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“Magtanim ay ’di biro
Maghapong nakayuko
’Di man lang makatayo
'Di man lang makaupo."
Indeed, planting rice in the Philippines has never been fun to
most Filipino rice farmers, as the popular folk song goes.
And that's because we failed to modernize rice farming in the
Philippines. The problems now being traced to the Rice Tariffication Law have
been there for years, so it would be wrong to blame this new law for the
decades-old problems in the rice sector.
Rice production hasn't been able to keep up with our relatively
high population growth, resulting in the Philippines becoming the world's
largest rice importer in recent years.
The Rice Tariffication Law comes with a P10-billion Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), but this may have come a little too
late.
With the entry of cheaper imported rice (even with 35 percent
tariff), local palay
prices have dropped in several
areas, causing hardship to Filipino rice farmers and their families.
While the Rice Tariffication Law may turn out to be a loss to
over 2 million Filipino rice farmers, it is turning out to be a boon to the
over 100 million Filipino rice consumers. Inflation dropped to 1.7 percent in August, the
slowest in 3 years partly because of low food prices.
Some economists suggest that the Rice Tariffication Law should
be given more time. They say it may just be what the country needs to finally
modernize its rice sector.
Unless we build the physical and social infrastructure needed to
make our rice farms competitive--irrigation, mechanization, farm-to-market
roads, farmers' training, strong cooperatives, drying facilities, marketing
support, efficient bureaucracy, we will always be singing the same old, poor
farmer song.
To help ease
difficulties faced by Filipino farmers with the transition to the ‘tariffied’
rice importation regime, Senator Cynthia Villar on Tuesday said that the
Department of Social Welfare and Development can use the P28-billion rice
subsidy under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to buy rice from
local farmers.
Villar, chairperson of
the Committee on Agriculture and Food, said this can be realized if the DSWD
would revisit a proposal to provide actual rice to the government’s conditional
cash transfer program beneficiaries.
Aside from health and
education grants, she said 4Ps household-beneficiaries are entitled to a
20-kilo rice subsidy per month but were given cash instead of rice.
“Last year, this
proposal was shelved because of logistical requirements,” said Villar.
But the senator said
she wants the DSWD to take another look at this especially now that they are looking
for ways to help our farmers to cope up with the transition phase of the Rice
Tariffication Law.
“Perhaps, even if it’s
difficult, let’s do this to help them,” said Villar.
The Nacionalista Party
senator said if the proposal pushes through, local farmers will now have a
market for their rice produce and will be cushioned by the effects of the entry
of cheaper rice imports.
“I hope, given our
situation now, our government will be more receptive of this proposal as we
wait for the full benefits of the Rice Tariffication Law to be felt by the
local industry,” Villar said.
Republic Act 11203,
which took effect in March this year, replaced the quantitative restriction on
the importation of rice with tariffs, which is collected to fund the
P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.
Among the benefits
local farmers will get from the full and proper implementation of the law is
increased productivity and incomes through farm mechanization, production of
inbred seeds, access to cheap credit and improved skills.
Last year, a plan was
devised where local farmers will produce rice for 4Ps beneficiaries in their
community.
Rice will be available
from the ‘Bigasan ng Bayan’ which the Department of Ariculture will open within
the area, doing away with transport costs.
Villar has been
advocating for a CCT program tied up with agriculture like what is being done
in Thailand.
"In Thailand,
they require 6 million school children to drink 200 ml. of milk everyday, which
brought up their dairy industry," Villar said.
Villar said she hopes
DSWD would look beyond the logistical difficulties and give more weight to the
potential benefits it would bring to farmers.
FSII urges adoption of hybrid rice to increase rice productivity
ANI
10th September 2019, 18:27 GMT+10
New Delhi
[India] September 10 (ANI/NewsVoir): Federation of Seed Industry of India
(FSII) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organized a seminar on 'Seed
Technology Innovation for Sustainable Rice Production' in New Delhi today.
The
objective of the seminar was to discuss ways to enhance rice productivity
sustainably and improve farmers' profitability in India. Union Minister of
State for Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare, Kailash Choudhary was present at
the event.
Other
eminent guests present at the event were Dr Prem Kumar, Minister of
Agriculture, Government of Bihar, Dr SK Malhotra, Agriculture Commissioner,
Government of India and VK Gaur, Chairman and Managing Director, National Seed
Corporation. Other participants at the event were senior government officials,
farmer organizations scientists and industry representatives.
Rice is one
of the primary crops of India and is therefore critical to increase its
productivity. Among the rice-growing countries in the world, India has the
largest area under paddy - 43.86 million hectares and ranks second by producing
163 MT (million tonnes) just next to China which holds the first position and
produces 203 MT.
In India, up
to 25 per cent of yield losses in rice crop are due to the disease and insect
pest infestation. Further, low planting density, poor agronomic practices, and
weed management, low seed replacement rate etc are also leading to low rice
productivity.
The major
challenge is however posed by its production; one kg of rice requires 2000-3000
litres of water. Therefore, average water inputs for India's rice production of
163 MT stands at 327 thousand billion litres. Since 90 per cent of the
cultivated land in India belongs to marginal, small and medium farmers, it is
essential for the country to make effective technologies and processes
available to them.
Deliberations
at the seminar brought forward the need for long-term research investments in
bringing more productive hybrids with improved grain characters, strengthen
seed production systems by geographic diversification and take up more
intensive promotion of hybrid in new areas through PPP mode. Further, the State
Government's support is also essential to increase acreage under hybrid rice in
all states.
"Government
is always thinking about finding ways to increase the income of farmers, as
they do not get the requisite timely profits due to multiple issues. Farmer
awareness regarding new technology and techniques is essential to realize the
benefits in this sector. We also need to work together to change the perception
of the farming profession. Farming needs to be branded in a way that more
youngsters are interested in taking up agriculture as a profession", said
Kailash Choudhary.
"Growing
rice is very expensive in India and we have not been able to reach our full
potential due to several limitations. Support through policies will facilitate
the adoption of technologies and sustainable practices to achieve our goal of
doubling farmer's income", said Dr M Ramasami, Chairman, FSII.
"Hybrid
rice is one of the most feasible and practically adaptable approaches for the
farmers as it gives 20-35 per cent additional yield and is environmentally
sustainable. It requires less water and nitrogen as they grow in short
duration, are stress-tolerant and are better adapted in rainfed conditions.
Hybrids have been key in increasing productivity of maize and cotton in India
but not in rice so far", said Ram Kaundinya, Director General, FSII.
"Technologies
like Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) also hold tremendous benefits. It can cultivate
rice in a sustainable manner by reducing water inputs, labour costs and can
increase yields. For example, farmers use on an average 50 litres/acre of
diesel for transplanting rice in the northern region. DSR gives an opportunity
to save approximately 15 litres/ha of diesel consumption by eliminating
puddling operations in the northern region alone", said Dr Shivendra
Bajaj, Executive Director, FSII.
India's
agricultural exports have increased from Rs 2,15,396 crores in 2015-16 to Rs
2,50,273 crores in the financial year 2017-18 registering a growth of nearly
16.19 per cent. This success can be primarily attributed to the higher exports
of rice (both basmati and non-basmati) followed by raw cotton, oil meals,
castor oil, etc. To surpass these records while growing rice sustainably,
farmers will have to adopt and given access to new technologies and
advancements in the field.
This story
is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content
of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
SINGAPORE:
Singapore’s imports of Thai rice can be easily met by alternative sources, said
the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in response to CNA queries about
recent reports of severe droughts in Thailand that had affected rice production
there.
“Singapore’s
demand for rice is very small compared to total global rice production. For example,
we account for only 1.2 per cent, 1.2 per cent and 0.6 per cent of Thailand,
Vietnam and India’s total rice exports in 2018 respectively,” an MTI spokesman
told CNA.
“Over the years,
we have been deliberate in our diversification strategy. Besides Thailand,
Vietnam and India, we also import rice from Myanmar, Cambodia, Japan and the
US. Some of these source countries, such as the US, are less affected by
domestic shortages and will alleviate any shortages from other source
countries.”
According to MTI,
the Rice Stockpile Scheme (RSS) ensures an adequate supply of rice in the
market during supply disruption, and all white rice, basmati rice, ponni rice
and parboiled rice are classified as stockpile-grade rice.
“Importers are
required to store two months’ worth of imports in government-designated
warehouses,” said the spokesman.
An NTUC FairPrice
spokesman told CNA that socio-economic factors and unfavourable weather
conditions have affected supply and prices of rice from Thailand over the past
year.
The spokesman
said FairPrice has limited the price increase over the past year to about
5 per cent on average, across its range of housebrand rice from
Thailand.
“This is due to
various strategies such as stockpiling and forward buying to protect consumers
from supply and price fluctuations.”
NTUC FairPrice
also imports rice from Vietnam, India, Australia, USA, Pakistan,
Japan and Cambodia, said the spokesman.
The supermarket
chain has seen “growing acceptance” from its customers for rice from countries
other than Thailand.
“For example, the
sales mix for Thai rice had decreased from about 90 per cent 10 years ago
compared to about 75 per cent today. Concurrently, we have seen increased
popularity of rice from Vietnam, which makes up about 15 per cent of our rice
sales today,” the spokesman added.
For now,
consumers in Singapore can still cope with some price increases because of the
country's relatively higher household incomes compared to most other
countries, said Professor Paul Teng, adjunct senior fellow of food security in
the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological
University.
But the big
threat to Singapore’s food security comes when large importing countries like
China and Indonesia also suffer shortages in their food (rice) production, he
added.
“They will be in
the market then to import huge volumes of rice and take up almost all that is
available in the marketplace.”
Only a small
amount of rice, or 7 to 10 per cent of total global production, is traded, so
any natural or man-made phenomenon that reduces rice production in main rice
exporting countries like India, Vietnam and Thailand has implications, said
Prof Teng.
“Importing
countries like Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia will all be competing for
the reduced amount of rice. The problem is exacerbated if rice crops in the big
importing countries like Indonesia and the Philippines are also affected by
climate change and production in those countries are also reduced,” he added.
FOOD SECURITY VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
The Singapore
Food Agency (SFA) noted that the country's food security is vulnerable to
global driving forces and trends, such as population growth, rising
urbanisation and incomes, disease outbreaks, resource scarcity and
increasingly, climate change.
“Singapore
imports over 90 per cent of our food. We are exposed to global price and supply
fluctuations as well as threats of food supply disruption and food
contamination internationally,” said an SFA spokesman.
“These vulnerabilities
will become more acute overtime; as global crop and fishery yields are
estimated to decline with the changing climate.”
Citing January
2018 when Malaysia’s leafy vegetable production was affected by a monsoon, the
spokesman said Singapore’s supply of vegetables from Malaysia decreased by
about 20 per cent as compared to the same period the year before. According to
the SFA, Malaysia supplied about 70 per cent of Singapore’s total leafy
vegetable import in 2017.
“Nevertheless,
there was no significant impact to Singapore as importers have alternative
sources like Thailand and China that were not affected by the monsoon to meet
local demand and stabilise supply,” said the SFA spokesman.
Aside from
diversification, the spokesman said SFA also focuses on growing local produce
as well as overseas.
“Local production
will help mitigate our reliance on imports and serve as a buffer during supply
disruptions to import sources. Our agri-food industry needs to transform into
one that is highly productive and employs climate-resilient and sustainable
technologies,” said the spokesman.
“We envisage
farming to become more like manufacturing – where production takes place within
a controlled environment with a defined input. The result is an assured and
consistent output, and a predictable way to address the effects of climate
change and extreme weather.”
Venturing
overseas also opens up new markets and helps local farms overcome land
constraints, said the SFA spokesman.
“Produce from
local farms, which are established overseas could also be exported back to
Singapore, contributing to our food security.”
Prof Teng said
“time-tested actions” like building stockpiles, diversification, farming
overseas and technology-enabled indoor farming of selected food types in
Singapore could boost food security.
He noted that the
government could put early warning systems for food insecurity based on
monitoring and computer modeling, to give Singapore a head start on sourcing
for supplies.
“It is also
imaginable that indoor farms to enable more community-based farming be
supported by the government so that more citizens take ownership of their food
security for some food items,” he added.
Prof Teng noted
that in the longer term, climate change will affect the types of crops and
animals that Singapore’s traditional food sources can grow, as well as the
nutritive value of the exported food.
As for rice, he
believes the real problem will surface when total global rice production has
decreased due to climate change, but rice consumption continues to increase due
to population growth and more people switching to eating rice, away from their
traditional foods like taro, maize and plantain.
For alternatives,
Prof Teng said wheat and potato are better for the environment as they require
less water to produce the same amount, compared to rice.
“In the longer term, while rice remains the preferred
staple food for most Singaporeans, it may behoove us to consider reducing our
per capita consumption of rice and replace it with more wheat and potato.”
KARACHI: The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has planned to
setup rice cleaning, processing and milling units in Karachi in partnership
with the private sector, an official said.
“In this regard, TCP would provide cemented buildings and
structures at National Highway and Landhi Industrial Area to the interested
parties on rental basis,” the official said. Trading in rice both in domestic
and international markets has become more quality conscious, even in the local
markets buyers now demand quality rice.
“In order to meet the challenges under the WTO (World Trade
Organisation) regime, it is now very essential for the country to put together
its rice production and marketing strategies to match the demand of the
international markets,” the official said.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the
country’s overall rice exports in the year ended June 30, 2019 clocked in at
$2.069 billion, up 1.67 percent against the exports of $2.035 billion in the
previous year. Some 537,133 tons basmati rice and 3.545 million tons other
varieties of rice were exported from the country. Pakistan earned $2.074
billion in FY19 up from $ 2.035 billion, showing 2 percent compared to last
year.
Rice is Pakistan’s third largest crop in terms of area sown, after
wheat and cotton. About 11 percent of Pakistan’s total agricultural area is
under rice. Pakistan is a leading producer and exporter of Basmati and IRRI
rice (white long grain rice). Rice ranks second among the staple food grain
crops in Pakistan and exports are a major source of foreign exchange earnings.
The country grows a relatively high quality of rice to fulfil
domestic and export demand. Traditionally, 40 to 45 percent of the crop is used
for local consumption, with the balance exported.
According to a report issued by the Trade Development Authority of
Pakistan (TDAP), the milling industry made significant investments in
state-of-the art processing machinery, but Pakistan exports most of its rice in
bulk with no modern packaging and branding.
“Export companies could be doing more to develop brands and a more
significant presence in foreign markets,” the TDAP report said. The export
industry was comprised of a large number of relatively small firms which were
often family-run and accustomed to traditional trading practices.
“However, that is changing and Pakistan’s rice exporters are
becoming increasingly active advocates for their industry and their trade
interests. With time, the industry is expected to adopt more strategic and
brand-based approaches to rice exporting,” it concluded.
GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA --
Last week, USA Rice made headlines here at the annual Sabor USA event that
brings together U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service
(FAS) cooperators to promote U.S. ag products. This year, 21 cooperators
participated in the event that ranged from California wines to U.S. rice.
The event was strategically located in the
middle of Plaza Cayala and drew large crowds from a nearby marathon. The
atmosphere was cheerful and energetic as people gathered around booths for
samples and information about the U.S. products on display. One of the most popular booths was the giant
paella at the front of the tent prepared by USA Rice and the U.S. Rice
Producers Association to promote U.S. rice. U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala
Luis Arreaga and Minister Counselor Todd Drennan stopped by to assist in
preparing the paella that provided more than 2,000 servings to attendees. That evening, USA Rice celebrity chef Javier
Rodriguez took to the stage for a 45-minute presentation to demonstrate a quick
and easy rice recipe that the whole family can enjoy. From start to
finish the audience was fully engaged in the tricks and tips that Chef Javier
offered. Upon completion of the recipe, he invited audience members on
stage for samples and reactions to the dish. Members of the crowd also
received samples and one-pound bags of long grain rice, complements of
Agroindustrias Albay, an importer of U.S. rice and supporter of USA Rice
promotional activities. "Sabor USA events and online resources are
fantastic tools to showcase U.S. products abroad," said Asiha Grigsby, USA
Rice manager of international promotion who attended the event and helped
prepare the paella. "This two-pronged strategy is essential for
cooperators such as USA Rice to spread awareness about our products, which in
turn complements our own promotional efforts. We will continue to
collaborate with FAS Guatemala to expand the reach of Sabor USA throughout the
region, and to have a direct, positive effect on U.S. rice visibility
abroad."
Guatemalans' per capita consumption of rice is
about 17 pounds annually. Domestic production covers about 20 percent,
and the majority of the 80 percent that is imported comes from the U.S.
The U.S. exports more than 100,000 MT annually; 120,000 MT in 2018, valued at
$37 million.
DA chief Dar to impose safeguard duty on rice
imports – Salceda
POLITIKO - The bible of Philippine Politics
By JOHN CARLO M. CAHINHINAN
Acting Agriculture Secretary
William Dar has agreed to invoke Republic Act No. 8800 which will allow him to
motu proprio impose safeguard duty on rice imports.
During Friday’s budget
deliberations at House of Representatives, Dar agreed to use the safeguards
under the law in response to increased rice imports due to the effect of the
Rice Tariffication Law (RTL).
House Committee on Ways and Means
chair Joey Salceda (Albay) said Dar has agreed to increase the provisional
tariff rate to 30 percent for the next 365 days for imports above the 350
metric tons—on top of the 35 percent provision under the RTL.
Salceda noted that an approval form the Tariff Commission is
needed for a more permanent measure which could last for a maximum of 10 years.
Salceda stressed that the
conditions for a surge duty have been met under RA 8800 since there are
reported surge in imports in the first half of 2019—26 percent in first quater
and 1,492 percent in the second quarter.
He added that there is real
injury with the price of “palay,” falling by 16 percent.
“The injury can be causally
linked to the surge in import. It does not matter whether the surge is before
or after or due to RTL. R.A. 8800 is based the fact that there is a surge there
is injury caused by the surge,” said Salceda.
Mindanao to export initial 5,000 MT of rice to Papua New Guinea
September 6, 2019 | 7:48 pm
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SECMANNYPINOL
AN INITIAL 5,000 metric tons (MT)
of rice from Mindanao will be shipped to Papua New Guinea following the signing
of a memorandum of understanding between farmers’ groups represented by the
Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) and PNG’s Central Province government.
MinDA Chair Emmanuel F. Piñol, in
a post on his social media page Friday, said he signed the agreement on Sept. 5
with Central Province Governor Robert Agarobe in Port Moresby.
Mr. Piñol said the export deal,
which covers premium quality and organic rice, is intended to “protect the
region’s farmers from the adverse effects of massive rice importation.”
The first shipment will be sent
“as soon as the export documents are completed.”
Under the program, Central
Province, through its Economic Enterprise Office, will import the Mindanao rice
for distribution in the province and other parts of the country.
Mr. Piñol, citing PNG Prime
Minister James Marape, said there is “a niche market for good-eating quality
rice” in PNG, which imports about 400,000 MT of rice annually from Australia,
Thailand and Vietnam.
Mindanao produced 4.26 million MT
of rice in 2017, according to MinDA data.
Mr. Piñol, who served as head of
the Department of Agriculture before moving to MinDA, said the agreement is an
offshoot of the December 2017 meeting between President Rodrigo R. Duterte and
then PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neil in Da Nang, Vietnam.
In 2018, the two countries signed
an agricultural cooperation agreement.Mr. Piñol said MinDA is also planning to
link Mindanao’s poultry farmers with PNG for the export of dressed chicken.
— Marifi S. Jara
NDO/VNA – Vietnam exported about 4.54 million tonnes of rice
worth nearly US$2 billion in the first eight months of this year, up 0.3% in
volume but down 14.9% in value from a year earlier, according to the Agro
Processing and Market Development Authority (Agrotrade).
In August alone, the country shipped abroad 591,000 tonnes of
rice for US$265 million, the agency said.
Strong growth were seen in Ivory Coast (64.5%), Australia
(63.9%), Hong Kong (China) (43.5%), and Saudi Arabia (31.3%) during the
January – August period.
The average export price in the eight months reached US$ 433
per tonne, down 14.7% year on year.
The Philippines outstripped China to become Vietnam’s largest
buyer during the reviewed period, accounting for 34.5% of the total rice
exports or 1.46 million tonnes. Its rice imports from Vietnam increased 3.2
times in volume and 2.7 times in value from the same period last year.
Vietnam’s rice exports to China plunged 66% year-on-year to
350,000 tonnes, pushing the neighbouring country to second position.
Brief news on farming and agribusiness in the country
FRIDAY
SEPTEMBER 6 2019
An expert in rice cultivation
explains a point on the crop's farming in a paddy, in this past photo. Kenya is
among three countries in the continent set to benefit from a project seeking to
triple rice productivity in the next three years. FILE PHOTO | NMG
In
Summary
·About 80 per cent of Kenya’s rice is imported, despite the country
having a great potential to produce the crop.
·The national rice production is currently at 150,000 metric tonnes
against an annual consumption of 650,000 metric tonnes.
·Currently, there is plenty of reusing the same low-yielding and
often disease-ridden crop varieties making it impossible for smallholder
farmers to improve their yields.
·Dr Joseph De Vries, the head of the Seed Systems Group, noted that
700 new, improved varieties have been developed in the past years, making them
an invaluable asset in fighting hunger and jump-starting rural economies across
Africa.
New project targets 400,000MT per year rice production
Kenya is among three countries in the continent set to benefit
from a project seeking to triple rice productivity in the next three years.
The initiative supported by the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (Ifad), the Africa Rice Centre (AfricaRice) and the
Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International (Africa Harvest), is working
with the governments of Kenya, Uganda and Madagascar to innovatively enhance
the performance of the local rice value chains.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri said they aim to
boost output to 400,000 metric tonnes by 2022, under the Big Four Agenda.
“We count on the expertise of AfricaRice, Africa Harvest and our
scientists to assist in production and reduction of postharvest losses,” said
the CS.
About 80 per cent of Kenya’s rice is imported, despite the
country having a great potential to produce the crop.
The national rice production is currently at 150,000 metric
tonnes against an annual consumption of 650,000 metric tonnes.The three-year project
titled ‘Strengthening the rice sector in East Africa for improved productivity
and competitiveness of domestic rice’ will adapt appropriate technologies and
innovations to address emerging value chain constraints.
It will also strengthen functional linkages among key rice
stakeholders using “multi-stakeholder innovation platforms and improve capacity
of farmers and other rice value chain actors, including input dealers, millers
and marketers”.
About 18,000 stakeholders, including rice farmers, seed producers,
extension service providers, processors and national research staff will
benefit in the three countries.
At least 40 per cent of this target group is expected to be
women, and at least 20 per cent youth aged 15-35 years.
President
Akufo-Addo has announced that the government will reduce the importation of
rice by 50% this year (2019).
Speaking
at the inauguration of the State of the Art Fertilizer Factory at Dawenya,
President Akufo-Addo urged farmers to produce more locally to satisfy the
demands of the domestic market and also meet International demands.
President
Akufo-Addo on Friday, 6th September, 2019, commissioned the OmniFert Fertilizer
Factory, a wholly-owned Ghanaian fertilizer manufacturing company located in
Dawhenya, in the Ningo Prampram constituency.
Understanding how an important
methane-producing microorganism creates methane and carbon dioxide could
eventually help control how much of these greenhouse gases escape into the
atmosphere, researchers report.
In a new study, they propose an
updated biochemical pathway that explains how the microorganism uses iron to
more efficiently capture energy when producing methane.
“The microorganism Methanosarcina acetivorans is
a methanogen that plays an important part in the carbon cycle, by which dead
plant material is recycled back into carbon dioxide that then generates new
plant material by photosynthesis,” says James Ferry, a professor of
biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State.
“Methanogens produce about 1
billion metric tons of methane annually, which plays a critical role in climate
change. Understanding the process by which this microorganism produces methane
is important for predicting future climate change and for potentially
manipulating how much of this greenhouse gas the organism releases.”
SURVIVING WITHOUT OXYGEN
Methanosarcina acetivorans, which is found in environments
like the ocean floor and rice paddies where it helps to decompose dead plant
material, converts acetic acid into methane and carbon dioxide. Prior to this
study, however, researchers were not certain how the microorganism had enough
energy to survive in the oxygen-free—anaerobic—environments where it lives.
The researchers determined that
an oxidized form of iron called “iron three,” essentially rust, allows the
microorganism to work more efficiently, using more acetic acid, creating more
methane, and creating more ATP—a chemical that provides energy for biological
reactions essential for growth.
“Most organisms like humans use a
process called respiration to create ATP, but this requires oxygen,” says
Ferry. “When no oxygen is present, many organisms instead use a less efficient
process called fermentation to create ATP, like the processes used by yeast in
the production of wine and beer. But the presence of iron allows M. acetivorans to use
respiration even in the absence of oxygen.”
The findings allowed the
researchers to update the biological pathway by which M. acetivorans converts acetic
acid to methane, which now includes respiration. Pathways like this one involve
many intermediate steps, during which energy is often lost in the form of heat.
The researchers also determined
that in the presence of iron, energy loss in this microorganism is reduced due
to a recently discovered process called electron bifurcation.
“Electron bifurcation takes one
of those steps that has the potential for tremendous heat loss and harvests
that energy in the form of ATP rather than heat,” says Ferry. “This makes the
process more efficient.”
CUTTING METHANE
This updated pathway could allow
researchers to predict the amount of methane that the microorganism will
release into the atmosphere.
“Rice paddies—a major source of
the methane in the atmosphere—contain decaying rice plants submerged in water
that are ultimately processed by M.
acetivorans. If we measure the amount of iron three present in the
paddies, we can predict how much methane will be released by the
microorganisms, which can improve our climate change models,” Ferry says.
In the absence of iron, the
microorganism produces roughly equal amounts of methane and carbon dioxide from
acetic acid. But with increasing amounts of iron, it produces more carbon
dioxide relative to methane, so providing the organism with additional iron
could alter the relative amounts of these greenhouse gasses that are produced.
“Methane is 30 times more potent
as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, which makes it more problematic in
terms of our warming planet,” says Ferry. “Now that we better understand this
biochemical pathway, we see that we can use iron to alter the ratios of the
gasses being produced. In the future, we might even be able to go further and
inhibit the production of methane by this microorganism.
“In addition to the practical
applications, this is a major addition
to understanding the biology of the largely
unseen but hugely important anaerobic world.”
The study appears online in the
journal Science Advances. Support for the research came
from the US Department of Energy and the Penn State Eberly College of Science.
SPECIAL SAFEGUARD DUTIES VERSUS RICE
IMPORTS URGED
In light of the plummeting prices of palay (unmilled rice), the Federation of
Free Farmers (FFF) urged the government to immediately impose special safeguard
duties on rice imports, fearing that prices of the staple will further decline
as thet main harvest season peaks next month.
The National Food Authority Council approved the implementation of
tariffied regime to further slash prices.
The government should get away
from relying on “palliative” measures that are either “too expensive or
ineffective” and instead focus on the root cause of the drastic drop in palay
prices in many areas in the country, said FFF National Manager Raul Montemayor
in a statement on Friday.
He said the drop in palay prices coincided with the inflow of
large volumes of rice imports since January 2019, following the passage of
Republic Act 11203 or the “Rice Tariffication Law.”
From January to July, about 2.4 million metric tons of imported
rice arrived in the country, based on the data from the Bureau of Customs
(BoC).
Montemayor said the figure is around 17 percent of the country’s
total consumption requirement for the year. Annually, the Philippines needs to
import only 10 percent of the domestic needs given that the country is 90
percent rice self-sufficient.
This means there is already an excess supply of 7 percent in the
market, Montemayor said, noting that “this glut will become worse if more
imports come in and coincide with the main season harvest.”
“Because of too much supply of imported rice in the market,
local traders cannot unload their stocks at a profit. And they have to adjust
their buying price from farmers so that they can compete with the cheaper
imports. This explains why palay prices are falling down.”, Montemayor added.
To address this, Montemayor said the government should
immediately impose special safeguard duties on rice imports, and avail of other
trade remedies such as anti-dumping and general safeguards. These measures will
allow the government to temporarily impose additional duties on rice imports,
thus making them more expensive, he added.
Meanwhile, the FFF has also supported government’s plan to
implement more stringent application of pest and disease and food safety
controls on rice imports.
“Government must focus on the supply side, because that is where
the problem is coming from. It must find a way to manage the inflow of imports
until the supply glut disappears and farmers and traders are able to unload
their stocks,” Montemayor said.
“Our studies show that even with these measures, rice prices
need not go up because imported rice will still be much cheaper even with the
additional tariffs,” he added.
Earlier this week, Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary
WIlliam Dar said they will push for the implementation of non-tariff measures
(NTM) as well as legislated Land Use Plan that will include subsidies for
ensuring improved competitiveness and productivity of Filipino farmers under
the new rice regime.
Dar, however, did not say as to when the said proposals would be
THE Philippines will soon be
exporting premium quality and organic rice produced by Mindanao rice farmers to
Papua New Guinea, the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) said on Friday.
In a statement, MinDA chief
Emmanuel Piñol said the initiative was formalized through his bilateral meeting
and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Papua New Guinea Prime
Minister James Marape on Thursday in Port Moresby.
“An initial shipment of 5,000
metric tons of the best quality rice produced in Mindanao, including RC-160,
7-Tonner, Banaybanay, Dinorado and Organic Rice will be shipped to Port Moresby
as soon as the export documents are completed,” Piñol said.
Papua New Guinea is a country
with 46 million hectares of arable land with only an 8 million population, it
imports about 400,000 metric tons of rice every year, mostly from Australia,
Thailand and Vietnam.
“Under the program, he said the
Central Province government through its Economic Enterprise Office will import
the Mindanao Rice to be distributed in the province and other areas of the
country,” said Piñol.
He cited that prices of regular
rice in Papua New Guinea range from 3.50 to 5 kina per kilo, which is
equivalent to P53 to P76 per kilo.
While premium rice is labeled at
a higher price in Papua New Guinea, consumers there are willing to pay a
premium price for eating good quality rice, according to Central Province
Governor Robert Agarobe and East Sepik Governor Allan Bird.
Piñol said the export of
Mindanao’s premium rice to Papua New Guinea would assure Mindanao’s rice
farmers of getting fair price for their produce, adding it would also mitigate
the adverse effects of the implementation of Republic Act 11203 or the “Rice
Tariffication Law.”
Following the passage of the law
in February, the average farmgate price of palay (unmilled rice) has
tremendously gone down to as low as P14 to P12 per kilogram (kg) in some
provinces in the country. Just last month, farmers from several areas in the
country reported palay buying prices at P7 per kg.
The rice industry groups blamed
the new law for the unimpeded flow of rice importation.
Ex-commerce minister Boonsong
gets 48 years in jail over rice-pledging scheme
By The
Nation Boonsong Former commerce
minister Boonsong Teriyaphirom was on September 6 given an additional six years
in prison for the Yingluck Shinawatra-led government’s rice-pledging scheme,
bringing his total time in jail to 48 years.
The Supreme Court’s Criminal
Division for Political Office Holders had previously sentenced him to 42 years,
but Boonsong appealed the verdict. However, he lost the appeal as the
panel of nine judges decided to uphold the previous verdict and added another
six years to his sentence. The court also convicted 14 other co-defendants
involved in one of the largest corruption cases in Thailand’s history.
The verdict is related to the
government-to-government rice scandal and the case was initiated after the
military overthrew Yingluck’s government in the 2014 coup.
The other key defendants who were
given between four and 48 years in prison by the Supreme Court include former
deputy commerce minister Poom Saraphol, former Foreign Trade Department chief
Manat Soithong and his deputy Tikamporn Natvoratat, Boonsong’s former secretary
Veeravuth Watjanabukkha, and well-known rice trader Apichart “Sia Piang”
Chabsakulporn of Siam Indiga Company. The Supreme Court also handed down
prison terms and fines to several other rice millers.
Cauayan
City—Like farmers who are currently suffering from low farmgate prices of
unmilled rice or “palay,” rice millers are also victims of imported rice
flooding into the country, the president of a regional association said.
Ernesto
Subia, who heads the Rice Millers Association of Region 2, said they can’t
hoard because they can hardly sell their milled rice, as the market is already
flooded with imported rice.
In
an interview with local radio station Bombo Radyo Cauayan on Thursday, Subia
also chided the Department of Agriculture for blaming them for the continued
high price of rice due to hoarding.
“The
reported P7-P10 per kilogram buying price of palay is a false news with an
intention to discredit the local rice industry,” Subia said.
He
said they are buying from P17 to P17.50 per kilogram of dry palay while fresh
(sariwa) palay is P13 to P14 per kilogram.
Senator
Francis Pangilinan, meanwhile, urged the public to buy local rice to save
farmers reeling from extremely low buying prices of palay, now pegged at only
P7 per kilo in Central Luzon, almost half the production cost of P12 a kilo.
“One
way for us to help our farmers is to support them and buy their rice. Buy local,
especially during this harvest time,” Pangilinan said.
“Ask
your preferred store for local rice because we know that the market is flooded
with imported rice,” he added.
Subia
challenged DA officials not to stay in their air-conditioned offices.
“They
should go out and conduct surveys so they can find out the correct prevailing
buying price of palay especially here in Isabela,” Subia said.
Subia
said rice millers who buy palay at unjust prices would be dealt with by having
their licenses revoked.
“We
have talked with town mayors to cancel the business licenses of erring rice
millers and traders in their locality,” Subia warned.
Subia
appealed to the general public to report to their respective mayors those
traders who buy their palay at extremely low prices.
The
DA on Friday denied that the Rice Tariffication Law has caused the price of
palay to go down.
“It
is not the fault of the law. The [price decline] has been a long time ago even
before the Rice Tariffication Law was signed,” DA spokesperson Noel Reyes said.
He
blamed traders who would take advantage of the law and would hoard palay.
“The
right prices of the volume of imported rice have not yet [been] reflected. Hope
they bring out [their supply] that so the prices of rice would go down,” he
said.
“It
should be sold at once. Sell it so we could have the money. The money, in
return, could be used to buy palay,” he added.
He
reacted to the claims of rice farmers and consumers that the law was a failure.
“It’s
not. Even without the law, those traders are just waiting that the prices would
drop. How? They would not buy [palay],” he said.
He
said the farmgate prices of palay reached to as high as P22 per kilo in some
areas, such as South Cotabato.
Rice
farmers in Central Luzon said the price of palay plunged to as low as P7 to P10
per kilo, blaming the Rice Tariffication Law.
The
Senate convened on Aug. 29 and Sept. 3 to discuss the effects of the Rice
Tariffication Law where farmers groups revealed that the buying prices of palay
are now as low as at P7-P8 per kilo in Tarlac, P8 per kilo in Nueva Ecija, and
P8-P10 per kilo in Zamboanga Sibugay.
About
200,000 rice farmers have reportedly stopped cultivating their land in fear of
incurring a deficit and losing money.
“Farmers
should have direct access to the consumers because middlemen are among those
who cause their suffering constricting rice prices. That is the aim of our
Sagip Saka Act that was enacted in April. Accredited farm enterprises will have
direct access to the market,” Pangilinan said.
Agriculture
Secretary William Dar on Wednesday announced that the Implementing Rules and
Regulations of the Sagip Saka Act of 2019 will be released within the week.
The
law allows government to buy agricultural produce directly from farm
enterprises, exempted from the Procurement Act.
ARLINGTON, VA -- As the 29th National Rice Month
kicked off this week, USA Rice added a new consumer outreach program to its arsenal,
the Think Rice Newsletter.
The newsletter is a follow up to the 2018 Think
Rice Road Trip where Domestic Promotion teams visited with thousands of
consumers across the trip's nine-state route collecting e-mail addresses, areas
of consumer interest, and additional information.
"We collected more than 2,000 email
addresses from consumers who went out of their way to visit with us, learn
about U.S.-grown rice, and express an interest in hearing from us again - with
recipes, coupons, tips, and other information," said USA Rice's Deborah
Willenborg who was at every stop along the 2018 road trip.
The September newsletter reminds the recipients
that they visited the truck and walked away with an Aroma rice cooker and a
sample of U.S.-grown rice. Articles include a wrap up of the entire 2018
Think Rice Road Trip, information on USA Rice's social media ambassadors and
where to find them and their recipes, promotion for the National Rice Month
scholarship, and more.
The featured recipe of the issue is for Cajun
Sausage & Pepper Rice that includes cost per serving information to remind
readers just how economical rice is. There's also a farmer feature with
Mississippi's Austin Davis.
"Farmer stories are one of the most
powerful tools we have to help us promote U.S.-grown rice and connect with
consumers who more and more want to know 'the story of their rice,'"
explained Robbie Trahan, chair of the USA Rice Domestic Promotion
Committee. "We think it's important to include a farmer profile or
photos and videos from the farm in each issue to remind folks that their rice
is coming from right here in the U.S. and there's a family painstakingly
growing it sustainably, and with care and love."
Willenborg added that while this issue was the
same for everyone on the list, future issues could be customized based on
consumer interest.
"Some people told us they would use more
rice if they had more recipes, while others told us they prefer to eat rice
when they dine out. The next newsletter for the first group may contain
more than one recipe, while the second group may see an article calling out
national chain restaurants that serve U.S.-grown rice," she
explained. "We also have the ability to include coupons in future
newsletters, so USA Rice members interested in participating in this way should
reach out to us."
Willenborg also said the distribution list will
continue to grow as USA Rice interacts with more consumers at events throughout
the year.
USA Rice Daily
JJ Johnson connects the world
with rice with new restaurant
This Aug. 30,
2019 photo shows chef JJ Johnson posing with two signature rice bowls, one
salmon and one vegetable, outside his Field Trip counter-service restaurant
kiosk on the food court at the US Open tennis championships in New York.
Johnson named the restaurant Field Trip based on all the trips he’s taken
globally. It was his time in Ghana that taught him to love the rice he hated as
a kid. (Charles Krupa/Associated Press)
By
Nekesa Mumbi
Moody | AP
September 5
NEW YORK — Rice was a staple in JJ Johnson’s
home when he was growing up. It was also a food he despised.
“My mom made overcooked rice,” Johnson, now a
James Beard Foundation-nominated chef, says jokingly. “But most people don’t
make rice well.”
Many people rely on boxed rice, he says, making
rice “the most disrespected food item in the world.”
Johnson is giving the grain some respect at his
new restaurant in Harlem, Field Trip , which is dedicated to fresh rice. Its
bowls, wraps, salads and more all feature rice that certainly did not come from
your local grocery store.
“Three of our rices are freshly milled coming
right from the farm to us,” he says, including the Texas Brown Rice and
Carolina gold rice. “We’re helping the farming community that really has to
change their farming culture because nobody buys fresh rice.”
Johnson, who came to prominence as executive chef for the acclaimed but
now closed Cecil restaurant in Harlem, spoke about Field Trip at its booth at
the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Queens, New York.
Thousands of tennis fans get their grub on at
stands featuring some of the best food from restaurants chefs including Jose
Andres, David Chang and more.
Being part of the Open’s food village is
considered a prestige gig, despite being a short-term one.
Johnson was spending as much time at the Open
as some of the athletes, making sure the restaurant runs swimmingly.
“We were tucked in the corner last year for
like our trial year. The joke is that I was in the minors and I’ve been brought
up to the majors,” he says.
Noting that some of the vendors were the
country’s top restaurants, he said: “And some of them were at the U.S. Open
when they just had one place, like myself, and they were able to build. ... So
fingers crossed, I’ll be able to do the same. “
Johnson won the coveted James Beard Award earlier this year for his
book “Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights,
Weeknights, and Every Day,” co-written with Veronica Chambers and Alexander
Smalls. And he was nominated for the James Beard Rising Star Chef award a few
years ago for his work at the Cecil, which explored the cuisine of the African
diaspora worldwide.
While the Cecil was a fine dining
establishment, Field Trip is quick-serve, though hardly fast food. Johnson said
it takes two hours to cook the brown rice at Field Trip because it’s fresh and
still has an active germ in it.
He named the restaurant for all the trips he’s
taken globally. It was his time in Ghana that taught him to love rice.
“Everywhere I was eating, rice was at the
center of the table. I came back and started doing some rice research on West
African rice grains,” he said.
At Field Trip, he said, “every rice on the menu is from a different
place. They’re heirloom grains. No rice is bleached or enriched. It’s gluten
free, it’s a rice bowl shop, it’s global flavors.”
Johnson, who also hosts the show “Just Eats with
JJ” on the Cleo Network, is excited to have the restaurant in a prime section
of Harlem, which he considers home. He said the community supported him early
in his career, and he’s hoping to give it something unique, tasty and healthy
with Field Trip.
He also plans to pen a book on rice, and hopes
to open a full-service restaurant.
“Field Trip — I hope to be able to put it into
communities that look like Harlem and to be in sporting events like the U.S.
Open across America,” he says.
Researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland have
identified a gene in barley that functions to resist drought. Their study was published in the
journal Plant Physiology and Biochemistry. The research was
funded by the Scotch Whisky Association.
The gene — known as HvMYB1 — helps
regulate stress tolerance in transgenic barley by showing enhanced relative water content and a reduced water
loss rate when compared to control plants, researchers said. The
study was challenging because barley has more than 39,000
genes, which is nearly double the number humans have, according to FoodBev.
This finding could help producers of
cereal grains — including barley, wheat, maize and rice — to deal with
drier climates as the effects of global warming increase,
FoodBev reported. Peter Morris, the lead researcher, told the
publication that greater variation in the gene pool and more
drought-resistant crops could result.
Dive Insight:
As climate change continues to impact the supply, barley in
particular could be harmed by increasing drought and heat, according to a study published this past
fall. The result might be yield losses, less supply, and potentially
higher prices for beer — with U.S. consumers seeing a 34% estimated price jump,
the report said.
While this latest study focused on barley because of the funding
from the Scotch Whisky Association, it could also be significant for producers
of other grains that are used in a wide variety of foods and beverages such as
beer, cereal, flour, baked goods and other CPG products.
Other manufacturers such as Post, Kellogg or General Mills use
large quantities of cereal grains and would benefit if the research can be
replicated beyond barley to wheat, corn and rice. Crops that can better resist
drought and heat are likely to use less water and provide more sustainable —
and potentially more affordable — supplies of these commodities in the future.
Such studies, along with the recent drought-resistant gene
research, could pressure food and beverage manufacturers to focus more on
sustainability practices in their operations. Some are already doing that. AB
InBev, for example, announced in January its partnership with a gene-editing company to
develop more productive and sustainable barley varieties using less
water.
Consumers increasingly view
sustainability as an important factor when they're making purchasing decisions. According to 2018 research from
Indiana University, most beer drinkers would pay more for products made with
sustainable practices.
Chef's new restaurant connects the world with rice
Associated Press September 06, 2019
11:47 AM
Associated Press
Chef JJ Johnson posing with two signature rice bowls, one salmon
and one vegetable, outside his Field Trip counter-service restaurant kiosk on
the food court at the US Open tennis championships in New York.
September 06, 2019 11:47 AM Rice
was a staple in JJ Johnson's home when he
was growing up. It was also a food he despised.
"My mom made overcooked
rice," Johnson, now a James Beard Foundation–nominated chef,
said jokingly. "But most people don't make rice well."
Many people rely on boxed rice, he
says, making rice "the most disrespected food item in the world."Johnson
is giving the grain some respect at his new restaurant in Harlem, Field Trip , which is
dedicated to fresh rice. Its bowls, wraps, salads and more all feature rice
that certainly did not come from your local grocery store.
"Three of our rices are
freshly milled coming right from the farm to us," he says, including the
Texas Brown Rice and Carolina gold rice. "We're helping the farming
community that really has to change their farming culture because nobody buys
fresh rice."
Johnson, who came to prominence as
executive chef for the acclaimed but now closed Cecil restaurant in Harlem,
spoke about Field Trip at its booth at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in
Queens, New York.
Thousands of tennis fans get their
grub on at stands featuring some of the best food from restaurants chefs
including Jose Andres, David Chang and more.
Being part of the Open's food
village is considered a prestige gig, despite being a short-term one.
Johnson was spending as much time
at the Open as some of the athletes, making sure the restaurant runs
swimmingly.
"We were tucked in the corner
last year for like our trial year. The joke is that I was in the minors and
I've been brought up to the majors," he says.
Noting that some of the vendors
were the country's top restaurants, he said: "And some of them were at the
U.S. Open when they just had one place, like myself, and they were able to
build. ... So fingers crossed, I'll be able to do the same. "
Johnson won the coveted James Beard
Award earlier this year for his book "Between Harlem and Heaven:
Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day,"
co-written with Veronica Chambers and Alexander Smalls. And he was nominated
for the James Beard Rising Star Chef award a few years ago for his work at the
Cecil, which explored the cuisine of the African diaspora worldwide.
While the Cecil was a fine dining
establishment, Field Trip is quick-serve, though hardly fast food. Johnson said
it takes two hours to cook the brown rice at Field Trip because it's fresh and
still has an active germ in it.
He named the restaurant for all the
trips he's taken globally. It was his time in Ghana that taught him to love
rice.
"Everywhere I was eating, rice
was at the center of the table. I came back and started doing some rice
research on West African rice grains," he said.
At Field Trip, he said, "every
rice on the menu is from a different place. They're heirloom grains. No rice is
bleached or enriched. It's gluten free, it's a rice bowl shop, it's global
flavors."
Johnson, who also hosts the show
"Just Eats with JJ" on the Cleo Network, is excited to have the
restaurant in a prime section of Harlem, which he considers home. He said the
community supported him early in his career, and he's hoping to give it
something unique, tasty and healthy with Field Trip.
He also plans to pen a book on
rice, and hopes to open a full-service restaurant.
"Field Trip — I hope to be
able to put it into communities that look like Harlem and to be in sporting
events like the U.S. Open across America," he says.
Shobha Roy Kolkata | Updated
on September 06, 2019 Published
on September
06, 2019
Driven by the prospect of higher earnings, more farmers are
turning to this rice variety
- Debasish Bhaduri
Production
also likely to be lower because of late sowing
Prices of Bengal’s premium
variety of aromatic rice, Gobindobhog, has firmed up by nearly 27 per cent on a
year-on-year basis, backed by a good demand from both domestic and
international markets.
Prices firm up
The average price of Gobindobhog
paddy at the farmers’ end firmed up by nearly 27 per cent at ₹3,800 a quintal in August this year, compared with ₹3,000 in the same period last year.
The price was ruling at around ₹2,800 a quintal in January this year. It, however, started to
strengthen steadily following good demand from Bangladesh and the markets in
South India.
Gobindobhog is a non-Basmati type
indigenous aromatic rice from West Bengal. The paddy variety, which got the GI
(Geographical Indication) status in August 2017, is primarily cultivated in
East Burdwan district in the Raina 1, Raina 2 and Khandaghosh blocks.
The price of the rice at the
miller’s point is hovering around ₹6,400 a quintal, as against ₹5,100 a quintal in same period last year.
“Currently, only 30 per cent of
the 2019 crop is left with farmers as huge stocks were exported to Bangladesh
and other countries in this season. Also, delayed rain has affected production
in 2020 season,” Suraj Agarwal, CEO, Tirupati Agri Trade, told BusinessLine.
Rise in
acreage
The increase in prices is despite
the fact that the State witnessed a 17 per cent rise in production of
Gobindobhog paddy this year.
Close to 2.8 lakh tonnes of
Gobindobhog paddy was produced in 2018-19, as against 2.4 lakh tonnes in
2017-18. Nearly 55-56 per cent of this is converted into rice.
Driven by the prospect of earning
more, farmers in Bengal have taken to cultivating Gobindobhog. The area under
cultivation, which was close to 35 hectares in 2016-17, has increased to 51
hectares in 2018-19.
Farmers cultivating this variety
stand to earn ₹2,000 a bag (of 60 kg) or close to ₹3,300 a quintal, compared with ₹800-900 a bag (of 60 kg) or ₹1,500 a quintal for the common Swarna variety.
There is an apprehension that the
production of Gobindobhog paddy will be lower this year on account of the
delayed rain during the sowing season in June-July. The new crop begins to
arrive by November-end or early December.
“Farmers have been holding on to
stock in anticipation of prices firming up further. The old crop fetches a
higher price than the new crop, particularly in the southern markets,” a miller
said.
The prices are likely to remain
firm till the new crop begins to arrive in the market.
“We expect miller's price of
GobindoBhog rice to touch ₹70 a kg before the new crop comes in by November-end,” Agarwal
said.
DUBAI- An Iraqi state tender for rice attracted
a lowest offer of $432 a tonne for 30,000 tonnes of Pakistani rice, traders
said on Thursday.
The offer was presented by Saif International.
Iraq is seeking at least 30,000 tonnes of rice
and offers must remain valid up to Sept. 15.
The country's last reported rice purchase was
60,000 tonnes sourced from the United States on July 17.
Traders gave the following breakdown of offers
in dollars per tonne on a cost, insurance and freight (CIF) basis:
* VA Trading: 30,000 tonnes of Argentinian rice
at $541.20
* VA Trading: 30,000 tonnes of Argentinian or
Uruguayan rice at $551.45
* ADM:
30,000 tonnes of Paraguayan rice at $546.15
* ADM: 30,000 tonnes of U.S. rice at $640.20
* Olam International: 40,000 tonnes of Thai
rice at $471.80
* Olam International: 30,000 tonnes of
Pakistani rice at $457.60
* Saif International: 30,000 tonnes of
Pakistani rice at $432.00
* Saif International: 30,000 tonnes of
Uruguayan rice at $572.00
* Hanalico: 50,000 tonnes of Uruguayan rice at
$562.00
* Tiryaki: 30,000 tonnes of Brazilian rice at
$554.90
* Amer Shan: 40,000 tonnes of Indian rice at
$555.00
* Amer Shan: 30,000 tonnes of Uruguayan or
Argentinian rice at $620.00
* Amer Shan: 30,000 tonnes of Paraguayan rice
at $605.00
* Glencore: 30,000 tonnes of Argentinian rice
at $555.00
* Glencore: 30,000 tonnes of Brazilian rice at
$573.00
* Hakan: 30,000 - 60,000 tonnes of Thai rice at
$472.13
* Canadian Agriculture: 90,000 tonnes of
Uruguayan rice at $588.00
* Canadian Agriculture: 90,000 tonnes of
Paraguayan rice at $554.00
(Reporting by Maha
El Dahan; Writing by Michael
Hogan in Hamburg and Nadine
Awadalla in Cairo; Editing by Edmund
Blair) ((michael.j.hogan@thomsonreuters.com; +49 172 671 36 54; Reuters Messaging:
michael.hogan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices – APMC/Open Market-September 5, 2018
Nagpur, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Gram prices firmed up in Nagpur Agriculture Produce
and Marketing Committee (APMC) here on good festival season demand from local
millers amid weak supply from producing regions. Fresh hike on NCDEX, good
recovery in Madhya Pradesh gram prices and enquiries from South-based millers
also boosted prices. About 100 bags of gram reported for auction, according to
sources.
GRAM
* Gram varieties ruled steady in open market here but demand
was poor.
TUAR
* Tuar gavarani and tuar Karnataka reported higher in open
market on good buying
support from local traders.
* Major wheat varieties recovered in open market here on
increased demand from
local traders amid weak supply from producing regions because
of rains.
* In Akola, Tuar New – 5,400-5,600, Tuar dal (clean) –
8,100-8,200, Udid Mogar (clean)
– 7,300-8,100, Moong Mogar (clean) 8,200-8,900, Gram –
4,000-4,200, Gram Super best
– 5,600-6,000 * Wheat, rice and other foodgrain items moved
in a narrow range in
scattered deals and settled at last levels in weak trading
activity.
Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees
for 100 kg
FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close
Gram Auction 3,600-4,285 3,600-4,200
Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600
Tuar Auction n.a. 5,275-5,400
Moong Auction n.a. 3,950-4,200
Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500
Masoor Auction n.a. 2,200-2,500
Wheat Lokwan Auction 1,900-2,141 2,000-2,105
Wheat Sharbati Auction n.a. 2,900-3,000
Gram Super Best Bold 5,900-6,200 5,900-6,200
Gram Super Best n.a. n.a.
Gram Medium Best 5,600-5,800 5,600-5,800
Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a
Gram Mill Quality 4,250-4,350 4,250-4,350
Desi gram Raw 4,200-4,250 4,200-4,300
Gram Kabuli 8,300-10,000 8,300-10,000
Tuar Fataka Best-New 8,400-8,500 8,400-8,500
Tuar Fataka Medium-New 8,000-8,200 8,000-8,200
Tuar Dal Best Phod-New 7,600-7,800 7,600-7,800
Tuar Dal Medium phod-New 7,000-7,500 7,000-7,500
Tuar Gavarani New 5,850-5,950 5,800-5,900
Tuar Karnataka 6,150-6,250 6,100-6,200
Masoor dal best 5,500-5,600 5,500-5,600
Masoor dal medium 5,200-5,300 5,200-5,300
Masoor n.a. n.a.
Moong Mogar bold (New) 8,500-9,200 8,500-9,200
Moong Mogar Medium 7,000-7,800 7,000-7,800
Moong dal Chilka New 7,200-8,000 7,000-8,000
Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.
Moong Chamki best 8,500-9,200 8,500-9,200
Udid Mogar best (100 INR/KG) (New) 7,500-8,500 7,500-8,500
Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,600-6,500 5,600-6,500
Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 4,500-5,000 4,500-5,000
Mot (100 INR/KG) 5,500-6,800 5,500-6,800
Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 4,800-5,000 4,800-5,000
Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 5,800-6,000 5,800-6,000
Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 7,500-8,000 7,500-8,000
Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 2,050-2,250 2,050-2,250 WEATHER
(NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 29.3 degree Celsius, minimum temp. 23.7 degree Celsius
Rainfall : 13.4 mm FORECAST: Generally cloudy sky with moderate rains. Maximum
and minimum temperature likely to be around 30 degree Celsius and 24 degree
Celsius respectively. Note: n.a.—not available (For oils, transport costs are
excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices)
Alhaji Adamu Maigoro, Chairman, Rice Farmers Association of
Nigeria (RIFAN), Jigawa Chapter, says rice farmers in the state are expecting a
bumper harvest in 2019 farming season.Maigoro, made this known in an interview
with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Friday.
He appreciated the high yield of grains on the farms, saying that
with the high yield, there would be a bumper harvest.The chairman commended the
state government for its support to farmers during the 2019 cropping season.Maigoro
noted that the state government supported the farmers with fertilisers and
other farm chemicals.
According to him, other farm inputs provided by the government
include improved seeds, which were provided at the appropriate planting period.
Despite
the improvement, sowing of rice continues to witness negative deviation.
(Bloomberg image)
With India receiving a normal rainfall this monsoon season so far
this year, the country’s farmers have a reason to cheer. Eventually, the sowing
patterns of crops during the cumulative week ended 30 August 2019 has seen
notable improvement over a week ago, especially driven by the sowing of rice,
says a report by Care Ratings. However, despite the improvement, sowing of rice
continues to witness negative deviation. Out of the 36 sub-divisions across
India, six have received deficient rainfall, 22 have received normal rainfall,
and eight have received excess rainfall, according to Kotak Institutional
Equities Research. From the view of the reservoir and groundwater level, excess
rainfall in some regions is a positive sign but it could also damage the
production of certain crops.
Highlights of monsoon season FY 2019-20 regarding rainfall and
reservoir levels
·Rainfall has contributed to the improved reservoir levels – The live storage level in the 113 reservoir levels across the
country as on 5 Sept remained at 133.6 BCM, which is 12 per cent higher than
the previous year, going by the Care Ratings report.
·Many reservoirs at full capacity – All India data shows that 20 such reservoirs have current
reservoir level at 100 per cent of the full reservoir level, while 24 have
current levels between 91-99 per cent.
·Western and south-west regions received excess rain – The western and south-west regions of the country have received
heavy rains and have been clubbed under the category of excess rainfall,
whereas only small patches in north and east India continued to witness
deficient rainfall.
·Small patches in north and east regions received deficient
rainfall – Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi witnessed the most
deficient rainfall, deviated by around -36 per cent from normal. There are no
regions in the country which have recorded scanty rainfall during this
cumulative period.
Deficient rainfall not only impacts the farmers and the
agriculture sector but also impacts the entire economy in many ways. Lower
production due to insufficient rainfall decreases the growth of agriculture GDP
and spikes food inflation. It also increases unemployment which in turn hit the
whole economy.
In the first eight months of the
year, Cambodia exported 1.6 million tonnes of paddy rice to neighbouring
Vietnam through informal channels, a recent report from the Ministry of
Agriculture revealed.
For in depth analysis of
Cambodian Business, visit Capital Cambodia .
That figure is significantly
higher than the total amount of milled rice shipped abroad through official
channels, which from January to August was just over 342,000 tonnes, according
to the ministry.
Due to a lack of storage and
processing facilities in the Kingdom, farmers often have no alternative but to
sell their paddy rice to middlemen who then bring it to Vietnam through
informal channels, according to the Rural Development Bank.
Lun Yeng, secretary-general of
the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF), yesterday told Khmer Times that the rice
exported informally is a mixture of varieties, referring to it as “mixed rice”.
“Most paddy rice exported
informally is mixed rice. This means these informal exports are not affecting
exports of milled rice, which are often premium varieties like fragrant rice.”
He explained that farmers sell
their rice to middlemen to earn a quick buck during harvest.
“Farmers sell it to middlemen
because is easier, since these middlemen often go to the rice fields to buy the
product personally,” Mr Yeng said.
Mr Yeng said that, in the wake of
the ministry report, CRF will strive to reduce informal exports by educating
farmers on the rice varieties that fetch higher prices and enjoy the highest
demand.
To reduce the sale of paddy rice
to middlemen, in 2017 the government launched an emergency fund for the sector.
The scheme give millers access to loans to purchase paddy rice and build the
necessary facilities to store and treat it.
The lending mechanism helps keep
the price of the commodity stable, according to RDB, the institution in charge
of disbursing the loans.
In the 2017-2018 harvest,
Cambodia produced more than 10 million tonnes of paddy rice, according to the
ministry. The rice surplus reached 5.6 million tonnes, the equivalent of 3.5
tonnes of milled rice.
Last year, Cambodia exported
626,265 tonnes of milled rice to foreign markets, a drop of 1.5 percent
year-on-year. China was the biggest buyer.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar may not be able to stop the influx of
imported rice in the market to subdue the further decline in palay prices, but
he is looking to use food safety measures to at least “delay” their arrival as
the main harvest season nears.
In a text message to the Inquirer on
Wednesday evening following a meeting in Malacañang, Dar said he was looking to
strengthen requirements for food safety to “delay the arrival of much more
(imported rice) during harvest.”
The country’s rice farmers are currently
suffering from palay rates that have sunk below their average production cost
because of tight competition from more affordable imported rice. Government
interventions, at times delayed, have yet to push buying prices.
The nearing harvest season in October is
when the country produces 60 percent of its palay output.
Dar said his plan could be done by imposing
stricter requirements when giving out sanitary and phytosanitary permits (SPS)
to private importers. He said this could also be a way to ensure that “we can
import good stocks.”
Following the passage of the rice
tariffication law that has in effect deregulated rice trade, private firms are
allowed to import rice stocks without limit so long as they secure SPS permits
from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).
How the newly installed agriculture chief
would be imposing stricter measures is still being discussed, but the
Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) is open to the idea.
In a separate interview with FFF national
manager Raul Montemayor, he said the agency could mandate the performance of
additional tests on rice shipments.
This could temper the entry of imported
rice in the market, in effect addressing the supply glut.
BPI assistant director Glen Panganiban said
the agency could issue SPS permits in one week on average, provided that
private firms could secure all the necessary requirements.
As of July, BPI has about 480 active rice
importers, 77 of which have only been registered this year. Since the new rice
trade law was passed, Panganiban’s team processed 15 permits on a weekly basis.
In terms of SPS permits, the bureau has
given out 1,158 permits during the first three months of the law’s
implementation. An SPS permit expires in 60 days.
China's super hybrid rice may yield 18,000 kg
per ha by October
2019-09-06
15:29:17Ecns.cnEditor : Mo Hong'e
(ECNS) -- Yuan Longping, China's "father
of hybrid rice", said on Thursday his team may achieve an average yield of
18,000 kilograms of rice per hectare next month.
After China’s Ministry of
Agriculture launched a super-hybrid rice breeding project in 1996, the team has
continued to set new records in yields, meeting five targets of 10,500 kg,
12,000 kg, 13,500 kg, 15,000 kg and 16,500 kg per hectare.
Currently, four test fields in
China are trying to break the new target of 18,000 kg per hectare.
Yuan said the rice is growing well
in his test field in Changsha, Hunan Province, and that he might achieve the
yield target in October.
The scientist said he still has two
dreams ahead – improving average yield of hybrid rice and sharing the rice
variety with the world.
"If 50 percent of the world's
rice paddies were planted with hybrids, rice production could increase by
another 2 tons per hectare, so some 500 million more people could be fed,"
said Yuan.
