Riceplus Magazien is a quarterly magazine that publishes research articles including industry realted for the rice sector.It shares global and regional articles on rice.Riceplus Magazine also publishes two digital magazines on daily basis namely Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter & Exclusive ORYZA Rice E-Newsletter for entire global agriculture community.For more information visit on www.ricepluss.com
Global Rice Husk Ash Market 2017
Research Report presents a professional and deep analysis on the present state
of Rice Husk Ash Market 2017 in Chemicals and Materials Industry. High Use of
Rice Husk Ash in Chemicals and Materials Industry Driving the Market Growth of
Rice Husk Ash. Rice Husk Ash Market 2017 by Type (By Products, Pulverised Rice
Husk Ash, Expandable Rice Husk Ash, Others, By Silica Content, Silica Content
between 80-84%, Silica Content between 85-89%, Silica Content between 90-94%,
Silica Content Above 94%), Power Rating, Application (Building &
Construction, Steel Industry, Ceramics & Refractory, Rubber, Others), and
Region – Global Forecast to 2022.
In the first part, Rice Husk Ash
Market study deals with the comprehensive overview of the Rice Husk Ash market,
which consists of definitions, a wide range of applications (Building &
Construction, Steel Industry, Ceramics & Refractory, Rubber, Others),
classifications and a complete Rice Husk Ash industry chain structure. The
global Rice Husk Ash market analysis further consists of a competitive
landscape of Rice Husk Ash market, Rice Husk Ash market development history and
major development trends presented by Rice Husk Ash market.
* Leading Manufacturers Analysis
in Global Rice Husk Ash Market 2017: Astrra Chemicals, KRBL
Ltd., Ltd., Yihai Kerry Investments Co., Ltd., Guru Metachem Pvt. Ltd., Gia Gia
Nguyen Co., Shreenidhi Bio Agric Extracts, Agrasen Rice Mill Pvt. Ltd., Rescon
(India) Pvt. Ltd., Viet Delta Co., Usher Agro Ltd., Ltd., Kothari Bio Fuels,
Agrilectric Power Company, Jasoriya Rice Mill, J.M. Biotech Pvt. Ltd., Ltd. and
Gelex Agro Industrial Co.
* Rice Husk Ash Market: Type
Segment Analysis: By Products, Pulverised
Rice Husk Ash, Expandable Rice Husk Ash, Others, By Silica Content, Silica
Content between 80-84%, Silica Content between 85-89%, Silica Content between
90-94%, Silica Content Above 94%
The global Rice Husk Ash market
is expected to reach $ XX million by 2022.
As the report progresses further,
it explains development plans and policies, manufacturing processes, cost
structures of Rice Husk Ash market as well as the leading players. It also
focuses on the details like company profile, product images, supply chain
relationship, import/export details of Rice Husk Ash Market, market statistics
of Rice Husk Ash Market, upcoming development plans, Rice Husk Ash Market
gains, Contact details, Consumption ratio.
In addition to this, the Rice
Husk Ash Market report also covers gross margin by regions i. e. (US, EU, China
and Japan)- Rice Husk Ash market. Other regions can be added efficiently.
Lastly, Rice Husk Ash Market
report includes an in-depth analysis of sub-segments, market dynamics,
feasibility study, key strategies used by leading players, market share study
and growth prospects of the industry. The Rice Husk Ash Report also evaluates
the growth established by the market during the forecast period and research
conclusions are offered.
Thus, Rice Husk Ash Market Report
2017 serves as a valuable material for all industry competitors and individuals
having a keen interest in Rice Husk Ash Market study.
Key Highlights of the Rice Husk
Ash Market:
> A Clear understanding of the Rice Husk Ash market based on
growth, constraints, opportunities, feasibility study.
> Concise Rice Husk Ash Market study based on major
geographical regions.
> Analysis of improving business sections as well as a
comprehensive study of existing Rice Husk Ash market segments.
RICE is the second major crop in
the country whose contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) stands at
0.6 per cent and 3pc in the agricultural value-added sector.
Since rice is not a staple food in
the country, a large quantity of the produce is exported, fetching around $2
billion foreign exchange each year.
Still, the commodity fails to
appear on policymakers’ priority list, at least in Punjab which produces 97pc
of the fine aromatic rice.
Rice growers generally complain of
high fertiliser prices, shortage of canal water, high price of farm inputs,
high rent charges of agricultural machinery, and a lack of consultancy
facilities and finance during the crop production stage.
Moreover, they also say that
research institutes have failed to develop new varieties of basmati having
better yield and resistance against pest attacks and climate change.
Rice growers are sowing the same
super kernel basmati variety for the last over two and a half decades. But the
seed is now losing its productivity and attracting more pest attacks, says
Chaudhry Nisar Ahmad, the central president of Kissan Board Pakistan.
He says there is a need to
introduce new hybrid varieties that could yield more and perform better in case
of pest attacks. This, he believes, will help growers earn more and bring down
the production cost of rice. However, he doesn’t think a new variety could be
developed in the near future.
Stakeholders
say the government is ready to spend huge sums on compensations or reliefs but
is not developing new seed varieties that may help farmers stand on their own
feet
His pessimism is not that misplaced
as policymakers in the province have allocated a meagre amount in the latest
budget for the purpose.
Budget documents say that a sum of
Rs8.74 million has been allocated for the provision of laboratory and field
equipment to the staff of the Rice Research Institute in Kala Shah Kaku for
developing hybrid basmati rice that is resistant to bacterial leaf blight
disease as well as flood and salinity.
The project, with a total estimated
cost of over Rs44m, was approved in 2015 and was allocated Rs8.84m that year
and Rs12.86m in 2016. The completion of the project or provision of the
equipment will take at least two more years as budget documents show its
throw-forward beyond June 2019 to the tune of Rs5.66m.
Interestingly, the federal
government allocated a sum of Rs20bn in the year 2016-17 as cash support for
rice growers at a rate of Rs5,000 per acre to help them come out of the
financial crunch caused by falling global prices.
Pakistan Kissan Ittehad President
Khalid Mahmood Khokhar regrets that the government is ready to spend huge sums
of money on compensations or reliefs but is not ready to allocated sufficient
funds for research work to develop new seed varieties that may increase farm yields
and ensure a better return to the growers so that they may not look towards the
government for support.
Some private parties are now trying
to fill the void. A rice exporting firm, which also runs its own farms, claims
it will provide a new basmati seed for the next crop (in 2018).
Shahzad Ahmad Malik, CEO of the
Guard Agricultural Research Services, says the firm will first introduce the
open pollen variety while in the 2019 season it will also provide hybrid
variety of the rice.
He claims that the new varieties
will be capable of yielding 3,200kg per acre while the length of its grain will
be 8mm plus, which is in highest demand in the international market.
India, the main competitor of
Pakistani basmati rice on the world market, has already developed 8mm-long rice
grain variety.
“Currently, we are finalising
formalities for the registration of the new seed with the Pakistan Agriculture
Research Council,” he adds.
An official of the agriculture
department acknowledges that the government is performing poorly in providing
growers with seeds of various crops.
He says the government is meeting
30pc of the seed needs and a similar contribution is made by the private
sector, while the rest is taken care of by the growers themselves who save seed
from the previous crop for use in the next season.
“But the absence of an effective
quality monitoring system is causing a new problem, i.e. a lack of uniformity
as the seed is not coming into the market from a single source,” he adds
varieties
Thailand is seeking to strengthen its trade relations
with Bangladesh in the hope of exporting more rice to the South Asian country,
according to Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn.
She said delegates will be in Dhaka on Aug 9-10 for the 4th
Thailand-Bangladesh Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting. They are due to meet
Bangladeshi Commerce Minister Tofial Ahmed, who is expected to raise several
trade cooperation issues.
"The discussion will be a good opportunity to upgrade our ties and
could lead to a free-trade agreement (FTA) in the near future," said Ms
Apiradi.
Bangladesh is expected to discuss a proposal to buy Thai rice, and could ask
to enter a long-term contract. Bangladesh was among Asian countries that
approached Thailand to buy rice recently, after their food crops were damaged
by bad weather over the past few years.
It offered to buy around 200,000 tonnes of parboiled-grade Thai white rice
for prompt shipment to serve strong demand at home. However, the deal has not
yet be sealed since the countries are still discussing the price and delivery
period.
In the short-term the countries are expected to sign a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) on rice purchasing, covering a certain amount of rice that
Bangladesh would buy from Thailand each year to secure its food security in the
long run.
Other issues expected to be discussed concern further investment and
cooperation covering agriculture, food-processing, fishery, construction,
energy and tourism.
With a population of 160 million, Bangladesh has had annual gross domestic
production (GDP) averaging 6% a year over the past 10 years.
It is Thailand's third-biggest trade partner among South Asian countries
after India and Pakistan, with annual two-way trade with Thailand worth US$1
billion (33 billion baht) last year, up 10.4% from the previous year.
Thai exports to Bangladesh were worth around $940 million. Major exporting
items are plastic pellets, chemical products, cement, textile, steel, tapioca
products and cosmetics.
Thailand, meanwhile, imported from Bangladesh covered garments, fertiliser
and livestock.
Bangladesh is not only a potential trade partner, but due to its sharing a
boundary with India, is also seen as the gateway to the Middle East and African
countries.
ASHBURN, VA -- Today, USA Rice staff visited Rock Ridge High
School in Loudoun County, Virginia, to host a "taste party" and
celebrate National Rice Month (NRM). During the lunch event, USA Rice
taught more than 300 students about the U.S. rice industry and screened a short
"Rice 101" film.
Following the presentation, students tested their U.S.
rice knowledge on the Think Rice trivia wheel and
sampled a dish of brown cilantro lime rice prepared by the school's kitchen
staff.
"These school visits present a great opportunity
for USA Rice to teach students and faculty the importance of U.S. rice in a fun
and casual environment," said Cameron Jacobs, USA Rice domestic promotion
manager. "Plus we got to hear from those on the front lines of
school foodservice about cooking rice for a population of 1,200 students."
Loudoun County's School Nutrition Marketing Coordinator
Stefanie Dove created the taste party template and helped coordinate the event.
In addition to participating in the taste party, USA
Rice also donated a commercial rice cooker to the school to help with future
production of U.S. rice dishes.
"This rice cooker is a tremendous addition to our
school's kitchen and with rice becoming a staple in our cafeteria, demand has
never been higher," said Sherri Foster-Craft, Rock Ridge's school
nutrition manager.
20th Annual Rice Cook Off Celebrates National Rice Month
LAKE CHARLES, LA -- Yesterday, the Calcasieu, Cameron
& Beauregard Rice Growers Association and the Port of Lake Charles held
their 20th Annual Louisiana Rice Cook Off contest to celebrate National Rice
Month. The contest is held annually to promote the value the local rice
industry plays in Southwest Louisiana, and to highlight the variety of healthy
dishes that can be made with rice.
Contestants represented 17 area middle and high school
Family and Consumer Science departments, with dishes submitted required to
contain a minimum of one cup of rice in the recipe to participate. Awards
were given for the top three dishes overall and the top Healthy Choice dish,
and each contestant received a new rice cooker donated by Farmers Rice Mill.
The students met with local rice farmers, ag extension
agents from Louisiana State University, Port of Lake Charles staff, and local
dignitaries while the contest was being judged. They learned about the
nutritional value of rice as a food source and played rice fact trivia and
other educational games to test their knowledge about rice and the U.S. rice
industry.
"In addition to celebrating National Rice Month,
the event gives us a chance to share with students the importance of the rice
industry to our local economy and the impact it has on the entire region,"
said Adam Habetz, president of the Cal-Cam Rice Growers Association.
"It's a great way to involve our younger generation in learning more about
rice, while giving them the opportunity to show off their cooking skills with
their favorite rice dish."
Government has decided to store 900,000 tons of rice
by November 12 to rein the rising price of the staple food in local markets
Coarse rice is now selling at Tk64 in local markets - a record
high for the country. This same rice was sold at Tk38 at the beginning of the
yearThe government will stockpile 900,000 tons of rice by November 12 to stem
the rising price of the staple food in local markets.According to the sources
in the Ministry of Food, the per kg rice price has risen by 39% over the last
nine months in Bangladesh’s markets, but by only 6% on the international market.
Coarse rice is now selling at Tk64 in local markets – a record
high for the country. This same rice was sold at Tk38 at the beginning of the
year.“We have already taken steps to import 900,000 tons of rice to ease the
upward price pressure,” Food Secretary Md Kaikobad Hossain told reporters after
a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“A total of 200,000 tons of rice is now in government storage
while 150,000 tons is at the Chittagong port now,” he said. “The remaining
550,000 tons will arrive at Chittagong by November 12.”Finance Minister AMA
Muhith chaired Wednesday’s cabinet committee meeting, which also approved the
Food Ministry’s proposal to import 50,000 tons of non-bashmoti and parboiled
rice from Thailand through an international tender.In local currency, the per
kg price of this rice has been fixed at Tk36.
Food Secretary Kaikobad added that the total import of more than
900,000 tons of rice will be made entirely through Government-to-Government
agreements.“The private sector has no role to play in this regard,” he said.“It
is true that the import cost through international tender is lower than that of
the Government-to-Government purchase scheme, but the G-to-G initiative ensures
product quality.”
The food secretary said sometimes it so happens that awarded
firms do not intend to import rice and do not provide guarantee money to the
government, which creates uncertainty in the local market. This is not seen in
G-to-G scheme.The food ministry aimed to procure 1,000,000 tons of rice from
international markets to meet the rice shortage. Stocks had fallen to a
five-year low of 345,000 tons as at September 14.
According to a report of the ministry, the government failed to
import 300,000 metric tons of rice from Thailand and India due to price
differences between the two countries and the international market.The per unit
cost of importing from Thailand was $464 under the Government-to-Government
purchase while that from India was $454.Last month the government signed two
deals with Vietnam and Cambodia respectively to import two and a half million
tons of rice from each of the two countries.
According to the ministry source, food Minister Md Qamrul Islam
set the target of 8,00,000 tons of rice collection internally in the current
Boro season. By September 10, only 250,000 tons had been collected.The minister
earlier announced that the government would procure 1,600,000 tons of paddy,
rice and wheat, 78% of which was not achieved.
After the inter-ministerial meeting of Food and Expenditure
Committee on August 16, Qamrul told reporters that the target of
harvesting 19,100,000 tons of Boro paddy was not achieved due to flood in haor
and otherareas.“I did not buy the plan to procure 700,000 tons of rice and
800,000 tons of wheat,” he said, when asked about procurement.
DA targeting to
raise rice yield, cut production cost
By Jasper Y. Arcalas - September 21, 2017
Increasing the national average palay yield and reducing production
cost will help Filipino farmers survive the competition in the Asean rice
market, according to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).PhilRice,
an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA), said the Duterte
administration wants to raise national average rice yield to 6 metric tons (MT)
per hectare and cut production cost to P8 per kilogram.
“This target, supported by strategic government interventions in
the medium term [until 2022] will make
our farmers competitive and sustain the nation’s rice industry in the long
run,” said Dr. Flordeliza H. Bordey, senior socioeconomist of PhilRice, in a
statement.With the Asean integration, Bordey said the Philippines is confronted
with a different economic scenario so targeting rice self-sufficiency is no
longer enough.
“As our commitment to the World Trade Organization, we now have to
replace our quantitative restriction [QR]
policy with its tariff equivalent,” she added.Once the QR on rice is
lifted, Bordey said importers can bring in rice from Asean member-countries as
long as they see it profitable. She noted that the 35 percent tariff is the only
protection of the Philippines.
A study undertaken by the PhilRice and the International Rice
Research Institute noted that imported rice from Thailand and Vietnam will be
around P31 and P27 per kilogram, respectively.This scenario is favorable to consumers,
especially for poor families who spend about a third of their income for food
expenses.
However, Bordey warned that cheaper imports will also reduce the
price of locally produced rice.“This will have a negative impact on the income
of our rice farmers who, at present, only produce an average of 3.87 MT/ha at a
cost of P12/kg”, she said.
“This means that rice farmers, say in Nueva Ecija, who spend
P48,000 per hectare on average, must have a yield of around 6,000 kg, or 6 MT,
to survive the competition,” Bordey added
Govt. to purchase 350,000 tons of rice for
reserve
South Korea will increase the purchase of local rice that will
be set aside for reserve purposes this year to help stabilize prices on the
domestic market, the agriculture ministry said Thursday.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it will buy 350,000
tons of rice harvested this year from Sept. 25 to Dec. 31.
It will increase the purchase of rice from last year's 82,000 tons to 90,000
tons and buy 260,000 tons of packaged rice. Some 10,000 tons of rice will
be set aside for ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve as Seoul plans to send
rice aid to developing nations, the ministry said.
A farmer harvests
rice in a rice paddy in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, Sept. 6, 2017. (Yonhap)
Launched in 2013 by 10 countries of the ASEAN and the
three Northeast Asian countries of South Korea, Japan and China, APTERR is
aimed at safeguarding the region's food security in case of emergencies, such
as floods and droughts.
The APTERR participation is also part of the Seoul government's schemes to deal
with a chronic oversupply of rice in the country stemming from a sharp drop in
rice consumption.
Some 300,000 tons of rice remained in excess last year, as the 4.2 million-ton
supply outnumbers the 3.9 million tons consumed, and the glut will likely stay
at 200,000 tons in 2017.
This year, the ministry plans to temporarily abolish upfront payment, which was
given to farmers in August before each year's rice price was confirmed in
September or October.
Under the system introduced in 2005, the government paid extra money to farmers
in addition to the prepayment to complement the rice price later. But last year
farmers had to return part of the money they received in advance after the
government failed to properly predict rice prices, causing complaints. (Yonhap)
Maungdaw border trading camp exports rice to Bangladesh in early
August
KITSAPA- Although trade already suspended in Maungdaw
Border Trade Camp due to violence attacks of ARSA extremist Bengali
terrorists in northern Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State, rice is being exported
to Bangladesh from Sittway border trade camp.Since the beginning of July, rice
export to Bangladesh was boosting via Maungdaw and Sittway border trade zones. Although Maungdaw border trade camp doesn’t
export rice to Bangladesh, Sittway exports more rice to Bangladesh. Until September 15th, Sittway earned US$ 0.525
million from rice export.
“ As Maungdaw Township suspended its rice export, rice is being
exported to Bangladesh from Sittway border trade camp. Rice export increased
because only Sittway border trade camp exported rice to Bangladesh. There was
no impact on rice export as Maungdaw already suspended rice export,” said one
of the rice dealers.
The ARSA extremist Bengali terrorists launched simultaneous
attacks to over 30 border outposts in Maungdaw border area on August 25th.
Due to ARSA Bengali terrorist attacks, Maungdaw border trading
suspended until September 17th. However, Sittway regularly deals with
Bangladesh.
As Maungdaw border trade already suspended, merchants left in
hand of rice and dry-fish. So, they are hoping to get dealing chance if
security will be good condition
LAKE CHARLES, LA -- Yesterday, the Calcasieu, Cameron
& Beauregard Rice Growers Association and the Port of Lake Charles held
their 20th Annual Louisiana Rice Cook Off contest to celebrate National Rice
Month. The contest is held annually to promote the value the local rice
industry plays in Southwest Louisiana, and to highlight the variety of healthy
dishes that can be made with rice.
Contestants represented 17 area middle and high school
Family and Consumer Science departments, with dishes submitted required to
contain a minimum of one cup of rice in the recipe to participate. Awards
were given for the top three dishes overall and the top Healthy Choice dish,
and each contestant received a new rice cooker donated by Farmers Rice Mill.
The students met with local rice farmers, ag extension
agents from Louisiana State University, Port of Lake Charles staff, and local
dignitaries while the contest was being judged. They learned about the
nutritional value of rice as a food source and played rice fact trivia and
other educational games to test their knowledge about rice and the U.S. rice
industry.
"In addition to celebrating National Rice Month,
the event gives us a chance to share with students the importance of the rice
industry to our local economy and the impact it has on the entire region,"
said Adam Habetz, president of the Cal-Cam Rice Growers Association.
"It's a great way to involve our younger generation in learning more about
rice, while giving them the opportunity to show off their cooking skills with
their favorite rice dish."
How
a Mobile Rice Mill Transformed the Life of Tribal Villagers in Maharashtra
•
•
•
•
AGRICULTURE,
INNOVATION,
Padgilwar
Corporation successfully innovated a small-scale rice mill that can be
transported easily from village to village, and run on basic electricity.
by
Vidya Rajaa day ago
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Khandbara
is a village in the Nandurbar district of Maharashtra, close to the Maharashtra
– Gujarat border. An agrarian village, the primary product of the village is
paddy, and for years, the villagers were selling unprocessed paddy to traders
and millers.
This
was because there was no rice mill in the Khandbara village. The residents of
the village had to travel at least 35 km to get the paddy cleaned. The economics
of transporting the paddy to get it cleaned was clearly not attractive, and
farmers had little choice but to sell unprocessed paddy at lower rates.
In
2010, an initiative to increase the farmers’ income was being explored by Dr
Hegdewar Seva Samithi, an NGO, through its agriculture-focused arm – Krishi
Vigyan Kendra (KVK).
After
studying the economies of Khandbara and its surrounding villages, the Kendra
advised the farmers to form a Farmers’ Cooperative Society. Avenues to add
value to the basic produce were explored, and the KVK undertook studies to
evaluate the most cost-effective means to achieve the same.
With
an outlay of Rs 1 Lakh, the KVK approached Padgilwar Corporation – a farm
equipment manufacturer that has been working with small farmers in Maharashtra
for over 60 years.
Padgilwar
Corporation successfully innovated a small-scale rice mill that can be
transported easily from village to village, and run on basic electricity.
The
company successfully developed the product within Rs 40,000, as against the Rs
1 Lakh it was allotted. The USP of the mill was its small size and ease of use.
Mobile rice mill Photo Source: Facebook
Instead of buying the mill outright for
itself, the KVK and PagdilwarAgro Industries decided to give the machine on
rent to an unemployed villager’s family, and also trained them in its usage.
It has proven itself to be a win-win
situation for all the parties concerned. The villagers are now able to clean
their paddy without leaving their village cluster, and able to realize Rs 35
per kg, instead of uncleaned paddy at Rs 12 per kg.
The Mobile Rice Mill rental is at Rs 500 per
year, and in addition to cleaning charges, the mill renters are also able to
sell the husk that the cleaning process generates as waste – thereby providing
employment and sustainable income to an erstwhile unemployed family.
Industrial rice mills require acres of land
and use technology imported from countries like Japan and China.
Rice
coming out of rice micro mill
It
is heartening to see such innovative solutions being developed in India that
can be used to tackle India specific issues better.The Padgilwar Corporation is
keen to replicate this success across India and has indicated that the product
can be customized for different crops like wheat, millets etc.You can find out
more by visiting their website.
A mobile rice mill developed in Maharastra is changing the lives
of many
Khandbara
is a village in the Nandurbar district of Maharashtra, close to the Maharashtra
– Gujarat border. An agrarian village, the primary product of the village is
paddy, and for years, the villagers were selling unprocessed paddy to traders
and millers.
This
was because there was no rice mill in the Khandbara village. The residents of
the village had to travel at least 35 km to get the paddy cleaned. The
economics of transporting the paddy to get it cleaned was clearly not
attractive, and farmers had little choice but to sell unprocessed paddy at
lower rates.
In
2010, an initiative to increase the farmers’ income was being explored by Dr
Hegdewar Seva Samithi, an NGO, through its agriculture-focused arm – Krishi
Vigyan Kendra (KVK).
After
studying the economies of Khandbara and its surrounding villages, the Kendra
advised the farmers to form a Farmers’ Cooperative Society. Avenues to add
value to the basic produce were explored, and the KVK undertook studies to
evaluate the most cost-effective means to achieve the same.
With
an outlay of Rs 1 Lakh, the KVK approached Padgilwar Corporation – a farm
equipment manufacturer that has been working with small farmers in Maharashtra
for over 60 years.
Padgilwar
Corporation successfully innovated a small-scale rice mill that can be
transported easily from village to village, and run on basic electricity.
The
company successfully developed the product within Rs 40,000, as against the Rs
1 Lakh it was allotted. The USP of the mill was its small size and ease of use.
Mobile
rice mill
Photo
Source: Facebook
Instead
of buying the mill outright for itself, the KVK and PagdilwarAgro Industries
decided to give the machine on rent to an unemployed villager’s family, and
also trained them in its usage.
It
has proven itself to be a win-win situation for all the parties concerned. The
villagers are now able to clean their paddy without leaving their village
cluster, and able to realize Rs 35 per kg, instead of uncleaned paddy at Rs 12
per kg.
The
Mobile Rice Mill rental is at Rs 500 per year, and in addition to cleaning
charges, the mill renters are also able to sell the husk that the cleaning
process generates as waste – thereby providing employment and sustainable
income to an erstwhile unemployed family.
Industrial
rice mills require acres of land and use technology imported from countries
like Japan and China.
Rice
coming out of rice micro mill
It
is heartening to see such innovative solutions being developed in India that
can be used to tackle India specific issues better.
The
Padgilwar Corporation is keen to replicate this success across India and has
indicated that the product can be customized for different crops like wheat,
millets etc.
You
can find out more by visiting their website.
Like
this story? Or have something to share?
Write
to us: contact@thebetterindia.com
Bringing global agriculture thought leaders at Agriconference 2017
It is first of its kind
conference on Agriculture and Veterinary sciences that focuses on fostering
innovation and thought leadership in this field. ”
—
Dr. Devi Prasad Juvvadi
HYDERABAD , TELANGANA, INDIA ,
September 20, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ -- International Conference &
Expo on Agriculture & Veterinary Sciences:Research and Technology is
scheduled to be held from 23 to 25 October 2017, Hyderabad, India. Agriconference 2017
organized by Cenetri Publishing Group will be the best amalgamation of eminent
researchers, students and delegates from both academia and industry where you
collaborator to have interactive access to emerging technology and approaches
globally.
Speaking on the occasion of Curtain
Raiser, Chairman of the Conference Dr. Devi Prasad Juvvadi said "It is
first of its kind conference on Agriculture and Veterinary sciences that
focuses on fostering innovation and thought leadership in this field. Just to
help you understand the magnitude - we have received over 1000+ research papers
across 13+ countries and top 400 of them have been accepted. The focus is to
have International scientific panel discussions on agriculture, to bring
together bright minds to give talks that are idea-focused, and on a wide range
of subjects, to foster learning, inspiration and wonder – and provoke
conversations that matter which robust agriculture demands with attractive
opportunities leading to competitive advantages.”
Several national institutes
involved in agriculture such as Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR),
Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), National Academy of Agricultural
Research and Management (NAARM), MANAGE, Centre for Good Governance (CGG) etc
are acting as knowledge partners to the conference.
Several international luminaries in agriculture and Veterinary Sciences have
confirmed their participation, Prof.Devi Prasdad, said.
Meenakshi K
ThoughtFolks Digital
+1 408 444 7536 email us here
Nuclear Technology Helps Southeast Asia Boost
Climate-Proof Rice, Experts Demonstrate
Laura Gil, IAEA
Office of Public Information and Communication
Ambassadors of Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Viet Nam
attended an event on climate-proof rice production, along with senior officials
from other countries. (Photo: F. Nassif/IAEA)
Nuclear technology has helped
farmers grow rice that can cope with the diverse effects of climate change,
scientists demonstrated today during an event held on the sidelines of the
IAEA’s 61st General Conference. Experts from Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines and Viet Nam shared how farmers have boosted rice production in
harsh climate conditions in the past five years with the help of the IAEA and
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
“We will suffer from water and
food crises if we do not adapt our agricultural practices,” said Shyful Azizi
Abdul Rahman, senior research officer at the Malaysian Nuclear Agency, to a
room packed with delegates from around the world. “Rice is our major crop and
source of income.”
Countries in Asia, which produces
90% of the world’s rice, have seen fluctuating yields in recent years due to
rising temperatures that bring diseases and pests, extreme floods and drought,
and a rise in sea levels that leads to increased soil salinity in coastal
areas.
“Nuclear techniques in plant
mutation breeding, soil and water management and crop nutrition are providing
solutions to challenges of both food security and climate change – both
important Sustainable Development Goals,” said Najat Mokhtar, Director of the
Division of Asia and the Pacific at the IAEA's Technical Cooperation
Department, through which the IAEA is supporting these countries.
In the past years, the IAEA and
FAO have been helping scientists use nuclear and isotopic techniques to develop
climate-smart agricultural practices. By tracking water in soil, for example,
scientists in Malaysia have helped farmers improve water management.
“With the new practices, we are
protecting our soil, our water and our rice,” Abdul Rahman said, adding that
Malaysia’s next step will be to use fertilizer more efficiently. Nuclear
techniques can also help quantify the amount of nutrients that crops need.
In the Philippines, isotopic
techniques unveiled that splitting the application of fertilizer in different
time periods saved rice farmers more than USD 4 million per season and
increased yields by almost 50%. Based on water data gathered using isotopic
techniques, they also managed to save 35% of the water used for irrigation.
“Thanks to isotope tracer techniques, we have reformulated fertilizer and water
use,” said Roland Rallos, science research specialist at the Philippine Nuclear
Research Institute.
Different condition, different
rice
Plant mutation breeding
techniques help scientists develop rice varieties that can resist diverse
conditions. The process involves irradiating seeds to create new, improved
varieties of rice that are tolerant to drought, salinity or floods, for
example.
In 2016, Viet Nam’s Mekong River
was severely affected by drought and salinity. “With regards to climate change,
we are one of the most affected countries,” said Khanh Nguyen Trong, Director
of the Field Crops Research Institute. “Our priority now is to be able to
respond to food and agricultural threats in the future.”
Since 2012, applying plant
mutation breeding techniques, scientists have developed seven rice mutant
varieties that produce high yield and are tolerant to draught. “More than 300
000 farmers are profiting from the new varieties, developed to cope with
climate change,” Nguyen Trong said.
Following his presentation, Totti
Tjiptosumirat, Head of the Center for Isotopes and Radiation Application at
Indonesia’s National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN), talked about the challenge
Indonesia is facing: a rising demand for food thanks to population growth and
higher incomes, coupled with the loss of arable land.
Thanks to the technical support
of the IAEA and FAO, BATAN has released 22 mutant rice varieties, which have so
far helped over 800 000 farmers and produced enough food for 20 million people.
“Global food demand will increase
by 60% in 2050,” said Qu Liang, Director the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear
Techniques in Food and Agriculture. “And where does food come from?
Agriculture. More than two thirds of the world’s hunger is happening in Asia
and the Pacific, which is why we are all committed to providing an optimal
solution to enhancing production in the face of climate change, both regionally
and globally.”
12:00
AM, September 21, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:00 AM, September 21, 2017
No further contact for two years, says district food controller
Our
Correspondent, Pabna
The government has black-listed 784 rice mills, out of 876 mills
in Pabna, as they did not supply rice to the government depot, resulting in the
failure of government's rice procurement drive in the district this year.
The authorities concerned have decided not to make any agreement
with them in next two years, said sources of the district food controller's
office.
“The government had set a target to buy 25 thousand tonnes of rice
during the Boro season from May 2 to August 31. During the four months
procurement drive rice millers supplied only 2.5 tonnes of rice,” said Md Abdul
Kader, district controller of food.
“We repeatedly requested all the rice mill owners in the district
to make agreement for supplying rice to the government depot. But owners of
only 92 rice mills out of 876 have made the agreement and supplied 2.5 tonnes
of rice,” he said.
“Due to the sheer negligence of the rice mill owners, the
government's rice procurement target utterly failed this year.
“The district food office has included 784 rice mills in the black
list for declining to make agreement with the government for rice supply in the
procurement season. And the authorities have decided not to make any agreement
with them in next two years,” the official said.
Idris Ali Bishwas, president of District Rice Mill Owners
Association, said, “Most of the millers did not make any agreement this year as
the government has fixed Tk 34 for a kg of rice under the procurement drive
while it is selling for at least Tk 48 in the market.
“Production cost of the rice has increased as paddy prices
increased due to its poor supply amid massive loss of the crop in floods this
year,” he added.
As the crisis began, auto rice mill owners purchased most of the
paddy from the market and the marginal millers could not buy sufficient paddy
from the market, local sources said.
When it comes to climate change, we’ve taken into account less arable
land, more flooding, less reliable weather, and how all of this might affect
crop yields. But what scientists are now finding is that dramatic, atmospheric
changes are effecting how plants operate internally. Today, food crops are
getting more carbon dioxide. As a result, they’re manufacturing more sugars and carbs
and producing fewer nutrients.
That means over time, our food becomes less nutritious. In the near future we
might gorge ourselves, and still come up malnourished. Before the industrial revolution, our atmosphere was about 280
parts per million carbon dioxide. Last year, the planet surpassed 400 parts per
million. Scientists say if nothing dramatic changes, we’re likely to reach 550
parts per million within the next 50 years or so. Though climate change may
still be a hot button issue for some, the fact that there is far more CO2 in
the atmosphere doesn’t seem to be disputed. We’ve known that for the last 50-70 years that the vitamin,
mineral, and protein contents of certain vegetables has been dropping.
Agricultural researchers have said that since we’ve been breeding the same
crops for greater and greater yields, nutrition has fallen to the wayside for
so long, it was bound to drop. But this doesn’t account how significant a
decline took place. A groundbreaking 2002 study out of Princeton University was
the first to link CO2 in the atmosphere with less nutritious
food crops. It was authored by mathematician Irakli Loladze who first
noticed this phenomenon in a biologist’s lab. Zooplankton populations suffered
after they fed upon green algae which had gotten more sunlight than they
normally would out in the wild. Although the algae grew much faster, they also
traded producing nutrients for carbohydrates. As a result, the zooplankton
population suffered. Although they engorged themselves, they received less of
the nutrients they needed. The mathematician wondered if the same thing could
happen to us. The nutritional value of many crops has been dropping for
decades. Getty Images. A 2004 study supported
these findings and brought the issue to the forefront. Here, researchers found
that a variety of fruits and vegetables had been losing iron, vitamin C,
calcium, and protein, a decline that’s been occurring since 1950. Though
impactful, according to a recent Politico report, few scientists in the agricultural, nutritional,
or health spheres have been aware of this encroaching problem, until recently. A 2014 Harvard study conducted
over six years on fields in Japan, Australia, and the US, served up a dire
warning. It found that around 150 million people in 18 different countries
could face a protein deficiency, due to a 5% drop in dietary protein in staple
crops like wheat and rice, by 2050. The study compared crops grown in the field to those grown in
lab-like conditions, where crops were ensconced in carbon dioxide via sprayers,
which kept them at between
546 and 586 parts per million. That’s where scientists think our
atmosphere will be at in forty to sixty years. Wheat saw 9.3% less zinc, an
essential nutrient to health. While wheat, peas, and rice saw reduced protein
levels. This is the first study to evaluate the risk climate change
poses to the nutritiousness of our food supply. The results
were published in the journal Environmental
Health Perspectives. Samuel Myers authored the
study. He’s a senior research analyst at Department of Environmental Health,
part of Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Over a billion of the world’s most vulnerable will be further at
risk. Getty Images. Myers and colleagues looked at UN data including demographics
and income inequality measures, and combined these figures with their
experiments with crops. As a result, the protein content of staples are
predicted to decrease as follows: rice 7.6%, wheat 7.8%, potatoes 6.4%, and
barley 14.1%. The hardest hit places would be South Asia and Sub-Saharan
Africa, places where protein deficiency is already a substantial problem. In
India authors point out, the diet might lose 5.3% of its protein, affecting 53
million people. A paper alongside this one, published last summer in the journal GeoHealth, found climate change will also likely reduce iron content in
staple food crops. This could increase iron deficiency globally. Iron is expected
to drop 3.8% due to global warming. Here, those in South Asia and North Africa
are the most at risk of anemia, particularly children under five and women of
childbearing age. 1.4 billion children ages 1-4 and women of childbearing age
are thought to be at risk. According to Myers, Strategies to maintain adequate diets need to focus on the most
vulnerable countries and populations, and thought must be given to reducing
vulnerability to nutrient deficiencies through supporting more diverse and
nutritious diets, enriching the nutritional content of staple crops, and
breeding crops less sensitive to these CO2 effects. And, of course, we need to
dramatically reduce global CO2 emissions as quickly as possible. Why can’t we address climate change? Well, turns out we’re bad
at thinking about it. To find out why, click here:
12:00
AM, September 21, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 02:45 AM, September 21, 2017
Rice price shows downward trend
Wholesale price of coarse rice falls by Tk 4 a kg; govt going for
more import
A
mobile court formed by Chittagong deputy commissioner visits a rice storage
facility in the city's Majhirghat area yesterday. The court raided several such
facilities and fined one for hoarding longer than permitted. Photo: Prabir Das
Failing to import parboiled (Shiddo) rice from Myanmar due to high
price, the government yesterday approved another deal to import 50,000 tonnes
of rice through international tender.
A Thai-based company has agreed to provide Bangladesh with
parboiled rice at $438 per tonne, $47 less than the asking price of Myanmar.
Meanwhile, a day after three ministers held a meeting with rice
traders, millers and importers in the capital and fulfilled some of their
demands, rice prices at wholesale markets started showing a downtrend.
Coarse rice prices, which shot up to Tk 47/48 a kg in the
wholesale markets and up to Tk 54 a kg in the retail markets, came down by Tk 4
a kg at the wholesale level yesterday.
Market sources attributed the price fall to release of rice by
many of the millers from their godown stocks.
Importers at Benapole land port told The Daily Star that once the
circular allowing use of poly-bags instead of jute sacks for rice packing
reaches there, the prices would fall further.
Bangladesh Rice Millers' Association President Abdur Rashid said
consumers at the retail level would get price fall benefits in three to four
days.
A visiting Myanmar official delegation on Monday agreed to provide
Bangladesh with just one lakh tonnes of white (Atap) rice at $442 a tonne but
didn't budge from their asking price of $485 per tonne for parboiled rice.
Amid a spiraling of rice prices in domestic markets, the
government struck deals, both through tenders and government-to-government
arrangements (G2G), to import as much as 9 lakh tonnes of the staple, two-third
of which is white rice.
While allocating this white rice for an extended Open Market Sale
(OMS) operation, the government found that the sale of subsidised food grains
drew little response from people here who prefer parboiled rice over white
one.
Food Secretary Kaikobad Hossain told reporters in Dhaka that of
the total expected import volume, two lakh tonnes had so far reached public
food granaries while another 1.5 lakh tonnes were expected to reach land ports
soon.
Some 5.5 lakh tonne more rice would be brought in by November,
Kaikobad added.
The government had decided to import as much as 20 lakh tonnes of
food grains (15 lakh tonnes of rice and 5 lakh tonnes of wheat) in the ongoing
fiscal year following crop loss in excess of 20 lakh tonnes due to haor
flashfloods and rice blasts.
Though it succeeded striking G2G deals with Vietnam, Cambodia and
Myanmar for importing rice, most of it was white rice. Government efforts to
sign deals with India and Thailand for import of parboiled rice did not yield
results as both the countries asked for exorbitant prices -- over $500 per
tonne.
Asked why the government went for relatively pricey imports through
G2G arrangement while rice is available at cheaper rates through open tenders,
the food secretary yesterday told reporters that there was no quality concern
in case of G2G rice, while private parties on winning bids sometimes tended to
compromise the quality.
Besides, the government-to-government deals guarantee quicker
shipment, he added.
OMS & FOOD
FRIENDLY PROGRAMME
A day after the food minister's announcement that the OMS
programme would be extended from district to upazila level, the subsidised food
grains sale programme could not be launched in most upazilas yesterday.
In most of the areas, dealers selected by the food department for
OMS programme were busy depositing money in banks and collecting the rice
allocated from the government silos in their respective districts.
Our correspondents from Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Natore sent dispatches
that dealers would begin the OMS operation today.
In another development, the government postponed distribution of
rice at Tk 10 a kg among 50 lakh ultra poor across the country due to
insufficient rice stock in public grannaries.
Food officials said the priority was to operate OMS programme on a
wider scale now over Food Friendly Programme. Together these two programmes
would require more than 6 lakh tonnes of rice but the government's food reserve
currently has only 3.4 lakh tonnes of rice.
A group of international scientists has decoded the pearl millet
genome to discover how the crop survives high temperatures and drought.
A team of 65
scientists from 30 research institutions sequenced the pearl millet (or bajra
or bajri) gene map to understand the crop’s coping strategies in some of the
most arid regions of the world, particularly Africa and Asia.
Pearl millet has the potential
to deliver a good harvest even in temperatures of over 42°C and extreme drought
conditions that usually destroy rice, maize and wheat crops.
Heat + drought = crop death
Pearl millet (Pennisetum
glaucum) is rich in protein, fibre and essential micronutrients like
iron, zinc and folate.Studies have found it has the potential to fight iron deficiency, the
major cause of anemia that affects the health and development of a third of the
global population.
Though not the most widely consumed grain, pearl millet provides a
major food staple for more than 90m people living in the western parts of India
and in Africa, notably in the region most threatened by the advancing Sahara
Desert. India is the largest producer of pearl millet, followed by Africa.
“Most cereals cannot support
temperatures over 30°C to maximum 35°C when they start forming their grain,
whereas pearl millet will fill its grain in air temperatures of up to
42°C,” said Professor Rajeev Varshney from the International
Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) that coordinated the
Pearl Millet Genome Sequencing Consortium.
“Compared to other cereals,
pearl millet has a more diverse repertoire of genes for natural wax proteins,
which act as thermal protection for the plant,” he added, noting this is a crucial
trait in light of the forecasted heat waves in years to come.
According to researchers,
rising temperatures will lead to a drop in crop production.
However, genetic research for
pearl millet has been inadequate to-date and breeders have had limited
information on how to develop high yielding superior varieties and hybrids that
respond to farmers' constraints.
The possibilities of neglected crops
The study – published in Nature Biotechnology – highlights the
importance of finding other drought-resistant crops that can also withstand the
impending global climate change and avoid a deepening food crisis.
The consortium – co-led by
ICRISAT in Telangana; BGI- Shenzhen in China; and the French National Research
Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD); with participation of the
University of Vienna – additionally sequenced 994 further breeding lines and
wildtypes to reveal molecular properties hinting to drought resistance
mechanisms on a genome basis.
“Identifying better genes for
heat tolerance in pearl millet can also help other crops like wheat, rice and
maize become more climate change ready, showing the importance of investing in
so called ‘orphan’ or neglected crops,” said David Bergvinson, director general
of ICRISAT.
Study:
Pearl millet genome sequence
provides a resource to improve agronomic traits in extreme environments
Authors: Rajeev K Varshney,
Chengcheng Shi, Mahendar Thudi, et al
PNG Government looking to reward
rice farmers at home
Updated yesterday at 03:57
First posted Thursday at 02:50
Expires: Wednesday 20 December 2017 7:50am
PNG's Government is looking at
ways to reduce its rice imports to help fix its foreign currency problems.
Acting Prime Minister Charles
Abel says they want to ensure that Papua New Guineans pay a fair price for
their rice.But, Former PNG Agriculture Secretary Matthew Kanua says the
government should invest in the crops that farmers are already planting.Bethanie
Harriman reports from Port Moresby.
Despite the projected reduction
in palay harvest area and yield, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said
paddy-rice output in the July-to-September period would still reach 3.36
million metric tons (MMT).
In its report published on
September 20, titled “Updates on July-September 2017 Palay and Corn”, the PSA
revised downward its forecast for unmilled rice production to 3.36 MMT, from
3.39 MMT.
“The probable decrement in palay
production may be attributed to reduction in harvest area and yield caused by
flash floods in South and North Cotabato; lower yield in Sultan Kudarat, Lanao
Sur and Maguindanao,”the report read.
“[Also] late plantings due to
late release of irrigation water in Bulacan, rice blast infestation in Negros
Oriental, and occurrence of tungro in Aurora during vegetative stage of the
crop [would cut output],”it added.
The PSA also noted that harvest
area may contract by 0.10 percent to 851,757 hectares, from 852,610 hectares.
Yield per hectare could also fall to 3.95 MT, from 3.98 MT.
The projected harvest area in the
third quarter, however, is bigger than last year’s record of 745,140 hectares.
PSA data also showed that its
latest palay production forecast is still higher by 13.3 percent than the 2.969
MMT produced in the same period last year.
The report noted that about
123,930 hectares, or 15 percent, of the updated standing crop for the
July-to-September period have been harvested.
The PSA added that around 1.3
million hectares, or 70.7 percent, of the farmers’s planting intentions for the
fourth quarter have materialized.
“Of the [2.028 million] hectares
standing palay crop, 73 percent were at vegetative stage, 18.2 percent at
reproductive stage and 8.8 percent at maturing stage,” the report read.
The expected increase in the
country’s paddy-rice output this year prompted the United States Department of
Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to revise downward its
projection for Philippine rice imports this year to 1.1 MMT, from 1.6 MMT.
In its Global Agriculture
Information Network report, FAS said Philippine rice harvest area in
marketing year 2016-2017 could expand to 4.705 million hectares, 2.28 percent
bigger than the FAS’s previous forecast of 4.6 million hectares.
Pakistan refuses to lift ban on
import of cattle from Canada
Pakistan refuses to lift ban on
import of cattle from Canada
Islamabad :Pakistan has refused
lifting ban on import of live cattle from Canada because Toronto is still with
the risks of infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) commonly
known as mad cow disease. It has been officially conveyed to Canada on Tuesday
by top guns at Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce.
“Canada is still on Controlled BSE
Risk and not on negligible BSE Risk country lists, therefore, the ban on import
of live cattle from Canada cannot be lifted,” top official sources confirmed to
The News here on Tuesday.
Federal Minister for Commerce Pervez
Malik held meeting with Canadian High Commissioner to Pakistan Perry John
Calderwood here. In order to protect and safeguard domestic cattle stocks as
exports as well as the exports of meat and other bovine products, the Ministry
of Commerce imposed a ban in 2001 on the import of live animals, meat, and
bovine meal, tallow, and feed ingredients (of animal origin) from all countries
infected with BSE commonly known as mad cow disease.
The list included UK, Ireland, Belgium,
Denmark, Luxembourg, Holland, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland,
Portugal, Finland, Canada and USA. The disease is difficult to be detected in
live animals, as no test is currently available in Pakistan.
The World Animal Health Organisation
- Office of International des Epizooties (OIE) is a Paris based
inter-governmental organisation with 152 countries, including Pakistan, as its
members. The OIE has currently classified countries as Negligible BSE risk,
Controlled BSE risk and undetermined BSE risk countries. OIE updates the risk
status on a regular basis. The last ranking has been done by OIE in May 2013.
Currently, Pakistan is importing
most of its dairy cattle from Australia. However, other countries like USA,
Canada as well as the European Union (EU) were consistently agitating that
Pakistan should review its existing import policy pertaining to live animals
and animal products, in light of the revised rankings done by OIE. Therefore,
the matter was examined in conjunction with the Ministry of National Food
Security & Research.
It was felt that allowing the import
of live animals from negligible risk countries will benefit Pakistan livestock
industry as Pakistani importers/dairy industry will be able to source their
animals from multiple countries and breeds. This would also bring our import
regime in congruence with the OIE guidelines.
In this backdrop, a meeting was held
in the Ministry of Commerce to discuss the issue of lifting ban on import of
live animals from BSE infected countries. The meeting was attended by
representatives of Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Ministry of
National Food Security & Research (MNFS&R) and the provincial
governments. After detailed deliberations, the following course of action was
agreed upon:
Ban on import of feeds containing
meat, bone meal and greaves etc. derived from BSE infected ruminants (i.e.
cattle/goat etc.) shall continue and strictly followed.
The ban on import of live animals
from BSE infected countries shall continue in general, however, imports from
countries which have been declared as “Negligible Risk” by OIE shall be allowed
subject to the following conditions:
“Animals from only such herds shall
be allowed for import where no incidence of BSE has been reported for last 11
years and this fact shall be certified by the concerned Veterinary Authority of
the exporting country.”
Efforts shall be made by MNFS&R
to conduct a BSE risk assessment in Pakistan and apply to OIE for
categorisation of Pakistan as a “BSE Negligible Risk Country”.
Ministry of Commerce submitted a
summary for the ECC of the Cabinet for seeking approval of the above proposals,
which was approved by the ECC in its meeting held on 18-07-2014. Ministry of
Commerce issued an SRO to this effect as well.
However, according to official press
release issued by Ministry of Commerce, the Federal Minister for Commerce and
Textile Mohammad Pervaiz Malik welcomed the Canadian High Commissioner and also
thanked him for the letter of facilitation and invitation to visit Canada,
extended by Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canadian Commerce Minister. He also
shared his intention to visit Canada probably in first week of November this
year to discuss ways and means to bolster the already cordial trade relations
between the two countries.
Mohammad Pervaiz Malik highlighted
that trade between Pakistan and Canada stood at US $0.91 billion during the FY
2016-17 and said that there is tremendous potential between the two countries
to increase the bilateral trade by many fold.
Pakistan’s major exports to the
Canada include rice, made up articles of textiles material, articles of apparel
and major imports from Canada are grain oil seeds and pulses, vegetable
preparations machinery and its parts, pharmaceutical products, oil-seed & chemicals.
The commerce minister informed the
Canadian high commissioner that the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) and
the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) agreed to adopt mutually agreed
scientific solution to the problem of fumigation of Canadian exports to
Pakistan to ensure food safety standards and said that with the support of CFIA
the DPP has completed technical and legal evaluation of the information
provided by CFIA and now await invitation from CFIA to DPP experts for
on-the-spot inspection of integrated measures employed in Canada to ascertain
export of quarantine free cargo to Pakistan.
Canadian High Commissioner Perry
John Calderwood congratulated Mohammad Pervaiz Malik on becoming the Commerce
Minister and said that there had been a substantial improvement in the security
situation in Pakistan and Pakistan was also taking major steps for ease of
doing business which made the Pakistani market very lucrative for Canadian
businesses and investors.
He informed the commerce minister
that Canada had already made significant investment in Solar Energy Projects in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Canadian High Commissioner said that
there has been a solid foundation of Pakistan and Canada trade relations and
now a sustained effort is needed to build on that foundation and increase the
bilateral trade. He also expressed need to bring the Pakistani and Canadian
businesses together so that they get understanding of businesses in both
countries and explore new investment opportunities.
Government has decided to store 900,000 tons of rice by November
12 to rein the rising price of the staple food in local markets
Coarse rice is
now selling at Tk64 in local markets - a record high for the country. This same
rice was sold at Tk38 at the beginning of the year
The government will stockpile
900,000 tons of rice by November 12 to stem the rising price of the staple food
in local markets.
According to the sources in the
Ministry of Food, the per kg rice price has risen by 39% over the last nine
months in Bangladesh’s markets, but by only 6% on the international
market.
Coarse rice is now selling at
Tk64 in local markets – a record high for the country. This same rice was sold
at Tk38 at the beginning of the year.
“We have already taken steps to
import 900,000 tons of rice to ease the upward price pressure,” Food Secretary
Md Kaikobad Hossain told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“A total of 200,000 tons of rice
is now in government storage while 150,000 tons is at the Chittagong port now,”
he said. “The remaining 550,000 tons will arrive at Chittagong by November 12.”
Finance Minister AMA Muhith
chaired Wednesday’s cabinet committee meeting, which also approved the Food
Ministry’s proposal to import 50,000 tons of non-bashmoti and parboiled rice
from Thailand through an international tender.
In local currency, the per kg
price of this rice has been fixed at Tk36.
Food Secretary Kaikobad added
that the total import of more than 900,000 tons of rice will be made entirely
through Government-to-Government agreements.
“The private sector has no role
to play in this regard,” he said.
“It is true that the import cost
through international tender is lower than that of the Government-to-Government
purchase scheme, but the G-to-G initiative ensures product quality.”
The food secretary said sometimes
it so happens that awarded firms do not intend to import rice and do not
provide guarantee money to the government, which creates uncertainty in the
local market. This is not seen in G-to-G scheme.
The food ministry aimed to
procure 1,000,000 tons of rice from international markets to meet the rice
shortage. Stocks had fallen to a five-year low of 345,000 tons as at September
14.
According to a report of the ministry,
the government failed to import 300,000 metric tons of rice from Thailand and
India due to price differences between the two countries and the international
market.
The per unit cost of importing
from Thailand was $464 under the Government-to-Government purchase while that
from India was $454.Last month the government signed two deals with Vietnam and
Cambodia respectively to import two and a half million tons of rice from each
of the two countries.
According to the ministry source,
food Minister Md Qamrul Islam set the target of 8,00,000 tons of rice
collection internally in the current Boro season. By September 10, only 250,000
tons had been collected.The minister earlier announced that the government
would procure 1,600,000 tons of paddy, rice and wheat, 78% of which was not
achieved.After the inter-ministerial meeting of Food and Expenditure
Committee on August 16, Qamrul told reporters that the target of harvesting
19,100,000 tons of Boro paddy was not achieved due to flood in haor and otherareas.“I
did not buy the plan to procure 700,000 tons of rice and 800,000 tons of
wheat,” he said, when asked about procurement.
Deadline for Rice Leadership applications approaching
Growers, industry members should submit their information by
Oct. 7.
Sep 21, 2017
Rice producers and
industry-related professionals who meet the eligibility requirements are
encouraged to complete the application process for the 2018 Rice Leadership
Development program soon. Deadline for applying is Oct. 7.
Members of the next class of rice
producers and industry members will be announced during an awards luncheon at
the 2017 USA Rice Outlook Conference, which will be held in San Antonio in
December.
“The Rice Leadership Development Program gives
young men and women a comprehensive understanding of the U.S. rice industry
with an emphasis on personal development and communication skills training,” says
Chuck Wilson, who has directed the program for the USA Rice Federation.
During a two-year period, class
members attend four one-week sessions that are designed to strengthen their
leadership skills.
“Board rooms across the country,
as well as leadership positions all around the rice industry are populated with
alumni of the program,” says Wilson. “Every graduate agrees, time spent in
this program is well worth it, resulting in a better, more complete
understanding of the industry, and it opens participants’ eyes to practices and
customs going on beyond their farm gate or company, but that are supremely
relevant to their development as an industry leader.”
The class is comprised of five
rice producers and two industry-related professionals chosen by a committee of
agribusiness leaders evaluating their applications, reviewing letters of
recommendation and conducting personal interviews with the finalists.
Candidates must be 25-45 at the
time of application and derive their primary livelihood from some aspect of the
rice industry.
The program is sponsored by John Deere Company, RiceTec, Inc.,
and American Commodity Company through The Rice Foundation and managed by the
USA Rice Federation. For more information on the program and an application
form, visit usarice.com and click on the Leadership Program
icon.
Southwest Louisiana producer named Rice
Festival’s Rice Farmer of the Year
Kent Brown
Kent Brown, a fourth-generation rice grower from Hathaway north
of Jennings, Louisiana, was named the International Rice Festival’s 2017 Rice
Farmer of the Year.In the late 1800s, Brown’s ancestors, who were Iowa wheat
farmers, moved during the historical migration of Midwest farmers to the
prairies of southwest Louisiana to begin producing rice.
More than 100 years later, Brown continues to produce rice on
the original 450-acre homestead as well as an additional 200 hundred acres of
rented farmland for rice and crawfish production.Brown grew up learning about
farming from his father. Following high school graduation in 1974, he began
farming full-time.Over the decades, Kent added efficiency to his operation by
purchasing on-farm grain storage and converting to an electric irrigation well.Now
Brown’s son, Eric, will be the fifth generation to farm the family’s ground.
Currently, Brown grows XL 728 and CL 153 as well as Jupiter
medium grain. He follows best management practices from Louisiana State
University’s AgCenter and incorporates guidelines from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Conservation Stewardship Program.
For the past 34 years, Kent has been involved with the promotion
of the agricultural industry and rice production. He currently sits on the
board of Louisiana Agricultural Finance Authority (LAFA); is president of Jeff
Davis Parish Farm Bureau Board of Directors; current treasurer of Jeff Davis
Parish Rice Growers; current member of Louisiana Rice Promotion Board; current
member of Louisiana Farm Bureau Rice Advisory Committee; and current member of
Louisiana Farm Bureau Crawfish Committee. That doesn’t count previous positions
he has helped for myriad of agricultural groups.
“I believe it is important to be involved in promoting the
agricultural industry so people can have a better understanding of importance
of agriculture in our nation,” he said in a news release.
Kent’s wife of 35 years is the former Jacquline “Jackie” Doucet
of Hathaway, a retired teacher. They have three children and three
grandchildren.
Lawmakers and government
officials are keen on retaining the National Food Authority’s (NFA) power to
issue import permits (IPs) as a measure to regulate the entry of imported rice
into the country.
This was evident during the House
Committee on Food and Agriculture Technical Working Group’s (TWG) deliberations
on the initial draft of the substitute bill amending Republic Act (RA) 8178, or
the Agricultural Tariffication Act, on September 19.
The amendment will abolish the
quantitive-restriction (QR) scheme on rice imports, as committed by the
Philippines to the World Trade Organization.
The chairman of the TWG,
Party-list Rep. Jose T. Panganiban Jr. of Anac-IP, said he is amenable to
retaining the power of the NFA to issue IPs, but not as the sole authority to
import rice.
“The permit shall come from the
NFA, but to give them the sole authority to import all rice requirement, in
fact, that is where I disagree,” said Panganiban, who also chairs the House
Committee on Food and Agriculture.
During the TWG, Rep. Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo of the Second District of Pampanga proposed that the
government adopt an import-licensing regime that would ensure regulation of
rice imports in the country. Arroyo noted that this kind of measure would
shield local farmers from adverse effects caused by sudden influx of cheaper
rice from abroad.
Meanwhile, Agriculture
Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Segfredo R. Serrano supported the
proposal of maintaining the government’s authority to issue IPs, adding that a
set of guidelines should be developed in issuing such.
“There could be a multisectoral
[committee] tasked by law to develop guidelines in the issuance of import licences.
Whether the import licensing remains within the NFA or other agencies, we do
not have any problem with that,” he said.
“As for the proposal to confine
the NFA’s authority to buffer stocking and emergency importation, we can
conform with that as long as the import-licensing provision of the NFA is
retained with adequate guidelines,” he added. The agriculture official pointed
out that aside from higher tariffs, having an import-licensing regime would
also serve as mechanism to protect local farmers from cheaper rice imports.
Serrano pointed out that without
an import license or permit, a rice trader cannot bring in any imports.
“We propose in this bill that we
preserved the import licensing for rice. There’s no much higher protection than
import licensing…you can have a 1,000-percent tariff rate but if you do not
have an import licensing then you are just as open as everybody else. I think
the combination of applied tariffs that are not too high but pleasurable enough
and the administration of import licensing by the NFA, or whatever agency that
will administer it, will provide our farmers the protection,” he added.
The TWG later on included three
provisions relating to the NFA in the draft of the substitute bill after
no objection was made during the deliberations.
“So, we agree to confine the
power of the NFA to import only for buffer stocking and emergency. We also
maintain its current import-licensing power,” Panganiban said.
However, the TWG deferred other
discussions relating to other powers of the NFA, such as market interventions,
to a later meeting.
In its position paper submitted
to Panganiban, NFA Administrator Jason Aquino said the state-run food agency
should maintain its import-licensing authority even after the removal of the QR
on rice.
“The NFA will still monitor and
regulate all rice imports. During the transition period, the NFA should still
retain its present regulatory powers, i.e., issuance of import permits,” Aqunio
said in the position paper dated August 31, a copy of which was obtained by the
BusinessMirror.
“After the transition period, the
NFA should still be allowed to continue to license all those engaged in the
rice business, to properly monitor the volume and arrival of all rice imports,
and compliance to Food Safety Act,” Aquino added.
At present, the NFA regulates the
country’s rice importation by dividing the current import quota to licensed and
accredited traders and importers.
Any interested rice trader shall
comply with the requirements outlined by NFA’s minimum access volume (MAV)
guidelines.
For example, interested importers
should file their letter of intent, after which the NFA MAV prequalification
team will conduct the validation and authentication of all the requirements
submitted by the applicants.
The team will also verify if the
applicant is a party to any case or investigation for rice smuggling, hoarding,
unauthorized rebagging or resacking of government stocks to commercial sacks,
diversion and cornering activities. After this, a Certificate of Eligibility
shall be issued to qualified applicants.
Under the guidelines, all rice
importers are also required to register with the Bureau Plant Industry-National
Plant Quarantine Services Division prior to the conduct of negotiation and
actual importation.
Also, a private trader could only
secure an IP from the NFA upon payment of a P5,000 processing fee per bill of
lading, according to the agency’s MAV 2017 Guidelines.
The issuance of IP shall also be
on a per bill of lading basis, according to the MAV 2017 guidelines, which was
approved by the NFA Council. The NFA Council is the highest policy-making body
of the NFA, which is chaired by Cabinet Secretary Leoncio B. Evasco Jr.
Increasing the national average
palay yield and reducing production cost will help Filipino farmers survive the
competition in the Asean rice market, according to the Philippine Rice Research
Institute (PhilRice).
PhilRice, an attached agency of
the Department of Agriculture (DA), said the Duterte administration wants to
raise national average rice yield to 6 metric tons (MT) per hectare and cut
production cost to P8 per kilogram.
“This target, supported by
strategic government interventions in the medium term [until 2022] will
make our farmers competitive and sustain the nation’s rice industry in the long
run,” said Dr. Flordeliza H. Bordey, senior socioeconomist of PhilRice, in a
statement.
With the Asean integration,
Bordey said the Philippines is confronted with a different economic scenario so
targeting rice self-sufficiency is no longer enough.
“As our commitment to the World
Trade Organization, we now have to replace our quantitative restriction
[QR] policy with its tariff equivalent,” she added.
Once the QR on rice is lifted,
Bordey said importers can bring in rice from Asean member-countries as long as
they see it profitable. She noted that the 35 percent tariff is the only
protection of the Philippines.
A study undertaken by the
PhilRice and the International Rice Research Institute noted that imported rice
from Thailand and Vietnam will be around P31 and P27 per kilogram,
respectively.
This scenario is favorable to
consumers, especially for poor families who spend about a third of their income
for food expenses.
However, Bordey warned that
cheaper imports will also reduce the price of locally produced rice.
“This will have a negative impact
on the income of our rice farmers who, at present, only produce an average of
3.87 MT/ha at a cost of P12/kg”, she said.
“This means that rice farmers,
say in Nueva Ecija, who spend P48,000 per hectare on average, must have a yield
of around 6,000 kg, or 6 MT, to survive the competition,” Bordey added.
Basmati rice exports grows 32 pc in
Q1 driven by Iranian demand: ICRA
After a three
year consecutive decline in exports, the exports of Indian Basmati rice
witnessed a growth of 32 per cent in Q1FY2018, especially driven by demand from
Iran, a report said here.
After a three year consecutive decline in exports, the exports
of Indian Basmati rice witnessed a growth of 32 per cent in Q1FY2018, especially
driven by demand from Iran, a report said here. Indian Basmati rice exports
have witnessed a rebound in the current fiscal with Q1FY2018 registering a 32
per cent growth in exports contributed by 25 per cent increase in realisations
and 7 per cent increase in volumes, rating agency ICRA said in a report. This
comes after a three year consecutive decline in basmati exports till FY2017 (Rs
21,605 crore), it said.
In the past, despite the volumes holding firm, the exports have
been adversely impacted by pressure on realisations from peak of Rs 77,988/MT
in FY2014 to Rs 54,011/MT in FY2017, driven by lower demand in the global
market as well as lower paddy prices over the procurement seasons of FY2015 and
FY2016.
Commenting on the trend, Deepak Jotwani, Assistant Vice
President, ICRA said, “Basmati rice exports in the current fiscal have been
encouraging, especially driven by demand from Iran. The Middle Eastern
countries are the biggest importers; and also a source of volatility in demand.
“Demand from Iran, the second largest importer has been fairly
volatile, primarily on account of import bans imposed from time to time,” he
said.
“In Q1FY2018, Iran has been the primary contributor to growth in
industry exports – contributing around 40 per cent to the total. However, from
August 2017, Iran has again discontinued importing Basmati rice from India.
“Resumption of imports by Iran, which is anticipated around the
procurement season, would be critical for the overall demand for Basmati rice.
Any delays in the same could dampen the paddy procurement in the upcoming
season as well as subdue the exports outlook for H2FY2018 and FY2019,” he said.
“This is especially material in the light of decline in volume
sales from other key market – Saudi Arabia which has 13 per cent of total
exports in Q1FY2018 as against 20 per cent in FY2017,” Jotwani said.
On the supply side, during the last procurement season of
October-December 2016, Basmati paddy prices had firmed up by 20-25 per cent
across varieties, on the back of relatively lower production, the report said.
During the current season, there has been rainfall deficit in
the key Basmati rice producing states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana over the
previous year’s monsoon season till mid-September 2017 as well as lower water
reservoir levels in Uttar Pradesh, it said.
These factors can translate into lower paddy production in the
current crop season, and thus the paddy prices are likely to open firm in the
oncoming procurement season, mentions the report.
ICRA expects that the demand concerns in the form of Iran import
ban and sluggishness from other key geographies would be overcome and export
volumes in FY2018 to be around 4.1 million MT (4 per cent higher than FY2017).
In addition, higher paddy prices in the last procurement season
and likelihood of firm prices in the upcoming procurement season are expected
to push up the average realisations in FY2018, the report said.
As a result, export value is expected to grow to around Rs
26,000 crore in FY2018, a growth of 21 per cent over FY2017, Jotwani added
On the supply
side, during the last procurement season of October – December 2016, Basmati
paddy prices had firmed up by 20-25% across varieties, on the back of
relatively lower production.PUNE: Indian Basmati rice exports have witnessed a rebound in the
current fiscal with Q1FY 2018 registering a 32% growth in exports contributed
by 25% increase in realisations and 7% increase in volumes. This comes after a
three-year consecutive decline in basmati
exports till FY2017 (Rs. 21,605 crores). In the past, despite the volumes
holding firm, the exports have been adversely impacted by pressure on
realisations (from a peak of Rs. 77,988/MT in FY2014 to Rs. 54,011/MT in
FY2017), driven by lower demand in the global market as well as lower paddy
prices over the procurement seasons of FY2015 and FY2016.
Commenting on the trend, Deepak Jotwani, Assistant Vice President, ICRA said: “Basmati rice exports in the current fiscal
have been encouraging, especially driven by demand from Iran. The Middle
Eastern countries are the biggest importers; and also a source of volatility in
demand.
Demand from Iran, the second largest importer
has been fairly volatile, primarily on account of import bans imposed from time
to time. In Q1FY2018, Iran
has been the primary contributor to growth in industry exports – contributing
around 40% to the total. However, from August 2017, Iran has again discontinued
importing Basmati rice from India. Resumption of imports by Iran, which is anticipated around the
procurement season, would be critical for the overall demand for Basmati rice.
Any delays in the same could dampen the paddy procurement in the upcoming
season as well as subdue the exports outlook for H2FY2018 and FY2019. This is
especially material in the light of a decline in volume sales from other key
market - Saudi Arabia (13% of total exports in Q1FY2018 as against 20% in
FY2017).”
On the supply side, during the last procurement season of October – December
2016, Basmati paddy prices had firmed up by 20-25% across varieties, on the
back of relatively lower production. During the current season, there has been
rainfall deficit in the key Basmati rice-producing states of Uttar Pradesh and
Haryana over the previous year’s monsoon season till mid-September 2017 as well
as lower water reservoir levels in Uttar Pradesh. These factors can translate
into lower paddy production in the current crop season, and thus the paddy
prices are likely to open firm in the oncoming procurement season.
“ICRA expects that the demand concerns in the form of Iran import ban and
sluggishness from other key geographies would be overcome and export volumes in
FY2018 to be around 4.1 million MT (4% higher than FY2017). In addition, higher
paddy prices in the last procurement season and likelihood of firm prices in
the upcoming procurement season are expected to push up the average
realisations in FY2018. As a result, export value is expected to grow to around
Rs. 26,000 crores in FY2018, a growth of 21% over FY2017," said Jotwani.
The Bombay High Court in March this year directed the Narendra
Modi government to file a detailed affidavit regarding the increase in
deaths of nuclear scientists. The court gave the decision in response to a
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an RTI activist Chetan Kothari who
alleged that the police had not probed the mysterious circumstances in which
the bodies of nuclear scientists were found in the recent years. According to
the Department of Atomic Energy records, 11 nuclear scientists died due to
unnatural causes between 2009 and 2013.
The nuclear scientists hold key
to a country’s defence and energy secrets. The spike in the number of deaths
remind us of the sudden demise of Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha, hailed as the Father
of India’s nuclear programme in 1966. He was flying to Vienna to attend a
meeting when the plane carrying him crashed into Mont Blanc in the Swiss Alps.
Robert Turnbull Crowley, the
former director of clandestine operations in the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA), shocked the world in an interview with journalist Gregory Douglas,
making startling revelations about the US agency’s covert ops in 1996. During
the conversation, he mentioned Homi Jehangir Bhabha’s death. Here’s a brief
transcript of the conversation from the book Conversations With The Crow.
Douglas: How many people went
down with him (Bhabha)?
Crowley: Ah, who knows and
frankly, who cares?
Douglas: I suppose if I had a
relative on the flight I would care.
Crowley: Did you?
Douglas: No.
Crowley: Then don’t worry about it. We could have blown it up
over Vienna but we decided the high mountains were much better for the bits and
pieces to come down on. I think a possible death or two among mountain goats is
much preferable than bringing down a huge plane right over a big city.
“India was quieter after Bhabha
croaked,” Crowley added further. The former CIA official also claimed that the
agency was behind the sudden death of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri
in Tashkent the very same year.
It should be known that the world
was in the midst of Cold War involving the United States and the Soviet Union.
According to Crawley, Washington feared that New Delhi could develop a nuclear
bomb and use it against Pakistan. The relations between the Asian neighbours
were at an all-time low after a war that was fought over Jammu and Kashmir a
year ago. Bhabha, in his address on the All India Radio, announced that he
would develop a bomb in 18 months.
Homi Jehangir Bhabha with
Jawaharlal Nehru. (Photo: Express)
Starving Asia to death
During the interview, Crowley
revealed that the CIA had invented a ‘disease’ that would destroy the rice
crops in Asia.
Did I tell you about the idea to wipe out Asia’s rice crops? We
developed a disease that would have wiped rice off the map there and it’s their
staple diet. The f***** rice growers here got wind of it and raised such a
stink we canned the whole thing. The theory was that the disease could spread
around and hurt their pocketbooks.
Homi Jehangir Bhabha in his
speech to All India Radio had claimed that India was ready to develop a nuclear
bomb. (Photo: Express)
Although Bhabha died in 1966,
India managed to test its first nuclear bomb at Pokhran in 1974.
Uncle Ben’s orders up 100 per cent
sustainable rice
Mars moves leading brands over to sustainable-certified rice
supplies, as it aims to ensure all its rice is delivered through the
Sustainable Rice Platform by 2020
Fresh from unveiling a new $1bn sustainability
strategy, food giant Mars has today confirmed that all the basmati
rice sold under its Uncle Ben's and Seeds of Change brands will soon be
sustainably certified. The company said the rice is now sourced exclusively
from farmers who are working towards the Sustainable Rice Platform's (SRP)
standard for sustainable rice.
The programme aims to encourage farmers to embrace
agricultural and environmental best practices, with one trial in Pakistan
delivering an eight per cent increase in yield, alongside a 30 per cent
reduction in water use and a 32 per cent increase in net income for
participating farmers. "We've shown that sustainable rice can sustain a
farmer's livelihood," said Luc Beerens, global sustainable sourcing director
for Mars Food, in a statement. "These innovations, if adopted throughout
the industry, could fundamentally shift how rice is grown today, helping to
protect the environment, lift farmers out of poverty, and meet future demand
worldwide."
The company said that in addition to deploying the 46 performance
indicators developed by the SRP, it would also invest in programs to address
human rights and women's empowerment in its rice supply chains.
The milestone comes just weeks after Mars launched its
new $1bn Sustainable in a Generation (SiG) Plan, which sets a raft of
environmental targets for its own operations and supply chains.
ISLAMABAD: The upcoming federal
cabinet meeting is likely to approve a National Food Security Policy which is
expected to modernise agriculture, besides envisaging zero hunger, augmenting
of existing water resource base, development of climate-smart agriculture and
development of hybrid seeds, fodder crops etc.
Official sources in Ministry of
National Food Security and Research (NFS&R), on condition not to be named,
disclosed that the next meeting of the federal cabinet is likely to take up
“National Food Security Policy” and accord approval.
They said Prime Minister Shahid
Khaqan Abbasi, on his return to the country from New York, will give his
necessary consent to the proposed “National Food Security Policy”. And, later,
the policy will be tabled in the cabinet meeting for final approval, said
sources.
Official documents available
with Pakistan Today also inform that the Ministry of National Food Security
and Research (NFS&R) with the collaboration with all stakeholders including
provincial governments has finalised a “National Food Security Policy”. The
document has been submitted to the prime minister’s office for formal approval
before its placement on the cabinet agenda.
Documents reveal that during the
last five years, surplus quantities of major food crops have been recorded in
the country. Resultantly, a surplus stock of wheat, rice, sugar, potatoes and
other agricultural commodities is available and needs to be exported to earn
foreign exchange.
The details of production during
last five years show that total production of wheat during the year 2016-17 has
recorded 26.40 million tons, rice registered 6.84 million tons, maize 6.13
million tons and sugarcane 75.48 million tons.
Sharing details of the National
Food Security Policy, the sources said that government has prepared the policy
to develop the agriculture on modern lines. It also seeks to harvest of the
untapped potential of high-value agriculture in FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan,
Chitral, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir, Potohar, Thar, Nara and Kohistan through
rain-water harvesting technologies.
Similarly, the policy proposes
incentives for food processing, enhancing fruit and horticulture exports up to
20 per cent, enhancing food storage capacity at the federal and provincial
level and developing farm mechanisation.
Earlier, Khaqan Abbasi during a
meeting held on September 5, 2017, directed the Ministry of National Food
Security and Research to work on a policy framework for putting in place
optimal methods for ensuring food security in the country.
It is worth mentioning that
sustainable growth of the agriculture sector as it was the mainstay of the
national economy while presently the agriculture sector is contributing 19.5
per cent to the GDP of the country and around 42 per cent labour force is
employed in the sector.
Fermented foods are not just a part of food culture
but they also harbour microbial diversity
Fermented foods from jalebi to dosa are common across India.
Scientists are now focusing on them as fermented foods are not just a part of
food culture but they also harbour microbial diversity.A study of ‘starters’
that are used to prepare ethnic fermented foods in Sikkim and Meghalaya has
revealed that they have rich microbial diversities. The novel study was
undertaken to find out the type of bacteria and fungi present in two
traditionally prepared ‘starters’-marcha and thiat-which are used to ferment a variety of starchy substances to
produce a sweet alcoholic beverage popular in the two north-eastern states.
Marcha and thiat are traditionally-prepared starters similar to starter
or jamun people use to prepare curd. In curd, bacteria help in
changing milk sugar (a simple sugar) into an acid (lactic acid). In marcha and thiat,fungi convert starch (a complex
sugar) present in rice into alcoholic beverages.
The traditional practice of
using marcha and thiat starters in the process of fermentation is an integral
part of socio-cultural heritage of Sikkim and Meghalaya respectively. This
technique also helps in keeping alive important locally-found bacteria and
fungi which could otherwise disappear over time.
Researchers used next generation
sequencing technique to develop an accurate profile of fungal and other
microbial communities present in marcha and thiat. It was found that marcha had more numbers and variety of fungi than thiat. However, the numbers and
variety of bacteria were more in thiatthan marcha. Proteobacteria is mainly present in both the
starters, followed by Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. The main fungus found is Ascomycota. Yeasts are mainly found
in marcha whereas molds are more in thiat. The results of study have
appeared in journal Scientific Reports.
“Ethnic fermented beverages and alcoholic
drinks have the potential to grow in beverage industry if proper scientific and
technical support is provided to indigenous practices of home-based alcoholic
fermentation. These practices also preserve vast biological genetic resources,
which otherwise may disappear over time,” said Prof Jyoti Prakash Tamang from
School of Life Sciences, Sikkim University, Gangtok, who led the study.
“Fermented beverages produced by
using starch and sugar-digesting starters are generally mild-alcoholic (4–5%),
have a sweet taste with several health benefits. They are high source of
calories and contain some vitamins and minerals,” he told India Science Wire.
Marcha is prepared from soaked rice with some wild herbs, ginger
and red dry chilli, and a bit of previously prepared marcha powder crushed in a wooden
mortar by a wooden pestle and mixed. The dough cakes are fermented at room
temperature for 24 hours, sun dried for 3 to 5 days and then used as starters
for production of cereal-based fermented beverages. For thiat preparation, soaked
‘sticky’ or ‘sweet’ rice is used along with leaves and roots of a black
cardamom variety, a bit of old thiat, mixed and made into dough by adding water. It is fermented,
sun-dried and used as a starter to prepare beverages.
The team of researchers included
Shankar Prasad Sha, Anu Anupma, Pooja Pradhan from School of Life Sciences,
Sikkim University; Kunal Jani, Dr. Avinash Sharma and Dr. Yogesh
Shouche from the National Centre for Microbial Resource, National Centre for
Cell Science, Pune.(India Science Wire)
Mars hails
basmati milestone in pursuit of sustainable rice supply
Mars hails basmati milestone in pursuit of
sustainable rice supply
Mars Food has said that all of the basmati rice
sold under its Uncle Ben’s and Seeds of Change brands will now be sourced from
farmers who are working towards the Sustainable Rice Platform’s (SRP) standard
for sustainable rice. SRP is an initiative co-convened by UN Environment and
the International Rice Research Institute, aimed at developing a global
standard for sustainable rice cultivation. Mars will work with its basmati rice
growers in India and Pakistan to ensure that the company can trace its rice from
field to fork.
It will also work suppliers and partners –
including the International Rice Research Institute, World Wildlife Fund and
Helvetas – to share with farmers ways of improving water efficiency, reducing
and safely managing their use of fertilisers and pesticides, and improving
health and safety. A 2016 pilot project to test SRP technologies in Pakistan
demonstrated that new growing techniques delivered an 8% increase in yield, 30%
reduction in water, and 32% increase in net income. The achievement is the
first step in Mars’ goal to source all of its rice from SRP farmers by 2020 – a
target first announced two years ago – and follows a commitment from the food
giant to invest $1 billion in tackling urgent global issues like climate change
and poverty.
That plan
– called Sustainable in a Generation – was unveiled earlier this month by CEO
Grant Reid, who likened the global food supply chain to ‘a broken engine’ that
needs fixing. Irshad Ahmad Dogar, a Mars rice farmer who works with the
company’s local partner in Pakistan, said the pilot has substantially reduced
the cost of farming and increased his income. “I can now make sure my children
get better education and schooling. Our children getting education and becoming
responsible citizens of society makes my family happy.” Luc Beerens, global
sustainable sourcing director for Mars Food, said: “We’ve shown that
sustainable rice can sustain a farmer’s livelihood. These innovations, if
adopted throughout the industry, could fundamentally shift how rice is grown
today, helping to protect the environment, lift farmers out of poverty, and
meet future demand worldwide.”
Facts on rice production
More than 3.5 billion people rely on rice
for their daily nutrition
19% of the world’s population
is employed in the production of rice
Traditional rice production uses 40% of
the world’s irrigation water
It accounts for around a tenth of global
greenhouse gas emissions
With a growing population, the need to
make rice sustainable is clear
Almost 20% of the world’s population is employed in rice
production yet traditional rice production methods use 40% of all irrigation
water and accounts for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. With the
number of people on the planet increasing by around 80 million a year, the need
to improve the sustainability of the rice supply is increasingly clear. Mars
has worked since 2013 through SRP to develop a global standard for sustainable
rice that it can use to map its supply chain, identify gaps, and drive
improvements. In addition to mapping against the 46 performance indicators of
the SRP, the company said it is going further by investing in programmes to
address human rights and women’s empowerment in its rice supply chains. For
example, the company’s female empowerment programme provides mobile
health clinics in Pakistan. In India, the programme is facilitating a
qualitative study on gender roles in the rice supply chain to develop new
initiatives aimed at improving girls’ education and diversifying incomes in
rice communities. Mars’ Sustainable in a Generation ambition is focused on
three key areas: healthy planet, thriving people, and nourishing wellbeing.
Increasing the national average
palay yield and reducing production cost will help Filipino farmers survive the
competition in the Asean rice market, according to the Philippine Rice Research
Institute (PhilRice).
PhilRice, an attached agency of
the Department of Agriculture (DA), said the Duterte administration wants to
raise national average rice yield to 6 metric tons (MT) per hectare and cut
production cost to P8 per kilogram.
“This target, supported by
strategic government interventions in the medium term [until 2022] will
make our farmers competitive and sustain the nation’s rice industry in the long
run,” said Dr. Flordeliza H. Bordey, senior socioeconomist of PhilRice, in a
statement.
With the Asean integration,
Bordey said the Philippines is confronted with a different economic scenario so
targeting rice self-sufficiency is no longer enough.
“As our commitment to the World
Trade Organization, we now have to replace our quantitative restriction
[QR] policy with its tariff equivalent,” she added.
Once the QR on rice is lifted,
Bordey said importers can bring in rice from Asean member-countries as long as
they see it profitable. She noted that the 35 percent tariff is the only
protection of the Philippines.
A study undertaken by the
PhilRice and the International Rice Research Institute noted that imported rice
from Thailand and Vietnam will be around P31 and P27 per kilogram,
respectively.
This scenario is favorable to
consumers, especially for poor families who spend about a third of their income
for food expenses.
However, Bordey warned that
cheaper imports will also reduce the price of locally produced rice.
“This will have a negative impact
on the income of our rice farmers who, at present, only produce an average of
3.87 MT/ha at a cost of P12/kg”, she said.
“This means that rice farmers,
say in Nueva Ecija, who spend P48,000 per hectare on average, must have a yield
of around 6,000 kg, or 6 MT, to survive the competition,” Bordey added.
Sake is quickly replacing craft beer as the coolest tipple on
the block. Tamara Hinson speaks to the experts to find out more about the Japanese
drink heading for global domination. Yozo Saijo’s neighbours know when sake season begins. Saijo,
chief executive of Osaka's prestigious Amanosake sake brewery, marks the
November start of sake season by hanging bright green balls of cedar from his
brewery's sloping roof. By March, sake season's drawing to a close, and the bristly
balls of cedar have turned a dark, dusty brown. The magic happens in a cluster
of wooden, sloping buildings in the pretty town of Kawachinagano. One building contains rice-polishing machinery - well-polished
rice produces sake with a cleaner, brighter taste, and Amanosake is one of the
few companies to polish it in-house, rather than purchasing pre-polished
grains. In the fermentation room, huge vats hiss and hum beneath Kamidanas -
Shinto altars. As a tenth-generation brewer, Saijo sees his job as his destiny.
"I didn’t have a choice, and my son will take over after I’m gone,"
he says with a certainty which suggests his offspring won’t have much say in
the matter. Saijo keeps his distance from his employees, explaining that in
Japan, senior members of staff don’t mix with the people they manage. It’s
easier said than done, because Amanosake employees are a dedicated bunch. When
sake season's in full swing, they move into staff quarters on the brewery’s
upper floor. It's a reminder that in Japan, sake is so much more than a
drink. “It's been consumed since ancient times," points out Tadahiro
Osawa, sake sommelier at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo. "And it's made with rice,
which has been a staple of Japanese cuisine for centuries. It's deeply rooted
in Japan’s culture, economy and history, and it’s always given at traditional
celebrations. For example, the traditional Japanese wedding ceremony includes a
sake-sharing ritual which cements the bond between families.”
Sake in a Tokyo department store But sake has officially gone global. Australia now has its first
sake brewery (Sun Masamune Sake Brewery in Penrith, Sydney), and similar
businesses have been cropping up all over Europe – the UK gets its first sake
brewery in 2018 and America has several, with the majority located in
California. “The popularity of Japanese cuisine has contributed to a growing
awareness of sake and is certainly increasing its popularity,” observes Yoko
Ambo at Sydney's Sun Masamune Sake Brewery. “Japanese restaurants, including
traditional and more contemporary izakaya (Japanese tapas-style
dining bars) are becoming incredibly popular, and as a result Australians - and
other nationalities - are increasingly curious about it." But given that the Japanese's connection with sake runs far
deeper than it does for other nationalities, can Australians or Americans
really have the same appreciation for a drink with so much cultural
significance? Chuck Perkins at California-based sake brewery Kuracali doesn’t
see it as a problem. "The traditions heighten the appreciation
of sake but aren't essential when it comes to enjoying it," says
Perkins. "Consumers will build their own relationship with it. Those
outside of Japan will want to understand the original traditions, and at the
same time, some Japanese consumers will want to try the new, unusual varieties
of sake being made elsewhere." For sake purists, the latter sentence will undoubtedly flag up
warning signs. Could a Vegemite-infused version be coming to a Japanese
restaurant near you? Sake is, after all, famous for its purity and limited
ingredients: rice, water, koji (mould) and yeast. But Perkins argues that subtly-tweaked varieties are a great way
to introduce people to the drink. "I've noticed that customers who
originally liked a sweet-flavoured variety, such as one flavoured with mango or
habanero, often begin to prefer the traditional sakes, simply for the more
subtle nuances which come from using just rice, water, koji, and yeast." Keen to sample some sake? If you've never tried Japan's
beloved rice wine before, the most important thing to remember is that there
are four main types of sake: Daiginjo, Ginjo, Junmai, and Honjozo. All of them
can be served at room temperature or chilled, although Junmai is best enjoyed
warm, and chilling Daiginjo can help to bring out its subtle aromas. "Daiginjo is considered the most premium type, and it's got
a lighter taste and a more fragrant, fruity flavour, which makes it easy to
drink," says sake sommelier Tadahiro Osawa. When it comes to price, Osawa suggests a starting point of $15.
"Generally, if a standard, 720cl bottle costs more than 1,500 yen ($15)
then it's a good one," he says. Kanpai to that.
Officials from the French Ministry
of Agriculture and Food are in the country to reinforce French-Philippine
scientific exchanges with the signing of a bilateral cooperation agreement on
agriculture.
(Embassy of France to the Philippines and Micronesia via
Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
This bilateral agreement seeks to
strengthen communication and cooperation between the French Ministry for
Agriculture and Food and the Philippine Department of Agriculture in areas of
common interest, including the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices,
exchanges on public policies on food safety, the development of the livestock
sector, and the joint development of technical cooperation projects, among
others.
The French embassy said the
signing ceremony is the culmination of a Philippine-France Forum on
Agriculture, an event jointly organized with the Department of Agriculture,
which gathers over 200 Filipino and French researchers and experts to discuss
and propose concrete, science-based leads and recommendations to policymakers
on specific agricultural issues. Moreover, this forum seeks to bridge both
socio-economic and environmental gaps while demonstrating the benefits of
scientific collaboration between France and the Philippines.
While in the Philippines, the
French officials will also be meeting officials from the Philippines’
Department of Agriculture and from the private sector, while representatives
from French research institutes such as the Agricultural Research Centre for
International Development (CIRAD) and the French National Institute for
Agricultural Research (INRA) will meet their colleagues from the International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the University of the Philippines-Los Baños,
the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research
and Development (PCAARRD), and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate
Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).
Th French embassy noted that the
French-Philippine cooperation in the field of agriculture stands out for its
long-term objectives and strong scientific dimension. Several French scientists
have been particularly involved in projects on ecological intensification,
agricultural conservation, emerging diseases, and animal health.
Pragna Bharati silver jubilee at IIRR in Hyd on Sept 23
THE HANS INDIA | Sep 22,2017 , 05:01 AM IST
Pragna Bharati silver jubilee at
IIRR in Hyd on Sept 23
Hyderabad: Pragna Bharati, a
Nationalist Thinkers Forum, will be organising programmes to mark their silver
jubilee celebrations and also National
Conference on ``Rejuvenate Indian Agriculture for Sustainability” on September
23 & 24 at Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR), near Agricultural
University, Rajendra Nagar on the city outskirts.
Addressing media persons on
Thursday, Dr Tripuraneni Hanuman Chowdary said the seminar will be held under
the guidance of Dr Daggubati Purandeshwari, former Union HRD Minister. State
Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy will be the chief guest
BNP
senior leader Abdullah Al Noman has alleged that the rice prices have marked an
unusual rise as the government has failed to stockpile enough food grains.“Rice
prices are going up abnormally as its supply is very poor against its demand. The
government was supposed to keep the stock of at least 10 lakh metric tonnes of
food grains, but it has only 2.13 lakh metric tonnes.
It’s the main cause behind the
soaring prices of rice,” he said.Noman, a former food minister, came up with
the comment on Thursday while speaking at a discussion programme at the Jatiya
Press Club arranged by Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Karmajibi Dal.
He said the government could have imported
rice and reduced import duty on it to ensure its good supply in the market.The
BNP leader said government godowns are now empty due to the government’s wrong
policy to procure rice and sell it under OMS injudiciously.
He suggested the government to
withdraw the import duty on rice and procure the staple quickly from the neighbouring
country to arrest the unbridled rice prices with increasing its supply, reports
UNB.Earlier at a press conference at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, party
senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi blamed ruling party-backed
business syndicate for the soaring prices of rice.
“The rice prices didn’t come down though
traders at a meeting with ministers assured of reducing that by Tk 2-3 per kg
from Wednesday. This government has nothing to deliver, except issuing threats
and showing arrogance,” he said.
The BNP leader said coarse rice is still being
sold at Tk 55 while fine ones at Tk 65-70 as the ministers’ meeting with rice
traders has no impact on the market.Rizvi also alleged that the silos have
become empty as the ruling party men looted those in the name of government’s
programme to sell rice at Tk 10 per kg. “They (AL men) bought the rice at Tk 10
and sold that at high prices in the black market.” He urged the government to
take effective steps to bring the rice prices within the reach of common
people.
Bangladesh to buy 50,000 tonnes
rice from Thailand at Tk 1.81 billion
The government has cleared a
proposal to buy 50,000 tonnes rice from a Thai company through international
tender.The cabinet
committee on government purchase approved the proposal to buy the parboiled
rice at $438 per tonne at a meeting chaired by Finance Minister AMA Muhith on
Wednesday.
Siam Rice Trading (Thai) Company Limited will supply the rice at
Tk 1.81 billion as the lowest bidder, Additional Cabinet Secretary Mostafizur
Rahman told reporters after the meeting.
The government is importing food grains and easing import
conditions after two spells of floods devastated crops on hundreds of thousands
of farmland.
The crisis has pushed rice prices through the roof. Even the
price of rice at the government's Open Market Sale programme for the poor has
doubled to Tk 30 per kilogram.
South Korea will increase the purchase of local rice that will
be set aside for reserve purposes this year to help stabilize prices on the
domestic market, the agriculture ministry said Thursday.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it will buy 350,000
tons of rice harvested this year from Sept. 25 to Dec. 31.
It will increase the purchase of rice from last year's 82,000 tons to 90,000
tons and buy 260,000 tons of packaged rice.
Some 10,000 tons of rice will be set aside for ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice
Reserve as Seoul plans to send rice aid to developing nations, the ministry
said.
A farmer harvests
rice in a rice paddy in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, Sept. 6, 2017. (Yonhap)
Launched in 2013 by 10 countries of the ASEAN and the three Northeast Asian
countries of South Korea, Japan and China, APTERR is aimed at safeguarding the
region's food security in case of emergencies, such as floods and droughts.
The APTERR participation is also part of the Seoul government's schemes to deal
with a chronic oversupply of rice in the country stemming from a sharp drop in
rice consumption.
Some 300,000 tons of rice remained in excess last year, as the 4.2 million-ton
supply outnumbers the 3.9 million tons consumed, and the glut will likely stay
at 200,000 tons in 2017.
This year, the ministry plans to temporarily abolish upfront payment, which was
given to farmers in August before each year's rice price was confirmed in
September or October.
Under the system introduced in 2005, the government paid extra money to farmers
in addition to the prepayment to complement the rice price later. But last year
farmers had to return part of the money they received in advance after the
government failed to properly predict rice prices, causing complaints. (Yonhap)
