14th March,2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter

Drought warning leads Cambodian government to tell rice farmers not to plant

03/12/2019, 13.07

CAMBODIA

 

Water shortages have been reported in 16 Cambodian provinces. El Niño is behind higher-than-average temperatures. About 75 per cent of Cambodia is farmland, devoted mostly to growing rice. The authorities hand out fertiliser and water to affected communities.

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews) – Cambodian rice farmers should refrain from planting crops because of a drought and record high temperatures. The cause is this year’s El Nino with temperatures expected to peak in April and May, warned Neth Pheaktra, spokesman and secretary of state for the Cambodian Environment Ministry.

Communities in 16 provinces around the Kingdom have reported water shortages due to higher than average temperatures – a stark reality in a nation more used to dealing with floods than droughts.

A tributary of the Tonle Sap River in Kampong Thom province has dried out. As a result, a local rice farmer said he had been relying on eating lotus roots to survive.

About 75 per cent of the country’s farmland is devoted to growing rice. Cambodia exports about three per cent of the world’s supply, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

Pheaktra said his office, in conjunction with the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, has been distributing fertiliser and water to communities hit by drought.

The Mekong River Commission (MRC), which  manages the river and its  sustainable development along with its member states (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam), said that it was ready to help Cambodia.

Temperatures in Cambodia will reach 40-42 Celsius between April and May this year, said Pheaktra. “Higher temperatures associated with El Nino can lead to forest fires and water shortages,” he added.

Despite heightened concerns, climatologists do not expect this year's drought to be as bad as the one that hit the country in 2016.

Speaking about the latter, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called it was “the worst natural disaster to hit Cambodia in 100 years”.

http://asianews.it/news-en/Drought-warning-leads-Cambodian-government-to-tell-rice-farmers-not-to-plant-46480.html

Fuzzy PH agriculture data leads to glut, confused farm sector

By Jasper Y. Arcalas

 -

March 14, 2019

03/12/2019, 13.07

CAMBODIA

03/12/2019, 13.07

CAMBODIA

Last updated on March 14th, 2019 at 05:27 am

NEARLY a year after facing the wrath of avian influenza, the local poultry sector grappled with a familiar foe: price.

In August of 2018, in fact, the farm-gate price of broiler started to decline on the back of increasing output.

During that time, the sign of a glut seemed too early to call, United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) told the BusinessMirror.

However, prices maintained a downward trend and, indeed, an oversupply was confirmed by November.

The glut wasn’t the usual production spree by local raisers in anticipation of Christmas demand.

It was a glut that no poultry raiser saw coming and which persists until today.

The Ubra explained that the glut stemmed from aggressive loading by poultry raisers who thought that the market can absorb additional supply. Poultry raisers, Ubra said, were wrong on this.

Just as the local industry loaded more and more day-old chicks unto the market, imported poultry meat products were surging. The market eventually choked on an oversupply that even big poultry producers like San Miguel Corp. and Bounty Fresh Food Inc. were forced to sell at a bargain.

Could the glut have been averted?

Yes, if only timely and updated data on the country’s supply and demand situation was available to guide farmers on their production cycles, Ubra said.

But the data, which could have saved small poultry raisers from a gloomy Christmas, came months after the industry had already incurred losses.

And the chance of it repeating again, sans this updated and timely data on the country’s supply and demand situation, is likely, Ubra President Elias Jose Inciong said.

Lapse

IN January, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol admitted that the government was partly to blame for the oversupply.

“We had a lapse in issuing guidance to the stakeholders on the current chicken supply situation, which we have to do actually to guide farmers on the volume they should raise in their farms,” Piñol said in a January 8 interview. “So, we will be updating our data on our supply situation.”

The broiler wasn’t the only farm commodity that was hit by oversupply last year. Tomatoes being dumped on the roadside in Laguna and truckloads of vegetables being rejected in Baguio also made headlines.

Situations like these could have been easily prevented if farmers were properly guided on market demand and production trends in the country, according to economists and policy-makers interviewed by the BusinessMirror.

The lack of data hampers policy-making as the absence of empirical evidence could cause government to undertake ungrounded decisions, economist Rolando T. Dy said.

“If data shows we lack pork fat, or pork skin, then we must import,” Dy, executive director of the University of Asia and the Pacific’s Center for Food and Agri Business, said in an interview.

“But if we do not have data, which could be used to forecast or project supply and demand situation, and we are blind, then it is likely that we would have oversupply or undersupply because our decisions do not have any basis,” he added.

Verification

DY said the verification of data adds veracity to the collected information to ensure that accurate figures are being used in policy-making.

Such process is presently absent from the country’s data system.

For example, Dy pointed out, the government could cross-check data sets on rice and palay production with rice millers.

He further explained that these millers are the ones on the ground and could verify if estimates on production and projections are realistic.

For one, the government still uses 65 percent as the average milling recovery rate (MRR) of palay to rice—a figure that, Dy said, has been disputed by local stakeholders for some years now.

Citing rice millers, he added that the average MRR right now in the Philippines could be around or below 62 percent. And the 3-percent difference could mean thousands of metric tons of rice that could spell an oversupply or shortage.

(The BusinessMirror published a Broader Look last year that reported the “grainy” data that government uses in rice policy-making)

Technology

DY said it is high time the government adopted modern technology, such as drones and satellite images, in collecting and validating data.

The use of such equipment, he added, would reduce errors committed by humans in statistical work as they provide opportunities for cross-checking manually gathered data.

However, Dy pointed out, having such statistical system or process is easier said than done, especially when the government doesn’t have an “appreciation” for “good” data.

“But the problem is that it would entail big investments. And the government does not appreciate good statistics,” he said. “We have capability to conduct such data collection and verification but we do not have the funding.”

More so, Dy proposes that the government create a tripartite body or board that will focus on data verification.

This board could include representatives from the government and private sector to ensure that there is timely updating in the data covering food supply situation in the country.

Other Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand and Malaysia, have these types of boards to monitor the supply and demand situation of their key crops, Dy said.

He added that the government could even look at putting up a separate agency to focus on analyzing data. However, Dy noted this may entail amending the charter of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The government could even tap professors in state universities and colleges (SUCs) to conduct the data validation to easily boost the manpower or staff in such process, he added.

The professor said it is only a matter of investing in a “good” and “sound” data system, which could be even beneficial to the government in the long run.

“For example you have P2 billion, that would be equivalent to 200 kilometers of rural road at a P10 million per kilometer cost. That’s the favorite thing the government does,” Dy explained.

“But if you invest that P2 billion in a data system and do a cost-benefit analysis versus the construction of rural roads—the benefit of good data would be double or triple of that road construction.”

According to Dy, the government can have a sound data system if it wants to.

“Kung gusto may paraan; kung ayaw maraming dahilan [We can find means if we want something but if we don’t, we can only find excuses not to do it],” he said. “The corporate sector is even willing to pay more than P2 billion to have an information system [where] the benefits are multifold. Look at it, they even have ‘Big Data’ analytics and Blockchain.”

Dy said the Philippines is not lagging in terms of data coverage but it has to catch up in terms of analytic responsiveness.

For example, the government has no data monitoring on new emerging crops in the country, such as avocado and durian, he said.

The demand for these commodities, Dy explained, is growing fast in countries such as China and Vietnam.

Regularity

PHILIPPINE Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Senior Research Fellow Roehlano M. Briones told the BusinessMirror that the PSA faces a lot of challenges when it comes to data. Foremost among these challenges is the issue of regularity.

Briones said data from the PSA “comes intermittently,” leaving little or no room for policy adjustment. This is a function of money because it is costly to fund annual or monthly surveys. This is partly because official data usually has larger sample sizes.

A case in point is the conduct of the Family Income and Expenditure (FIES), which is done only every three years. This survey is being used as the basis for the government’s poverty data. The information that is collected is always three years late.

Speeding up the conduct of such surveys, including agriculture data, could involve the local government units (LGUs) to get updated data, especially on the consumption side. However, Briones said this is difficult when it comes to production because, oftentimes, there is underestimation or overestimation, depending on what suits the LGU concerned.

This is the same reason, Briones said, why the government does not entrust the LGUs with funds for conditional cash transfers (CCTs) since these can be used for patronage politics. This is the reason for the emphasis on the need to have an independent body to handle the CCTs.

“For consumption, that might be less problematic. Why am I saying this? There’s always a debate between PSA and LGUs especially with respect to production figures. So LGUs are always debating [against], either seriously overestimated PSA [data] or seriously underestimated; often it is underestimated,” Briones said.

“For its part, the PSA says once you link production with government programs or whatever data, consumption or production, to government data from the national government, and then you ask LGUs who could potentially benefit from these programs, ask them to collect the data, you’re undermining the integrity of the data-collection process,” he explained.

Briones added that LGUs are not set up as data-collection agencies and thus have no capacity to undertake data gathering for official statistics. He said that government does not allocate plantilla positions for LGUs. However, should government decide to create these positions, the people who will be assigned to fill them will have to go through years of training.

Experience

Experience and technology are also factors that can spell the difference between good and bad statistics. He said the PSA had to go through years and decades before they reaching a certain standard in data collection and processing efforts.

“This is all part of the infrastructure I’m saying. It takes a long time to accumulate this expertise and capacity,” Briones said.

He added that while the PSA has become an independent agency capable of undertaking the task of collecting and processing quality data, there are other practices done by countries that are helping them come up with the data they require.

Briones cited as example the Thai government, which uses a crop-cutting methodology that allows the government to take a sample of the harvest and from there extrapolate how much will be produced based on the yield and the size of the harvested area. The government will visit farmers, select random plots, cut the produce and compensate the farmers for their trouble.

In the Philippines, he said, the Philippine Rice Information System (Prism), which is helping the country monitor rice production and prepare for and mitigate the effects of disasters such as typhoons and El Niño to rice areas, was introduced.

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) explained that Prism evaluates crop health and damage in the event of typhoons, flood, or drought. For instance, damage caused by Typhoon Glenda and Typhoon Marion in 2014 was assessed using SAR images.

The PhilRice said flooded rice area maps were also produced and used to validate the reports from the LGUs. This also helps assess drought-affected areas in Mindanao due to the prolonged El Niño.

Prism, PhilRice said, involves remote sensing, crop modeling, standardized procedure for crop health assessment, and smartphone-based surveys to provide information on where, when, and how much rice is grown in the country.

PhilRice said that since 2014, this monitoring and information system has been generating timely seasonal data on rice areas and yield, and assessment of crop health and damage in the event of typhoons, flood, or drought.

However, Briones said, these remote-sensing technologies are more widely used in OECD countries like Australia and the United States. The Philippines got its remote-sensing technologies from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

PhilSys

ONE powerful tool that is under the disposal of the PSA is the PhilSys, or the national ID. Briones said the national ID, which assigns “student numbers” to each Filipino, will give the PSA the wherewithal to cross reference with data such as the farmer’s registry or the list of those who have availed themselves of crop insurance. This will enable the government to ensure that those included in the registry are one and the same person.

However, the only limit in this system right now is the fact that it is still voluntary. Whereas countries like South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have long had national IDs in place, the Philippines’ system is still voluntary.

Having a system that has less human intervention is more advantageous and will prevent inaccuracies that could lead to overestimations and underestimations.

“‘Personalistic’ interactions are prone to inaccuracies especially if there are incentives or money at stake in those interactions,” Briones said. “But there’s a greater hope of more objective assessment if you use technology.”

He said that in order to avoid gluts in the case of chicken or tomatoes, Briones said the private sector can explore creating a
“Grab-like” application that can show farmers and buyers the prices of certain commodities per locale.

This gives farmers and consumers the power to choose the best produce at the best price. It can also inform farmers about the commodities that are in demand and at what price they can be sold.

While technology is not the best suit of farmers whose average age is 52, Briones said when it comes to these technologies, older farmers would usually involve younger generations in operating devices such as smartphones and navigating web-based applications.

This technology, however, needs to be developed by a private entity since application development and technology such as these cannot be efficiently managed by the government.

Up to par

The PSA said they have not been remiss in their duties to ensure that official government data remains on a par with international standards and international commitments.

These efforts include the updating of frames that are the basis of samples to be used in various agriculture surveys as well as the regular conduct of numerous surveys that seek to collect information from planting intentions of farmers in the rice and corn sectors to the production of livestock and poultry which is based on the number of animals that were slaughtered.

PSA Deputy National Statistician and Sectoral Statistics Officer in Charge Rosalinda P. Bautista told the BusinessMirror the agency regularly conducts agriculture-related surveys. In terms of palay surveys, the PSA collects information on production per quarter based on quantity and land area covered. They also observe standing crops and survey planting intentions.

She explained that the PSA would regularly conduct the survey a month after the reference quarter. Specifically, the first 10 days after the reference quarter. This is done except during the last quarter of the year when data for the fourth quarter is obtained in December. This, she said, allows the PSA to conduct validation of the data they have collected.

Apart from keeping a regular schedule, the PSA also regularly updates the surveys it conducts to make the instruments more responsive to current situations and the results more accurate. This is part of the PSA’s mission to “deliver relevant, reliable statistics and civil registration services for equitable development toward improved quality of life for all.”

In terms of agriculture data, Bautista said, the PSA is in the process of updating the frame that it uses to select its sample for all the agricultural surveys it conducts. This helps keep the list of respondents updated.

However, in the exercise of its functions, particularly where agriculture data is concerned, the PSA admitted that certain constraints cannot be immediately addressed. Bautista said these include human error; seasons that affect agriculture production; and the government’s own resources.

Limitations

BAUTISTA admitted there are limitations on the part of farmers. This may be due to their lack of education, their age, or the simple reason they, too, are humans who can commit mistakes, she said.

Bautista explained that gathering information, for example, can be tricky given that many farmers do not keep records of their production. This makes it crucial for the PSA to conduct a thorough validation of the data they acquire, which can take time.

Further, their age becomes a factor. Bautista said the average age of Filipino farmers is 52 years old and nobody in their families is willing to go into farming. This leaves the farmer alone to his devices without a child to replace him in taking care of production and keeps them from being accurate with their answers when PSA conducts surveys.

“Of course, farmers do make mistakes, the same thing that happens when we conduct our validation and we try and compare with what happened. So one time, I said, we should be concerned if farmers do make mistakes in estimating. Is it a defect [that is due to] our limitations or is it also a defect due to the fact that the farmer really did make a mistake in estimating? This can happen both ways,” Bautista said.

In PSA’s quest to deliver accurate and responsive data, Bautista said, the seasons that affect agriculture production and, eventually, access to the results become a challenge.

Bautista said that as much as the PSA would like to release information with as little lag as possible, sometimes the planting and harvesting season is too short for the PSA to capture the data that it needs.

This is particularly the case with data concerning vegetables when the planting and harvesting can only take months. Ampalaya or bitter gourd, for example, only takes two months to plant and grow. And even before the PSA can collect all the data, the planting and harvesting seasons have passed.

This poses concerns not only in collecting data but also releasing the information and ensuring that information reaches the intended audience in time.

Accessibility

Access to data, however, becomes another challenge as most of the data that PSA generates are in the website. This also means that farmers should have the technological knowhow, the knowledge and background on statistics, to be effective users of PSA data.

“There is issue of access among farmers. How can our web-based data reach farmers? And do they have the capacity to understand? Supposed to be, the DA should help them,” Bautista said. “We [only] produce the data and it’s in the website. It’s up to government to make a way for farmers to access this, understand it so that he may use it to decide when to plant, what to plant.”

Prior to being merged with the three other agencies that comprise the PSA, the Bureau of Agriculture Statistics (BAS) used to be the sole agency that addresses concerns of farmers regarding data. The data includes price monitoring and teaching farmers to interpret data.

Under the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997, data dissemination and teaching farmers to interpret the data that they get was part of the functions of the BAS. This entailed going to farmers’ groups and conducting an extension service on statistics for farmers.

One of the products of this function was the Agriculture and Fisheries Market Information System (Afmis) launched in 2010. The Afmis is an online repository of price data as well as a directory of buyers and sellers and other market information.

Legal powers

HOWEVER, when the Philippine Statistical Act was passed in 2013, that particular function of BAS of extending help to farmers was excluded from the PSA’s functions.

Apart from legal limitations, there are also financial concerns. If PSA will come up with more frequent information or data on particular commodities, the government needs to allocate a lot of resources to finance these efforts.

Bautista said financial resources are important because statistical undertakings are expensive. The PSA needs to tap enumerators and equip them with the training and materials that will allow them to do their field work. Of course they are paid for these efforts.

One major challenge, particularly for this year, is the re-enacted budget. This is crucial not only for the preparations of the Census of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF), which is being done through the redesign of various agriculture surveys.

The 2020 CAF will be pilot tested in six provinces this year: three for palay and three for corn. This will require a budget of P16 million.

“Even with the reenacted budget, we are really committed to do it. We will just agree on prioritization,” Bautista said.

Efforts to disseminate and explain the data are being done by PSA through a weekly radio program. Bautista said that the PSA’s regional and provincial arms also have tie-ups with local radio stations to reach more farmers in the process.

She added that to some extent, the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) also conducts seminars and other capacity-building efforts for farmers and farm workers. However, the reach of these seminars and fora is limited considering that smallholder farmers live far from provincial centers. Many, Bautista said, live in hard-to-reach places.

Free enterprise

Unlike social democratic states such as Canada and European nations, there are no production quotas in the Philippines. A production quota is when the government dictates the volume to be produced just sufficient to meet local consumption or export if there is excess.

If an investor seeks to enter the poultry industry, then he must wait for someone to quit business or wait for an available production quota, Inciong explained.

Since the Philippines has a free enterprise business environment, having a data system is crucial, he added.

“Everyone could go into the business because there is no production quota,” Inciong said. “Therefore, the only way for you to have a rational system, wherein everyone would self-regulate, is to have solid and timely data.”

Furthermore, Inciong, who is a lawyer by profession, said a sound data system is more vital than ever now since the country has competition laws already.

“Before you can invoke the competition law, you need data to say that there is oversupply already, or the production intention is greater than the demand,” he said. “The point is there is rationality in the system based on timely information.”

Distortion

INCIONG said Ubra has been advocating for a sound data system for the poultry and livestock sector since the 2000s.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has just restarted its price and volume watch group that monitors domestic prices, production volume, cold storage inventory and import volume.

The price and volume watch group of the DA was absent for some months before it was reinstated last February, Inciong said.

Inciong explained that since the government implements a minimum access volume (MAV) on chicken imports then there is a need to monitor arrivals accordingly. At present, the MAV for chicken imports is around 23,000 metric tons.

All imports exceeding the MAV must pay corresponding special safeguard duty (SSG) if their landed cost is below the trigger price set by the government.

“We don’t know how much has entered the country and in particular our MAV utilization. Because you will cross-check the total arrival to the MAV utilization to determine the out-quota imports,” he said. “Once you determine it, then you could monitor next if they pay the corresponding SSG.”

However, Inciong said the data being collected by the DA is still insufficient.

He points out that it lacks data on the prices of imports, which is crucial in invoking the protective measures against surge.

Having data on the price of imports abroad could aid government to determine if there is a dumping or smuggling occurring in the country, Inciong said.

Since government is not monitoring the prices of imports abroad, then unscrupulous traders who misdeclare the value of their shipments could easily get away, he added.

Furthermore, Inciong pointed out that government could have been losing revenues due to the lack of a data system.

He said there is no current data system that monitors the imports that enter the customs bonded warehouses (CBW) as well as the volume being re-exported.

Since the government is encouraging exports as a dollar-earning revenue measure through CBW, some big companies are allowed to import raw materials, like chicken leg quarters, at zero tariff on the condition that they should export them as yakitori products, he explained.

However, the government is not able to monitor the volume that is being imported by these companies and the volume that they export in relation to raw materials they brought in, Inciong added.

Due to this, the government could be blinded if some of the imported raw materials—at zero tariff—are being sold in the domestic market, making it unfair to those who brought in the same commodity but paid corresponding tariffs, he said.

“So, yes, it is possible that the government is losing revenues. We do not know how much is being imported to the CBWs and how much of it is being exported,” he said.

Liberation

On the lack of an improved agricultural data system, Agriculture Undersecretary Segfredo R. Serrano said that having a sound data system “should have been easier today because you have mass of mainstream technology to do that.”

Serrano concurs that the government as a whole has no appreciation for good data. Second, there still exists a “haka-haka” or guesswork culture even among policy-makers in the government, he added.

“We should promote increasing appreciation of science, of the scientific method and objective evidence,” he told the BusinessMirror. “So it is a climate of science. A climate of objective. And not a climate of fear or fearmongering.”

Serrano said data should be also made accessible to farmers so that they could make objective decisions in their production plans. Furthermore, he pointed out that it is wrong to assume that farmers are not capable enough to analyze data and other relevant information on planting.

“It is an insult to say that farmers are risk-adverse. It is the most stupid comment as farmers have dealt with risks all their lives,” he said.

“What farmers fear the most is uncertainty. It is the duty of the government, particularly in this era of climate change, to convert those uncertainties into quantifiable risks—and that is data,” he added.

Serrano said if the government can empower farmers to make choices on their own due to substantial and abundant information, then it has already succeeded in uplifting their lives.

“The mere fact that you liberate farmers from prescriptive services provided by the government and enable them to make choices based on their experience, competence and insights, we have already uplifted their welfare,” he said.

Serrano hopes that the establishment of the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) would pave the way for the modernization of the country’s data system.

“I have very high hopes for DICT to do this in an integrated manner in the government,” Serrano said.

Since a lot of Filipinos now own smartphones, Serrano said it is possible for the government to conduct surveys among farmers through smartphones. With such technology at hand, the government easily expands its reach and sample size, thus, effectively reducing its margin of errors, Serrano explained. “Can you do a near census with smartphones? Yes,” he said.

Asked if it is too late for the government to have an advanced data system, Serrano said: It’s not.

“We should have done this in the last century. It’s not late—it is never late,” he said.

“But if we dilly-dally a little more, then we will be the only blind government in this region,” he added.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/03/14/fuzzy-ph-agriculture-data-leads-to-glut-confused-farm-sector/

IRRI symposium focuses on grain quality, nutrition

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https://www.world-grain.com/articles/11781-irri-symposium-focuses-on-grain-quality-nutrition

IIT Madras Study, Pollution Destroying Rice, Wheat Crops Every Year

13 March 2019 07:48 PM 

A study led by (IIT-Madras has revealed that about 22 million tonnes (21 percent of India’s yield) of wheat and 6.5 million tonnes of rice (6 percent of India’s yield) are being destroyed each year due to surface ozone. Moreover, the states of Punjab and Haryana have borne losses pf 16% wheat and 11% rice.

The plant damaging pollutant has caused an economic loss of 1.5 billion US dollars for rice while 5 billion USD for wheat.

Chemical reactions between primary pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight result in the generation of surface ozone. Sources include power plants, biomass burning, vehicles, as well as industries.

Specialists said the discoveries of the examination are vital in perspective on the anticipated ascent in artificial contamination, including surface ozone, with huge effect on the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) which is an essential farming area. A lessening in harvest yield in India, likewise the second-most populous nation – consequently will seriously affect its food security and economic development.

A past report evaluated losses of 15% and 6% for wheat and rice yield, dependent on estimations of surface ozone levels recorded generally in urban, rural and high altitude regions, consequently not enough accounting for ozone over rural agricultural areas which can be compensated by utilizing chemistry transport meteorological models.

The new examination ascribed the expansion in both harvest yield and monetary losses in the new study to the regional chemistry transport model WRF-Chem simulations, which calculated in varying ozone chemistry in country rural fields from urban and semi-urban observing stations.

The examination gives spatial dispersion of yield loss, which could bear some significance with established researchers not restricted to environmentalists, botanists and plant physiologists.

Wheat is a Rabi crop, which is cultivated between November and April, while rice is developed amid the Kharif season from June to October and in the Rabi season. Contrasted with wheat, crop loss for rice is less on the grounds that surface ozone levels are lower as the main harvesting period is not long after Monsoon and furthermore on the grounds that rice is generally less delicate to ozone contrasted with wheat.

In spite of the fact that there is a passable human exposure level for surface ozone set by the Central Pollution Control Board, there are no sheltered dimensions endorsed for plants.

For the investigation, the five-part group utilized WRF-Chem model to reenact blending proportions for surface ozone consistently to determine gathered ozone levels that surpass 40 sections for each billion by volume (ppbv) – additionally alluded to AOT40 – amid the Kharif and Rabi seasons crosswise over different states.

Discoveries demonstrated that a blend of higher crop production and incidental exposure to raised surface ozone levels brought about IGP area, including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar and West Bengal, to endure the most extreme brunt of losses in wheat and rice yields. Among the main wheat delivering states, the most elevated harvest loss of evaluated 5.5 million tons (23%) is recorded in MP, trailed by 5 million tons (21%) in UP each year. Both these states bring about an economic loss of more than USD 1 billion each consistently.

Of the significant states – Punjab, UP, Bihar and West Bengal in the IGP region, and Orissa and Andhra Pradesh (AP) – that develop rice, Punjab brings about a most extreme loss of around 1.5 million tons (11.5%) trailed by 1 million tons (9%) in UP every year. These two states endure a yearly monetary loss of around USD 0.3 billion each.

"There is a dire need to direct key ozone perceptions, particularly over farming fields, and the improvement of yearly territorial emanation database to help approach making in India," said Gufran Beig, co-author, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune. "There is likewise a requirement for forceful participation between agricultural scientists and scientists involved in studies on air pollution to complete research to create ozone-safe cultivars."

Image Credit: wikipedia

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Rice import applications reach 1.6 million metric tons

This is seen to further increase as the Rice Import Liberalization Act takes effect.

Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star) - March 14, 2019 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — As the Philippines opens its market to cheap imported rice, the number of applications to bring in the commodity under the out-quota scheme has reached 1.6 million metric tons, almost near the projected record-high imports for the country.

Based on the updated list released by the National Food Authority, 278 firms have already applied for the out-quota importation of 1.6 million MT of rice to be sourced from countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Taiwan, among others.

The number of applications is expected to breach the 2.6 million MT projection of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).  This is seen to further increase as the Rice Import Liberalization Act takes effect.

USDA hiked its earlier projection of 2.3 million MT following reduced crop estimates and the lifting of the quantitative restriction on the commodity.

The National Food Authority (NFA) will eventually stop processing applications as the Bureau of Plant Industry will be the one to issue permits under the rice tariff regime.

The Philippines is seen to become the second-largest rice importer for 2019, next to China with an estimated 4.5 million MT of rice imports.

This after Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Import Liberalization Law took effect, which replaced rice import quantitative restrictions with tariffs and reverted the minimum access volume to its 2012 levels.

The law was intended to spur imports in order to quell domestic unrest caused by inflation.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, for his part, said the huge volume of importation was only temporary and would eventually slowdown.

The country’s additional imports also aim to strengthen buffer stocks ahead of the mid-term elections scheduled in May 2019.

https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/03/14/1901204/rice-import-applications-reach-16-million-metric-tons

Department of Agriculture blocks plan to import palay

Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star) - March 14, 2019 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Even with the liberalization of the rice industry, the government will not allow the importation of palay (unmilled rice), effectively blocking plans of some firms, including conglomerate San Miguel Corp., to bring in the commodity.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the agency would invoke its right against the importation of palay amid threats from pests and diseases.

“We will not allow the import of palay. This has long been recommended by our technical people even before the passage of the rice liberalization,” Piñol said in a briefing.

“It has been the mindset of the DA. We will not stop them from importing rice in its milled form, but not for palay. It is a risky proposition,” he added.

Even if Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Import Liberalization Law officially took effect, Piñol said the power to issue sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) permits remained with the DA.

“We still reserve the right to protect the industry, we have the power on the SPS and we can invoke that,” Piñol said.

It was in September 2018 when food-to-infrastructure conglomerate San Miguel Corp. expressed interest to import unmilled rice to help augment the supply of the country’s main staple.

SMC was only waiting for the passage of the rice tariffication bill, which seeks to eliminate government’s control over the volume of rice imports, and  just allow market forces to come into play.

Ang earlier said SMC has grain terminals and facilities used for their feed mills, which could have extra silos to properly store imported rice, including unmilled rice.

SMC can import from Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. It can also enter into long-term supply contracts. The conglomerate was also willing to help farmers by buying their produce.

Meanwhile, the implementing rules and regulations of the rice liberalization law has yet to be signed and released, more than a week after its effectivity.

Piñol said the National Economic and Development Authority is crafting the final version which will be coursed through a referendum.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUREEMMANUEL PIñOLSAN MIGUEL CORP.

at https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/03/14/1901187/department-agriculture-blocks-plan-import-palay#fKWkYeFe0JpO3J7X.99

NEDA won’t back DA plans to ban palay imports

March 13, 2019 | 10:12 pm

THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said it cannot rule out imports of palay, or unmilled rice, by the private sector, after the Department of Agroculture (DA) signalled that it will not allow the practice because of the potential that the shipments might bring in pests or disease.

After Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said he will not allow palay imports, NEDA said such imports are a “business decision” and could be a source of income for millers.

“On NEDA’s part, we think this is a business decision. The plus side is that it will involve millers in the production,” NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon said in a mobile message on Wednesday when asked to comment.

“Also we get to keep the husk which can be used for biomass. Offhand, we think it’s all right. We still need to check on the tariff implications,” Ms. Edillon said.

On Tuesday, Mr. Piñol said that the DA has the authority to bar such imports via the sanitary and phytosanitary permit process, which is controlled by the DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).

“We will not allow it because (palay imports) could bring in pests and disease through the rice husks,” Mr. Piñol said.

“We still hold the power to determine whether it is safe for Philippine agriculture or not. Nobody can assure us that unmilled rice shipped in will not be harboring disease,” according to Mr. Piñol. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

https://www.bworldonline.com/neda-wont-back-da-plans-to-ban-palay-imports/

North Fly To Produce Rice

A Rice Factory Will Be Built At Kiunga In The North Fly District, Western Province.

 

March 14, 2019

BY ISAAC NICHOLAS

A rice factory will be built at Kiunga in the North Fly district, Western province.

It will pave way for production and packaging of the locally grown rice brand “Western10 Rice” later this year.

Its groundbreaking ceremony was held at the site at Samagos Agriculture base (DPI station), 4km outside Kiunga on Monday.

North Fly MP James Donald officiated at the ceremony to mark the construction of a building that will house rice processing line machines, store room, back-up power generators, a reception and an office.

Mr Donald said the groundbreaking marked start of phase 4 which involved construction of the buildings where the processing lines would be installed.

He said the processing line or machines are currently in Port Moresby after they were bought from China.

“They will be shipped to Kiunga in the next two weeks from Port Moresby for installation,” he said.
Mr Donald said according to the contractor Dynamic Engineering Ltd the building would be up in one month time.

He said a dream of making local rice production reality had already passed four of five phases and cost K950,000. He said it was funded since 2017 using North Fly district services improvement program, or DSIP, funding under its economic sector allocation.

The five phases were:

·       Phase 1, Rice seed multiplication (completed);

·       Phase 2, Extension and planting (completed);

·       Phase 3, Importing of processing line and packaging materials (completed);

·       Phase 4, Processing facility construction (underway); and

·       Phase 5, Actual production and marketing

Mr Donald said the idea is to help reduce heavy reliance on rice imports in the long-term and encourage domestic rice production to support food security for our people.

He said rice cultivation by farmers in North Fly is gaining momentum and would soon become bigger but he wanted support from government if it was serious about implementing its national rice policy.

https://postcourier.com.pg/north-fly-produce-rice/

SLAC proves 11 MT/ha palay harvest possible

BY EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ

MARCH 14, 2019

·       SLAC PROVES 11 MT/HA PALAY HARVEST POSSIBLE

LEADING hybrid rice producer SL Agritech Corp. (SLAC) has paved the way for farmers in several provinces in the country to boost their farm productivity and income by planting SL-8H Super Hybrid Rice Seeds, in a bid to help increase the overall local rice production and be more competitive in the face of liberalized rice imports.

SLAC is a private company engaged in research development, production and distribution of hybrid rice seed and premium quality rice.

Jose Bernal, a 58-year-old rice farmer from Sonquil, Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan, reported palay (unmilled rice) harvest of 11.58 metric tons per hectare (MT/ha), nearly triple the national average yield of 4 MT/ha.

Producing 196.5 cavans (59 kilograms per cavan) from his one-hectare farm, Bernal earned P178,000 from his harvest.

He explained that farmers’ harvest reached only 100 cavans with inbred seeds,lower than the 160 to 245 cavans from the use of hybrid rice seeds.

“The use of hybrid rice seeds not only helped me and family but also our community,” Bernal said in Filipino.

He also attributed his high yield on the use of organic and inorganic fertilizers.

Another rice farmer from San Nicolas of San Simon, Pampanga, also posted higher yield from planting SL-8H, harvesting palay at 10.14 MT/ha.

Boy Pangan, 66, started using SL-8H in 2017. Since then, he has been reporting a tremendous increase in his palay harvest from a measly 130 cavans per hectare to a record-high of 226 cavans at 50 kilos per cavan.

“I started using hybrid rice seeds in 2015 and I found out that among the varieties of hybrid seeds I use, the SL-8H could produce the highest volume of palay. So I kept planting SL-8H until now,” Pangan said.

He said he realized a net income of P98,000 from utilizing SL-8H in his 1.1-hectare rice field.

Furthermore, Elnie Encabo, a farmer from Managok, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, demonstrated a yield of a 9.4 MT/ha of palay, saying harvest was possible through hybrid rice farming.

“I never imagined I could double my harvest to increase my income until SL-8H hybrid rice seeds were introduced to farmers in our province,” Encabo said in Visayan dialect. His income from using hybrid seeds is more than P100,000 per harvest.

| As more and more rice has to be produced on less land, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is pushing farmers to use hybrid rice seeds.

Since 2004, SLAC has been the major partner of DA in increasing the rice productivity of the country through hybrid rice technology.

“With the continuous partnership with the government, as well as our Filipino farmers, SL Agritech’s goal to help achieve rice self-sufficiency in the Philippines is really possible,” Henry Lim Bon Liong, SLAC chairman and chief executive officer, said.

https://www.manilatimes.net/slac-proves-11-mt-ha-palay-harvest-possible/525101/

Egypt plans to increase rice cultivation in 2019

Ayat Al Tawy , Wednesday 13 Mar 2019

A laborer transplants rice seedlings in a paddy field in the Nile Delta town of Kafr Al-Sheikh, north of Cairo (Reuters)

Egypt's agriculture ministry is planning to grow 1.1 million acres of rice in 2019, up from 800,000 acres the previous year, in a bid to increase local production of the staple crop using available resources, a spokesman said.

Egypt slashed cultivation of the water-intensive crop in 2018 to preserve water resources as Ethiopia prepares to fill the reservoir of a giant dam project it is building upstream on the Rive Nile, which Cairo fears could cut the country’s water supply.

The new increase is aimed at boosting local production of rice and in turn reducing imports, ministry spokesman Mohamed Al-Qersh told Ahram Online on Wednesday.

"We aim to increase our production of rice and optimise the use of available land and water resources," Al-Qersh said. The decision came after the ministry developed new draught- and salt-tolerant types of rice.

"We have evolved a type that uses the same water allocation of corn and another salt-tolerant type that can be irrigated by high-salt water," he said.

"These types will be put out for production this year," he added.

Last year, Egypt started importing rice, which it typically has a superabundance of, to save water and increase stocks.

Early in 2018, the government increased fines for illegal rice farming and lowered the area allowed to be planted with rice to only 724,200 feddans (750,000 acres) from the officially allotted 1.1 million feddans the previous year, before increasing it by a further 100,000 feddans a few months later.

The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), Egypt's state grain-purchasing agency, has issued three international purchasing tenders since 2018.

Egypt imported 100 million EGP (approx. $5.7 million) worth of rice in 2018, the finance ministry said in a statement last month.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/328144/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-plans-to-increase-rice-cultivation-in-.aspx

Trade deficit expands over US $ 10bn in 2018

14 March 2019 10:14 am -

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Sri Lanka’s trade deficit expanded over US $ 10 billion in the year 2018 despite a significant decline in the December trade deficit with a notable deceleration in the import expenditure, the data released by the Central Bank showed.

The December imports fell sharply by 15.3 percent year-on-year (YoY) to US $ 1,735 million while the exports edged up by 1.4 percent YoY to US $ 1,033 million, resulting in a trade balance of US $ 701 million, compared to a trade balance of US $ 1,029 million in December 2017. However, the trade deficit on a cumulative basis for the full year widened to little over US $ 10.3 billion, compared to a trade balance of US $ 9.6 billion in 2017, as import growth outperformed the growth in exports.

The exports during 2018 grew 4. 7 percent YoY to US $ 11.89 billion while the imports grew 6 percent YoY to US $ 22.23 billion.

The Central Bank said the imports in December decelerated due to the measures implemented to discourage vehicle and non-essential consumer goods imports.
Personal vehicle imports during December fell 18.9 percent YoY to US $ 77.3 million. However, the cumulative vehicle imports during 2018 more than doubled to US $ 1,573.5 million, from US $ 772.7 million in 2017.

The consumer goods imports in December fell 17.7 percent YoY to US $ 357 million, largely due to the lower rice imports while the cumulative figure rose 10.6 percent YoY to US $ 4, 979.7 million.

The intermediate goods imports in December fell 17.6 percent YoY to US $ 983.1 million, as the oil bill declined 26.8 percent YoY to US $ 317.3 million, due to the lower import prices and volumes.

However, the cumulative oil bill for 2018 rose 38.9 percent YoY to US $ 978.1 million.

Interestingly, zero gold imports during December were recorded while the cumulative gold imports fell 32.5 percent YoY to US $ 438.7 million, due to the higher customs duty introduced on such imports.

The expenditure on the importation of investment goods also declined in December, mainly due to the lower imports of machinery and equipment and transport equipment, while the imports of building material increased.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank said the marginal growth in exports in December was due to the base effect as December 2017 recorded the highest export value in 2017.

Textile and garment exports, which rose 5 percent YoY to US $ 493.4 million, accounted for almost half of the total exports during December.

The cumulative textile and garment exports in 2018 rose 5.7 percent YoY to US $ 5,317.7 million.

The rubber product exports, mainly consisting of tyres, rose 2.4 percent YoY to US $ 76.4 million in December while the cumulative value rose 4.8 percent YoY to US $ 875.3 million.

The export income from petroleum products, largely stemming from bunkering operations, fell 15.2 percent YoY to US $ 52.9 million in December. However, the cumulative figure rose 43.2 percent YoY to US $ 622.1 million.

The agriculture exports in December fell 1.4 percent YoY to US $ 216.6 million while for the full year it fell 6.8 percent YoY to US $ 2, 579.3 million.

Tea exports during December fell 7.8 percent YoY to US $ 117.1 million while the cumulative figure fell 6.6 percent YoY to US $ 1,428.5 million.

The exports of spices fell 8.2 percent YoY to US $ 30 million in December while such exports in 2018 fell 11.3 percent YoY to US $ 360.2 million.

Despite the removal of the ban by the European Union, seafood exports rose only 10.5 percent during 2018 to US $ 265.8 million. The December exports rose 35.7 percent YoY to US $ 29.2 million.

Meanwhile, the earnings from tourism remained healthy with a 4.8 percent YoY growth in December resulting in a total income of US $ 4.4 billion in 2018, a growth of 11.6 percent from 2017.

Workers’ remittances recorded a marginal decline of 2.1 percent YoY in 2018 to US $ 7.0 billion, including a 13 percent decline in December.

In the financial account, the government securities market and the Colombo Stock Exchange recorded outflows in December.

http://www.dailymirror.lk/business__main/Trade-deficit-expands-over-US---10bn-in-2018/245-163930

Customs Seize 300 Bags Of Imported Rice

In BornoPublished 18 hours ago on March 13, 2019 By Chinwe Madugba The Borno-Yobe Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), on Wednesday said it seized a truck conveying 300 bags of imported rice in Borno. The Zonal Controller of the Command, Abdullahi Biu, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Maiduguri. Biu disclosed that the truck was intercepted by men of the command along Bama-Banki Road on March 5, following intelligence report that it was conveying imported rice concealed with animal feeds and charcoals. He added that the driver was arrested while trying to escape. The commander listed other seized items to include; smoked fish, soap, rice, maize, sesame seeds and soya beans, noting that the items were used for to conceal the rice. Biu also said that that the command recorded significant progress in securing the land borders in spite Boko Haram insurgency in the region. “The command generated more than N136 million representing 99.1 per cent of the 2018 revenue target, in spite of Boko Haram insurgency. “We also recorded nine seizures with cumulative duty paid value of N283 million within the period, only three of the 15 border posts were operating on skeletal, ” he said. He, however, said that activities of insurgents on trades, businesses and security agencies in Gamboru-Banki and Gaidam axis, had negatively affected revenue of the command. Biu said that the ban imposed on importation of dry fish and livestock also led to the drop in revenue. He said that the command was working in collaboration with the military, police, other security agencies and trade associations to secure the borders and improve revenue.

https://leadership.ng/2019/03/13/customs-seize-300-bags-of-imported-rice-in-borno/

Customs seizes 300 bags of imported rice in Borno

March 13, 2019Agency Report

File photo of Smuggled rice impounded by Nigeria Customs

The Borno-Yobe Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), on Wednesday, said it seized a truck conveying 300 bags of imported rice in Borno.

The Zonal Controller of the Command, Abdullahi Biu, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Maiduguri.

Mr Biu disclosed that the truck was intercepted by men of the command along Bama-Banki Road on March 5, following intelligence report that it was conveying imported rice concealed with animal feeds and charcoals.

He added that the driver was arrested while trying to escape.

The commander listed other seized items to include; smoked fish, soap, rice, maize, sesame seeds, and soya beans, noting that the items were used to conceal the rice.

Mr Biu also said the command recorded significant progress in securing the land borders in spite of Boko Haram’s insurgency in the region.

“The command generated more than N136 million representing 99.1 per cent of the 2018 revenue target, in spite of Boko Haram insurgency.

“We also recorded nine seizures with cumulative duty paid value of N283 million within the period, only three of the 15 border posts were operating on skeletal,” he said.

He, however, said that activities of insurgents on trades, businesses and security agencies in Gamboru-Banki and Gaidam axis, had negatively affected the revenue of the command.

Mr Biu said the ban imposed on the importation of dry fish and livestock also led to the drop in revenue.

He said that the command was working in collaboration with the military, police, other security agencies and trade associations to secure the borders and improve revenue.

(NAN)

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/nnorth-east/319981-customs-seizes-300-bags-of-imported-rice-in-borno.html

Nigerian Customs seizes 300 bags of imported rice in Borno

By Maryam Hassan

 -

March 13, 2019

The Borno-Yobe Command of Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, on Wednesday said it seized a truck conveying 300 bags of imported rice in Borno.

The Zonal Controller of the Command, Abdullahi Biu, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Maiduguri.

Mr Biu disclosed that the truck was intercepted by men of the command along Bama-Banki Road on March 5, following intelligence report that it was conveying imported rice concealed with animal feeds and charcoals.

READ ALSO: Customs distributes rice worth N4bn to IDPs – Official

He added that the driver was arrested while trying to escape.

The commander listed other seized items to include; smoked fish, soap, rice, maize, sesame seeds and soya beans, noting that the items were used for to conceal the rice.

Mr Biu also said that that the command recorded significant progress in securing the land borders in spite Boko Haram insurgency in the region.

“The command generated more than N136 million representing 99.1 per cent of the 2018 revenue target, in spite of Boko Haram insurgency.

“We also recorded nine seizures with cumulative duty paid the value of N283 million within the period, only three of the 15 border posts were operating on skeletal,” he said.

He, however, said that activities of insurgents on trades, businesses and security agencies in Gamboru-Banki and Gaidam axis had negatively affected the revenue of the command.

Biu said that the ban imposed on importation of dry fish and livestock also led to a drop in revenue.

He said that the command was working in collaboration with the military, police, other security agencies and trade associations to secure the borders and improve revenue.

NAN

https://dailynigerian.com/nigerian-customs-seizes-300-bags-of-imported-rice-in-borno/

Luckily, the rice lost it!

Manohar G M

Bengaluru Mar 14, (Research Matters):

·      

Luckily, the rice lost it!

1 of 1

Tiny RNA lost during domestication created robust rice varieties, shows study. 

Today, rice is the most widely consumed staple food in the world, feeding more than half of the world’s population. We have nothing but a tiny piece of RNA, or ribonucleic acid, to thank, for the mouthfuls of rice we eat! In a recent study, published in the journal The Plant Cell, researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, have found that a particular microRNA (miRNA) is the reason we have been able to cultivate rice and harvest greater yields of the grain today. The study was funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology and the Department of Atomic Energy through Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).

The domesticated rice varieties of today have come a long way from their wild ancestors, which were a little better than wild grass. Wild rice produces very few grains that often fall off to the ground on their own. The domesticated rice varieties, on the other hand, are short and erect with more grains that remain in the crop until harvest. The current study shows that it is due to an accidental loss of a microRNA, named miR397, during the course of breeding. When this miRNA is absent, higher amounts of a material called lignin is deposited in the stem of the plant. Lignin, which is found in abundance in the woody plants, lends support and rigidity to the plant, helping easy harvest of the grains without spilling them on the ground.

For their study, the researchers selected ten different varieties of rice, including two high-yielding varieties, six commonly domesticated varieties and two wild ancestors. When they correlated the visible differences in characters of these varieties with their genetic differences, they found that some of these differences could be attributed to the changes in how the genes are switched on or off, known as gene expression, rather than changes in the genes.

Expression of a specific gene, or a group of genes, is controlled by a particular miRNA, tailor-made to target them. When genes are 'expressed', they produce proteins needed to bring out a trait, such as the shape of the grain. They do so by making a copy of themselves, called the messenger RNA(mRNA). MicroRNAs, on the other hand, do not code for any gene and instead seek out specific mRNAs and bind to them by hydrogen bonds. These bound mRNAs are either fated to be destroyed or suppressed from producing any proteins, by other proteins in the cell.

The researchers extracted and compared miRNAs from the selected varieties and found that a particular miRNA was present in significant quantity in the wild type, but was absent in the other domesticated ones. They pinpointed its location to one of the chromosomes and identified it as miRNA miR397. This miRNA is thought to have evolved recently only in the rice genus. It targets mRNAs that produce a group of enzymes called laccases. When laccases are blocked, the production of lignin is suppressed.

“Lignin provides mechanical strength to rice stems and panicles. Wild species, which are found in semi-aquatic spaces like the shores of ponds and streams, have less lignin since water supports them. They don’t need to produce many grains for human consumption”, says Dr P V Shivaprasad from NCBS, who headed the study. Somehow, this miRNA was lost in the subsequent domesticated varieties, allowing for higher production of lignin and making them stronger and robust.

The researchers also observed that this gene suppression is amplified and fortified by an enzyme not usually found in plants. This enzyme makes copies of miRNA pieces broken off from the target mRNA, which further seek more mRNAs to bind and destroy them. This amplification leads to a powerful suppression of gene expression.

To cap it all, when miR397 was expressed artificially in the domesticated varieties, they appeared sickly with weak stems and other characteristics, proving how important it was to lose this RNA altogether in the evolution of domesticated varieties. With one fine stroke, they were instantly de-domesticated!

“Rice breeders can use the microRNA we found as a molecular marker (identifier) for enhancing yield. Also, this is a good candidate for genetic engineering for further development of the crop”, remarks Dr Shivaprasad. A growing population such as in India needs all the help to enhance the production of food grains and meet the food demands. Luckily, in the process of domestication, loss of a small miRNA has resulted in such significant differences, allowing scientists to hone this fact and improve the crop further.

https://researchmatters.in/news/luckily-rice-lost-it

Study: aquaculture increases greenhouse gas emissions

Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-14 16:25:32|Editor: mingmei

BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- An international study found that freshwater aquaculture in ponds converted from rice paddy fields may cause a significant rise in methane emissions, a major greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.

Aquaculture is one of the fast-growing segments of the food economy and exceeded capture fisheries due to the growing global demand for fish products.

In some countries, rice paddy fields have been and are being converted into aquaculture ponds. Previous studies found that rice paddies are a significant source of atmospheric methane. The greenhouse gas implications of the conversion have yet to be quantified.

Researchers from the Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Britain's Bangor University and Yonsei University in the Republic of Korea measured year-round methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions from paddy fields and the converted crab aquaculture ponds in China's Taihu Lake near Shanghai.

Primarily due to increased methane emissions, about 28 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent are released from converted aquaculture ponds per acre every year, compared to 8.15 tonnes from traditional rice patty fields, they reported on the British journal Nature Climate Change.

Paddy fields produce a large amount of methane when decaying plant materials are broken down by microbes called methanogen in the oxygen-free waterlogged soils. In aquaculture ponds that are converted from paddy fields, the food added to feed the crabs and fish increases the amount of rotting material for methanogen to produce more methane.

The researchers then compiled a worldwide database of different freshwater aquaculture systems and found that most methane emitted originated in shallow earthen aquaculture systems and far lower emissions from intensified systems with continuous aeration.

They suggested that more aerated systems should be required to address the significant rise in methane emissions from the conversion of paddy fields to aquaculture, noting that the modification can eliminate methane before it reaches the atmosphere.

According to a report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, growth in the global supply of fish for human consumption has outpaced population growth in the past five decades. World per capita apparent fish consumption increased from an average of 9.9 kg in the 1960s to 14.4 kg in the 1990s and 20.4 kg in 2016.

Agriculture, directly affected by climate change, also affects the climate as it is responsible for about one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, a major cause of global warming. Most of the methane in the atmosphere comes from agricultural activities, such as livestock breeding, rice cultivation, and burning of plant materials.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-03/14/c_137894632.htm

Ever thought of being a 'weed scientist'? It's a real job that impacts Louisiana

Leigh Guidry, Lafayette Daily AdvertiserPublished 8:00 a.m. CT March 13, 2019 | Updated 7:40 p.m. CT March 13, 2019

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Eric Webster, a weed scientist with Louisiana State University, and his colleagues transplant pickerelweed in a florpyrauxifen herbicide trial. (Photo: Courtesy of Eric Webster)

You can be a weed scientist. It's a degree program and a real job that has a significant impact on folks in Louisiana.

And it's not what you probably think.

Eric Webster has a doctorate in weed science from Mississippi State University. Now he uses that to impact Louisiana agriculture through testing herbicides, experimenting with conversation tillage and training future weed scientists to continue the work.

Webster is one of at least five with that title across Louisiana, focusing their research on weeds that affect specific crops. Some are on the LSU campus like Webster; others are located at AgCenter stations across the state.

Webster works with rice, a dominant crop in Louisiana. The state planted about 410,000 acres of rice in 2018, up 10,000 acres, or 3 percent, from last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service.

And weeds can be killer, Webster explained. In fact, weeds are one of the most significant threats to crop production in North America, according to the Weed Science Society of America.

"Weeds have a big impact (on rice)," Webster said. "If you don't put an insecticide or fungicide on it, you'll get a yield. If you don't put a herbicide, there's no yield."

A research paper from 1981 estimated world losses due to weeds in rice are estimated at 56 million metric tons, valued at $12 billion, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and that was more than 30 years ago.

Eric Webster is a weed scientist at Louisiana State University. He works specifically on weeds that affect rice and works with Acadiana rice growers. (Photo: Bruce Schultz/LSU AgCenter)

So Webster tests new herbicides to see if and how well they work, how much to use, if two can be used together, if they are worth the money, and so on.

"From an economic standpoint, there's an impact," Webster said. "I hate to put a dollar sign on it, but it's a big impact. Yields have gone up significantly."

He also looks at other ways to control weeds.

"He does a lot we utilize in the farming community," said Alan Lawson, a third-generation rice farmer in Crowley.  "We don't have to test at the farm level. It saves a lot of time and money."

READ MORE: University's solar farm an opportunity to diversify Louisiana's economy

Like many farmers in the area, Lawson has connected with Webster and others through the Rice Research Station. It's standard best practices and farmers rely on that data.

"We've used rice station data forever," Lawson said. "It's a big part of what we do. You've got to use all the tools in your toolbox."

Alan Lawson is a third-generation rice farmer in Crowley. (Photo: Leigh Guidry/USA TODAY Network)

Webster's office is at LSU, where he often gets calls from farmers and others in the industry. He also hosts a research day every year and meets with about 100 farmers in Acadia Parish.

He's been at this from an early age, just not always with rice.

"I kind of grew up in it in Alabama," Webster said.

His dad was a superintendent or resident director of a research farm there.

"It had a heavy emphasis in weed research management," he said. "I started working on the station at 13 years old."

For the last 22 years, he's been at LSU, which offers a slew of graduate and undergraduate degrees in its College of Agriculture.

Webster works with Louisiana growers, teaches classes and this semester leads four graduate students. He enjoys watching his students grow as well, he said.

"I'm doing something different all the time," he said.

What does a weed scientist do?

"We do weed biology work to find what can we use in our cultivating practices other than herbicides," Webster said.

He and his team test tolerance levels to determine if a crop can handle a particular herbicide, which can be different for water-seeded rice.

He answers questions about burndown (applying herbicides after harvesting) and re-cropping restrictions. Questions like, "What can I use? Do I have to wait so many days after spraying before re-planting?"

Eric Webster (right) is a weed scientist with Louisiana State University and works directly with Acadiana growers through events like field day at the area LSU AgCenter. (Photo: Bruce Schultz/LSU AgCenter)

He anticipates he'll get questions soon about weeds like ducksalad, which sprouts from soil under flooded conditions, after all the rain this winter.

With rice being a worldwide crop, it's a potential moneymaker for companies creating herbicides, meaning they're popping up quickly.

"We've averaged a new herbicide in rice per year," Webster said. "This year there were three brand-new ones. No other crop is seeing that."

The growth makes his work that much more valuable to farmers.

"Every year there's some sort of new chemical or something that comes out to address a problem or there's a new technology. Eric tests all of that," Lawson, the Crowley farmer, said about Webster.

Why Louisiana needs weed scientists

Farmers like Lawson need to know what works and what doesn't, because simply put: "weeds compete with rice," Webster said.

That can be make or break for growers.

"In terms of what he does, it's of the utmost importance," said Richard Fontenot, a farmer in the Ville Platte area.

"He evaluates different chemicals coming available to us. He validates their accuracy. He validates the weed spectrums," Fontenot said. "He determines how well (two herbicides) cooperate together in one tank."

That troubleshooting expedites the process for farmers like Fontenot and Lawson. They can get straight to using herbicides or other weed-control practices rather than spending time figuring it out.

"It provides the opportunity for us to be sustainable in the future," Fontenot said. "He checks the quality of the product. He can differentiate (usage amounts) ahead of time. It's very important for what we do every day."

Lawson agreed.

"Everything that they do has value on the farm side," Lawson said, referring to weed scientists like Webster.

Webster can see the impact this work has made on Louisiana farming.

"I think if you look at what our guys and programs are doing, they're being adopted by growers," he said. "I've seen a shift in weed control. We're getting growers to try to apply herbicides early to small section. I can see a difference as I ride around the state."

Where you can study weed science (or something like it)

LSU's College of Agriculture comprises multiple schools and departments, covering everything from plant and soil systems to agribusiness and natural resource ecology.

McNeese State University's College of Science and Agriculture offers bachelor's programs in agriculture and agribusiness.

Louisiana Tech University has degree programs in its School of Agricultural Science and Forestry.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette and University of New Orleans each offer degrees in the related field of environmental science.

https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/education/2019/03/13/louisiana-weed-scientist-job-crop-farming-lsu-department-agriculture/3004343002/

Louisiana Rice Promotion Board Uses Certified Louisiana Program to Boost Rice  

By Kane Webb

 

WEST MONROE, LA -- Analysis is in on a new effort undertaken by the Louisiana Rice Promotion Board late last year and the results are even better than expected.Last year, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) made additional promotion funds available for use in state as a part of the Certified Louisiana program.  The Louisiana Rice Promotion Board was successful in obtaining a $100,000 grant through the program and used the funds to encourage Louisianans to "Start with Rice."

With the caveat that the money had to be spent promoting Louisiana ag products in Louisiana, the Board developed an aggressive regional program that built on earlier market research conducted by USA Rice.

"The 'Start with Rice' message that had emerged after a few rounds of national USA Rice research resonated with us, and we decided to roll it out to the public and see if they agreed," explained John Owen, Rayville rice farmer and chair of the Louisiana Rice Promotion Board. 

 

The program consisted of 17 unique radio commercials that were broadcast across 11 radio stations almost 6,000 times; as well as two large billboards and several prominent bus benches in the Shreveport/Bossier City and Monroe markets.  The radio stations supplemented the program with digital leaderboards and banners on their websites as well.On average, residents heard the Louisiana rice radio spots more than 18 times while the billboards were seen approximately 5.5 million times during the six-week campaign.

Consumers got the message

"Following the program we went back into the market to gauge our effectiveness on three levels," said Owen.  "We tested for ad awareness and recall; to see if the ads had an impact on people's attitude towards rice, and finally to see if it encouraged consumers to purchase more rice.  We are very pleased with the results."

Recall was high with consumers who said they saw the ads being significantly more likely to associate rice with the positive attributes mentioned in the ads (quick preparation, versatile, nutritious, creative, empowering), and 54 percent were able to correctly identify the ad sponsor.

Owen said consumers who were aware of the ads were statistically more likely to indicate they were going to use/purchase rice three or more times in the next month.

It's not just the Louisiana Rice Promotion Board that is pleased with the results, the LDAF also took note and approved another $100,000 grant for the promotion board for this year to build on their success.

"We're excited and encouraged by the results and appreciate the support of (LDAF) Commissioner Strain and his team who are helping us 'stop at nothing' to get consumers to "start with rice,'" Owen said.

USA Rice Daily

Philly port’s biggest marijuana bust: Hidden in a container of rice, worth about $2.5 million

by Sam Wood, Updated: March 12, 2019

·       

Federal authorities seized more than 600 pounds of marijuana, valued at about $2.5 million, concealed in a hidden compartment of a shipping container.

The Customs and Border Protection Agency called it one of largest marijuana seizures ever at the Port of Philadelphia.

Officers from the CPB and Homeland Security Investigations extracted 252 bricks of cannabis hidden in a container of rice that arrived March 7 from Puerto Rico. The container was bound for northern New Jersey.

“Philadelphia is not a common drug trans-shipment port, but we do get an occasional ‘ripload’,” said Steve Sapp, CBP spokesman. “A baggage handler may have a friend in the Dominican Republic or Jamaica or Puerto Rico put a load on a plane. When it arrives here, they’ll have someone divert it from the international baggage belt to the national belt, then send somebody out from the street to run in and pick it up. Something like this is not common.”

The CBP discovered the marijuana shipment after an x-ray detected an anomaly with the density of the materials that had been reported in the container. “All containers get some level of scrutiny,” Sapp said. A narcotics-sniffing dog alerted officers during in a sweep. When officers pulled up the container’s floor they found the marijuana hidden in the bottom layer.

“Marijuana may be legal for medicinal use in Pennsylvania and New Jersey,” Sapp said. “But it’s not legal federally and its certainly not legal to smuggle in 614 pounds.”

Number of rice row crops growing across Arkansas

The number of rice row crops farming is becoming more popular across the state. (Source: KAIT)

March 12, 2019 at 7:28 PM CDT - Updated March 12 at 7:28 PM

(KAIT) -Rice is one of the most popular crops grown in the state of Arkansas, but a more popular way to grow the crop is trending across the state.

According to a report from content partner Talk Business & Politics, the number of rice row acres across the state increased from 40,000 acres in 2017 to more than 100,000 acres in 2018.

“Row rice is an emerging production practice for rice that is increasing adoption, but lacks a consensus on production practices,” Chris Henry, associate professor and extension water management engineer with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said.

According to Dr. Jarrod Hardke, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture rice agronomist, row crop rice could put more money in a farmer’s pocket, saving a farmer up to $70 per acres, per season.

http://www.kait8.com/2019/03/13/number-rice-row-crops-growing-across-arkansas/

Dry spell destroys almost 25MT of rice in Iloilo

March 13, 2019 | 9:03 pm

PHILSTAR

ILOILO province, the fifth largest producer of rice in the country and the top in the Visayas, has lost 24,692 metric tons (MT) of the crop due to the prevailing dry spell brought about by the El Niño phenomenon. Assistant Provincial Agriculturist Elias V. Sandig, in an interview Tuesday, March 12, said their monitoring and validation as of Feb. 28 puts the damage at P401 million, with almost 13,630 rice farmers from the 32 towns in the province affected.

“Based on our report , 11,000 hectares are affected. Out of the total number, 1,575 hectares were totally damaged while 9,518 hectares were partially damaged,” he said. The affected towns were mostly “highly vulnerable areas” in the southern part of the province where the rainy season is only four to six months a year, Mr. Sandig added. The provincial board is already studying the declaration of a state of calamity to allow the use of emergency funds to help farmers. In the Western Visayas as a whole, Department of Agriculture Regional Executive Director Remelyn R. Recoter said they are now assessing the conduct of cloud seeding, taking into consideration high-value crops that are vulnerable to rain. “Before cloud seeding, we need to validate the standing crops since we need to consider the standing crops that are not favorable to rain,” she said in a phone interview. Ms. Recoter also assured that they already prepositioned assets for the rehabilitation of affected areas, particularly the buffer stocks of seeds for the next cropping. — Emme Rose S. Santiagudo

https://www.bworldonline.com/dry-spell-destroys-almost-25mt-of-rice-in-iloilo/

 

Drought warning leads Cambodian government to tell rice farmers not to plant

Water shortages have been reported in 16 Cambodian provinces. El Niño is behind higher-than-average temperatures. About 75 per cent of Cambodia is farmland, devoted mostly to growing rice. The authorities hand out fertiliser and water to affected communities.

By

 Asia News

 -

March 13, 2019

Environment  Drought warning leads Cambodian government to tell rice farmers not to plant

Cambodian rice farmers should refrain from planting crops because of a drought and record high temperatures. The cause is this year’s El Nino with temperatures expected to peak in April and May, warned Neth Pheaktra, spokesman and secretary of state for the Cambodian Environment Ministry.

Communities in 16 provinces around the Kingdom have reported water shortages due to higher than average temperatures – a stark reality in a nation more used to dealing with floods than droughts.

https://www.cambodiadaily.com/environment/drought-warning-leads-cambodian-government-to-tell-rice-farmers-not-to-plant-146583/

NFA rice procurement surges 22 times

Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star) - March 6, 2019 - 12:00am

 

Latest data from NFA showed that palay procurement reached 232,447 bags in January to February. This was significantly higher than the 10,960 bags procured a year ago.

MANILA, Philippines — The National Food Authority (NFA) procured over 200,000 bags of palay (unhusked rice)  in the first two months of the year,  a 22-fold increase from the same period in 2018 following the higher incentive offered by the government.

Latest data from NFA showed that  palay procurement reached 232,447 bags in January to February.  This was significantly higher than the 10,960 bags procured a year ago.

The agency’s new buying price for clean and dry palay has increased from P17.70 to P20.70 per kilogram.

“More farmers are selling their harvest to NFA after the NFA Council approved the additional  P3 per kilo buffer stocking incentive last October 2018,” said Tomas Escarez, NFA officer-in-charge administrator.

Procurement of palay was highest in North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Tarlac, Oriental Mindoro, South Cotabato, Isabela, Capiz and Occidental Mindoro.

Based on the trend in NFA’s procurement, palay harvests are no longer confined to the traditional summer crop from March to May and main harvest from October to December.

https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/03/06/1898932/nfa-rice-procurement-surges-22-times

MoU on official rice exports to China to be signed soon

HTOO THANT 13 MAR 2019

Aung Htay Hlaing/The Myanmar Times

Under a program between Myanmar’s Yangon and China’s Kunming, a Memorandum of Understanding on official rice exports to China will be signed soon, said U Aung Htoo, Deputy Minister of Commerce. “We plan to sign the MoU for the export of rice and broken rice to China by this month or next. Negotiations are at the final level now,” he told reporters on Tuesday. 

For years, China has been a major export market for Myanmar’s agricultural products, including rice. Up until today though, both countries have not inked a bilateral agreement on trade and China does not officially allow imports from Myanmar beyond a strict quota. 

“Actually, Myanmar’s rice exports to China all this while has been informal,” U Aung Htoo said. 

China currently imports commodities based on a quota system. Myanmar’s quota is export of 100,000 tonnes of rice. “Exports of only 100,000 tonnes of rice are allowed officially now. To increase its quota, rice mills in Myanmar need to comply with requirements of the World Trade,” U Aung Htoo said.

Tax exemptions for export volumes within the quota are available for traders however those who exceed the quota will not receive it. Myanmar currently exports rice to China based on the quota system .There is also border trading for rice, which is mostly informal.

According to the quota system, traders at the border can export up to RMB8000 worth of rice per day.

https://www.mmtimes.com/news/mou-official-rice-exports-china-be-signed-soon.html

 

Egypt plans increased rice cultivation in effort to cut import bill

Egypt began importing rice, a crop it typically had in surplus, in 2018 to save water.

A labourer transplants rice seedlings in a paddy field in the Nile Delta town of Kafr Al-Sheikh, north of Cairo May 28, 2008. REUTERS/Nasser Nuri

REUTERS/Nasser Nuri

By Momen Atallah, Reuters News

CAIRO - Egypt's Agriculture Ministry said on Wednesday it would grow about 1.1 million acres of rice in the 2019 season, up from 800,000 acres last year, in an effort to reduce the country's import bill.

The North African nation began importing rice, a crop it typically had in surplus, in 2018 to save water.

Cairo increased fines for illegal rice cultivation last year and decreed that just 724,000 feddans could be planted. A feddan is roughly one acre.

That marked a sharp drop from the officially allotted 1.1 million feddans for 2017 and the 1.8 million feddans grains traders believe were actually grown that year.

"The increase in acreage is to decrease the rice import bill and stabilise its price," Ahmed Ibrahim, a media official at the Agriculture Ministry, told Reuters.

Rice cultivation had been slashed in an effort to conserve vital Nile river resources as Ethiopia builds a $4 billion dam upstream that Cairo fears could threaten its water stocks.

Egypt's state grain buyer GASC has issued three international purchasing tenders since last year.

(Reporting by Momen Atallah Writing by Maha El Dahan Editing by Dale Hudson and Louise Heavens) ((Maha.Dahan@thomsonreuters.com; + 9712 4082101; Reuters Messaging: maha.dahan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/markets/story/Egypt_plans_increased_rice_cultivation_in_effort_to_cut_import_bill-TR20190313nL8N21027UX1/Experts say low-carb brown rice healthier

Pushpa Narayan

| TNN | Updated: Mar 14, 2019, 08:28 IST

2 Comments

Photo for representative purpose only

CHENNAI: When you can’t take the rice off the plate, choose the healthier one. While studies have shown better results for brown rice over polished, white rice, options are still open for people who prefer the white, say health experts.
“While it is important to check the labels to find the quantity of sugar, salt, carbs and fat content, it is equally important to know about the glycemic index of what you eat,” said senior diabetologist Dr V Mohan, who heads Madras Diabetes Research Foundation. The glycemic index (GI) rates foods on a scale of 1 to 100. “Foods on the lower end are low-glycemic, whereas food with values closer to 100 causes your blood sugar to spike suddenly and are high-glycemic,” he said.

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Studies on the rice varieties sold in the Chennai market, tested in his labs with funding from agencies including the ICMR, show that white rice has a high GI, while brown rice has a slightly lower GI.

The GI differs with rice varieties, say nutrition scientists. For instance, while the sona masuri variety has 72, surti kolam has 77. Some studies have shown basmati’s GI between 50 and 56. “There are some varieties that cross 90. Sometimes, the geographical area of cultivation and its process also make a large difference,” said nutrition scientist Sudha Vasudevan.

Latest Comment

Give brown rice in ration shops, hospitals, schools, amma cateens, temples, free schemes. We need to change the culture of eating junk rice- polished rice.Paranthaman S

One of the high-fibre rice varieties developed by the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation shows a low GI, she added. “No matter how much you tell people they are not going to eat brown rice unless it appeals to them. What matters most to people is the appeal,” she said.

Snacks with finger millets received good reviews from the most participants of the study because it had ingredients that reduced GI and made the snack crisp. “It was the same with vermicelli upma. It had lower GI compared to most wheat vermicellis available in the market, and people preferred it since it tasted better,” Vasudevan said.

 

 

Most millets in market worse than white rice, may up blood sugar level

Pushpa Narayan | Mar 14, 2019, 04.18 AM IST

Chennai: Upma, idlis, dosas and other dishes made of millets sold in the market, most of which are polished, may push up blood sugar levels more than polished white rice, a series of studies done by a Chennai-based diabetes research centre has shown. But adding the right ingredients such as defatted soy, fenugreek fibre, or vegetables, can slow down digestion and metabolism, scientists say.
The glycemic index — or the relative ability of carbohydrate to increase the level of glucose in the blood – of dishes (upma) made from millets were up to 15 points higher than cooked polished white rice according to published studies by the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation. “This also means these millets are quickly digested and processed by the body. It increases sugar levels and makes you feel hungry sooner,” said nutrition scientist Sudha Vasudevan of Madras Diabetes Research Foundation.

Dishes made from millets are becoming increasingly popular as they are touted to be magic ingredients for healthy meals and weight loss. Nutritionists agree that whole millets have all the right ingredients – fibre, protein, vitamins, minerals and fat besides other micronutrients. Yet, most products available in the market aren’t whole grains.

Whole grains have three parts – the hard outer layer or the bran and germ that are rich in fibre, fat, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, and the large part of the grain called the endosperm that contains carbohydrates in the form of starch and protein. “The bran is removed from most millets and in some, a part of the germ is also knocked off,” said Vasudevan.

Agriculturists and food manufacturers say removing oil-rich bran increases shelf life of the products as flour of whole grain can go rancid quickly. “We advise manufacturers to remove just the seed coat because it is not easily digestible. So most manufacturers remove them,” said Coimbatore Agricultural Engineering College dean S V Kottiswaran.

So, when such processed millets are cooked, it leads to gelatinization of kernel starch making digestion easy. Manufacturers have the option of adding functional ingredients such as guar gums and functional fibre like resistant maltodextrin, galactomannans (from fenugreek) and beta glucan (from oats) to slow down digestion and the metabolic process.

But dieticians and nutritionists say adding vegetables, legume and fibre to processed millets while cooking is one of way to keep it healthy. “Stuffing idli and dosa made of millet with veggies and greens is one way of making it healthy,” said food scientist Shobana Shanmugam, one of the authors of the study.

 

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Most millets in market worse than white rice, may up blood sugar level

Pushpa Narayan

| TNN | Updated: Mar 14, 2019, 08:26 IST

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CHENNAI: Upma, idlis, dosas and other dishes made of millets sold in the market, most of which are polished, may push up blood sugar levels more than polished white rice, a series of studies done by a Chennai-based diabetes research centre has shown. But adding the right ingredients such as defatted soy, fenugreek fibre, or vegetables, can slow down digestion and metabolism, scientists say.
The glycemic index — or the relative ability of carbohydrate to increase the level of glucose in the blood – of dishes (upma) made from millets were up to 15 points higher than cooked polished white rice according to published studies by the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation. “This also means these millets are quickly digested and processed by the body. It increases sugar levels and makes you feel hungry sooner,” said nutrition scientist Sudha Vasudevan of Madras Diabetes Research Foundation.

Dishes made from millets are becoming increasingly popular as they are touted to be magic ingredients for healthy meals and weight loss. Nutritionists agree that whole millets have all the right ingredients – fibre, protein, vitamins, minerals and fat besides other micronutrients. Yet, most products available in the market aren’t whole grains.

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Whole grains have three parts – the hard outer layer or the bran and germ that are rich in fibre, fat, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, and the large part of the grain called the endosperm that contains carbohydrates in the form of starch and protein. “The bran is removed from most millets and in some, a part of the germ is also knocked off,” said Vasudevan.

Agriculturists and food manufacturers say removing oil-rich bran increases shelf life of the products as flour of whole grain can go rancid quickly. “We advise manufacturers to remove just the seed coat because it is not easily digestible. So most manufacturers remove them,” said Coimbatore Agricultural Engineering College dean S V Kottiswaran.

So, when such processed millets are cooked, it leads to gelatinization of kernel starch making digestion easy. Manufacturers have the option of adding functional ingredients such as guar gums and functional fibre like resistant maltodextrin, galactomannans (from fenugreek) and beta glucan (from oats) to slow down digestion and the metabolic process.

But dieticians and nutritionists say adding vegetables, legume and fibre to processed millets while cooking is one of way to keep it healthy. “Stuffing idli and dosa made of millet with veggies and greens is one way of making it healthy,” said food scientist Shobana Shanmugam, one of the authors of the study.

 

 

 

 

https://www.philly.com/business/weed/weed-marijuana-barge-port-of-philadelphia-puerto-rico-rice-20190312.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/68400106.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 

 

 

 

 

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/68400221.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

- See more at: https://www.skymetweather.com/content/agriculture-and-economy/iit-madras-study-pollution-destroying-rice-wheat-crops-every-year/#sthash.0SQpqA6r.dpuf https://www.skymetweather.com/content/agriculture-and-economy/iit-madras-study-pollution-destroying-rice-wheat-crops-every-year/