Basmati rice sector needs full timely support to regain lost markets
The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises
(UNISAME) has felicitated the top ten trophy winners of the basmati and non
basmati rice exports of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) 8th
trophy awards and commended their efforts under tough global challenges.
President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver said the
rice exporters have managed to survive under difficult circumstances. The
government needs to realize that rice is the second largest after textiles
and deserves support to overcome the global down slide in commodities
markets. This is the best time for support as the new crop is on the
threshold. The white and parboiled rice sector both need the support to get
back on their feet. Our basmati rice market must be regained and we cannot
afford to lose it he reiterated.
He urged the government to give the 0 rating
for the rice sector in letter and spirit to relieve it of the burden of
multiple taxes on the entire supply chain from the farm to the markets. The
farm inputs have become very costly and the promised relief though
insufficient has not yet become available. The notifications for 0 rating
need clarity and must be implemented.
The Geographical Indication (GI) of basmati rice needs to be approved by the Intellectual Property Organization and simultaneously the basmati trade mark also needs to be registered by the Registrar of Trade Marks in favour of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) to enable all stakeholders to use it as a national property ownership.
There is urgent need for research in
seeds to develope other varieties and especially the super basmati seed. It
is very important to improve the entire supply chain from the farm to the
markets and all the sectors from the primary to the tertiary sectors need to
be upgraded.
The rice exporters are facing other issues
for exports to third world countries as the commercial banks are not inclined
to discount documents and bills drawn on buyers or their banks since mostly
the banks are of low rating. Other countries have state owned export credit
guarantee insurance companies which work on low premiums to facilitate and
promote exports to third world countries and Pakistan also needs low premium
insurance facility to enter new markets.
Iran is a big buyer of our super basmati rice
and REAP and TDAP must without loss of time approach the ministry of finance
to put in place a system of negotiation of documents and discounting of bills
drawn on Iranian buyers and banks. The commercial banks have not yet put in
place a working system and nominated their correspondents in Iran.
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CPEC has immense significance: President Mamnoon
July 22, 2016
By: Samaa Web Desk
KARACHI: President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has immense significance and every effort was being made for its timely completion.
He was speaking at the 8th export trophy ceremony of the Rice Exporters Association here at the Governor House.
President Mamnoon Hussain pointed out that there has been a significant improvement in the law and order situation in the country in the wake of operation Zarb-e-Azb and that action against terrorists would continue till complete restoration of peace.
He was of the view that comprehensive endeavours were required to overcome problems like terrorism and lawlessness as the administrative steps and use of force would not suffice.
The improvement in the country’s economy, provision of employment opportunities and justice as well as meaningful and uniform system of education is also equally important, the President asserted.
For achieving this very goal, complete harmony and close cooperation would also be required between the government and the masses, the President opined.
He said that the business community would also have to play its due role towards the development and prosperity of the country.
Mamnoon Hussain on the occasion lauded the active role being played by the Rice Exporters’ Association.
He was of the view that the price fluctuations in the international market also affect the Pakistan farmers and the exporters.
The government, he added, is undertaking measures for overcoming the problems of farmers and exporters as well.
The President urged the growers in the country to take advantage of the latest technology to improve quality and production of the crops.
He also asked the organizations associated with the agriculture sector to take up as their responsibility to apprise our growers of the research and experiences in other parts of the world, so that our farmers, exporters and economy should not suffer any loss.
Mamnoon Hussain said that the State Bank of Pakistan has reduced mark up rates, and loans on easy terms are being provided to exporters.
He said that the Rice Development and Export Promotion Council were being revamped for enhancing export of rice.
The President said that efforts are also being made for export of Basmati rice in markets of Saudi Arabia and Iran.
He declared that economic development was the priority of the present government.
On the occasion he also distributed awards and prizes among the winners.
Governor Sindh, Dr Ishrat ul Ebad Khan, President of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Abdul Rauf Alam, and chief patron of Rice Exporters’ Association, Abdul Rahim Janoo, also spoke on the occasion. –APP
http://www.samaa.tv/pakistan/2016/07/cpec-has-immense-significance-president-mamnoon/
Giant black rice trident grown among fields in Ukraine's southern region
Giant black rice trident. Photo courtesy -
Kherson Regional State Administration, khoda.gov.ua
Kherson
farmers (southern Ukraine) grew black rice in a shape of a giant trident - a
Ukrainian emblem, the press service of the Kherson Regional State Administration
reports."The National Record Registry experts came
to the village of Antonivka (Skadovsk district) to fix a new record of Kherson
- specialists from the Rice Research Institute at Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian
Sciences* grew a giant 'black rice' trident among the fields",
the
statement reads.The rice trident is 24.7 meters long and 16.4
meters wide. It can be seen even from outer space.The record is set in the category of 'Science and Technology', the nomination of 'The biggest Emblem of Ukraine, designed and sown with black-leave rice'.
"The Institute creative team are planning to make a similar portrait of Ukrainian poet, artist and ethnographer Taras Shevchenko", the Kherson Regional State Administration adds.
*Rice Research Institute at Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences is the only scientific research institution in Ukraine majoring in rice cultivation. Currently the Rice Research Institute at Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences (UAAS) is a scientific advisory coordinating centre for rice cultivation in Ukraine, provision of rice farms with high quality seeds and vital information on heavy-yield techniques.
Giant black rice trident. Photo courtesy -
Kherson Regional State Administration, khoda.gov.u
IIRR in talks to sell rice-based technologies to FMCG firms
By Ashish
Kulshrestha, ET Bureau | Jul 23, 2016, 07.26 PM IST
The Hyderabad-based rice research institute
claims that these products are at least 50% cheaper than what are currently
being sold in the market by various private players.HYDERABAD: Premier research institute Indian
Institute of Rice Research (IIRR), part of the state-owned Indian Council
of Agricultural Research (ICAR), is currently in talks with a set of fast
moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies including ITC to transfer proprietary technologies to make low-cost
moisturisers, pain relieving balms and heel crackers made from rice extracts,
said a top executive.
The Hyderabad-based rice research institute claims that these products are at least 50% cheaper than what are currently being sold in the market by various private players.
Dr V. Ravindra Babu, Director of IIRR, said, "We are currently in talks with several FMCG companies like ITC who approached us for sourcing this technology. We will be signing an MoU with these companies with a royalty fee of around 5% and will also put a cap on the highest price on which it can be sold. The deal would be initially valid for only three years."
The products are made from rice bran oil and IIRR plans to reach out to farmers to encourage them to grow for such value added products which will also help in increasing their incomes, said Babu.
The institute, apart from developing other rice-based value added products, is also working on low input rice seeds which require less fertilizers, are pest resistant and is also working with several international rice research organisations on such seeds, Babu told reporters in Hyderabad on Saturday on the sidelines of an event
The Hyderabad-based rice research institute claims that these products are at least 50% cheaper than what are currently being sold in the market by various private players.
Dr V. Ravindra Babu, Director of IIRR, said, "We are currently in talks with several FMCG companies like ITC who approached us for sourcing this technology. We will be signing an MoU with these companies with a royalty fee of around 5% and will also put a cap on the highest price on which it can be sold. The deal would be initially valid for only three years."
The products are made from rice bran oil and IIRR plans to reach out to farmers to encourage them to grow for such value added products which will also help in increasing their incomes, said Babu.
The institute, apart from developing other rice-based value added products, is also working on low input rice seeds which require less fertilizers, are pest resistant and is also working with several international rice research organisations on such seeds, Babu told reporters in Hyderabad on Saturday on the sidelines of an event
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/fmcg/iirr-in-talks-to-sell-rice-based-technologies-to-fmcg-firms/articleshow/5335
IIRR develops affordable rice-based lotion and cream
By PTI | Jul 24, 2016, 12.52 PM IST
HYDERABAD: The Indian Institute of Rice
Research (IIRR) here has developed three rice-based affordable health products,
including a moisturising lotion, cream for cracked heels and a
pain-relieving balm.
The products are rich in Vitamin E as they are derived from rice bran oil and are affordable and low cost, IIRR Director Dr V Ravindra Babu told reporters here yesterday.
Several companies, including ITC, have approached them to promote the products which include a moisturising lotion, cream for cracked heels and a pain-relieving balm in gel form. However, the institute will provide the technology to those who would sell the products at affordable prices, he said. Ravindra said in view of climate change, the institute has developed rice varieties that can withstand higher temperatures.
Besides, to ensure that farmers have low inputs and more profits, the institute has identified low phosphorous and low nitrogen consuming lines. With this variety, the consumption of fertilisers is only 50 per cent, but it gives better yield. This way the cost of fertilisers will reduce and benefit farmers, as the cost of input is low and there is better yield, Ravindra said.
The premier research institute based in Hyderabad, which is the part of the state-owned Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), is also working on nutritional food security and for that, a bio- fortification programme has been started two years back. The 'DRR Dhan 45', the first high zinc rice variety developed at the IIRR, is one of the three bio-fortified rice varieties notified at national level.
The IIRR recently received the prestigious Sardar Vallabhai Patel Best Institute Award for its outstanding contribution among the large institutes category under ICAR.
The award was presented by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh in New Delhi.
The products are rich in Vitamin E as they are derived from rice bran oil and are affordable and low cost, IIRR Director Dr V Ravindra Babu told reporters here yesterday.
Several companies, including ITC, have approached them to promote the products which include a moisturising lotion, cream for cracked heels and a pain-relieving balm in gel form. However, the institute will provide the technology to those who would sell the products at affordable prices, he said. Ravindra said in view of climate change, the institute has developed rice varieties that can withstand higher temperatures.
Besides, to ensure that farmers have low inputs and more profits, the institute has identified low phosphorous and low nitrogen consuming lines. With this variety, the consumption of fertilisers is only 50 per cent, but it gives better yield. This way the cost of fertilisers will reduce and benefit farmers, as the cost of input is low and there is better yield, Ravindra said.
The premier research institute based in Hyderabad, which is the part of the state-owned Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), is also working on nutritional food security and for that, a bio- fortification programme has been started two years back. The 'DRR Dhan 45', the first high zinc rice variety developed at the IIRR, is one of the three bio-fortified rice varieties notified at national level.
The IIRR recently received the prestigious Sardar Vallabhai Patel Best Institute Award for its outstanding contribution among the large institutes category under ICAR.
The award was presented by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh in New Delhi.
Rice farmers get shot in the arm
July 24, 2016 |
A South East Asian (SEA) think tank had offered
to link the government to its vast SEA network that aims to improve
agricultural techniques in the country.According to Southeast Asian Regional
Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) Executive Dir.
Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, their knack for agricultural research can play a pivotal role in Philippines’ agricultural programs especially as it enters into the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) era.
Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, their knack for agricultural research can play a pivotal role in Philippines’ agricultural programs especially as it enters into the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) era.
“We have noted that President Duterte‘s 8-point
agenda places strong emphasis on agricultural development. Over many years, we
have been providing technical assistance to national government agencies to
promote agricultural and rural development,” said Saguiguit Jr.SEACA recently
hosted the consultation of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Pinol with farmers
at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos and talked about superior
rice technologies.
The SEARCA has offered to Piñol its technical
expertise in agricultural development research.
Saguiguit told Piñol SEARCA’s research on rice
smuggling could be tapped by the DA to solve smuggling problems that have
subjected Filipino farmers to poverty.
http://tempo.com.ph/2016/07/24/rice-farmers-get-shot-in-the-arm/#QqokRHA2EplLjT1u.99
CALROSE RICE Market Research Report Now Available at Research Corridor
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Drought-resistant rice variety released
Published: 24th July 2016 07:02 AM
Last Updated: 24th
July 2016 07:02 AM
HYDERABAD:
Offering support to the thousands of farmers in drought-prone Telangana, the
Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIIR) on Saturday announced the development
of a new high zinc variety of rice, which requires less water and reduces input
costs. Developed through conventional methods, the new variety has been
christened 'DRR-Dhan 45' and is the first-of-its-kind to be notified on a
national level.The rice variety is moderately resistant to major pests and diseases such as blast, sheath rot and rice tungro viruses. DRR-Dhan 45 is a semi dwarf, long slender variety that has a crop duration of 125 days. According to scientists, the rice variety is ideal for growing in water-starved states like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The net crop area in Telangana had shrunk drastically during the last two years due to severe drought. Paddy is considered the most water-intensive crop. As water resources dried up, farmers in the state suffered huge loss due to withering of crops. The use of a short duration paddy variety that is less water intensive will be a big relief for farmers in the state.
"It took us 12 years to develop this variety which can give a yield of six tonnes of rice per hectare," said Dr Ravindra Babu, director of ICAR-IIRR. The variety is proof of the concept of biofortification and will aid in India's struggle to ensure nutritional security, he claimed.
The new variety has high volume content of protein and a zinc content of 25 ppm that will help combat zinc deficiency in pregnant women. "High zinc is required for the development of the child in mother's womb to build resistance to diarrhoea," said Ravindra.
The institution has also developed and released a rice variety named 'Sampada' for type-2 diabetic patients. The rice variety has a low glycemic index which means the rice digests slowly helping the patients manage the insulin produced in their body, said Ravindra.
IIRR plans to sell the DRR-Dhan 45 seeds to farmers at the rate of `40 per kg and is on the look out for seed companies to pick up the rice variety, he added
Rice millers body to provide free meals to pilgrims
THE HANS INDIA | Jul 24,2016 , 01:25 AM
IST
________________________________________
.
Guntur: Civil Supplies Minister Paritala
Sunitha on Saturday said that District Rice Millers Association has agreed to
provide free meals to pilgrims during the 12-day Krishna Pushkaralu following
her request. District Rice Millers
Association president U Bhaskara Rao said that it is their responsibility to
arrange quality meals for the pilgrims. Later, he submitted a memorandum to the
Minister.
Speaking to the media here, Paritala Sunitha
said that she would ask Collector Kantilal Dande to take steps to set up Food
Advisory Committees at district and mandal levels.
She advised all ineligible beneficiaries to
surrender their ration cards to Civil Supplies department. She said that the
government was taking steps to conduct Krishna Pushkaralu on a grand scale.
http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Andhra-Pradesh/2016-07-24/Rice-millers-body-to-provide-free-meals-to-pilgrims/244201
Inbred rice for poor farmers
by Zac Sarian
July 24, 2016 (updated)
The
usual talk about rice these days center on hybrid rice. This is because the
perception is that hybrids are high-yielding while the ordinary inbred or
open-pollinated varieties (OPV) are very low-yielding.July 24, 2016 (updated)
NSIC
Rc222, an inbred rice, can yield 116 to 136 cavans per hectare. It has a high
milling and head recovery
That’s not surprising because there are reports
of some hybrid rice farmers who are getting as high as 200 cavans per her
hectare. On the other hand, many OPVs may be giving only 70 to 80 cavans per
hectare.The truth, however, is that the certified yields of the hybrids are
much lower than 200 cavans. SL-8, one of the popular hybrids, has a certified
yield of 5.9 tons per hectare during the dry season and 5.8 tons in the wet
season. That’s equivalent to 118 cavans during the dry season and 116 cavans in
the wet season. Bigante, another popular hybrid in the market, on the other
hand, has a certified yield of 5.6 tons per hectare during both wet and dry
seasons.
Many
farmers may not know it but there are two inbred varieties developed by the
Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and the International Rice
Research Institute that produce yields comparable to those of the hybrids.One is NSIC Rc222 which has a certified yield of 6.8 tons per hectare during the wet season and 5.8 tons during the dry season. Another inbred is NSIC 216 with a certified yield of 6.4 tons per hectare during the wet season and 4.9 tons during the dry season. Both are certified by the National Seed Industry Council.
A private agricultural researcher, Alfonso G. Puyat, urges that farmers, especially those who cannot afford the high cost of hybrid seeds, might as well plant the improved OPVs for a number of good reasons. One reason is that the seeds of inbreds cost only R30 per kilo compared to R300 per kilo of the hybrid seeds.
There is another big advantage for the farmer to plant the high-yielding inbred varieties. He no longer has to buy new seeds for planting because he can set aside what he needs from his own harvest. That is something he cannot do if he plants the hybrid variety. He has to buy new seeds all the time.
By the way, Puyat who has done a lot of research on rice, says that if all our rice farms could be made to yield 100 cavans per hectare, the production could be enough to feed the present population of the country. And a cheaper way to achieve that is to plant the improved inbred varieties.
The seed producers can produce enough certified seeds of inbred rice for planting. One hectare could yield five tons of inbred seeds. On the other hand, one hectare could only produce one ton of hybrid seeds because it is much more difficult to produce the seeds of hybrid rice. Last year, the eight hybrid seed companies produced only 94,000 18-kg bags enough to plant 95,000 hectares. Hybrid seeds had to be imported to meet the requirements of the farmers.
Now you see, it’s high time our farmers take a good look at the high-yielding inbred rice varieties
http://www.mb.com.ph/inbred-rice-for-poor-farmers/#1qfRS5jKerm8jKh8.99
BYOB: Cooking Techniques - Risottos, Grains, & Potatoes
Heights
Location, Houston
- Saturday, July 23rd, 2016 starting at 1:30 PM and ending at 4:30 PM CDT.
Are you interested in Culinary School, but don't have the time or money? Have you been cooking for years and just want something new and exciting? Are you a novice interested in getting in the kitchen for the first time? Then the Fundamentals classes are the ones for you!
These classes are for those who are serious about learning how to cook. We offer 20 different courses to choose from throughout the year that can be taken in any order (except Knife Skills 2, which must be taken after Knife Skills 1).
As always, we provide you with a relaxing and warm environment for learning, and have the best instructors who are passionate about teaching. For those who complete all 20 courses, we will give both a Certificate of Completion in the Culinary Arts as well as a Chef Jacket embroidered with your name on it. This Certificate is valid to prove your completion and can be used to gain employment, should you choose to follow a career in Food.
We're so confident you'll learn more than in any other class offered by the competition that we guarantee it or your next class is on us!
Cooking Techniques classes focus on specific Cuts of Meat or Vegetables using the most used techniquess of the classically trained chef. We focus on Braising, Stewing, Poaching, Steaming, Sweating, Frying, Pan Frying, Sauteing/Browning, Roasting, Grilling, and Broiling. Each class will focus on proper temperatures that foods should be cooked at to achieve these techniques and also the proper temperatures of the food. You will learn about how the animals are raised, best practices for sustainability, how to choose the right cuts, farming practices, butchering techniques, and more.
Sometimes the hardest part of a meal is coming up with great side items. These starches are staples for many meals, but often because they are so common, we never really learn the proper way to make them their best. Also, we have gotten away from the use of grains, many of whom are making comebacks from their "Ancient" days.
In this class you will learn how to make:
Perfect Risotto - made with Parmesan, lemon, and spring fresh peas Lemon curry Basmati rice - a unique rice that will often become your long-grain white rice replacement Crispy, delicious french fries the proper way - no need to go to McDonald's for this Greek style, crispy roasted potatoes Quinoa pilaf - pilaf is a style of preparing rice or any other grain. Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah) is an ancient grain originally used in South America Morroccan style dried fruit, almond, and honey couscous
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/calendar/101houston/byob-cooking-techniques---risottos-grains-potatoes/event_a688b602-3d75-11e6-b80a-308d99b28dac.html
A business of a sort
Many above poverty line have ration cards and the rice procured forRe. 1 a kg is resold in the openmarket for higher price
The
State government’s ambitious programme of Re. 1 a kg rice launched to support
BPL families is being misused in the district.
Many who
are not living below poverty line (BPL)have been given ration cards and the
rice that they get in fair price shops is resold in the open market for a
higher price.The Civil Supplies authorities say that people living above
poverty line (APL) have food security cards and were resorting to reselling of
the rice for Rs. 8 to Rs. 10 a kg to small traders as they do not consume the
rice supplied by PDS.There are instances of small traders moving around in
several localities in the town calling out biyyam kontam (we’ll buy
rice) to buy PDS rice from the ration card holders.They resell it for about Rs.
15 a kg to flour mills, hotels, eateries, rice millers and sell the same in
Maharashtra.This year till date, the Civil Supplies authorities have registered
177 cases under the Essential Commodities Act of 1955 for illegal
transportation of PDS rice in various parts of the district and have seized
about 2,330 quintals of rice.
They say
that they have registered cases against 88 ration dealers for their illegal
business of selling rice in the open market.
The
district tops the list of highest number of ration cards distributed in the
entire State. The district has 10,98,393 food security cards, including 67,627
Antyodaya Food Security Cards (AFSC) and 677 Annapurna Cards (AC).
As per
the 2011 census, the total population of the district is 37,76,269 while the
ration card holders are a whopping 31,68,836 persons. Going by this, the
district is the poorest in the State with the highest number of people living
below the poverty line.
Incidentally,
Minister for Finance and Civil Supplies Etala Rajender represents the
Karimnagar district, but has not taken any measures so far to remove bogus
ration cards and streamline the public distribution system (PDS).
The
Civil Supplies authorities say that the illegal transportation of PDS rice
could be checked in the district only if the government makes an effort to
remove of bogus ration card
Rice crops that can save farmers money and cut pollution: new research from U of T
Professor Herbert Kronzucker (at left) with
grad student Ahmed Hamam (photo by Ken Jones)
“If we can produce more responsible plants that don’t waste fertilizer needlessly, everyone wins”
A new University of Toronto study has identified “superstar” varieties of rice that can reduce fertilizer loss and cut down on environmental pollution in the process.The study, authored by U of T Scarborough Professor Herbert Kronzucker in collaboration with a team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, looked at 19 varieties of rice to see which ones were more efficient at using nitrogen.
“We have this bucolic idea of agriculture – animals grazing or vast fields of majestic crops – but the global reality is it’s one of the biggest drivers of environmental pollution and climate change,” says Kronzucker.
Nitrogen, when applied as fertilizer, is taken up inefficiently by most crops. In tropical rice fields, as much as 50 to 70 per cent can be lost. The problem is that excess nitrogen negatively affects water quality by contaminating nearby watersheds or leaching into ground water. It’s also a significant source of gases such as ammonia and nitrogen oxide, which are not only harmful to aquatic life but also a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.
While nitrogen is one of three main nutrients required for crops to grow, it also costs the most to produce, adds Kronzucker.
“Anything we can do to reduce demand for nitrogen, both environmentally and for farmers in the developing world struggling to pay for it, is a significant contribution.”
Kronzucker’s study for the first time identifies a novel class of chemicals produced and released by the roots of rice crops that directly influence the metabolism of soil microbes. They found that key microbial reactions that lead to an inefficiency in nitrogen capture can be significantly reduced in certain varieties of rice plants through the action of those specific chemicals released from root cells.
One of the main reasons crops waste so much fertilizer is that they were bred that way. In the past fertilizers were relatively inexpensive to produce because fossil fuels were abundant and cheap. As a result, plant geneticists bred crops that responded to high fertilizer use regardless of how efficient they were at using nitrogen.
“These inefficiencies used to be of little interest, but now, with fluctuating fuel prices and growing concerns over climate change, it’s a much bigger issue,” says Kronzucker, who is the director of the Canadian Centre for World Hunger Research at U of T Scarborough.
There are more than 120,000 varieties of rice stored at the germplasm bank at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, but Kronzucker’s team only focused on varieties that met important criteria. For one they concentrated only on Japonica (the rice used in sushi) and Indica, the world’s most popular rice type commonly grown in China, India and Southeast Asia. The varieties also had to be currently grown by farmers, have a high yield potential, be disease and pest-resistant, grow to the right size and have strong enough roots to withstand monsoon-force winds.
“They had to be proven in the field as viable options. It’s not practical if a rice farmer isn’t going to touch it,” adds Kronzucker.
The hope is for this study to inform rice-growing strategies throughout Asia. One option could be to provide farmers with government incentives like tax credits, to switch to a more nitrogen-friendly variety. Another outcome could be better breeding programs where even better species of crops can be produced.
“There’s no reason a crop can’t result in less pollution while also saving farmers money; the two aren’t incompatible,” says Kronzucker. “If we can produce more responsible plants that don’t waste fertilizer needlessly, everyone wins.”
https://www.utoronto.ca/news/rice-crops-can-save-farmers-money-and-cut-pollution-new-research-u-t
Research aims to keep older aircraft flying
By Thomas Gnau -
Staff Writer
Posted: 3:58 p.m. Friday, July 22, 2016
Dayton — To help deal with the nation’s aging
airplane fleet, the University of Dayton Research Institute will partner with
Youngstown State University to harness the power of additive manufacturing, or
3-D printing.The universities will split a recently announced Air Force
research award — amounting to $4 million for each university — to study how to
use 3-D printing to reproduce older parts and tooling for those aircraft.Most
additive manufacturing for the Air Force is focused on creating lightweight,
durable materials for planes of the future, said Brian Rice, a composites and
polymers research engineer for UDRI.This UDRI/Youngstown State research has a
different focus.
“What elements of the research can be used for
sustainment?” Rice said. “Because that’s where the bigger problem is right now
— sustainment activity. We have aircraft that are over 50 years old.”
+
Thomas Gnau/Staff
Tim Osborn, a researcher in additive
manufacturing for the University of Dayton Research Institute, performs 3-D
laser scanning in order to ... read more
According to a January 2016 Air Force Times
article, the average age of the Air Force fleet of aircraft is 27 years, with
some planes as old as 53 years.
A good bit of the technology, tooling and even
the skilled workers who produced components for the older aircraft are no
longer with us, Rice said. Finding a “cost-effective way to keep flying” is the
priority, he said.
“The Air Force probably didn’t expect the
aircraft to last this long,” he said.
+
Thomas Gnau/Staff
Brian Rice, a materials research engineer at
the University of Dayton Research Institute, talks about the additive
manufacturing research he and ... read more
UDRI and Youngstown State are working with
local sub-tier suppliers in the project. Rice said UDRI is working with GE
Aviation, Bastech in Vandalia and Dayton Reliable Tool (DRT) in Butler County’s
West Chester Twp.
Chuck Hansford, a senior account executive with
DRT, said the project is a “unique opportunity.”
The entire process is developed around using
additives as a manufacturing resource, Hansford said.
“What will the Air Force get out of it? They’ll
get an understanding of the viability of 3-D printing as a manufacturing
resource,” he said.
And DRT will establish a relationship with the
Air Force.
“Our involvement is around making the component
and providing them a service,” Hansford said. “But if you look at the long-term
understanding of what we’re trying to develop … it is a very neat opportunity
to show that you can manufacture quickly.”
Rice said the most immediate impact will be
“productivity aids for the shop floor.” Custom fixtures and vise grips to hold
particular parts for tooling work will be a “big focus,” he said
http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/business/research-aims-to-keep-older-aircraft-flying/nr33H/
GROWING OLD UNGRACEFULLY: GMOs, Greenpeace, and Those Naive Nobel Laureates
Barry Evans / Yesterday @ 7:51 a.m. / Growing
Old Ungracefully
“What better way to discredit your critics than to rope in 107 naive
Nobel Prize winners (all without relevant expertise) to criticize your
opposition?”
— Ted Greiner, anti-GMO wootard
When I need information about topics on which I’m ignorant,
or mostly ignorant (which is most everything), I turn to experts. That’s
certainly true of medical issues—should I be taking a statin? what should I do
about a persistent cough? lightheadedness? Talk to my doctor, see what on-line
medical information services like WebMD or Harvard Medical School have to say.
And almost always, adopt a course of action based on the recommendations of
those folks who have made my particular issue their life’s work.
Experts don’t always agree, of course. You can probably find
as many on the “pro” as on the “con” side of such issues as nuclear power,
annual mammograms and carbon offsets. But on many matters, the preponderance of
experts on one side is so great compared to the opposing side that it would
just be perverse to side with the minority point of view.I was reminded of this
with the recent news item that 110
Nobel Prize winners backed a
statement claiming that “Scientific and regulatory agencies around the
world have repeatedly and consistently found crops and foods improved through
biotechnology [i.e. GMOs] to be as safe as, if not safer than those derived
from any other method of production.”To put this in perspective, there are
nearly 300 living Nobel laureates, so when over a third of them agree about anything — these are brightest and the best, as
judged by their peers — I’m impressed. It’s not a slam-dunk, nothing ever is,
but, since GMOs are outside my field of expertise (I’m a civil engineer), I don’t
sniff at their statement.
Which is pretty much what the anti-GMO community has done.
None of them has the “relevant expertise,” according
to rabid anti-GMO activist Ted Greiner. Since there is no Nobel Prize for
genetic manipulation (!) and its ramifications, the next best — chemistry,
physics, medicine, economics — will have to do. These are the fields in which
all but one of the signatories won their prize. More to the point, these are
scientists, for crissake! What distinguishes scientists from laypeople is this:
they’ve been trained to evaluate evidence. This
is what they’re good at, and if you’re going to be invited to make that trip to
Stockholm, you’re really, really good at it. Simply put, these laureates (who
claim, for instance, that GMOs have never been implicated in a single negative
health outcome) are scientists who have distinguished themselves by their
ability to separate likely-truth from likely-bullshit.
(Another prize-winning trait is the ability to think
independently. The idea that they can be roped in, as Greiner asserts, is
ludicrous to anyone who knows anything about science.)
Greenpeace (my Greenpeace,
to whom I’ve donated how much over the years?!)
was singled out for special treatment for its opposition to GMO “Golden Rice.”
The statement said, “We urge Greenpeace and its supporters to re-examine the
experience of farmers and consumers worldwide with crops and foods improved
through biotechnology.”
The presence of Beta-carotene, source of vitamin A,
gives Golden Rice its hue. (International Rice Research Institute, Creative
Commons license)
Greenpeace’s official response was curious: “Golden Rice has
failed as a solution and isn’t currently available for sale, even after more
than 20 years of research.” (Actually it’s 10 years since the current strain of
the rice was released for study; on average, it takes 13 years to bring a new
crop to market. Don’t they want it to succeed?)
Greenpeace went on, “Corporations are overhyping Golden Rice to pave the way
for global approval of other more profitable genetically engineered crops.” Do
you get the feeling that Greenpeace is really pissed that Monsanto and the
other developers donated
their patent rights for free? Yeah, all sorts of shit can go down in
the future, and Monsanto (like Whole Foods, another $15 billion a year
industry) may actually want to make a profit. The horror of it.
Meanwhile, kids are going blind and dying. The World Health
Organization estimates 250 million people in third world countries suffer from
vitamin A deficiency, which is what Golden Rice is designed to counter. 40% of
kids under five suffer from the deficiency, the leading cause of childhood
blindness. About half die within a year of going blind. Current efforts to
provide vitamin A in capsule form aren’t working well, for a whole bunch of
political, religious and economic reasons. According to
goldenrice.org “…around 45% of children around the world are not reached by
supplementation programs..” If Golden Rice fulfills its promise, it offers a
long-term sustainable solution to vitamin A deficiency.
You don’t want to ingest GMO foods? Knock yourself out.
(You’ve been eating GMO foods for a couple of decades, unless you’ve been
avoiding 75% of what’s on supermarket shelves.*) You’ll pay a bit more for the
“Non-GMO” labeled foods, but hey, it’s a free country…
…unlike many of the nations where Golden Rice has the
potential to literally be a lifesaver, making childhood in developing places
such as Bangladesh and sub-Saharan Africa a little more certain, a little less
painful.
Greenpeace’s original Rainbow Warrior, when the
organization was in its heyday of protesting French nuclear tests in the
Pacific. (Hans van Dijk, Creative Commons license)
* Actually, everything we eat has been genetically manipulated
one way or another—there are no “natural” foods anymore.
###
Barry Evans gave the best years of
his life to civil engineering, and what thanks did he get? In his dotage, he
travels, kayaks, meditates and writes for the Journal and the Humboldt Historian. He sucks at 8 Ball. Buy his Field Notes anthologies at any local bookstore. Please.
Telangana University signs multiple MoUs
their spree of developmental initiatives, Telangana University
in-charge Vice-Chancellor C. Partha Sarathi and Registrar Prof. R. Limbadri
have signed multiple memorandum of understanding (MoU) with prestigious
institutes and various government wings for the benefit of students.
The TU, which has achieved accreditation from National Assessment
and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with the help of the duo’s untiring efforts,
has recently signed MoUs with prestigious institutes like Centre for Economic
and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad, for offering joint Ph.D programme in
social sciences.
Similarly, it has inked an agreement with Information and Public
Relations Department for joint and effective promotion of welfare and
developmental programmes of the State government, besides taking up joint
training programmes. They would be carried out under the supervision of mass
communication department headed by Raja Ram Kankata.
Earlier, biotechnology and botany
departments of the varsity signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Rice
Research for taking up rice research programme aimed at coming up with best
quality paddy.
To strengthen the earlier MoU signed
with the US-based Chicago State University (CSU), Prof. Limbadri visited the
CSU campus and met senior administrators and worked out an action plan to fully
implement student and faculty exchange programme. The MoU between the CSU and
TU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao in
September last year.“It’s my endeavour to see that at least a couple of
students and faculty members join the CSU by the next academic year as part of
the MoU, and we have worked out the details for the same,” the Registrar said.He
met Telangana NRIs to drum up support for TU in the U.S. during his visit to
Chicago and Detroit as part of a delegation to take part in the America Telugu
Association (ATA) silver jubilee celebrations earlier this month.
The other important MoUs are with the Indian Institute of
Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad, and the Indian Institute of Technology,
Mumbai.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-educationplus/telangana-university-signs-multiple-mous/article8894734.ece
IIRR develops affordable rice-based lotion and cream
The products are rich in
Vitamin E as they are derived from rice bran oil and are affordable and low
cost, IIRR Director Dr V Ravindra Babu told reporters here yesterday.PTI
| Jul 24, 2016, 06.00 PM IST
Hyderabad, Jul 24 : The Indian Institute of Rice Research
(IIRR) here has developed three rice-based affordable health products,
including a moisturising lotion, cream for cracked heels and a pain-relieving
balm.
The products are rich in Vitamin E as they are derived from
rice bran oil and are affordable and low cost, IIRR Director Dr V Ravindra Babu
told reporters here yesterday.
Several companies, including ITC, have approached them to
promote the products which include a moisturising lotion, cream for cracked
heels and a pain-relieving balm in gel form. However, the institute will
provide the technology to those who would sell the products at affordable
prices, he said.Ravindra said in view of climate change, the institute has
developed rice varieties that can withstand higher temperatures.
Besides, to ensure that farmers have low inputs and more
profits, the institute has identified low phosphorous and low nitrogen
consuming lines. With this variety, the consumption of fertilisers is only 50
per cent, but it gives better yield.
This way the cost of fertilisers will reduce and benefit
farmers, as the cost of input is low and there is better yield, Ravindra said.The
premier research institute based in Hyderabad, which is the part of the
state-owned Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), is also working on
nutritional food security and for that, a bio- fortification programme has been
started two years back.
The 'DRR Dhan 45', the first high zinc rice variety
developed at the IIRR, is one of the three bio-fortified rice varieties
notified at national level.The IIRR recently received the prestigious Sardar
Vallabhai Patel Best Institute Award for its outstanding contribution among the
large institutes category under ICAR.The award was presented by Union
Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh in New Delhi.
