delta province of An
Giang said, adding activity should pick up from next week. Farmers in the
Mekong Delta said they have begun harvesting rice of the winter-spring crop,
and that the harvest will peak late February. Vietnam's rice exports in January
are forecast to fall 18.7% from a year earlier to 350,000 tonnes, official data
showed on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Bangladesh undertook measures to combat a spike
in domestic prices. Seven monitoring committees have been formed to keep prices
stable in the domestic markets, the country's food ministry said this week.
Rice and broken rice exports fetch over 8.5 m
dollars in one week
Between 5 and 11 January of this
fiscal year, Myanmar exported nearly 30,000 tons of rice worth over 8.5 million
US dollars, according to the Commerce Ministry.
During
this period, Myanmar exported nearly 12,000 tons of rice to Asian countries,
nearly 3,000 tons to the EU and nearly 15,000 tons to the African
countries.
From
4 to 10 January, Myanmar exported over 5,400 tons of rice worth over 1.4
million US dollars via Myanmar-China border and Myanmar-Thai border.
Rice
export from Muse 105th mile border trade zone was 4,400 tons, 137 tons from
Chinshwehaw trade camp and nearly 900 tons from Lwelgel trade camp.
Till
January 10 of this fiscal year, Myanmar earned 282.946 million US dollars from
exports of 986,345.493 million tons of rice and broken rice—over 200 million US
dollars from exports of over 684,000 tons of rice to 55 countries and over 78
million US dollars from exports of over 302,000 tons of broken rice to 46
countries, according to Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF).
Myanmar
is dispatching rice and broken rice through border trade and marine trade.
Rice
and broken rice exports to China via Muse border trade reached over 144,000
tons worth over 37 million US dollars, accounting for over 14 per cent of the
total rice export.
In
addition, rice and broken rice export via marine trade route amounted to over
842,000 tons worth over 245 million US dollars, making up over 85 per cent of
the total rice export.
In
2018-19 FY, Myanmar fetched 709.693 million US dollars from exports of 2.355
million tons of rice and broken rice.
Japan provides grant for rice farming, solar power
equipment to Nigeria
The other project initiated by SSSDO in Enugu will be implemented with
Panasonic Corporation which will provide solar power equipment to the Hospital.
·
|
·
Updated:
03-02-2020 22:57 IST
·
Created:
03-02-2020 22:57 IST
The project initiated by NISD in Ekiti will be implemented in
collaboration with Toyota Tsusho Corporation which will provide agricultural
equipment from Yanmar Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Mahindra Agricultural Machinery
Co. Ltd. to the farmers in Ekiti state. Image Credit: Pixabay
Japan signed grant contracts of
US$335,878 for projects to provide Ekiti state with rice farming equipment to
boost rice production and Enugu state with solar
power equipment to enhance quality health care.
On 30th January 2020, Mr. KIKUTA Yutaka, Ambassador of Japan to
the Federal Republic of Nigeria and
representatives of two NGOs, New Initiative for Social Development (NISD) and
South Sahara Social Development Organisation (SSSDO), signed Grant Contracts of
US$335,878 in total for two projects under the Japanese Grant Assistance for
Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP). One is to provide farmers in Ekiti
state with rice farming equipment and the other is to provide Poly Hospital in
Enugu state with solar
power equipment, manufactured by Japanese companies. Since
1998, over 170 projects with a total amount of US$12 million have been
implemented throughout Nigeria under
the GGP scheme.
The project initiated by NISD in
Ekiti will be implemented in collaboration with Toyota Tsusho Corporation which
will provide agricultural equipment from Yanmar Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi
Mahindra Agricultural Machinery Co. Ltd. to the farmers in Ekiti state. The
other project initiated by SSSDO in Enugu will be implemented with Panasonic
Corporation which will provide solar
power equipment to the Hospital.
At the signing ceremony, Mr. Martins Ogunlade, Programme Manager
for New Initiative for Social Development (NISD), signed the grant contract on
behalf of NISD, witnessed by Mr. Folorunso Bamidele Olabode,
Honorable Commissioner of Agriculture of Ekiti state. Dr. Stanley Ilechukwu,
Executive Director for South Saharan Social Development Organisation (SSSDO)
signed the grant contract for SSSDO while Dr. Okechukwu Ossai, Director Public
Health from the Enugu State Hospitals Management Board witnessed the signing
for the Poly Hospital project.
The Embassy of Japan hopes
that this public-private partnership assistance will contribute to increasing rice
production in Ekiti state, enhancing the delivery of quality
health care in Enugu state, and to strengthen the amicable relationship between Japan and
Nigeria.
(With Inputs from APO)
A growing
problem: Nigerian rice farmers fall short… 0
BY
DENIS BEDOYA ON FEBRUARY 3, 2020NEWS
By
Libby George
MAKURDI,
Nigeria, Jan 23 – Thomas Tyavwva Maji is planting rice on more of his land in
Nigeria’s Benue State than ever to take advantage of a surge in prices since
the country shut its land borders in August.
But
he says he cannot go much further. With no machinery or irrigation, limited
manual labour and no spare cash for fertilizers, the 45-year-old is not
expecting any dramatic change in his fortunes.
“We
work until we get exhausted, manually we get exhausted,” said Maji, as a woman
nearby beat hand-harvested stalks on the ground to separate the grains from the
chaff.
The
constraints Maji faces have bedevilled many rice farmers and millers across
Nigeria for years. Despite government measures designed to spur production,
farmers in Nigeria get far less from their land than other major rice growers
and the West African country is only marginally less reliant on imports.
That’s
a problem for a government that wants to grow all of its own food and boost the
country’s agriculture, a sector that accounts for nearly a third of gross
domestic product in Africa’s biggest economy.
When
he came to power in 2015, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari pledged to help
the nation become self-sufficient in rice – once a luxury but now a staple for
millions of Nigerians.
In
2015, Nigeria’s central bank banned the use of its foreign exchange to pay for
rice imports and has backed loans of at least 40 billion naira ($130 million)
to help small-holders boost output. It also banned rice imports across land
borders and kept hefty 70% tariffs on imports coming through ports.
In
August last year, Nigeria went a step further and closed its land borders
altogether to stamp out smuggling, often from neighbouring Benin, with rice
being one of the main targets.
Buhari’s
spokesman, Garba Shehu, said the measures boosted rice production to 9.2
million tonnes last year from 7.2 million in 2015, making Nigeria more or less
self-sufficient, though traders can import rice through ports if they pay the
tariffs.
Agricultural
data specialist Gro Intelligence, however, put Nigeria’s rice output at 4.9
million tonnes in 2019, up 60% from 2013 but well below local consumption of 7
million tonnes.
The
U.S. Department of Agriculture, meanwhile, expects Nigeria’s 2020 rice imports
to rise 9% to 2.4 million tonnes, in part due to the high cost of unprocessed
Nigerian paddy rice and elevated operating costs at mills.
In
Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, supermarket shelves remain stocked with a
plethora of imported rice brands.
In
the markets where most Nigerians buy their food, sacks of Nigerian rice are
piled high but imported rice is still available, even though some traders keep
the foreign grain under wraps to prevent it being confiscated by customs
agents.
LOW
YIELDS
Small-scale
farmers such as Maji account for 80% of Nigeria’s rice production with a
handful of large companies, such as Coscharis Group, Dangote and Olam, growing
the rest, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
In
Benue state, virtually every aspect of Maji’s farming manual, from planting to
harvesting to levelling out roads to take the crop to market.
It’s
a similar story on many Nigerian farms, leaving the average yield per hectare
at just over 2 tonnes – half the global average and a fraction of Egypt’s 9.5
tonnes a hectare, according to U.N. data.
Experts
say there is little hope of improvement without significant investment in
irrigation, mechanisation, roads and storage. More than 12% of rice is also
wasted due to poor roads and inefficient harvesting, milling and storage,
consultants KPMG said in a review of the Nigeria’s rice industry.
In
a good year, Maji makes about 1.5 million naira ($4,900) – nowhere close to the
5 million, at least, a tractor would cost. Without irrigation, a goal so remote
he doesn’t even know the cost, he can only plant one crop a year.
“At
this scale, we will not even be able to fetch a tractor. Talk less of
fertilizer and other chemicals,” Maji said.
According
to the FAO, less than 1% of Nigeria’s farmland is irrigated, compared with a
global average of more than 20%.
Small-
and medium-scale rice millers, who account for more than 80 percent of the
local market, also say they’re struggling to meet increased demand without
proper equipment.
At
Wurukum Rice Mill in Makurdi, Iveren Asan works alongside her sister, using a
loud diesel-powered generator to drive machinery processing paddy grains into
consumable rice.
Nearby,
rice grains that have been parboiled in vats heated by firewood dry on tarps.
She said new buyers from across the country had surfaced since the border
closures – but producing more would require significant investment in new
machines and the higher prices were not enough on their own. “We can’t meet the
demand. We are doing the process manually, so we cannot meet the demand,” she
said.
‘INCREDIBLY
DISRUPTIVE’
More
broadly, experts warned that extreme measures, such as border closures, taken
in the name of food security were hurting Nigerians, stunting the development
of other industries and holding back foreign investment.
“The
border closure has been incredibly disruptive,” said John Ashbourne, an
economist at Capital Economics. “It stops industries from getting the imports
they need, and it pushes up prices.”
The
border closure is set for review Jan. 31 but the presidency’s Shehu said land
frontiers would remain shut until Nigeria’s neighbours stopped smuggling on
their side – and there was “no sign of compliance yet”.
Ashbourne
said even some farming has taken a hit from government policies.
After
glass was added to a central bank list of items importers cannot buy with
foreign exchange, some tomato paste plants shut because they couldn’t source
the jars they needed.
On
another farm in Benue State, Abraham Hon, 51, weaves through rows of melons and
corn before reaching his rice, the crop that generates the most money.
“The
prices look pretty good,” he said, as men cut stalks of rice by hand and laid
them in piles on the ground. “We expect more money in the pocket this year.”
But
while he and Asan are happy with their increased income, they worry about the
impact of higher prices on consumers.
A
50 kg bag of rice can cost as much as 24,000 naira in Lagos – nearly double the
price in July before the borders were shut and not far below the monthly
minimum wage of 30,000 naira.
And
consumers, who already spend more than half their income on food according to
the World Bank, are feeling the squeeze.
“We
will reach a point where people who are buying rice can’t afford to buy rice.
They will look at other alternatives to get energy and get food on their
table,” Hon said.
“That
in the long term is not in the interest of we, the farmers.” ($1 = 305.9000
naira)
(Editing
by David Clarke)
