Impact Of
COVID-19 On Rice Farmers In Southeast Asia – Analysis
Farmer planting rice in Vietnam.
Over
the past several decades, rice farmers across Southeast Asia have experienced
growing labor shortages as working-age adults migrated to nearby cities and
abroad in search of better jobs.
By
Jefferson M. Fox, Arunee Promkhambut, and Phanwin Yokying*
In
Southeast Asia, rice farmers are dealing with one of the worst droughts in
recent history, and now they also face substantial challenges created by the
COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, global demand for food stockpiles is
pushing rice prices for consumers to levels not seen since the 2008 global
economic crisis.
Most rice exports from Asia
About three-quarters of worldwide
rice exports originate from Asia, with total shipments in 2019 valued at around
US$16.4 billion. Rice traders in India, the world’s largest rice exporter,
suspended exports for three weeks in early April amid a nationwide lockdown.
Even after reopening, labor shortages and logistic disruptions have hampered
the delivery of rice contracts. Myanmar also stopped issuing rice export
licenses in April, while Vietnam halted the exports of most varieties of rice
from mid-March until early May.
Thailand,
the world’s second-largest exporter, has continued to export rice as usual. The
Thai government announced that sufficient rice had been produced to meet its
annual export target—normally around 10 million tons—on top of a similar amount
earmarked for domestic consumption. At the beginning of 2020, Thailand’s rice
export prices were depressed, but the market turned around completely with the
coronavirus outbreak, and prices increased by more than 25 percent.
Cambodia,
a much smaller rice producer, saw rice exports skyrocket by 42 percent over the
first five months of the year. Farmers in the Mekong region of Vietnam
reportedly harvested a record-breaking crop in February 2020, just in time to
benefit from the price hikes associated with the pandemic.
On
the demand side, China, the world’s biggest rice consumer, saw surging demand
in the first quarter of 2020 that increased rice imports by 60 percent. Other
rice importers in the region—including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the
Philippines—have stockpiled substantial supplies to supplement domestic
production by importing from Thailand and Cambodia, and increasingly from
India.
Over
the past several decades, rice farmers across the region have experienced
growing labor shortages as working-age adults migrated to nearby cities and
abroad in search of better jobs. As a result, farmers have increasingly
mechanized rice production, switched to higher-yielding varieties, and used
more chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, all of which require
greater capital inputs.
COVID-19 adds to an already
stressful situation
To
this already stressful situation, COVID-19 has added an additional level of
uncertainty for both farmers and farm workers. For migrant workers, the
pandemic has caused unprecedented job losses and has interrupted remittance
flows. In Thailand, while only 4 percent of migrants reportedly returned home,
international remittances decreased from $361 billion in March 2020 to $286
billion in April, a loss of 21 percent. Across the region, locals who live on
farms but have other jobs have also lost income.
In
a June 2020 phone survey of 30 Thai farm households, more than 80 percent
reported planting this year’s rainy season crop (April to June) as usual. Those
who did not plant said they were constrained by drought conditions, not
COVID-19, but more than 65 percent of farmers reported problems with purchasing
agricultural inputs, such as seeds and fertilizers. Limited access to credit
and other financial barriers were also mentioned.
Assistance has been spotty. The
Thai government is providing farmers with 5,000 Baht (US$162) per month from
May through July 2020. The farmers surveyed reported that they are using this
money to maintain rice production. In Cambodia, the government also offered
some debt relief to farmers. In Vietnam, private businessmen set up dispensing
machines to provide a daily supply of rice to poor households, thus supporting
both rice farmers and the unemployed. In Myanmar and Laos, newspaper reports
suggest that farmers have been unable to raise money for planting rice because
government loans have paused and microfinancing institutions have suspended
operations.
Because
of the 2019–2020 drought, farmers in northern Laos have not even produced
enough rice for home consumption. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports
that 80 percent of farmers in some provinces ran out of rice in April and need
to bridge another seven months before the next harvest. COVID-19 has made it
difficult for them to find off-farm employment to earn money for food, and some
have reportedly been forced to forage for food in the forest.
While
food is still available in the region as a whole, COVID-19 has caused food
insecurity in many urban areas as incomes dropped during the shutdowns.
Residents of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Yangon, and other Southeast Asian cities who
have lost work can no longer afford to pay rent or buy food. Taxi drivers,
street vendors, day laborers, elderly citizens, and others now reportedly rely
on volunteer food banks for survival. The FAO has warned that a protracted pandemic
will further disrupt food supply chains, affecting everyone from consumers, to
farmers, to middlemen and retailers.
In some parts of the region,
access to clean water is also becoming problematic, both because of the drought
and because of the emphasis on hand washing in national COVID-19 awareness
campaigns. In Cambodia and Laos, reports suggest that many in rural areas do not
have enough clean water for drinking and sanitation. The picture in some
densely populated urban areas is equally grim. The Director-General of Phnom
Penh Water Supply Authority estimates that many districts in Phnom Penh are
likely to suffer clean water shortages for another three years.
Lockdowns
to contain COVID-19 have also exposed farmers in some areas to unprincipled
land grabs. News reports from eastern Cambodia say that a Vietnamese rubber
company, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL), illegally cleared swaths of land in
Ratanakiri Province that belonged to indigenous farming communities. Despite
pledges to return the land to local farmers, the company bulldozed sacred
sites, burial grounds, traditional hunting areas, farm lands, wetlands and
old-growth forests, while local residents sheltered at home due to COVID-19.
In
Southeast Asia, COVID 19 has affected rice farming in many ways including
security of land tenure and access to credit, capital inputs, remittance
income, and safe food and water. During emergencies such as the 2019 drought
and the COVID-19 pandemic, farmers need assistance, either from the government
or private philanthropy. Thailand and Vietnam, the wealthier countries in the
region, have provided farmers with basic assistance. Farmers in Myanmar, Laos,
and Cambodia are struggling.
*About the authors: Jefferson M. Fox (foxj@eastwestcenter.org) is
a Senior Fellow at the East -West Center. Arunee Promkhambut (arunee@kku.ac.th) is
a lecturer at Khon Kaen University. Phanwin Yokying (yokyingp@eastwestcenter.org) is
a Fellow at the East-West Center.
Home » Impact
Of COVID-19 On Rice Farmers In Southeast Asia – Analysis
East-West Center
The
East-West Center promotes better relations and understanding among the people
and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific through cooperative
study, research, and dialogue. Established by the U.S. Congress in 1960, the
Center serves as a resource for information and analysis on critical issues of
common concern, bringing people together to exchange views, build expertise,
and develop policy options.
For Filipino palay farmers, 2020 may yet prove to be a good year
By: Karl R. Ocampo - Reporter / @kocampoINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:09 AM July 06, 2020
Prices of local palay continued its upward trend as
farmers took advantage of the demand for the staple.
Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s price
monitoring report, the buying price for palay increased again by the last week
of May, averaging P19.16 a kilo. Some provinces registered farm-gate prices as
high as P25 a kilo.
The climb in farm-gate prices began when the government
implemented a string of lockdowns to curb the spread of COVID-19, or the
disease caused by the new coronavirus.
The lowest quotation was recorded in Negros Oriental and
Davao at P13.38 a kilo while prevailing prices in most provinces hovered
between P18 and P22 a kilo.
Palay prices dipped to its lowest of P10 a kilo in November last year following the sudden spike in the volume of imported rice.
Palay prices dipped to its lowest of P10 a kilo in November last year following the sudden spike in the volume of imported rice.
But farmers are expected to enjoy favorable prices for
the rest of the year, with the Department of Agriculture (DA) looking to ramp
up production by intensifying distribution of inputs and machinery.
The extension of the enhanced community quarantine in
Metro Manila and in other parts of the country is also expected to drive up
demand especially with local government units, national agencies and numerous
nonprofit organizations continuing relief operations.
The government has been easing lockdown restrictions over
the past few weeks in order to open the recession-battered economy.
For this year, the overall supply of rice is projected to
be augmented by imports to be brought in by the private sector. In its
forecast, the US Department of Agriculture said that for this year, the
Philippines would be the biggest importer of rice next to China.
Rice prices in the global market have surged to its
highest in seven years as governments beefed up their respective stocks.
To lessen dependency on imports, the government said it
would fast-track the implementation of rice programs that would bring down the
staple’s production cost, noting that profitability is a huge incentive for
farmers to plant palay. INQ
Group: Govt vows to look into undervaluation of rice
imports
July
6, 2020
By
Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas & Bernadette D. Nicolas
The
Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) said the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will form a
”small” group that would address the alleged undervaluation of rice imports to
boost government’s tariff revenues and help farmers.
FFF
National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said his group recently met with BOC
officials together with representatives from the Department of Agriculture,
National Food Authority and Department of Finance to discuss the possible
undervaluation of rice shipments.
During
the meeting, Montemayor said they raised various issues concerning the BOC’s
import assessment system that unscrupulous traders may have taken advantage of
to undervalue imports and to avoid paying more tariffs.
Among
the issues raised by FFF during the Friday meeting was the free on board (FOB)
prices of rice shipments, freight and insurance costs, tariff line
classifications as well as lower tariffs slapped non-Asean countries, he added.
“We
want to help the [BOC] to generate more revenues for urgent concerns. [Also,]
the excess tariff collections would [go to] the rice competitiveness
enhancement fund, which will provide the DA and the farmers additional
support,” Montemayor told the BusinessMirror on Sunday.
Based
on its study, the FFF found that since the enactment of the rice trade
liberalization law in March 2019, certain rice imports from China, India and
Pakistan, were slapped with incorrect tariff.
The
FFF study showed that some 2,625 metric tons (MT) of rice from China entered
the country from March to April at zero tariff. The group said rice imports
from China should be slapped with a 50-percent tariff based on existing laws.
Montemayor
said his group also proposed to the BOC to fix the tariff classifications of
rice imports entering the country as some importers declare their shipments
under tariff lines that have low reference prices. This, he said, could be one
way for unscrupulous traders to undervalue imports.
He
said rice imports are being declared under the tariff heading of 100640, or
broken rice, when in fact the grades of the shipments should be classified
under 100630, or whole rice.
“They
said they will scrutinize it and will create a small group to focus on it. They
seem to be serious about it,” he said.
During
the meeting, Montemayor said a finance official agreed with the findings of FFF
that there could have been possible undervaluation of rice imports since the
RTL law was enacted.
Since
the implementation of RTL law last March 2019, the FFF has raised the issue of
undervaluation of rice imports, which deprives the government of additional
revenue that could have been allocated to the RCEF.
In
its latest computation, FFF said the government lost at least P890 million in
tariff revenues from over 766,000 MT of rice imported from January to April.
The FFF said it estimated that undervaluation in rice imports last year
resulted in a tariff shortfall of P1.9 billion.
Sought
for comment, Customs Assistant Commissioner and Spokesman Vincent Philip
Maronilla said it is still “too early to jump to any conclusions, especially on
the amount of potential additional revenues” that could be raised from
resolving the undervaluation of rice imports raised by the farmers’ group.
“They
explained their data and we committed to work with them to validate these data
and impose corrective measures if needed,” Maronilla said in a message to the
BusinessMirror.
“After
the validation of data, subsequent meetings will be set to discuss ways to move
forward.”
Maronilla
also said the BOC invited the FFF to join their pool of Industry Commodity
Experts.
“The
BOC under the leadership of Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero has always been
open to private- public partnership with our local agricultural industry in the
resolution of any issues they may have relating to agricultural product
imports,” he said.
For Filipino palay farmers, 2020 may yet prove to be a good year
By: Karl R. Ocampo - Reporter / @kocampoINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:09 AM July 06, 2020
Prices of local palay continued its upward trend as
farmers took advantage of the demand for the staple.
Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s price
monitoring report, the buying price for palay increased again by the last week
of May, averaging P19.16 a kilo. Some provinces registered farm-gate prices as
high as P25 a kilo.
The climb in farm-gate prices began when the government
implemented a string of lockdowns to curb the spread of COVID-19, or the
disease caused by the new coronavirus.
The lowest quotation was recorded in Negros Oriental and
Davao at P13.38 a kilo while prevailing prices in most provinces hovered
between P18 and P22 a kilo.
Palay prices dipped to its lowest of P10 a kilo in November last year following the sudden spike in the volume of imported rice.
Palay prices dipped to its lowest of P10 a kilo in November last year following the sudden spike in the volume of imported rice.
But farmers are expected to enjoy favorable prices for
the rest of the year, with the Department of Agriculture (DA) looking to ramp
up production by intensifying distribution of inputs and machinery.
The extension of the enhanced community quarantine in
Metro Manila and in other parts of the country is also expected to drive up
demand especially with local government units, national agencies and numerous
nonprofit organizations continuing relief operations.
The government has been easing lockdown restrictions over
the past few weeks in order to open the recession-battered economy.
For this year, the overall supply of rice is projected to
be augmented by imports to be brought in by the private sector. In its
forecast, the US Department of Agriculture said that for this year, the
Philippines would be the biggest importer of rice next to China.
Rice prices in the global market have surged to its
highest in seven years as governments beefed up their respective stocks.
To lessen dependency on imports, the government said it
would fast-track the implementation of rice programs that would bring down the
staple’s production cost, noting that profitability is a huge incentive for
farmers to plant palay. INQ
Subscribe
to Inquirer Busine
Read more: https://business.inquirer.net/301795/for-filipino-palay-farmers-2020-may-yet-prove-to-be-a-good-year#ixzz6RPIRHr2O
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
Telangana woos jute millers to set up shop in State amid gunny bag crunch
As a stop-gap arrangement, the rice millers tried to use other types of sacks but these were not feasible.
Jute farmers (Photo | National Jute
Board)
HYDERABAD: THE Industries
Department has convinced two jute millers from West Bengal to set up their
factories in Telangana in order to meet the sudden shortage of gunny bags faced
by rice millers here. According to an official of the department, the State
government offered the jute millers land at a discounted rate and assured them
of procuring the gunny bags at 100 per cent rate.
“This is a step towards making the
State self-sufficient,” the official said. The move comes after Telangana
recorded a bumper paddy produce, resulting in huge demand for rice millers.
Rice milling units need large quantities of gunny bags, which are made of jute,
for packaging. One of the most vital items during the milling season, gunny
bags are sourced from West Bengal and Bangladesh as jute primarily grows in
these regions. But the supply to Telangana was cut off due to the Covid-19
pandemic.“The Telangana government invested a lot in irrigation, which resulted in a bumper paddy produce. But our milling capacity was not sufficient due to the shortage of gunny bags. The distribution of rice depends on gunny bags,” the official said. Nearly 90-95 per cent of the jute mills are in West Bengal and other eastern States. Most of these shut down due to the lockdown, hitting operations here in Telangana.
As a stop-gap arrangement, the rice millers tried to use other types of sacks but these were not feasible. “We found two major jute mills in West Bengal and motivated them to set up units in TS,” the official said.
Rice Field Day now virtual meet
·
·
Jul
4, 2020
Rice farmers spent a lot of time alone
in the field, but typically gather at the El Campo Civic Center to discuss
issues related to their product. The pandemic makes that hazardous this year,
so officials decided to hold a virtual event accessible via Zoom or it can be
held over the phone.
A computer, a hot cup of coffee and pajama pants are the perfect
ingredients for this year’s virtual Rice Field Day. The typically in-person
event will be held online on July 9 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The annual event will cover an array of Texas rice-related
topics, including current rice research and market trends. Rice Field Day is
being held by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office and sponsored by the
Western Rice Belt Production Conference Committee and the Jefferson County Ag
Committee.
Thank you for reading!
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase
a subscription to continue reading.
China to help Pakistan set up phytosanitary facility
Food minister says both sides should work together on
agri-research
July 03, 2020
A Reuters file image.
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan’s
future relies on agriculture and Prime Minister Imran Khan is keen to revive
this sector, remarked National Food Security and Research Minister Syed Fakhar
Imam while talking to Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing.
In a meeting on
Thursday, the minister said that both countries needed to revisit contours of
the agriculture sector and technical experts from the two sides should directly
interact with each other in order to come up with concrete projects for
agricultural research.
He said that
Pakistan was facing the problem of lower yields, which could be overcome
through the exchange of germplasm as an area of cooperation.
“It will provide
the opportunity to develop high-yielding varieties of cotton, fruits, hybrid
rice and wheat by our research centres,” the minister added.
Imam said that
China was one of the largest markets in the world for the export of meat and
meat products but Pakistan did not have access to it due to the foot-and-mouth
disease (FMD).
He stressed
that it was an area where both the sides could collaborate.
He shared that
it was decided that China would help in installing a phytosanitary system for
increase in fruit exports and would also help in setting up vocational and
technical institutes for the training of farmers and individuals related to the
agriculture sector.
Also speaking on the occasion, the Chinese
envoy expressed interest in mutual cooperation in the fishery sector at Gwadar.
Published in The Express
Tribune, July 3rd, 2020.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in
the conversation.
Adaptation of Modern Irrigation Method Amid Water Shortage
Adaptation of different irrigation method by farmer
in current shortage of water
Agriculture sector employs about 42.3% of the labor force and
adds about 19.5% to the GDP (gross domestic product) of Pakistan. The total
cultivated area is 22.12 million hectares, and out of this, 19.23 million
hectares are being irrigated through several sources. 
In Pakistan, 5.96 million
hectares are irrigated through canals, whereas the rest of 8.15, 3.71 and 0.65
million hectares are irrigated through canal tube wells, rainfall and wells.
Wheat which is a major essential food crop, planted on more than
9.22 million hectares during 2015–16 contributed 1.9% to GDP. Wheat is
generally planted by the broadcast method during rabi season in irrigated areas
of Pakistan, and drill sowing is minimal.
Irrigated wheat covers 8-million-hectare area that accounted for
85% of the total wheat area with an average productivity of 3.0t/ha. In
Pakistan, water availability in the normal year for rabi season was around 36.9
MAF.
During the last decade (2007–08
to 2016–17) water availability for rabi season was 5–45% lower in comparison with the
normal year. In canal-irrigated areas, farmers get fixed turn time to irrigate
crop once in a week which is not enough to irrigate their whole cropped area,
and generally rely on either tube well water or rainfall.
Majority of the wheat area is irrigated through flood or the
basin irrigation method which has 30–50% irrigation efficiency.
Because of uncertainty and limited water availability at severe growth
stages, farmers tend to apply too much water to the wheat crop when available,
which also affects the wheat growth negatively.
Availability of water is reducing, and there is a need to adopt
water-saving techniques. For this purpose, following techniques can be adopted.
Bench Terraces
Bench terraces are measures used on inclined land with
relatively deep soils to retain water and control erosion. They are normally
constructed by cutting and filling to produce a series of level steps or
benches. This allows water to penetrate slowly into the soil.
Bench terraces are reinforced by retaining banks of soil or
stone on the forward edges. This practice is typical for rice-based cropping
systems. It has following benefits
§ Controls soil and water runoff and erosion.
§ Decreases slope length. Every 2-3 meters of slope
length is levelled to terraces.
§ The speed of water running down the slope is greatly
reduced.
§ Improves soil productivity over the long run.
Micro Irrigation
It is the technique in which low volume of water is applied at
low pressure and high frequency. Irrigation interval is ranged 1 to 4 days. The
system has widespread network of pipes operated at low pressure. At
pre-determined spacing exits are provided for the release water generally known
as emitters.
In Micro / Drip Irrigation, water and fertilizers are applied
through a network of UV resistant pipes and standardized emitters (dripper,
Micro sprinklers), at a defined flow rate, close to plant roots on plant
requirement basis. Therefore, the soil near the roots is always kept at “field
capacity” which enables the crop to easily capture the required water and
nutrients, and grow healthier.
As water is applied so close to the plants that it reaches only
the area of the soil necessary to feed the roots. Micro / Drip Irrigation,
as compare to other traditional methods, inhibit the moisturizing of whole soil
profile which results in saving of water, leaching and evaporation.
In Micro / Drip irrigation water will be applied in small
quantity on a high frequency basis (daily) to maintain optimal moisture level
in soil in which the plant can flourish. By adapting this method. we can save
about 40-60% water.
Furrow-Irrigated
It is raised bed technology one
of the efficient irrigation methods in which water moves in furrow, and crop is
planted on raised beds. In the Yaqui Valley of Mexico, farmers have shifted to
a bed and furrow system for wheat planting due to shortage of water.
The technique resulted improvement in irrigation and nutrient
management, in saving water, better crop stands, lower seed rate and reduction
in space.
Integration of short duration mung bean crop in the maize-wheat
system on permanent beds enhanced the system productivity by 29%, net returns
by 38%, and water productivity by 24% compared to the conventional system.
In Pakistan, wheat sown on 70cm bed and furrow system in the
rice-wheat area of Punjab produced good yields due to better spike length,
number of grains per spike.
Wheat is planted after rice/cotton/sugarcane/maize in Pakistan.
Presence of previous crop residue hampers, tillage and seeding operations for
wheat. This had a negative effect on adoption of drill and bed planting techniques which
results that majority of farmers are forced to plant wheat through the
broadcast method with heavy tillage.
In ridge-furrow planting of maize and cotton, ridge and furrows
formed with a ridger and cotton or maize planted manually on the top or the
side of the ridge increased germination and yield of cotton in comparison with
flat planting and is widely practiced in Pakistan.
Ridge planting was evaluated in comparison with bed planting and
drill sowing, and 17–24% higher wheat yield was observed with bed panting in
comparison with the conventional method of broadcasting. Raised bed and ridge
sowing methods of wheat planting saved 22% irrigation water over flat sowing.
Sprinkler Irrigation
It is similar to natural rainfall. Water is scattered into the
air and irrigate entire soil surface through spray heads so that it breaks up
into small water drops spreading over the ground.
Sprinklers irrigation method provide efficient coverage for small to
large areas and are suitable for wide range of crops and are adaptable to
nearly all type of soils because they are available in a wide range of
discharge capacity.
Sprinkler system are designed to ensure maximum water saving,
combining high quality, affordability and ease of installation. Components are
essentially made of high strength & chemically resistant engineering
plastics to achieve functional satisfaction and favorable cost economics.
Pivot Irrigation
In this irrigation method sprinklers are placed along a series
of bowed pipes which is pivoted at one end, and moved around the field in a
circular fashion.
Central pivot irrigation is a form of sprinkler irrigation
consisting of several segments of pipe joined together and supported by
strings, mounted on wheeled towers with sprinklers which are positioned along
its length.
The system moves in a circular pattern and is fed with water
from the pivot point at the center of the circle. The outside set of wheels
sets the master pace for the rotation. Centre pivots will cover surface in
relation with the number of curves and supporting tower up to 500m in length.
Crops may be planted in straight rows or sometimes in circles to
conform to the travel of the center pivot in crops. Movement of each tower is
secured by either hydraulically driven systems or electric motor-driven systems
mounted at each tower, and specific type dimension can be fitted to specific
soil profile.
Educated farmers with sizable
land holding and tube well are the initial adopter of modern irrigation method and technology because of its
simplicity and availability. Switching from flood irrigation system to
sprinklers, pivot and drip irrigation systems helps the agricultural sector to
save a tremendous amount of water every year. When combined with better soil
management practices such as no-till or limited tillage and mulching more
efficient irrigation systems can significantly reduce water usage.
0
Muhammad Adnan
Exporters reject hike in electricity
tariff
KARACHI: Industrialists and exporters have rejected the hike in
power tariff by the federal government and said that...
Recorder Report July 05, 2020
KARACHI: Industrialists and
exporters have rejected the hike in power tariff by the federal government and
said that this decision would cause irreparable damage to the country's
economy, which already posted negative growth during the last fiscal year.
The Economic Coordination Committee
(ECC) of the Cabinet allowed on Friday an immediate increase of Rs2.39 per unit
in electricity tariff for K-Electric customers.
Exporters said that the country's
economy was already facing a number of issues, and in the current situation
some supportive measures were needed to bring the economy back on the right
track.
Rafiq Suleman, former chairman of
the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan, expressing his concerns over the
rise in power tariff, said that the decision would lead to a huge increase in
the cost of production for all industries, particularly the export sector.
The share of electricity in the
expenditure of industries was very high, and in a situation when industrial
production had already slowed down due to the lockdown, this increase would
directly hit industrial activities.
Suleman said that due to internal
and external problems, the country's exports were already declining. In this
situation, steps needed to be taken to support the industry to increase
exports, but the government was taking measures that were likely to further
affect the export sector, he added.
"If we talk about rice, it is
one of the top exported commodities, but, unfortunately, government has still
not declared it an industry," he said.
He said that at present Pakistani
rice was facing stiff competition from Indian rice in the international market.
However, despite all the difficulties and challenges, the rice exporters had
achieved export target of two billion dollars.
Good quality seeds, cheap
electricity and aggressive marketing were required to compete with Indian rice
in the international market.
He said that though improvement in
the exchange rate had supported exports, yet some positive and supportive
measures were required from the government to achieve healthy export growth during
this fiscal year.
Suleman said that exporters and
industrialists had been demanding of the government for a long time to freeze
all utility tariffs for the export-oriented industries for five years so that
the exporters could finalize their export deals with foreign buyers without any
risk or fear.
FIR
will be lodged if rice is not distributed in time'
Source: The
Sangai Express
Imphal,
July 04 2020: FIR
will be lodged against 29 rationing agents of Khundrakpam Assembly Constituency
if the allocated rice for the month of June fails is not delivered in time,
president of BJP Khundrakpam Mandal, Moirangthem Debaratan.
Speaking to media persons on Saturday during a press conference held at Pangei, he said 29 rationing agents are delivering rice and pulses in the Constituency for PMGKY and NFSA card holders.
Rice for the month of June to be distributed under the schemes was lifted on June 12 and 18, However, the rice has not been distributed to the people yet, he added.
Questioning when will they distribute the rice to the beneficiaries, he said the rice should be distributed at the earliest to ease the suffering of the people amid the COVID-19 pandemic at the earliest.
"If necessary, FIR will be lodged against the rationing agents if they fail to deliver the allocated rice in time," he said.
Meanwhile, PRO Khundrakpam MLA, K Dilip Meitei has clarified that about 1670.50 quintals of rice was lifted for NFSA card holders on June 12.The distribution is being delayed to ensure equal distribution, he said.
With local area development fund, the local MLA had bought 653.10 quintals of rice on July 3 for distribution to non-NFSA card holders.
Distribution of rice has started from Saturday and will be delivered to the people in time, he added.
Speaking to media persons on Saturday during a press conference held at Pangei, he said 29 rationing agents are delivering rice and pulses in the Constituency for PMGKY and NFSA card holders.
Rice for the month of June to be distributed under the schemes was lifted on June 12 and 18, However, the rice has not been distributed to the people yet, he added.
Questioning when will they distribute the rice to the beneficiaries, he said the rice should be distributed at the earliest to ease the suffering of the people amid the COVID-19 pandemic at the earliest.
"If necessary, FIR will be lodged against the rationing agents if they fail to deliver the allocated rice in time," he said.
Meanwhile, PRO Khundrakpam MLA, K Dilip Meitei has clarified that about 1670.50 quintals of rice was lifted for NFSA card holders on June 12.The distribution is being delayed to ensure equal distribution, he said.
With local area development fund, the local MLA had bought 653.10 quintals of rice on July 3 for distribution to non-NFSA card holders.
Distribution of rice has started from Saturday and will be delivered to the people in time, he added.
*
This news is as published by respected news daily at Imphal, whose name is duly
marked as 'Source'. E-Pao.net is not responsible for it's sanctity &
originality.
Comment
*
Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site
are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed
alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users
exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing
your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a
complete Guideline on using comments on this websit
RTL, a bad law, spawns crooks and scammers
July 5, 2020
The Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) is a very bad law. It scrapped
the last line of defense small rice farmers had against massive rice dumping —
the QR, or quantitative restriction — and replaced that with a two-tier tariff,
one for rice from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region and
a higher one for imports out of the region. The tariff collections, this is the
law’s consuelo de bobo, are to go into an amelioration program for the small
rice farmers.
The law made it clear that importing rice would be easier than
putting up a neighborhood sari-sari store. With the absence of rules and with
the greed that is expected of the rice importing class, the worst did really
happen. In the 10 months of 2019 alone, around 3 million metric tons of rice
was imported, pushing palay prices into the P8- to P10-per-kilo level. The RTL,
as expected, failed to put in a proviso against greed and reckless importation.
The desperation of the country’s 3 million small rice farmers
after the plunge of their palay prices was a reenactment of what happened to
poor, rural, white America in the classic Case-Deaton study: deaths of despair.
Of course, no one in government noticed. For generations, small rice farmers
have been invisible to the government. They are, truly, the country’s wretched.
I am quite familiar with this because I come from a long line of small rice
farmers.
The cold, clinical reaction of the government to the woes of the
small rice farmers was this afterthought in the law — the tariff collections
will mostly be dedicated to the amelioration program. Now, this is the
question. Is the government making sure that rice importers do not scam the
government via the undervaluation of rice imports, thus depressing the overall
tariff collections?
A farm group, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), provides the
answer. No. The government, for one reason or another, has miserably failed to
provide the safeguards to make sure the right tariff collections are being made
at the ports. Was it the usual corruption and greed at the port zones? Or was
it just simple neglect of duty? That we don’t know. What the FFF has found out
and documented is that, from March 209 to May 2020, an estimated P2.79 billion
in rice import tariff was lost due to a host of problems, with the
undervaluation of imports as the main culprit.
Let the figure sink in. An estimated P2.79 billion which could
have gone to the rice tariff pool — a sum critical to the small farmers — was a
forgone thing, according to a detailed report from the FFF. The leaders of the
FFF, by way of background, are unlike us, ordinary farmers with very little
formal education. It is a farming group founded by the Jesuits and
Jesuit-trained intellectuals. The FFF leaders don’t even look like us — small
rice farmers who are grizzled and callused. But they are numerate and trained
to do rigorous research on agricultural economics. They just don’t pluck
figures from thin air
The FFF study sent to the Department of Finance said there were
four reasons for the huge shortfall in the RTL tariff collections.
First was misdeclaration. FOB (freight on board) prices from
rice importers have been generally lower than the reference prices of the
Bureau of Customs (BoC). Simply put — technical smuggling. In 2019, 70 percent
of the 2,934 rice import shipments analyzed by the FFF, had FOB prices lower
than the prices listed on the BoC reference rates. In 2020, it got worse. The
undervaluation of rice imports intensified. Rice importers were so daring that
some import shipments even failed to specify the grades of rice imported.
Second was the undervaluation of freight and insurance cost.
From this scam alone, an estimated P853 million was taken off the rice tariff
collections in 2019. From January to May this year, rice tariff collections
fell by P241 million because of this scam.
The third reason cited was the wrong tariffs applied on imports
from countries outside of the Asean.
Under the two-tier tariff scheme of the RTL, imports from the
Asean have a levy of 35 percent. From outside the region, the levy is 50
percent. The FFF found out that imports from India and Pakistan had been
assessed with the lesser Asean tariff of 35 percent.
Clueless geography that afflicts the top propaganda people of
government? Or, just corruption fronted by the supposed lack of a tariff map?
The fourth reason uncovered by the FFF was the erroneous and
inconsistent classification of rice imports. Under this scam, good quality rice
is declared as “fit for animal feeds” to depress the tariff rate. Specialty
rice is declared as ordinary rice with a similar agenda. The list can go on and
on because scammers have the motivation, the profit desire and the
collaborators at the customs zones.
The P2.79 billion in lost tariff lined up several pockets, but
further impoverished the struggling, desperate farmers like my neighbors and
me. I am not that numerate so I can’t do a fast calculation on how many shallow
tube wells the lost P2.79 billion can buy. In this time of faltering rain, the
shallow tube wells could prop up the lack of adequate irrigation water.
How many bags of Urea and Triple 14 can be bought from the P2.79
billion? I don’t know. But here is a reminder. The Department of Agriculture
(DA) is not the right agency to procure fertilizer for the rice farmers. The
“New Thinking” at the DA includes the procurement of overpriced fertilizer,
according to the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives.
Small rice farmers, desperate as they are, are caught between
the rock and a hard place. They can’t seem to get a break from the institutions
and agencies with the mandate to help them. And the RTL, this is the sad truth,
has a proviso that allows the crooks to kick the dying small rice farmers.
Men more likely to be seen as ‘brilliant’ than women
Updated on : Sunday, July 5, 2020, 6:37
AM IST
Men are more likely to be seen as ‘brilliant’ than women, say
researchers in a new study measuring global perceptions linked to gender. The
study, published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, found that
these stereotyped views are an instance of implicit bias, which is when
associations are automatically activated in our minds. “Stereotypes that
portray brilliance as a male trait are likely to hold women back across a wide
range of prestigious careers,” said study lead author Daniel Storage from the
University of Denver in the US.
“Understanding the prevalence and
magnitude of this gender-brilliance stereotype can inform future efforts to
increase gender equity in career outcomes,” said study senior author Andrei
Cimpian from the New York University in the US. Previous work by Cimpian and
his colleagues has suggested that women are underrepresented in careers where
success is perceived to depend on high levels of intellectual ability (e.g.,
brilliance, genius), including those in science and technology. Less understood
are the factors that explain this phenomenon.
To address this, the current study
explored the potential impact of stereotypes. In a series of five experiments,
the research team surveyed more than 3,000 people from over 78 countries
including US women and men as well as US girls and boys between the ages of 9
and 10. To find out more about gender perceptions of brilliance, the researchers
adopted an indirect way of measuring the stereotype - namely, a tool called the
Implicit Association Test (IAT). IAT measures the degree of overlap between
concepts (e.g., brilliant and male) without explicitly asking participants
whether or not they hold stereotyped views. The researchers consistently found
evidence for an implicit stereotype associating brilliance with men more than
with women.
The magnitude of this stereotype
was striking as well—for example, it was similar in strength to the implicit
stereotype that associates men more than women with careers (and women more
than men with the family), which was identified in earlier work. The team also
gauged explicit stereotypes, directly asking participants whether they believed
that men are more brilliant than women.
Rice, Beans And Toilet Paper: Nathan Slate Joseph’s Art Is All About The Essentials
July 1, 2020
Artist Nathan Slate Joseph.
By Annette Hinkle
Rice and beans … they’re as essential as toilet paper in this
era of pandemic.
That’s why Sag Harbor sculptor and artist Nathan Slate Joseph
decided to use all three of those items in his latest creative endeavor.
Joseph’s large scale “paintings” are created from dried and dyed
beans, rice and toilet paper and are collectively part of an exhibition called
“Essentials,” which opens this weekend at Keyes Gallery, adjacent to The
American Hotel in Sag Harbor.
“What is the most popular painting in the world?” asked Joseph
during a recent late night visit to the gallery. “The Mona Lisa?
“The fact is, it’s a painting you can just imitate.”
With that, he held his hands up to the side of his face (an
unlit cigar in one of them) and opened his mouth wide, offering an uncannily
accurate reproduction of Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream.’”
“A painting should have more than one aspect,” he noted. “Where
else can you see motion that creates art? I thought of color.”
As an artist, Joseph, who came to New York from his native
Israel in the 1960s and was inspired by the colors he encountered on a trip to
Mexico in the 1970s, is a big fan of working with available materials, like
scrap metal. He’s also keenly in tune with issues of importance in developing
countries, among them globalization, immigration and climate change.
“My approach has always been organic in terms of color,
material, everything. I use what is available and inexpensive, what’s
inclusive, not exclusive, and what marries the outdoor with the indoor,” said
Joseph. “I saw something on TV about Africa and then something about rice and
beans came on. I realized that’s the essence of people — 90 percent of the
world eats rice and beans.
“I looked at flat beans laying on the table and I thought,
beans, who doesn’t know about beans and rice? It took me back to ‘Who doesn’t
know the Scream?’” he said. “So two years ago, I started to play with it. I
thought, ‘Let’s see if I can do something with beans on a canvas of wood.’”
But after making a couple attempts with beans and rice as a
medium, he put the project away and moved onto something else. Then the
pandemic hit, and Joseph finished the commissions he had underway at the time.
When the stop-work order came, he found himself with no projects at all. Then a
plumber stopped by his studio to fix some pipes and inspired him in a new
direction.
Nathan Slate Joseph “Essential 1,” 2020. Medium is white rice
and toilet paper.
“He was like an angel from overhead,” said Joseph. “He pulled
out the rice and beans paintings and they still looked great.”
But this time, there was a new urgency and messaging in the
work.
“Obviously, it’s about rice and beans. These are things you can
still get in the supermarket — rice and beans,” he said. “If you have enough
rice and beans you can live, you can eat. It’s part of a basic need around the
world.
“What else became relevant? Toilet paper,” he said. “You never
thought twice about it, but you wake up one day and it’s become the most
important item in the world and people are fighting and killing each other over
it. It went from non-existent in your mind to the most relevant item on a
dime.”
As an artistic medium, uncooked rice and beans are rigid and
difficult to keep in contact with surfaces like wood. So Joseph developed a
process of working in which he first bleached both to remove the food
properties and affixed them with a glue-like medium.
“There are red beans, lima beans, black beans. There are 1,000
different kinds of beans. There’s also lots of rice — Carolina rice, basmati
rice,” he said. “I use white rice and brown rice too, but I bleach it, so
it’s not alive anymore.
Nathan Slate Joseph’s “Essential Yellow, Red and Black,” 2020.
Medium is white rice, red beans, black beans.
“It’s organic and natural. I created 25 works of rice and beans.
I gave the rice color. It’s not rice anymore, it’s a surface,” he said. “Since
I’m into colors, I have the most brilliant colors I can imagine.”
With this body of work, while his choice of medium may be
commonplace, Joseph finds that the times we are living in are anything but. He
notes that with COVID-19, this is the first time one disease has affected the
whole planet at the same time during our lifetimes.
“With the speed of transit — planes and boats, it can spread
quickly,” he said. “You go to sleep one night and it’s spring, and the next day
it’s a pandemic and you can’t get toilet paper.”
“I’m making art out of something you can eat,” he added. “These
works are about basic needs, and I guess you can say we are all experiencing a
shift in consciousness in which those essentials are being redefined and
revalued.”
“Essentials,” an exhibition of Nathan Slate Joseph’s rice, bean
and toilet paper paintings, opens with a reception on Saturday, July 3, from 6
to 9 p.m. at Keyes Gallery, 45 Main Street at The American Hotel in Sag Harbor.
For information call 631-808-3588 or visit juliekeyesart.com.
Comments
Farmers eye GI tag for Wada Kolam rice
Gitesh Shelke | TNN | Updated: Jul 5, 2020,
13:20 IST
Representative image
PUNE: The farmers from the tribal belt of Palghar came together
and filed an application to secure the geographical identification (GI) tag for
Wada Kolam rice as it possesses all the qualities — aroma and other
specification — restricted to the geographical limits of Palghar.
The rice has its origin in the district. The city-based GI expert, Ganesh Hingmire of Great Mission Group Consultancy (GMCC), had submitted the application seeking the tag in June this year.
GI sign is used on products having a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In India, GI registration is administered by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
The Wada Kolam rice, also known as “zini”, is grown in the Wada taluka of Palghar district. A group of farmers — Wada Kolam Va Bahu-Uddeshiy Sheti Utpadan Sahakari Sanstha Maryadit — came together and approached Hingmire with their application.
Hingmire said, “Wada Kolam, an aromatic non-basmati variety of rice, is produced in Wada taluka and the farmers there have been growing this rice for many generations. The GI tag will help them get a premium price and it will also cut down the sale of hybrid varieties.”
He said, “One of the most striking feature of the rice is that it is gluten-free and easy to digest. It is high in micro-nutrients because of the quality of the soil and other geographical conditions of where it is grown.”
Hingmire said the local farmers did not use fertilizers for the cultivation of the rice. “They only use cow dung manure for its cultivation. The farmers also use the seeds produced locally,” he added.
The farmers claimed that they had stopped cultivating the rice as it did not fetch good price for the produce when compared to other varieties of the rice. They stated that other low quality rice was often wrongly passed off as Wada Kolam rice.
The rice has its origin in the district. The city-based GI expert, Ganesh Hingmire of Great Mission Group Consultancy (GMCC), had submitted the application seeking the tag in June this year.
GI sign is used on products having a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In India, GI registration is administered by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
The Wada Kolam rice, also known as “zini”, is grown in the Wada taluka of Palghar district. A group of farmers — Wada Kolam Va Bahu-Uddeshiy Sheti Utpadan Sahakari Sanstha Maryadit — came together and approached Hingmire with their application.
Hingmire said, “Wada Kolam, an aromatic non-basmati variety of rice, is produced in Wada taluka and the farmers there have been growing this rice for many generations. The GI tag will help them get a premium price and it will also cut down the sale of hybrid varieties.”
He said, “One of the most striking feature of the rice is that it is gluten-free and easy to digest. It is high in micro-nutrients because of the quality of the soil and other geographical conditions of where it is grown.”
Hingmire said the local farmers did not use fertilizers for the cultivation of the rice. “They only use cow dung manure for its cultivation. The farmers also use the seeds produced locally,” he added.
The farmers claimed that they had stopped cultivating the rice as it did not fetch good price for the produce when compared to other varieties of the rice. They stated that other low quality rice was often wrongly passed off as Wada Kolam rice.
