AP millers promise normal supply of rice
Rice mill operators from Andhra
Pradesh (AP) under the banner of the East Godavari District Rice Millers
Association held talks with open market wholesale rice traders from the
districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha here on Monday.
Association leaders said the talks were aimed at instilling confidence in the
traders that there would be normal supplies from AP during the Onam season.
The association had decided to
stop supplies to Consumerfed and Supplyco since the State government owned dues
of more than Rs.100 crore to the millers of AP. But after meeting Chief
Minister Oommen Chandy on Sunday, the association decided to resume supply to
Supplyco, but not to Consumerfed. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/ap-millers-promise-normal-supply-of-rice/article7497956.ece
Crackdown On Rice Millers: Investors Accuse NCS Of Undermining Rule Of
Law
— Aug 4, 2015 3:12 am
In the face of the persistent crackdown by the Nigerian Customs
Service on importers of rice into the country, and the continued shut down of
their warehouses, the rice millers have accused the leadership of the NCS of
undermining the spirit of the rule of law which the federal government promises
to uphold.According to some of the investors who spoke with LEADERSHIP, the
behaviour of the operatives of the NCS in sealing their warehouses without due
process, “is a total affront to the gospel of the rule of law which the
President Buhari administration promises to uphold.“The recent physical
crackdown by officers of Nigerian Customs on companies allegedly owing excess
duties levied after customs had cleared their goods for importation is believed
to be an effort to paint the present Customs administration white and escape
the cleansing brush of this administration.
“If the administration swallows the hook, it will spare the
leadership and prolong its stay at the helms of affairs of the highly lucrative
border agency. Or how else does one interpret this sudden crackdown by Customs,
in the face of court orders restraining them from taking action against the
companies until the various court cases instituted in this respect are
vacated,” one of the investors told our correspondent.It will be recalled that
early in the week of June 27, heavily armed men of the Nigerian Customs invaded
premises of seven companies allegedly owing N23.6 billion on account of unpaid
levies in respect of rice importation. Customs alleged that the companies had
imported rice in excess of quotas granted them by the Federal Government in its
Rice Policy circular.
They demanded payment of 40% levy on the deemed excess, imported
between June and December 2014”.The source further said: “One would have asked
if Customs officers had access to this policy paper ahead of the importation
and admittance of the goods through our ports. One would have wanted to know if
Customs was aware of the conditions of the incentives attached to these policy
initiatives and the conditions under which the incentives could be availed. “Knowing how thorough our Customs men are, they would
have scrutinized the policy document and referred it to their legal officers
for advice before implementation. Based on their interpretation of the Rice
policy circular, they accepted documents submitted by importers operating under
this incentive programme at point of importation, and allowed their cargo be
cleared by paying the prescribed 10% duty and 20% levy.
They accepted this rate
repeatedly for six months until December 2014, when the Federal Ministry of
Agriculture woke from its slumber and remembered that it had failed to convene
a meeting of the inter-ministerial committee as directed by the government or
issued quotas to bona fide rice value chain operators as required by the
directive. The inter-ministerial committee was saddled with the task of
determining the supply shortfall in rice to be made up by importation and the
allocation of quotas to bona fide investors.
Import Duty: Rice Importers Lament Clampdown
Aug 4, 2015 4:08 am |
The ongoing dispute between the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)
and big rice investors in the country reached a new level today with the NCS
threatening to close down one of Nigeria’s foremost international hotels, The
Intercontinental Hotels, Lagos.The NCS had threatened that it may shut down the
hotel following the non-payment of retrospective duties by the hotel’s parent
company, the Milan Group.This was disclosed earlier today by the national
public relations officer of the NCS,Wale Adeniyi.
Findings revealed that the rice industry is perplexed with this
latest move as they argue that it is against the rule of law for any action to
be taken in any dispute before the decision of the judicial system. This is
because some of the investors have already lodged their cases in court.
Stakeholders, who commented on the development, said that the sealing of a
global hospitality chain like The Intercontinental Hotels, Lagos, for no
apparent legal non-compliance may not spell well for Nigeria’s image apart from
the embarrassment and inconvenience for its guests.The NCS is demanding
retrospective duties from the rice investors for imports pertaining to 2014
while the investors have claimed that the quota allocations did not comply with
stipulated regulations issued only in December and were also biased against the
bonafide investors.Following the confusion that trailed the 2014 quotas, the
quotas for 2015 were also issued, cancelled and later reissued again.
The implementation of the
policy received a lot of criticism from the rice industry as the presidential
directives were not complied with in the process.The affected rice investors,
who had invested billions of naira in the rice value chain, have been catalysts
in Nigeria’s recent initiatives to be self-sufficient in rice production.The
immediate former minister of agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, had in August
2014, said that “our rice today, in terms of total value added to our local
economy, in terms of gross value across all the states is N750billion since we
started in 2012.”
http://leadership.ng/business/451512/import-duty-rice-importers-lament-clampdown
India to host
2-day Global Rice Bran Oil Conference from August 7 at Mumbai
Tuesday, August 04, 2015 08:00
IST
Our Bureau, Bengaluru
India is playing host to a two-day
Global Rice Bran Oil Conference to be held in Mumbai on August 7 and 8,
2015.The event would be inaugurated by chief minister of Maharashtra Devendra
Fadnavis and hosted by the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, an
association of vegetable oil industry and trade.Industry and health experts
from China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, India, and so on are congregating for the
event. It will discuss position, promotion and prospect of rice bran oil as
healthy oil in the world. This is the second such event after it was first
hosted at China last year.The two-day event will focus on issues related to rice
bran oil including its nutrition & health benefits, its patronisation by
medical fraternity, regulatory issues, quality control and so on.
The participants will include manufacturers,
scientists, doctors and nutritionists. Rice Bran oil is obtained from the
brown layer of rice, which constitutes about 5% of paddy and is enriched in oil
to the extent of 10-25%. Research institutes in India and abroad have found
rice bran oil a heart-friendly oil with unique properties beneficial for
maintaining good health. It is the only cooking medium which has an ideal
SFA/MUFA/PUFA ratio and EFA ratio which is closer to the recommended levels of
WHO.
A number of scientific studies have confirmed that using rice bran oil as a
cooking medium could significantly reduce the bad cholesterol without adversely
affecting the good cholesterol due to presence of a unique component in this
oil know as “Oryzanol,” which is not found in any other vegetable oil.Globally,
about 15 lakh tonne of rice bran oil is produced out of which India produces
about 9.5 lakh tonne per annum used for human consumption as cooking oil,
blended oil and vanaspati. Sharing details of the conference, Dr B V
Mehta, executive director, Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, mentioned
that the event would further enhance the perception of rice bran oil as the
healthiest cooking oil.
“Thanks to its low cost, everyone
can access safe and heart-friendly cooking oil. We look forward to learn from
the experiences from different countries that would be shared during the
conference” he added. Eminent world authorities on rice bran oil like
Prof. Xuebing Xu of Wilmar R&D Centre, China; Prof. Dr Teruo Miyazawa of
Tohuku University, Japan; Dr Tran Thanh Hoa of Cai Lan Oil & Fats
Industries Vietnam; Prasert Setwipattanachal of Surin Bran Oil Company Limited,
Thailand; and Fumi Tsuno, of Tsuno Foods Industrial Co. Ltd, Japan; are among
the international leaders who would attend and present papers at the
conference. The experts from India will include Dr V Prakash, distinguished
scientist from CSIR; Dr B Sasikeran, former director, NIN, Hyderabad; Dr
Shashank R Joshi, endocrine and metabolic physician; Dr V Chockalingam, leading
cardiologist; Dr R B N Prasad, chief scientist & head, IICT; and Atul
Chaturvedi, CEO, Adani Wilmar Ltd.
http://www.fnbnews.com/article/detnews.asp?articleid=37607§ionid=1
Over 2 lakh hectares land damaged in West
Bengal rains
Heavy
rains in July and early August have had a contrasting impact on farmers in
eastern India this kharif season.KOLKATA: eavy rains in July and early August
have had a contrasting impact on farmers in eastern India this kharif season.
Rains brought much cheer to paddy farmers in Jharkhand as acreage is set to go
up by 1 lakh hectares to 17 lakh hectares, but the downpour damaged crops over
2.1 lakh hectares of land in
West Bengal comprising largely
paddy and vegetables. Paddy crops in Odisha and Manipur have also been affected
due to heavy rains. Rice traders said if production gets affected then retail
prices might shoot up 10-15 per cent during the festive season.
Trilochan Mohapatra, agricultural scientist
and director of Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) said: "The downpour
has been very heavy in a short span of time.There is a flood like situation in
northern Odisha. The main concern is now the distribution of rains in August
and September.Even if the farmers go in for next round of sowing after water
recedes in fields, it should rain well in August for fresh transplantation of
paddy saplings." ohapatra said there has been severe damage to standing paddy
crop in certain pockets of West Bengal and Odisha due to heavy rains. "But
right at this point, I cannot say that crop is in a bad position.The damage can
be taken care of if fresh sowing can be undertaken in August. Short duration
paddy seeds may be used to get the required crop," he said.
The CRRI director said prices should not go up
as the procurement by government agencies is not enough. "We have seen
that farmers are not able to sell their produce. So the question of price hike
does not arise at all," he said. Senior West Bengal government officials
said the flooding in Hooghly and Howrah districts has worsened and will
deteriorate a bit further as the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has released
more water. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who monitored the flood
situation overnight at the state secretariat Nabanna on Sunday, informed the
media that besides 47 municipalities, 210 blocks and 9,691 villages were
affected by the flood due to heavy rains triggered by Cyclone Komen.
"Crops in over 2.1 lakh hectares of land
were destroyed across the state," she said. In Manipur too, six districts
have been affected by
floods
and paddy and other crops have been damaged. However, the situation is
completely different in Jharkhand.Mukund Variar, officer-in-charge of Central
Rainfed Upland Rice Research Station, said more than half of the
transplantation has been carried out and the rest will be over by August 15.
The acreage is likely to increase to 17 lakh hectares this year from 16 lakh
hectares last time round, he said. Jharkhand produces 37 lakh tonnes of rice a
year
APEDA
News from India
International Benchmark Price
|
Price on: 30-07-2015
|
Product
|
Benchmark
Indicators Name
|
Price
|
Apricots
|
1
|
Turkish
No. 2 whole pitted, CIF UK (USD/t)
|
5875
|
2
|
Turkish
No. 4 whole pitted, CIF UK (USD/t)
|
5125
|
3
|
Turkish
size 8, CIF UK (USD/t)
|
4125
|
Cocoa
|
1
|
Indonesian
Sulawesi saq beans, DAT US East Coast (USD/t)
|
3396
|
2
|
NYSE
Liffe Cocoa Futures (USD/t)
|
3343
|
Corn/Maize
|
1
|
DCE
Corn Futures (USD/t)
|
386
|
2
|
TOCOM
Corn Futures (USD/t)
|
197
|
3
|
White
Maize, FOB South Africa (USD/t)
|
263
|
Source:agra-net
|
For more info
|
|
Market
Watch
|
Commodity-wise, Market-wise Daily Price on 03-08-2015
|
Domestic Prices
|
Unit Price : Rs per Qty
|
Product
|
Market
Center
|
Variety
|
Min
Price
|
Max
Price
|
Maize
|
1
|
Dhing
(Assam)
|
Other
|
1310
|
1400
|
2
|
Dehgam
(Gujarat)
|
Other
|
1175
|
1300
|
3
|
Rudrapur
(Uttrakhand)
|
Other
|
1273
|
1325
|
Jowar(Sorgham)
|
1
|
Amreli
(Gujarat)
|
Other
|
1050
|
2120
|
2
|
Kota
(Rajasthan)
|
Other
|
1550
|
1550
|
3
|
Parbhani
(Maharashtra)
|
Other
|
1550
|
1800
|
Pine Apple
|
1
|
Aroor
(Kerala)
|
Other
|
2800
|
3000
|
2
|
Sirhind
(Punjab)
|
Other
|
1800
|
2200
|
3
|
Shillong
(Meghalaya)
|
Other
|
2000
|
2200
|
Carrot
|
1
|
Shillong
(Meghalaya)
|
Other
|
3000
|
3600
|
2
|
Bolangir
(Orissa)
|
Other
|
2800
|
3000
|
3
|
Una
(Himachal Pradesh)
|
Other
|
2500
|
2500
|
Source:agra-net
|
For more info
|
|
Egg
|
Rs per 100 No
|
Price on 03-08-2015
|
Product
|
Market
Center
|
Price
|
1
|
Ahmedabad
|
352
|
2
|
Chittoor
|
358
|
3
|
Hyderabad
|
324
|
|
|
|
Other
International Prices
|
Unit Price : US$ per package
|
Price on 03-08-2015
|
Product
|
Market
Center
|
Origin
|
Variety
|
Low
|
High
|
Potatoes
|
Package: 50 lb cartons
|
1
|
Atlanta
|
Colorado
|
Russet
|
22.75
|
22.75
|
2
|
Dallas
|
Idaho
|
Russet
|
20.50
|
24.50
|
3
|
Detroit
|
California
|
Russet
|
18
|
18.50
|
Cucumbers
|
Package: cartons film wrapped
|
1
|
Atlanta
|
Canada
|
Long
Seedless
|
9
|
10
|
2
|
Chicago
|
Mexico
|
Long
Seedless
|
13
|
13
|
3
|
Dallas
|
California
|
Long
Seedless
|
12
|
13
|
Grapefruit
|
Package: 7/10 bushel cartons
|
1
|
Atlanta
|
California
|
Red
|
22.50
|
24.50
|
2
|
Dallas
|
California
|
Red
|
20
|
20
|
3
|
Philadelphia
|
California
|
Red
|
18
|
20
|
Source:USDA
|
|
The rice industry
should diversify
Dear Editor,
I would like to commend all those involved in
putting together the National Rice Industry Conference. The feature address by
the President and the presenters, covered most of the concerns in the industry,
except its sustainability. The farming community was well represented and did
air its concerns, mostly on timely payment by millers, ways of bringing down
the cost of production and the paddy price for the coming crop. Unfortunately,
no firm decision was made on any of the concerns, and no mention was made of
the sustainability of the industry.
It was highlighted that the number
of farmers is getting smaller and holdings are getting larger, obviously for a
reason. Naturally, the bigger farmers are better equipped to have a greater
return on investment, because of lower cost of production and higher yields.
Lots of numbers have been thrown around for cost of production; however, I have
decided to consider the numbers presented by Mr John Tracey, as they seem most
realistic.
Consider $80,000 for cost of
production of one acre, and the farmer gets 30 bags per acre and is paid $3,000
per bag. Then his profit per acre per crop is $10,000. For 2 crops per year
it’s $20,000 per acre. The minimum wage in the public sector per month is
$50,000 that is $600,000 per year. A farmer would have to cultivate a minimum
of 30 acres of paddy before he could make this amount, on which it is
impossible for the farmer, his wife and kids to support themselves.There are
many farmers who cultivate much less than this acreage, resulting in lots of
dissatisfied farmers. A farmer cultivating five acres will only earn $100,000
per year.
The problem is compounded by the
fact that there is not any other form of employment available on a regular
basis. Obviously, this is the root cause of the problem, but was still not
addressed at the conference. The bottom line is that it’s not a rice industry
issue, but a social issue and it is important that this issue is addressed
urgently and a solution found.The best and only solution at this time is
diversification, which will result in less acreage under paddy cultivation,
resulting in less rice production, which might not be a bad idea, as we are
very vulnerable because of having to market about 75% of our production, while
only about 5% of world’s production is traded.
Mr Kuldip gave a thirty-two per
cent for cost of labour, which is way too high, as the industry is relatively
mechanised, and the farmer is left with lots of spare time, which can only be
taken up by him doing another job.A farmer cultivating five acres of paddy,
earning $100,000 per year, lives way below the poverty line. With
diversification, he could work wonders by earning lots more in a year, and
keeping himself beneficially occupied year round.
An ADP (Export Agriculture
Diversification Programme) should be introduced and would involve three clusters:
fruit and vegetables, livestock and aquaculture and aquaponics. This was
implemented recently but failed miserably, mainly because of the
non-involvement of stakeholders and the authority.This system can be
implemented, both in the rice and sugar industries. Consider a rice farmer or a
GuySuCo employee with five acres of land. There will be a mixture of livestock,
fruits and vegetables and aquaculture /aquaponics, The mixture will be:
aquaculture /aquaponics… 2 acres to
produce 5,000 fish per acre;
livestock… a combination of two
dairy cows and six goats… zero grazing; fruits and vegetables… a mixture of
cassava, sweet potatoes, black-eye, boulanger, tomato, pepper, sorrel, passion
fruit, pumpkin, water melon, etc.The layout is very important, as the aquaponic
system will be used to allow the farmer to utilise the water from the fish pond
as a fertiliser and a source of moisture, resulting in a high-priced organic
crop.It is assumed that the farmer and his family (when available) will work 6
days per week for six hours per day, earning $5,000 per day; that is $30,000
per week equal to $120,000 per month equal to $1,440,000 per year, as against
$100,000 per year if he were cultivating paddy. He will also be occupied year
round. At the end of the day he will also have lots more available from the
sale of vegetables, milk, fish, and live animals (goats and cattle).
For the farmer to get started, the
following will have to be done: He will have to fence the five acres; dig two
ponds of one acre each; acquire fingerlings and feed. (The infrastructure for
drainage and irrigation is already in place.)
He would acquire two dairy cows
capable of producing two gallons of milk each per day and six goats (ewes,
capable of reproducing, getting to 100 lbs at the end of one year and producing
three births of two each in two years), utilising artificial insemination (AI)
for both cattle and goats.He would also need gardening tools, planting
materials and finance (fixed and variable). The farmer will expect some initial
help from the government as it’s a new idea to be executed.
The five acres owned by the farmer,
whether leased or transported has lots of value and can be held as security at
a development bank, at an affordable interest rate. Owing to the nature of the different
crops to be cultivated, after a couple of months the farmer could start
receiving income providing the market is available.Where markets are concerned,
it is very, very important that these are assured before the farmer goes into
production.In respect of technology, the relevant agencies will have to become
active: the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute, the Guyana
Livestock Development Agency and the New Guyana Marketing Corporation.
Yours faithfully,
Beni Sankar
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2015/opinion/letters/08/04/the-rice-industry-should-diversify/
Customs uninformed of
QRC closure
The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) whilst
appreciating the disbandment of the Quality Review Committee (QRC) by the
Ministry of Commerce (MINCOM) has urged the ministry and the Trade Development
Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) to inform the Customs immediately not to demand
QRC certificate from basmati rice exporters in view of the disbandment of the
so called rice inspection cell.President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver said the Rice
Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) has taken up the matter immediately
after the closure/disbandment of QRC and problems being faced by
REAP members at Karachi Port with MINCOM and requested them to take
immediate measures for clearance of rice containers stuck up at Karachi
Port.
REAP has also requested MINCOM to issue Public Notice for
awareness of general public and for the information of the concerned
departments. Thaver regretted that MINCOM and TDAP should have informed
the Customs simultaneously and could have avoided this predicament. Also REAP
should have anticipated this awkward situation and requested MINCOM in good
time when termination notice was served on the QRC staff and the decision to
disband was made by MINCOM and TDAP.The SME basmati rice exporters have sought
immediate notice of disbandment of QRC to the Customs and related departments
to enable movement of rice cargo immediately to avoid delay in shipments and
meeting deadline of contracts.
It is very unfortunate that even in days of advanced
communications there is lack of co-ordination amongst the state organizations
and in the bargain the business community suffers. Even the policy gazettes
reach the concerned organizations late. A system needs to be developed whereby
the policy decisions are conveyed immediately online to the concerned.
Rice
culture of the Cordilleras
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY JUN LEPROZO,08/04/2015 10:18
PM
Come election time in 2016, rice will be a
prime topic in the national debates. Everybody will be talking about rice self
sufficiency, food security and playing to the ears of more than 11 million
Filipino farmers.But what is rice other than a staple food of Filipinos?
Precisely because it is inherent in the Filipinos' daily life, it has also
become embedded in our culture. Nowhere is this more evident than in the rice
growing culture of the Cordilleras, which predates the Spanish colonial
government.Rice cultivation in the Cordillera Administrative Region's six
provinces--Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Kalinga, Ifugao and Mountain Province--is an
ancient practice that predates the building of rice terraces by their
ancestors, which scientists believe started around 2,000 years ago.
The rice terraces were built with crude and
pre-historic tools made of wood, stone, metal and with farmers' bare hands.
Carved out of an unforgiving mountainous terrain, their sheer determination
still evokes awe in the engineering world.The rice terraces' system of forest,
soil and water conservation has withstood the test of time, and they still dot
the Cordilleras, providing work and nourishment to farmers.
Kebbi
Government to access N5bn CBN loan to boost rice production
The Kebbi Government said it would support farmers to access
N5billion loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to boost commercial rice
production in the state.The permanent secretary in the State’s Ministry of
Agriculture, Alhaji Yahaya Jega, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in
Birnin Kebbi on Tuesday.He said that farmers would be encouraged to obtain the
loan through financial institutions that would not attract more than nine
percent interest.Jega said the state had prepared 600,000 hectares of land to
be utilised for rice farming across the state.“We would ensure that we produce
enough rice for the country by supporting our farmers to expand the scope of
their production,” he said.
He said solar energy would be
introduced to power generators for irrigation farming, adding that the solar
power would reduce the high cost of operating the generators with petrol.The
permanent secretary said commercial rice millers had inspected the variety of
the commodity produced in the state and had expressed satisfaction that
commercial production would be viable.He said silos, marketing strategies and
transportation would be provided to assist the farmers to expand their rice
production.Jega said the agriculture would be transformed to attract the
unemployed youth to engage in commercial farming.According to him, government
is fully prepared to encourage mechanized farming, provide improved seedlings,
extension services and fertiliser at low rates.
NAN
Millers and ryots keep their fingers
crossed
Millers and farmers in the
district are anxiously waiting for the State government’s decision on new paddy
pronouncement policy as the Civil Supplies Corporation has convened a
State-level joint collectors and civil supply officers meeting in Hyderabad on
Wednesday to discuss possible alternate ways for its procurement in the wake of
Centre’s decision to stop levy from October. Following the Centre’s decision,
about 250 rice millers in the district are eager to know the government’s
decision.Meanwhile, sources in the Civil Supplies Department told The Hindu that the government is set to
follow Karnataka and Chhattisgarh model by involving private players in paddy
procurement.
Earlier, the Food Corporation of
India used to purchase 75 per cent of paddy milled at rice mills as levy to
supply the same to BPL families, but the Centre had reduced the levy to 25 per
cent on October 1, 2014, and from October it has decided to stop the total
levy.
Record number of mills
Nalgonda district alone produces
about 20 lakh metric tonnes in both the rabi and kharif seasons, and the
district has the highest number of mills in the country. While farmers fear
whether they would get MSP or not on their produce, the millers say that they
might incur losses.Rice Millers Association chairman Dhana Mallaiah urged the
State government to keep the interests of farmers and rice millers in mind
while formulating a new policy.“Any decisions in haste may plunge both the
farming sector and rice millers into a crisis,” he said
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/millers-and-ryots-keep-their-fingers-crossed/article7501512.ece
These Scientists Think
Genetically Modified Rice Can Help Solve the Climate Crisis
·
·
·
·
August
4, 2015 |
A new
kind of genetically modified rice with a higher starch content could
produce more food while at the same time reducing the methane, a greenhouse
gas, that's emitted when it grows, the journal
Nature reported.Researchers
created the genetically modified rice, called SUSIBA2, by using a gene from
barley. The barley gene influenced how carbon in the rice plant was
distributed. Less carbon in the genetically modified plants went to the roots,
which meant that methane-producing bacteria in the soil had fewer nutrients to
consume.Compared to control rice, the genetically modified variety emitted
anywhere from 10 percent to less than 1 percent of the methane that normally
would have been emitted, depending on the plant's age when the measurement was
taken.Christer Jansson, the director of plant sciences at the Environmental
Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) in Washington and one of the study's
authors, called the low-methane rice "very promising."
"Because
if [it] can be scaled up to large-scale production in rice paddies in China,
that could mean that a significant amount of methane that would otherwise have
been released to the atmosphere, is not being released," he told VICE
News.
Watch
"On the Line" with Environment Editor Robert S. Eshelman here: Methane
is not the most abundant greenhouse gas — that's carbon dioxide — but it is a
powerful one: the US Environmental Protection Agency
estimates that
over the course of a century methane can be 25 times as strong as carbon
dioxide in its contribution to climate change."Methane is the second most
important greenhouse gas," Scott Bridgham, a biology and environmental
studies professor at the University of Oregon, told VICE News.
He studies the methane emitted by wetlands, a
prominent source of the gas.But methane is also released in significant amounts
by anthropogenic sources like fossil fuels, landfills, ruminants like cows, and
rice cultivation.According to data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, about 60 percent of all methane emissions come from those anthropogenic
sources. Rice alone accounts for about 10 percent of the methane created by
human activities."This study is following on something of a history of
field experiments evaluating different kinds of rice varieties — in this case,
transgenic [rice] — looking for ways to both increase food production, and
reduce methane emissions," Elaine Matthews, a NASA scientist,
told VICE News. "One thing it doesn't address is whether this kind of rice
really has a chance of being really widely used to gain the methane
advantage."The new genetically modified rice might not see widespread use
for multiple reasons, she said. Those include cost, cultural preferences for
different kinds of rice, and the fact that the rice industry is complex: The
crop is cultivated on many small-scale farms.
David
Schubert, a biochemist who works on drug development at the Salk Institute for
Biological Studies in California, is concerned about the safety of genetically
modified crops."When you alter the gene expression in any organism you get
a lot of changes that you can't predict," Schubert told VICE News.Kenneth
Boote, a crop physiologist and professor at the University of Florida, said
that he doesn't have any problem with genetically modified crops. But he
remains skeptical of this new study, in part because he said increasing the
amount of starch in the rice plant could actually reduce the rice's protein
levels. He also questioned whether the new variety would actually reduce methane
emissions, since the gas is also emitted after the rice is harvested and the
stalks are left behind."I worry a little bit about potted plant
experiments," Boote told VICE News.
Nonetheless,
it's important to go after sources of greenhouse gas emissions like the methane
that comes from rice production, says Jesse Lasky, a postdoctoral scientist at
Columbia University who has researched crops, genetics, and climate
change. "Especially if it's one where the goal of reducing emissions
is coincident with increasing yield for a major crop," he told VICE News.The
genetically modified rice has less massive roots than the control rice does.
Lasky questioned how the plants might deal with an unexpected drought."The
fact that these have smaller roots begs the question of how they might respond
to environmental stressors like that," he said.Jansson from EMSL referred
to the root question as "a very valid point." He explained that the
genetically modified plants will be evaluated in China under a more substantive
study, as well as undergo further research in his Washington laboratory.Columbia
University's Lasky said as genetics becomes a more mature science, researchers
in the field might be able to make a greater contribution to solving problems
like how to reduce agricultural emissions."Climate change is this huge
challenge that we're facing as a society, and so we want to really bring
everything we can to bear on it," he said.
https://news.vice.com/article/these-scientists-think-genetically-modified-rice-can-help-solve-the-climate-crisis
3 ways GMO rice could improve world but tech
hurdles and anti-GMO protests block way
Little did I know that rice, the innocent bag of grains sitting in
my pantry, is warming the planet, inadvertently contributing to millions of
deaths worldwide, and slowly poisoning me with arsenic. That’s what it says on
many websites, with scary headlines like “
Rice Growing Emits More Methane
as Climate Warms” and “
Toxin Found in Most U.S. Rice Causes Genetic Damage.”But I
don’t want to contribute to fear-mongering, so let me be real: we don’t
need to worry too much about the arsenic. Before I came to that
conclusion, I did some reading about what arsenic wasdoing in my rice.
I learned that when the US
Food and Drug Administration
increased its testing of rice a few years ago, it found
levels of arsenic at about 2.6 to 7.2 micrograms per serving. To put that in
perspective, this value is well above the allowed limit for arsenic in water–at
least in concentration. If one serving of water is considered, a cup of
water would need to have less than 2.5 micrograms of arsenic. Of
course we need more servings of water per day (let’s say 8 cups or 2
liters, max 20 micrograms), and most people don’t have 5 servings of rice per
day (13 – 36 micrograms), so it’s all relative.FDA also assures that these
levels are not a cause for worry in the US, headlines be damned. Some of
the world’s poor, however, do live on nothing but rice (several servings per
day if they are lucky); and if they are unlucky, they live in areas with
naturally high levels of arsenic in the water.compounding the risks.
Clearly it would be good to find a permanent solution to lowering
the levels of arsenic in such a basic staple. The stuff in high
concentrations is a world renowned poison, after all.How does it get into
the rice in the first place? The US
Environmental Protection Agency tells us that sources of arsenic include erosion of natural
deposits; runoff from orchards as well as runoff from glass and electronic
production wastes. As
FDA puts it,
“arsenic is a naturally occurring contaminant, and because it’s in soil and
water, it’s going to get into food”.Arsenic happens to get
absorbed into rice particularly well, because its form on rice-fields (arsenate)
resembles the form in which silicon is taken up by the rice plants. Silicon is
used to build the sturdiness of its stems. Getting arsenic in its
place is a problem for the plant too. Tough luck.
There’s cause for optimism. While learning about
these surprising issues with rice, thankfully, I’ve been learning
about even more surprising solutions to them. Promising research on this issue
was published just last year (
PDF), as reported here by
The Scientist:
Researchers
based in Korea and Japan have shown that a rice transporter protein called
OsABCC1 prevents arsenic from damaging plant tissues by sequestering the
element in vacuoles. Because of this, potentially harmful arsenic remains in
these cellular waste containers rather than building up in rice grains.That
is great news! Science could help us truly
not worry about arsenic in
our rice. In the meantime, the message seems to be: eat a
varied diet and you will be fine. So I will get on instead with the really
bad problems with rice.
Rice, a climate culprit
Anthropogenic Methane emissions by
source, from
Global Methane Initiative
What problems? Like how the climate toll from rice cultivation is
on par with cow farts, the leading source of methane gas release in the world.Take
a look at the global methane emissions chart: contributions from rice
cultivation are big enough to feature in the top four. The sum
of methane leaks from all ruminant farm animals’ digestive systems’ (AKA
Enteric Fermentation) is still by far the biggest anthropogenic source, since
a cow emits a whooping
250-500 liters of methane per
day. missions from oil and gas are a large second. But on the nearly
shared 3rd and 4th places are all the world’s landfills and the
cultivation of one single crop: rice.Why is this a problem? Methane, though
emitted in much smaller amounts than carbon dioxide, and receiving far less
attention, is in fact a potent greenhouse gas–30 times as potent as carbon
dioxide.
Wikipedia quotes IPCC on that:
The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report determined that methane in the
Earth’s atmosphere is an important greenhouse gas with a global warming potential of 34 compared to CO2 over a 100-year period (although
accepted figures probably represent an underestimate[61][62]).
Methane emissions are no joke. I may have been clueless to
the emission status of rice, but plant scientists sure aren’t. There was
recently big
news about a
paper in
Nature describing
a new variety of rice that eliminates more than 90 percent of those
emissions. It quickly became my new favourite science victory.
Climate change combating rice. Awesome. To better illustrate what an awesome
impact the methane-reducing rice could have, I compiled the data into
another infographic:
The potential of this discovery is mind-boggling.
Comparing that to the yearly
climate mitigation effect that GMO crops have at
present, equivalent to closing down 7-8 coal fired power plants, it’s
huge. This rice alone could do that ten times over, and twice again.So how
does the rice do it? And why is so much methane emitted from rice cultivation
in the first place? When we consider many other methane sources, like
ruminant’s stomachs, or landfills (or compost for the matter; read more by
scientist Steve Savage on
the shocking carbon footprint
of compost), the key are anaerobic methane producing bacteria, or methanogens.
Methane is a natural byproduct of the metabolism of
bacteria at work in digesting plant material, called
methanogenesis.
These bacteria are why cows and other ruminants can live on such tough
plant materials (grass stems and leaves) which are near useless to
most other animals. These bacteria work at conditions where there is no oxygen,
in fact, oxygen is largely
fatal to them. This brings us to rice, or more
specifically, flooded rice fields, or
paddy fields. In the protective anaerobic environment –
the drowned soils of these fields – methanogens are hard at work munching roots
and other plant material, bubbling away with methane.Back in 2002,
a paper looked at
the issue of rice-field -derived methane more closely motivated by just this
climate impact:
Microbial production in anoxic wetland rice soils is a major
source of atmospheric CH4, the most important non-CO2 greenhouse gas.The authors saw that during the wet
season, the formation of spikelets – the flowering, grain-forming parts of the
rice plants – was reduced, and the methane emissions were high. They got
higher still, when they artificially blocked the plant’s ability to form
spikelets. Why? When the plant could not store its starches in the developing
rice grain, they went increasingly to the lower parts of the plant, the roots,
and more starches became available for the bottom-dwelling methanogens. It
seems that
wetter years are bad in
particular for spikelet formation, and simultaneously, with no risk
of drying out and being exposed to oxygen, that’s when the methanogens feast
and thrive (
and the warmer the better).Nipp is
the control, SUSIBA2-77 is the modified rice. The biomass profile is visibly
skewed upwards.
This opens a win-win prospect for plant scientists –what better
way to reduce the starch content of the roots (and thus emissions),
than to promote the plants ability to store its goods in the grains – to
improve its yields? From
the 2002 study:
The observed relationship between reduced grain filling and CH4 emission provides opportunities to
mitigate CH4 emissions by optimizing rice
productivity.Fast forward to today. The
big news: the
SUSIBA2-rice is here, as
presented in Nature.
The new engineered rice promotes more biomass accumulation above ground,
away from reach for the methane producing bacteria. This results in 90-99.7%
lower methane emissions, while also increasing yields – up to 1.5 times as much
seeds per plant in weight and 10 % higher starch content in the grains.If
you look at their model below, they describe greater “sink strenght” in the
seeds and stems. “Sink” describes a plant part that is a sugar sink
to differentiate from the sugar sources – photosynthesis locations are the
sources, storage compartments are sinks.
Higher starch content in the stems and the seeds, less in the
roots for the bacteria to feed on
Optimistic
news pieces are popping up
left and
right. So what are
we waiting for? Let’s amp up large scale testing, put some public financing
into this and make it an international project of climate mitigation. In a few
years, or a decade, we could be growing vast paddies of climate combating rice.Well,
not so fast. No matter how good the prospects, sometimes simply having a better
solution is not good enough. It can be hard for people to follow the world of
science, and when faced with a novelty, they may go instead with their gut
reaction.
Why is rice contributing to so
many deaths?
Maybe you caught that I never explained that third problem I
listed–the part about “inadvertently contributing to millions of deaths
worldwide” part. That problem illuminates this point very well and reminds
us that changing the world is not just up to science. It’s also about
impressions and politics.In Asia, many of the very poor depend on a diet of
predominantly rice. That’s the cheapest and best food they can get. But rice
lacks some vital ingredients, often leading to a serious vitamin A deficiency.
Here is one concise
summary of the
global food security challenge:
Three billion people depend upon rice as their main source of food
of which 10 percent are at risk for vitamin A deficiency.
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) weakens the immune system, increasing
the risk of infections such as measles and malaria. Severe deficiencies lead to
corneal ulcers or blindness. According to the World Health Organization, VAD is
the cause of 250,000 to 500,000 children going blind each year. Half of these
children die within a year. Additionally in Asia and Africa, almost 600,000
vitamin A-deficient women die from childbirth-related causes.
This is no small matter. What makes it heart-wrenching is that we
have a solution. Independent scientists in a Swiss University created a rice
with beta-carotene–the vitamin A precursor well known from carrot. The rice has
a yellow colour, and is called
Golden Rice. It’s a
non-profit project, and for more than 10 years, the scientists have wanted to
give it to the farmers of the developing world to help alleviate disease and
suffering (see
Golden Rice opposition
cost $2b and 1.4m ‘life years’ over 10 years in India alone).
A safe more nutritious variety of rice could help prevent millions
from death and disability. Another modification of rice could protect them from
arsenic accumulation. A third revolutionary discovery could help the globe by
combating climate change.We can make the world better with biotechnology. If
people will let that happen.
Iida Ruishalme is a writer and a science communicator who holds a
M.Sc. in Biology from Sweden. She is a contributor to both Genetic Literacy
Project and Skepti-Forum.org. She blogs over
http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/08/04/3-ways-gmo-rice-could-improve-world-but-tech-hurdles-and-anti-gmo-protests-block-way/
This Genetically Modified Rice Could Make
More Food and Reduce Greenhouse Gases
Swedish scientists are developing a high-yield GMO rice that pumps
less methane into the atmosphere
Preventing hunger and saving the planet, one grain at a time.
Scientists at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences are
working on a genetically modified strain of rice that combines barley genes
with rice genes.The result would be a
high-yielding, starchy rice plant that produces less methane gases than regular
rice paddies. This plant, which pumps much less gas into the atmosphere, could
have an impact on the severity of the greenhouse effect.
According to
Ars Technica,
methane gas emissions are the natural result of humidity in rice paddies; the
wetlands where rich is cultivated emit methane gas in low-oxygen conditions. It
is estimated that more than 25 million metric tons of methane enter the
atmosphere every year as a result of the demand for rice worldwide. The
Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change estimates that methane is 84 times
more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. However, this new GMO rice
could pose a solution: the Swedish rice produces 90 to 99 percent fewer
emissions than traditional rice.The research development would provide “a
tremendous opportunity for more-sustainable rice cultivation,” the researchers
wrote in
the accompanying essay.
USA Rice DailyWOTUS Unravels from the Inside
|
WASHINGTON, DC - Last week the
House
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released more than 50 pages of
documents, some labeled "litigation sensitive," in which the Army
Corps of Engineers sometimes strongly disagreed with the U.S. EPA on the
process of drafting the final Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule. The
documents, that were not intended to be made public, tell a story of two
agencies in disagreement over not only process, but the use of data, the
definitions in the final rule, and the scientific and legal justifications
for what EPA was doing. Some of the memos went so far as to seek removal
of the Corp's logo from the final documents, as well as removing them as an
"Author, co-author, or substantive contributor."
Referring to specific points in the final
rule, the memos stated that the "1,500 foot limitation is not supported
by science or law" and the "4,000 foot bright line rule is not
based on any principle of science, hydrology or law," rendering both
therefore, "legally vulnerable." Perhaps more importantly, a
Corps memo stated that the final rule was "Inconsistent with SWANCC and
Rapanos," the two Supreme Court decisions on Clean Water Act regulations
that the final WOTUS rule was supposed to clarify.
"These documents are pretty damaging
to the Administration's notion that WOTUS is a good, common sense rule,"
said Ray Vester, an Arkansas rice farmer and chairman of USA Rice's
Regulatory Affairs and Food Safety Committee "We'll continue to address
the rule's legitimacy, and these documents provide a convenient roadmap to do
so."
|
USA Rice,
Others Meet with FAS Administrator Karsting
|
|
Betsy Ward and Phil Karsting at USA Rice's 2015 Government
Affairs Conference in February
|
WASHINGTON, D.C. - This afternoon, USA Rice met with Phil
Karsting, the Administrator of USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), as
part of a small group of agricultural commodity organizations all uniquely
involved in providing in-kind food aid contributions. The meeting was a
follow up to a hearing held in June by the House Committee on Agriculture
that reviewed U.S. international food aid programs where Karsting and a
counterpart with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) served
as witnesses and provided testimony (see " House Ag Committee Pushes Back on
Administration Efforts to Gut Food Aid Programs," USA Rice Daily June 24, 2015)
The U.S. rice industry has been a long-time participant of the
USAID's Food for Peace program that has accounted for up to five percent of
domestic production in recent years. The Food for Peace program celebrated
its 60 th anniversary last month, and USA
Rice staff participated in a Capitol Hill event to mark the occasion. (see
" U.S. Rice Recognized at Food for Peace
Celebration," USA Rice Daily, July 22, 2015)
"Today's group discussed how important U.S. commodities
have been to the United States' food assistance portfolio in meeting the
needs of the world's hungry," said Sarah Moran, director of
international promotion for USA Rice who attended the meeting. "The
agricultural community supports the flexibility currently found within the
Farm Bill that includes both cash/vouchers and adequate amounts of in-kind commodities." Administrator
Karsting echoed his support of the in-kind commodity contributions and said
"we need to continue using U.S. commodities where it makes sense."
In reference to the flexibility aspect of cash vouchers he acknowledged that
his agency and USAID "need a full range of tools in our tool box."
|
CME Group/Closing Rough Rice
Futures
|
CME Group (Prelim): Closing
Rough Rice Futures for August 4
September 2015
|
$11.455
|
+ $0.060
|
November 2015
|
$11.710
|
+ $0.050
|
January 2016
|
$11.995
|
+ $0.060
|
March 2016
|
$12.215
|
+ $0.080
|
May 2016
|
$12.400
|
+ $0.080
|
July 2016
|
$12.400
|
+ $0.080
|
September 2016
|
$11.910
|
+ $0.080
|
|
Golden Rice—a star among GMO foods—has a
major study retracted
The golden child of the pro-GMO advocates just
got a little tarnished. (Reuters/Erik
de Castro)
August 03, 2015
Golden Rice, often touted as a
shining example of the benefits of genetic engineering, might not be as golden
as originally thought.The American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition has
issued a retraction to
a 2012 paper on Golden Rice because of insufficient evidence of consent from
the parents of the children involved in the study, The Ecologistreports. And, perhaps more significantly, the
retraction provides the opportunity to re-raise another question regarding the
validity of the AJCN trial: The diets fed to the children in the trial were, according to critics, unrealistically high in fat.
(Because vitamin A, the primary benefit of Golden Rice, is fat soluble, the
body needs fat to absorb it.)
Golden Rice, first introduced in
a 2000 study in Science,
is genetically engineered rice that’s extra high in beta-carotene, a precursor
to vitamin A. It was developed as a potential solution to vitamin A
deficiencies in children around the world, especially those in highly
populated, impoverished areas. In 2005, a paper in Nature Biotechnologyintroduced Golden
Rice 2, which had 23-times more beta-carotene than its predecessor. In the 2012 American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition study,
the beta-carotene in Golden Rice 2 (now just Golden Rice) was found to be as
effective as pure beta-carotene in a capsule, and even more effective than
spinach in providing children with vitamin A. Golden Rice was the golden child
of pro-GMO interests.
Even though the private sector
was involved in the development of Golden Rice, and companies including
Syngenta and Monsanto have proprietary rights in it, they emphasize that they
do not make money from the marketing or sale of Golden Rice, and the efforts
are coordinated not by them, but by the International Rice Research Institute.
Golden Rice’s real value to these
companies is in publicity. Though there have been protests about its use from environmental groups like Greenpeace,
the nutritional qualities of Golden Rice have overshadowed the complaints.
All that may now come into
question if the study’s validity is challenged beyond the consent issue. The
children in the trial ate meals that were 20% fat by calories, and included
both pork and egg—foods not usually available in large quantities, if at all,
to the target population of poor children. Without it, much of the vitamin will
go to waste. (The AJCN did not include this critique in its decision to retract
the paper.)
Syngenta did not immediately
respond to request for comment. Monsanto directed inquiries to industry group
BIO, which declined to comment.
Myanmar appeals for international
assistance for flood relief
Tue Aug 4, 2015 10:15am EDT,YANGON | BY
TIMOTHY MCLAUGHLIN
Myanmar said on Tuesday it had appealed for international
assistance to help provide food, temporary shelter and clothing for more than
210,000 people affected by widespread flooding following weeks of heavy monsoon
rains.At least 47 people have died in the floods, according to the government.Myanmar's
call for international aid stands in sharp contrast to stance taken when it was
ruled by generals. The junta had refused outside help in the wake of a
devastating cyclone in 2008, when 130,000 people perished in the disaster.While
the quasi civilian government, which took power in 2011 and faces elections in
November, is leading the relief effort, but the military is handling operations
on the ground.
"We are cooperating and inviting international assistance.
We have started contacting possible donor organizations and countries," Ye
Htut, the Minister of Information and spokesman for the President's Office
said.He said international assistance was also needed to relocate people and
rebuild communities after the flood waters retreat. With a per capita GDP of
$1,105, Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in East Asia and the Pacific.The
Chinese Embassy in Yangon began providing relief supplies to stricken areas
this week.The minister said that the flood waters have begun to recede in
Rakhine state on the west coast, which suffered some of the worst flooding
after being lashed by the tail of Cyclone Komen, which made landfall in
Bangladesh late last week.
Areas northeast of the Rakhine state capital, Sittwe, including
Mrauk U and Minbya, were particularly hard hit.Video footage shot by Reuters on
Monday aboard a military helicopter in Rakhine showed hundreds of people
rushing through muddy flood waters to collect air dropped supplies.Rakhine is home
to around 140,000 displaced people, mainly Rohingya Muslims who live in squalid
camps scattered across the state.
Emergency workers were still facing difficulties in Chin State
on Tuesday after the rain caused landslides in the mountainous state that borders
India and Bangladesh.Main roads running through the state remained impassible
and attempts to access cities by helicopter were hampered by the relentless
downpours, Ye Htut said.The state-owned Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper,
citing the Ministry of Education, said that more than 1,300 schools across the
country had been shuttered due to the floods.Shwe Mann, the speaker of
parliament, has also postponed the reconvening of parliament scheduled for Aug.
10, in what will be the final session before the country heads to the polls on
Nov. 8.
Hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland have been inundated
by the floods, with the U.N. warning that this could, "disrupt the
planting season and impact long-term food security."
The Global New Light reported that the Myanmar Rice Federation
would halt exports until mid-September in an effort to stabilize domestic rice
prices and keep rice in country.
Govt decides to engage private players
for rice procurement
India Infoline News Service | Mumbai | August
04, 2015 08:41 IST
While 40 per cent of the country's estimated
total rice production of over 102 MT comes from these states, procurement has
been minimal.
Private players would now be roped in by the government for
procurement of rice in Uttar Pradesh and other eastern states - Bihar,
Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam, whenever required, due to the inadequate
facility for storage, says a PTI report.While 40 per cent of the country's
estimated total rice production of over 102 MT comes from these states,
procurement has been minimal, said the report.Based on the recommendations of
the high-level committee of the state-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI), a
policy has been prepared by the Union Food Ministry.
Total procurement target has been kept as 30 million tonnes (MT)
by the government for the kharif season 2015-16 and rice procurement for the
season would begin from October, says the report.In the mentioned states, 5.13
MT of rice was procured in 2014 kharif season. Despite West Bengal being the
top rice producing state at 15.1 MT, procurement here was only 1.80 MT in the
said period, in the season , mentioned the report.States following a
decentralised procurement policy (DCP), Bihar and West Bengal, would be allowed
to engage private players either on behalf of state agencies or independently,
said the report.
http://www.indiainfoline.com/article/news-top-story/govt-decides-to-engage-private-players-for-rice-procurement-115080400449_1.html
Monsoon will remain weak in Aug-Sept: IMD
TOMOJIT BASU
The LPA for the country as a whole for the second half of the monsoon
is 43.5 cm
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 3:
The India Meteorology Department (IMD) stuck to its South-West
monsoon forecast at 88 per cent of the 50-year long period average (LPA) of 89
cm. This has raised El Nino concerns from ‘weak’ to ‘moderate’.
This can affect yields of kharif
crop, with a cascading effect on inflation. RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had
highlighted the risk of rising inflation in the June monetary policy review.Food
prices continue to be an issue with retail inflation touching 5.4 per cent in
June, an eight-month high.The latest forecast from the ESSO-IMD-IITM model
indicates 72 per cent probability of El Nino conditions becoming strong during
the remaining part of the monsoon season, said an official statement.The El
Nino phenomenon refers to the warming of Pacific Ocean waters which affects
weather patterns globally. Its strengthening is likely to result in an 86 per
cent probability of deficient rainfall, below the normal 94 per cent of LPA,
for August and September.The Met Department has forecast rainfall for the two
months to be at 84 per cent (with a deviation of +/- 8 per cent). Rainfall in
August is expected at 90 per cent (+/- 9 per cent), as forecast earlier in
June.The average rainfall for the second half is estimated at 43.5 cm, around
49 per cent of the seasonal rainfall, with variation coefficient of 15 per
cent.
Could hit crop yields
“Sowing has progressed fairly well but a deficient monsoon could impact yields
which may put pressure of prices of pulses, fruits and vegetables,” said DK
Joshi, Chief Economist, Crisil. Sowing of kharif crops at the end of July had
covered 76.43 million hectares (mha), up 8.7 per cent from the 70.34 mha sown
during the corresponding period of the previous year.Between June 1 and August
3, the country received 45.03 cm of rainfall, 6 per cent lower than the normal
48.13 cm. The South, in particular, has been the worst hit with rainfall 22 per
cent lower than the normal 39.82 cm.
(This article was published on
August 3, 2015)
Manager - Research
Infrastructure and Operations
Location: Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines
Reporting to the Deputy Director
General (Research), the Research Infrastructure and Operations Manager provides
leadership in research support through managing functions including the Seed
Health Unit, Experiment Station, Glasshouse and Plant Growth Facilities,
Analytical Services, Research Data and Records management, GM stewardship
functions, and Occupational Health and Safety (within research operations).The
position is located in Los Baňos and primarily focuses on research
infrastructure and operations on that campus, but provides support to research
leaders managing research support activities at IRRI hub and satellite sites
globally.
The Research Infrastructure and
Operations Manager will work closely with the senior research and site
management teams to develop short, medium and long term plans for the development
and rejuvenation of IRRI's research infrastructure and will contribute to the
development of infrastructure funding proposals.IRRI’s research programs
include basic and applied research on genetic resources, rice biotechnology and
breeding, sustainable crop and natural resources management, climate change,
postharvest technologies, socioeconomic and policy research, rice information
and delivery of new technologies. IRRI’s research is implemented through
collaboration with hundreds of public, private and civil society sector
partners worldwide. This position is based at IRRI Headquarters, Los Baños,
Laguna, Philippines.Screening starts immediately as applications are received.
Interested candidates should submit CV with a cover letter stating motivation
to apply for the position. Candidates should apply online at
http://jobs.irri.org (or via this direct link: https://goo.gl/UqEaxS).
Anti-Golden
Rice Activists Want To 'Save The Whales' But Let Children Go Blind
A 2012 article in the nutrition literature
might have been the most momentous contribution to public health worldwide
since Dr. Jonas Salk’s announcement of the successful trials of polio vaccine.
The operative phrase is might have been, because intimidation, politics and
especially the dishonest, anti-science efforts of NGOs to impugn the research
have delayed the translation of its findings to life-saving interventions for
millions of children. Why do anti-genetic engineering activists want to save
the whales but let children go blind and die?
The article, by Professor Guangwen Tang of the
Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy and her multinational
colleagues, reported a feeding trial in China of a revolutionary, genetically
engineered variety of rice. Some background is needed to understand why it’s so
important and how it came to be developed. Ordinary rice–which itself has been
extensively genetically modified over centuries–produces β-carotene, a
precursor of vitamin A, in the leaves but not in the grains, where the
biosynthetic pathway is turned off during plant development. In “Golden Rice”
(GR)–called that because of its golden color–two genes (one from corn, the
other from a bacterium) have been inserted into the rice genome by precise
molecular techniques of genetic engineering. That modification enables the
carotenoid biosynthetic pathway to produce and accumulate β-carotene in the
rice grains.
Beta-carotene-enhanced Golden Rice and white
rice. (Credit: Golden Rice Humanitarian Board, www.goldenrice.org.)
Beta-carotene-enhanced, genetically engineered
Golden Rice; and white rice. (Credit: Golden Rice Humanitarian Board,
www.goldenrice.org.)
Since a prototype of GR was developed in the
year 2000, new lines with ever-higher β-carotene content have been generated,
and feeding studies in adult humans have demonstrated that GR is a good source
of vitamin A. Why are vitamin A and its precursor, β-carotene, important?
Vitamin A is critical for normal vision and also plays a central role in
maintaining the integrity of the immune system. The World Health Organization
estimates that 250 million preschool children are vitamin A deficient, which
causes 250,000 to 500,000 of them to go blind every year. Half die, often from
diarrheal diseases or measles, within 12 months of losing their sight. This
ongoing catastrophe is preventable. In theory, the most desirable remedy would
be a varied and adequate diet, but this is not always achievable.
The
reasons are manifold, ranging from traditional preferences to geographical and
economic limitations. GR varieties have the advantage of not creating new
dependencies or displacing traditional foods. Moreover, they are sustainable
because there is no need for public health infrastructure to provide repeated
alternative interventions for fortification or supplementation. That gets us
back to Professor Tang’s study. She and her colleagues fed GR, spinach, or pure
β-carotene to 68 children aged six to eight in Hunan province. The findings,
published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2012, showed that
“β-carotene in GR is as effective as pure β-carotene in oil and better than
that in spinach at providing vitamin A to children.” A single serving of 100 to
150 grams (about a quarter pound) of cooked GR could provide about 60% of the
daily requirement of vitamin A.
This was
groundbreaking, potentially life-saving research, but as so often happens, no
good deed goes unpunished. The trial attracted the attention of activist NGOs,
including Greenpeace, which claimed in a press release that the children had
been used as “guinea pigs” without full and appropriate informed consent. It
produced a furor, with Chinese news agencies inaccurately reporting that the
researchers had conducted dangerous, unauthorized experiments on poor children,
and within days Chinese police had interrogated the researchers and coerced
statements disavowing the research. Because of the publicity, Tufts University
conducted internal and external investigations.
An official statement released in September 2013 concluded:
These multiple reviews found no concerns
related to the integrity of the study data, the accuracy of the research
results or the safety of the research subjects. In fact, the study indicated
that a single serving of the test product, Golden Rice, could provide greater
than 50 percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A in these children,
which could significantly improve health outcomes if adopted as a dietary
regimen (emphasis added). While the study data were validated and no health or
safety concerns were identified, the research itself was found not to have been
conducted in full compliance with [Tufts’ Institutional Review Board] policy or
federal regulations. Reviews found insufficient evidence of appropriate reviews
and approvals in China. They also identified concerns with the informed consent
process, including inadequate explanation of the genetically-modified nature of
Golden Rice. The principal investigator
also did not obtain IRB approval for some changes to study procedures before
implementing the changes.
The appropriate response to these findings
should have been a yawn. Institutional Review Boards know very well that minor
glitches and deficiencies are common in clinical trials, especially when they
are conducted abroad. Incredibly,
however, Tufts barred Professor Tang from human studies for two years,
and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, where her article had been
published, retracted the paper! The
journal cited several kinds of minor procedural deficiencies but none that
posed any safety problems or challenged the validity of the conclusions of the
study. Their rationale was decidedly unpersuasive; in fact, it was absurd. If,
as is likely, these actions delay even further the regulatory approvals of
Golden Rice—the first generation of which, as mentioned above, was developed 15
years ago—the blood of untold numbers of children will be on the hands of the
editors of the journal, the Tufts University officials involved, and
Greenpeace. If there were a Nobel Prize
for the Commission of Genocide, they could be co-recipients. A 2009 response
from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (whose National Institute of
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases partly funded the research) to a
query from another extremist NGO about the Tang study (which had not yet been
published) contained these noteworthy observations (all direct quotes):
Because
vitamin A deficiency can lead to serious problems such as blindness and death,
clinical research such as Dr. Tang’s is important to further define the
functions of vitamin A and its metabolites and to identify the levels required
to improve health and alleviate disease.
Many safeguards were built-in to ensure that
the study was carefully planned and monitored to protect the children who
participated. The application was first reviewed and approved by Institutional
Review Boards (IRB) at both Tufts University and the Chinese Academy of Preventive
Medicine. Ensuring that adequate safeguards were in place for children who
would be involved in the project, the reviews from both IRBs included human
subject safety.
Furthermore, while the approval of U.S. Food
and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture was not required
to conduct the study, project investigators welcomed and received advice and
counsel on safety, nutritional, and regulatory issues from both agencies.Throughout
the entire project, [National Institutes of Health National Institute of
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases] scientists reviewed required
progress reports from Dr. Tang. Under an NIH-approved Data Safety Monitoring
Plan, an independent, institutional safety officer monitored interim study data
for any potential problems and reviewed participants’ translated, informed
consent statements (emphasis added).
Anti-social actions by radical NGOs are neither
new nor surprising, and genetically modified food has for years been a favorite
target. Activists have chosen to ignore the scientific consensus about the
safety of genetically engineered crops—a consensus that is the result of
hundreds of risk-assessment experiments and vast real-world experience. In the
United States alone, more than 90% of all corn, soybeans and sugar beets are
genetically engineered, and during two decades of consumption around the world
not a single health or environmental problem has been documented.
Anti-technology NGOs consider Golden Rice a
critical target precisely because of its great potential to reduce morbidity
and mortality among the poorest and most vulnerable. They regard it as a sort
of Trojan horse that, when widely available, could persuade the public of the
usefulness and safety of genetic engineering. Patrick Moore, a founder of
Greenpeace turned pro-biotechnology apostate, put it this way: “If Greenpeace
admits that there is one good [genetically engineered] crop, then they would
have to admit there might be other good [genetically engineered] crops and then
they would be reduced to a rational discussion of the subject like the rest of
us mere mortals.” To activists with pure hearts, vulnerable children who are
going blind and dying unnecessarily are just collateral damage.
The Tang study on Golden Rice cannot just be
swept aside into academic limbo. “Were this an emerging new drug with such
life-saving potential, no public official would allow these important results
to get buried so irresponsibly,” observes former senior U.S. government advisor
John J. Cohrssen. The study’s
conclusions are valid and need to be acknowledged in public health policy.
Tufts University, the several funders of the research and the public health
community have a moral and ethical obligation to see that the Tang study is
rehabilitated and that Golden Rice moves rapidly toward widespread
availability.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/henrymiller/2015/08/05/the-greenpeace-motto-save-the-whales-let-the-children-die/
Recipe:
Brown rice with soy & ginger tofu & watercress
Kieran Scott
Basmati brown rice takes less time to cook than
regular brown rice – great for a weeknight meal.
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Flash in the pan. Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
250g firm tofu, diced 2cm
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1⁄4 cup dark soy sauce, plus extra to serve
2cm piece ginger, peeled, grated
1 1⁄2 cups brown basmati rice, washed well and
drained
8-10 stems broccolini, trimmed, halved
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1⁄2 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or cider
vinegar
200g watercress sprigs
METHOD
1. Put the tofu in a bowl with the sesame oil,
soy sauce and ginger. Set aside to marinate while the rice cooks.
2. Put the drained rice in a saucepan. Cover
with 2cm cold water then bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered, for 30
minutes or until the water has been absorbed.
3. After the rice has been cooking for 20
minutes, place a colander over the saucepan and steam the broccolini for 5
minutes or until bright green and tender. Reserve.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over high
heat then stir-fry the onion until crisp. Add the tofu and marinade and
stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the tofu is hot.
5. Drain the rice, if necessary, then add to
the wok, together with the peas and broccolini. Sprinkle with the vinegar then
stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until warmed through and combined.
6. Remove from the heat and stir in the
watercress. Serve in bowls, drizzled with extra soy sauce.
668,000
tonnes of rice for auction on Aug 11
A total of 668,228 tonnes of stockpiled rice, comprising 11 types, will be
offered for auction on Aug 11, as the Commerce Ministry tries to dispose of old
grain inherited from the previous government. (Bangkok Post file photo)
More than 660,000 tonnes of rice will be put up for
auction on Aug 11, from the huge stockpile accumulated under the rice pledging
scheme of the previous government, the Commerce Ministry announced on Tuesday.
Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the
Foreign Trade Department, said 11 types of rice totalling 668,228 tonnes would
be offered to buyers. The rice is now kept in warehouses under the Public
Warehouse Organisation and the Marketing Organisation for Farmers.The bidders
have to submit documents on Aug 10. Bidders who qualified would be announced at
8.30am on Aug 11 and woud be able to submit bids until noon that day.
The winners would be announced the same day.
As of June 30, the ministry had a total of 15.11 million
tonnes of rice in the stockpile, in three categories.The first group
comprised 9.15 million tonnes of edible rice -- 1.82 million tonnes of grade A
and B rice, and 7.33 million tonnes of grade A and B rice mixed with grade C
rice.The second group of 5.89 million tonnes of grade C rice comprised 4.6
million tonnes of degradable rice and 1.29 million tonnes of inedible rice
which was crumbling to powder.The third category consisted of about 70,000
tonnes of rice which the ministry was still examining and grading. In
early July, the ministry sold 1.148 million tonnes of rice for 12.08
billion baht. The ministry announced earlier that much of the rice to
be auctioned would likely to bought for production of ethanol. Ms
Duangporn said the ministry had organised eight auctions of rice under the
government led by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, selling 3.88 million tonnes for a
return of about 40.95 billion baht.
Myanmar
traders suspend rice exports as floods hit
A villager makes his way through flood waters in Min San village, Pwintbyu
township, Minbu, Magway division, in Myanmar Monday. (AP photo)
-YANGON – Leading Myanmar rice
exporters decided to temporarily suspend exports Monday in an effort to stop
prices rising during heavy floods across the country, traders said.Traders
decided at a meeting Monday to suspend exports until Sept 15, when rice is
harvested at the end of the rainy season, said Soe Tun, vice chairman of
Myanmar Rice Federation.
"This will help stabilise the rice price as rice is the primary
food for Myanmar people, and the price always rises in such time of
troubles," Soe Tun said.
The price of rice had risen sharply in some
flooded areas, including in the western states of Chin and Rakhine, local media
reported.The MRF said it was planning to ship rice to flood-affected areas
later this week, in corporation with other rice trader groups.Myanmar exported
more than 1.7 million tonnes of rice in the fiscal year 2014-2015, worth nearly
US$645 million, a figure 40% higher than the previous year, according to data
from the Ministry of Commerce.Myanmar aims to have an annual rice yield of over
14 million tonnes, including about 2 million tonnes of rice for export,
according to MRF.
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