Rice import decision after
reviewing situation: Minister
11:24 PM, August 09, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 11:27 PM, August 09, 2020
UNB,
Dhaka
Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur
Razzaque today said the government will review the overall situation, including
the flood's impact on Aush and Aman paddy, before importing rice.
"Currently, there's no fear of
food shortage in the country," he said while speaking as the chief guest
at an online seminar on "Food Security in Covid-19 Situation: Is
Bangladesh Going to Face Rice Deficit?" organised by Bangladesh Rice
Research Institute (BRRI).
Razzaque said the ongoing floods have
caused a lot of damage to Aush and Aman paddy in many areas."A decision to
import rice will be taken if the yield of Aman is not good and the floods are
prolonged," he said, assuring that all sorts of activities are underway in
agriculture to deal with the damage caused by the ongoing floods.
https://www.thedailystar.net/country/news/rice-import-decision-after-reviewing-situation-minister-1942389
IMD says
strength of monsoon westerlies waning
Strength of the monsoon
westerlies over the southern parts of the Arabian Sea has reduced from Sunday
and is likely to reduce further during the next five days, an India
Meteorological Department (IMD) update said on Monday. Under this scenario,
rainfall activity may reduce further over Kerala and Karnataka during this
period.
During the 24 hours ending Monday
morning, the monsoon came down heavily (rainfall in cm) over Balod-23;
Dhamtari-20; Shirali-17; Chhota Udepur, Honavar and Gondia-15 each; Agumbe-14;
Idukki, Vadodra and Baroda-12; Mount Abu, Kudulu and Cherrapunji-11each;
Mangaluru, Cannur, Jaipur, Jabalpur and North Lakhimpur-10 each; Valprai,
Karnal and Nizamabad-9 each; Anandpur Sahib, Rajgarh, Sawai Madhopur,
Hanamkonda-8 each; and Kochi and Ambikapur-7 each.
Extremely heavy rainfall observed
at isolated places over Chhattisgarh while it was heavy to very rainfall at
isolated areas over Coastal Karnataka, Vidarbha and Gujarat region and heavy at
isolated places over Rajasthan, Assam, Meghalaya, Kerala, EastMadhya Pradesh,
Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, the IMD said.
Fresh low-pressure area up
But a fresh low-pressure area
(second in the current series) has formed over the North-West Bay, crossed
coast, and moved into Chhattisgarh and later East Madhya Pradesh on Monday. The
IMD said that the low may get a move to the North-West and merge with the
larger monsoon trough lying along a North-West to South-East direction over the
next two days.
The monsoon trough was in its
near-normal position on Monday evening with the low-pressure area embedded in
it. The East-West shear zone of monsoon turbulence in the upper level passes
across Central India, having left the South Peninsula behind. The shear zone
decides the area active of monsoon play embedded rain-generating system/s
spearheading the proceedings.
Meanwhile, the IMD has said on
Monday that another low-pressure area (third in the current series) may form
over North-West Bay around August 13, with its short to medium model guidance
not ruling out a fourth one following close on its heels. Thus August is
playing true to form, when suddenly it prompts the Bay to wake up into
activity, sending monsoon to a peak.
More low’s may brew in Bay
The IMD sees reasonably
widespread to widespread rainfall with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated
places over major parts of North-West India for the next three days. The likely
swathe of affected geography includes the hills of the North-West and adjoining
plains of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and East Rajasthan,
some of which nurse a rain deficit.
Fairly widespread to widespread
rainfall with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places is also being
forecast for parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat region four days until August
14 with further enhancement of rainfall intensity likely over NorthGujarat and
South-West Madhya Pradesh on August 13 and 14, the IMD outlook said.
An extended outlook for August
15-17 says that fairly widespread to widespread rainfall/thundershowers may
lash West, Central, East and North-East India and along the northern parts of
West Coast. Isolated heavy to very heavy falls are forecast for
East-CentralIndia, The North-Eastern States, northern parts of the West Coast,
Gujarat state, Rajasthan and parts of Uttar Pradesh.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/heavy-rain-over-kerala-may-reduce-from-tuesday/article32314233.ece#
33% Farm Households In Punjab Experience Losses During Lockdowns:
Asian Development Bank
Mon 10th August
2020 | 06:08 PM
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) survey revealed on Monday that
about one-third (33.3 percent) of farm households in Punjab experienced losses
in wages and non-farm earnings due to lockdown amid COVID-19
ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Aug, 2020
):The Asian Development Bank (ADB) survey revealed on Monday that about
one-third (33.3 percent) of farm households in Punjab experienced losses in
wages and non-farm earnings due to lockdown amid COVID-19.
Some 22.6 percent reported that at least one family member had
returned home from urban and other areas, while 11.2 percent reported reduced
nonfood expenditures, and 9.8 percent reported lower food consumption.
The survey "COVID-19, impact on farm households in
Punjab" was conducted by the ADB team.
More than 400 farmers in Punjab province were surveyed on the
impact of the nationwide lockdown in response to the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) pandemic and locust attacks.
The survey of farmers in Punjab revealed that wheat harvesting and
marketing was spared the negative effects of the restricted movement of goods
imposed because of COVID-19, except in the southern districts.
Most respondents (97.3 pc) reported having completed harvesting
their wheat for the majority, the harvesting period started on the last week of
April and ended on the second week of May.
Of those who had completed their harvest at the time of the
survey, 74.6 percent reported that they were able to market their wheat without
difficulty.
Most of those who did not sell wheat kept the produce for self-consumption.
Only a few respondents had difficulty selling their wheat.
Restrictions on movement of goods upset the marketing of highly
perishables, such as vegetables, fruits, and milk as they are difficult to
store, unlike grains.
Unlike the wheat farmers, large proportions of vegetable and fruit
farmers reported difficulties in marketing their produce. Around 24 percent of
vegetable and fruit growers found the offered prices too low, 23.4 percent
could not visit markets, and 8 percent could not find traders to sell their
produce. Most of these respondents stated COVID-19 as the main reason for these
problems.
Disruptions in the food supply chain result directly in income
losses for producers and increased food prices, and therefore need to be kept
at a minimum under the COVID-19-induced movement restrictions.
The rising input prices raise grave concerns about the forthcoming
rice growing season.
Overall the farmers have lost cash earnings during the COVID-19
pandemic. Coupled with the higher input prices, farmers may not be able to buy
the inputs they need for rice production.
Because rice is a major staple crop for domestic consumers and an
important export product, increased input prices may cause significant problems
for Pakistan's economy.
At the same time, locust swarms were reported in the two surveyed
districts, with more severe cases observed in Balochistan and Sindh provinces
than in Punjab.
The swarms have resulted in production losses for farmers who are
already suffering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Immediate prevention and mitigation measures are required, in
addition to midterm measures to prevent a future resurgence.
https://www.urdupoint.com/en/business/33-farm-households-in-punjab-experience-loss-997375.html
Parvez Elahi
stresses increased cooperation with Belarus
August
11, 2020
LAHORE - Honorary Consul General of Belarus
Waleed Mushtaq called on Speaker Punjab Assembly Ch Parvez Elahi at his
residence on Monday. On this occasion, views were exchanged about
bilateral political situation and matters of mutual interest. During the
meeting, increasing people to people contact campaign particularly trade,
agriculture and tourism between the two countries were deliberated. Ch
Parvez Elahi said that cooperation with Belarus in trade, education, health and
agriculture sectors will have a positive impact on the economies of both the
countries. He said that pandemic of corona has adversely effected
economic situation internationally, thanks to Almighty Allah circumstances are
improving in whole Pakistan including Punjab but still the people will have to
practice SOPs. Waleed Mushtaq said that Pakistan is viewed with great regards
in Belarus, there is great demand for Pakistani rice there but difficulties are
faced due to trade restrictions. He said that during PML-Q regime, great
progress and development was witnessed in the Punjab particularly in
agriculture, education and health sectors and development works were launched
in collaboration with the UNSF.
NAB office
clash: Police round up around 50 PML-N workers
Ch Parvez Elahi said that previous
governments scrapped the development projects of PML-Q instead of carrying them
onwards, if development were not stopped then the situation would have been
different today.
Afterwards, Ch Parvez Elahi was invited to
visit Belarus. Ch Parvez Elahi also presented shield to the guest.
https://nation.com.pk/11-Aug-2020/parvez-elahi-stresses-increased-cooperation-with-belarus
Are we ready?
Chris KayeUpdated 11 Aug
2020
TEN years ago, Pakistan
suffered some of the worst floods in its history. Intense monsoon rains caused
the Indus River and its tributaries to burst their banks, submerging one-fifth
of the country from the north to the Arabian Sea, and devastating the lives of
20 million people.
The loss was immense.
Almost 2,000 people perished, and 1.6m homes were destroyed. Some 2m hectares
of rice, cotton, wheat, and other crops were washed away, along with 40 per
cent of the country’s farm livestock.
Also read: Recalling the
horror of 2010 Swat floods
The National Disaster
Management Authority (NDMA) moved swiftly, against challenging conditions.
Floodwaters cut off roads, power and telecommunications, making movement risky
and often dangerous. National and provincial governments, as well as the
military, donors and the humanitarian community were mobilised and able to act.
UN agencies — among them
OCHA, WFP, Unicef, and FAO — undertook a rapid needs assessment with NDMA
within days of the disaster. Soon after, with the help of the international
community and NGOs, a massive relief effort was mobilised with distributions of
food, shelter and life-saving medical, water and sanitation services reaching
thousands of affected communities.
Those who suffered most
were among the poorest members of society. Livelihoods were destroyed, and
hunger loomed.
What have we learned
from the 2010 flood response?
A decade on, Pakistan is
faced with another unforgiving monsoon season. However, in 2020 the risks to
potentially affected communities will be complicated by the impact of Covid-19
as well as by locust swarms already affecting areas in Sindh, Punjab and
Balochistan. A further threat is the potential of glacial lake outburst floods
from the north caused by rising average temperatures.
The question on every
mind is: ‘what will happen should this year’s monsoon be a repeat of 2010?’
Unlike 2010, foreign aid
will be in short supply. With the pandemic still progressing in many parts of
the world, travel restrictions mean getting aid to where it is needed will take
longer and with more logistical hurdles to overcome. Movement of humanitarian
responders is already problematic and restricting support to communities in
many countries including Pakistan.
Read: Pakistan’s new
plan to embrace floods
The outlook is not
entirely bleak. Much was learned from the experience of Pakistan’s floods of
2010, and not only in terms of humanitarian response. The government has
absorbed the importance of preparedness, of the value of capacity building at
provincial and district levels, and the need to reduce the risk to vulnerable
communities before disasters strike.
Much has been achieved
to integrate longer-term strategies to improve nutrition, adapt to climate
change, and improve food security, community resilience, and agricultural
practices.
The mechanics of aid
have changed too. Ten years ago, the government of Pakistan and Nadra
introduced the Watan Card — cash assistance to families hit hard by the floods,
providing each with Rs20,000 (approximately $213) to help them survive. Further
tranches were later provided with donor support to help them recover.
At that time, many
stakeholders were sceptical about using cash as an aid instead of commodities.
Over the years, this attitude has shifted. Provision of cash provides families
with options to address multiple urgent needs in addition to food. With the
growing use of biometrics and electronic banking, cash transfers are faster,
cheaper, with fewer risks and help to increase financial inclusion.
The government of
Pakistan’s Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme is clear evidence of this learning —
it has provided cash assistance to 15 million families affected by Covid-19.
Furthermore, since 2010,
Pakistan has also invested wisely in building technical capacity across all
key disciplines. Communities’ needs in terms of food, water, shelter, health
and livelihood can be met more effectively in times of crisis.
Preparedness is key. To
this end, NDMA has worked tirelessly with provincial teams to put in place
comprehensive monsoon plans which ensure the participation of government,
military, UN agencies, and the humanitarian community.
Much has also been
invested since 2010 to build capacity across all disciplines to respond to
food, shelter, health and livelihood needs. The establishment of standby
capacities — both national and international — provides the assurance that
government has the requisite capacity to scale up and be further supported on
an as-needed basis with the support of UN agencies, NGOs, and civil society.
With this year’s monsoon
rains having already devastated parts of Nepal, India and Bangladesh, there is
growing concern that Pakistan may be similarly affected. A repeat of the 2010
floods, or flooding of any similar dimensions, is a possibility that cannot be
ignored.
Over the coming weeks, a
decade of investments and preparations are likely to be put to the test — and
we are as ready as we can be.
The writer is
representative and country director in Pakistan of the UN World Food Programme.
Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2020
https://www.dawn.com/news/1573805/are-we-ready
Taking on China
SHARE ARTICLE
·
Posted: Aug 11, 2020 06:59 AM (IST)
As China is involved in a bitter
economic and power struggle with the US, it does not tolerate India’s
burgeoning strategic relations with the latter, and wants to run down New
Delhi’s national interest (editorial ‘Taking China head-on’, Aug 7). The recent
intrusions in Ladakh are symbolic of China’s long-term strategy of capturing
the DBO-Karakoram pass and help Pakistan capture the Siachen glacier for the
successful operation of its flagship CPEC project. India has boldly refused to
move back its forces. Knowing that a stubborn China will negotiate hard and
long, India should be cautious. It should counter China diplomatically,
economically and militarily. For that, we should revamp our intelligence and
border infrastructure, enhance military potential and protect against any
possible cyber attacks.
DS Kang, Hoshiarpur
Defence manufacturing
Reference to ‘MoD trims import
list, bans 101 items’ (Aug 10); this is a commendable step because the people
of India will become fully self-reliant only when the government becomes
self-sufficient. India will then move towards ‘atmanirbharta’. We used to
depend on other countries for defence equipment and machines, but now we will
manufacture it. It will help develop industrial skill, which will make India a
source of defence equipment for other nations. It will also increase employment
opportunities and save foreign exchange.
Neha, Kharar
Basmati GI tag
Refer to ‘Rice exporters oppose
MP basmati rice in GI tagging’ (Aug 8); the controversy on the legal status of
the GI tag, granted to aromatic rice varieties grown in the sub-Himalayan
region of India, Pakistan, Nepal etc is unwarranted. Basmati has been grown in
the Indo-Gangetic plains since ages. India is the largest producer and exporter
of rice in the world, with major exports to the Gulf countries accounting for
over Rs 25,000 crore annually due to the international recognition of Indian
basmati. India, as a member of the WTO, enacted the Geographical Indications of
Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999, which came into force in 2003.
In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in
a given place. In addition, the qualities, characteristics or reputation of the
product should be essentially due to the place of origin. Since the qualities
depend on the geographical place of production, there is a clear link between
the product and its original place of production. The proposed inclusion of
aromatic rice varieties grown in non-GI region (MP, etc) will legally weaken
the basmati GI status of India, which won the GI tag case in 2001 against the
US patent of Texmati aromatic rice obtained by RiceTec company at the
international level.
Virender Singh Lather, Karnal
Murder charge apt
Apropos of ‘Slap murder charge on
accused, says CM’ (Aug 6), many innocent lives were lost due to the consumption
of illicit liquor in the state. This clearly points towards the mentality of
the violators behind this serious crime. They have no fear of law and couldn’t
care less about the repercussions on human lives for their own selfish motive.
The CM has announced stringent steps, including booking the accused under
Section 302 (murder charge) under the IPC. At least there is a ray of hope for
the family of the victims who are waiting for justice.
Harpreet Sandhu, Ludhiana
Illicit liquor trade
‘Desi tharra’ is a household word
in Punjab. Illicit liquor is available in every nook and corner of the state.
And the recent tragic death of a hundred people reveals that the administration
has been caught on the wrong foot (‘Punjab govt in the dock’, Aug 3). Drug
trade and booze are the biggest money spinners in Punjab. The police and
bigwigs in the administration provide protection, and, in turn, get a share in
the booty. Nothing can happen without the power cover. That is why both
products are readily available. The government is a little worried about the
widows and orphans who are left to fend for themselves after such hooch
tragedies. If our government is sincere and dedicated, there is no reason why
the illicit liquor trade can’t be rooted out in Punjab.
KARNAIL SINGH, Kharar
Heritage Street an eyesore
Refer to the deplorable condition
of the inundated Heritage Street of Amritsar. This is a routine affair after a
rainfall of just half an hour. This Rs 250-crore project, instead of providing
a soothing effect, has become an eyesore for the people. Under the smart city
scheme, a free Wi-Fi project is in the pipeline in this area. What is the use
of having free Wi-Fi in an area where people can’t even walk easily? The same
IAS officer is occupying the post of the MC Commissioner and CEO of the smart
city project.
Naresh Johar, Amritsar
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/letters/taking-on-china-124960
Fielding some tough questions from the
Mekong Delta’s field crab
y Nguyen Trong Binh August 11, 2020 |
06:48 am GMT+7
Field crabs! I got excited thinking about
them as I made plans for a homecoming trip to the Mekong Delta.
"There would be nothing better
than a soup of field crabs cooked with katuk and luffa in this rainy
season," I told my older brother on the phone when he asked what I would
like as a treat on coming home.
My brother’s reply poured cold
water on my excitement. "Field crabs are super rare these days," he
said, with no hint that he would find some for the soup that I craved.
I call Vinh Long Province in the
Mekong Delta home.
The day I arrived home last month,
my brother had just got back from a "conference" at Thao’s place. She
is a fertilizer and pesticide dealer who provides these products to all farmers
in the hamlet.
Based on what my brother described,
that gathering was called a "conference" just to make it sound
significant. In fact, this is an event organized periodically after each rice
crop for plant protection drug companies to send staff over and meet with
farmers at Thao’s.
At the "conference," the
staff advertised their company's products and each farmer attending it was
given a T-shirt with the name and logo of the company printed on it. The
farmers were also invited to stay for lunch, which was said to "express
gratitude to farmers."
All this was happening at the
expense of field crabs, though.
Once abundant, now a rarity
Field crabs were a significant part
of my childhood.
I can never forget the summer
afternoons when kids in the neighborhood, yours truly included, went to the
rice field to pick crabs, a treat that nature gave us during the rainy season,
which normally lasts from May to November in southern Vietnam. There were so
many crabs those days, especially after the rain.
Whenever their holes filled with
rainwater, the crabs would crawl out all over the field. All we had to do was
pick them up and put them into our baskets. There was no skill or technique
required. The crabs were easy pickings.
My mother used the crabs to make so
many signature dishes, including crab soup and crab noodles. The field crabs
were so abundant that some farming households even fed them to their ducks.
But in less than 20 years, the
field crabs have become a rare specialty, so rare that my brother said it is
prioritized for kids. Packed crabs sold in supermarkets these days are mostly
farmed ones, and their meat is not so tight and sweet.
In 2017, the World Bank released a
report named "an overview of agricultural pollution in Vietnam,"
saying many rice fields in the region have become dead land, with no indigenous
species like snails, frogs, fish or rats to be found.
Why not?
The answer is both simple and
complicated. Overkill with overuse of chemicals. The harder part of the answer
is why this abuse takes place unchecked.
I can’t help but wonder: For
decades, Vietnam has spared no effort to become one of the biggest rice
exporters in the world and continued working hard to maintain that position.
All this for what? So that the entire ecosystem of the Mekong Delta, which has
fed the country for centuries, be laid waste?
And the most important point is
that while the country is a major rice seller on the global market, poverty
continues to stalk and haunt its farmers.
For more than 20 years, the policy
of growing three instead of two rice crops a year to increase production for export
has taxed the land constantly and given it no break – a highly unsustainable
burden that has left it exhausted.
To make matters much worse, to save
their crops and extract even more yield from the land, millions of farmers have
sprayed plenty of chemicals all over their fields and irrigation canals. There
has been no oversight on the use of chemicals, many of which contain substances
proven harmful to the land and human beings. The result of this is that it is
not just the field crab of my childhood, but many other species have
disappeared in turns from the Mekong Delta’s ecosystem.
|
|
|
Porters pack ice for delivery
in Long My District of Hau Giang Province in the Mekong Delta, March 2020.
Photo by VnExpress/Nguyet Nhi.
|
My brother said after each harvest,
plant protection firms would send staff to each hamlet and commune to organize
"conferences."
These conferences are familiar to
anyone who works on farms in the Mekong Delta and probably all over the
country. This is just a way to advertise and promote the use of more and more
products by exclusive distributors in the area, like Thao.
It is not that we don’t know this
is a problem. For a long time, scientists have pointed out what will happen
when plant protection drugs are abused, on the ecology and on human health.
But, on major e-commerce sites or
on the social media, dealers are still publicly promoting and selling
fertilizers and pesticides with paraquat or glyphosate in their formulas. These
are banned substances.
Farmers memorize those products, originating
from China, by the colors of their labels or their prices and not by their
components or names. They spread the news around, advising others to use this
drug and that drug to kill insects and weeds. There is no constraint –
sanctions imposed on using banned substances in agriculture so far can be
counted on the fingers of one hand.
In 2015, a study on environmental
pollution caused by residues of plant protection chemicals, conducted by the
Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA), an advisory body under the Ministry
of Natural Resources and Environment, found 1,562 residue hotspots.
Even by the ministry’s official
thresholds of chemical use, the whole country teemed with polluted spots with
"a high level of risk, seriously affecting the ecological environment and
public health."
Those living in the delta are used
to hearing advice that goes: "Don’t buy, don’t eat these fruits."
They know that some agricultural produce being sold in the market have been
sprayed with chemicals when they are still on the trees or plants or dipped
into chemicals after they were harvested.
A friend of mine, who owns a durian
farm, told me honestly that her family only eats the fruit from the one tree
they have left free of chemicals.
What’s your priority?
Following the latest session of the
National Assembly in June, I saw deputies making proposals on laws on
transgender, criticism and self-criticism, and setting up a Ministry of Youth.
It sounds like our legislators are getting increasingly progressive and aware
of such social issues. Good. But are these the core issues that are so urgent
for the nation?
Don’t our legislators and members
of the executive ever wonder, ponder and discuss fundamental paradoxes in the
country’s agriculture industry?
Why are farmers still poor despite
all the rice and other agricultural and aquacultural exports that we proudly
boast about each year? The most fertile land in the country, the Mekong Delta,
the nation’s rice granary, is dying. We are killing it. Does this not merit
serious, urgent discussion in the parliament? Is sustainable food security for
the country not an important issue? We seem to be afraid of asking critical
questions about the sustainability of an export-led growth strategy that is
actually destroying our most precious resources.
If we cannot even discuss these
issues seriously, how can we identify effective solutions? The very least that
we should be doing in current circumstances is reviewing and making adjustments
to existing regulations on land, environment and agriculture in particular,
making them more coherent and consistent to tackle environment pollution and
degradation.
If the situation is drastic, and it
is, what is stopping us from fighting more aggressively against behavior that
harms the environment?
When will it be an appropriate time
to ask even basic questions like: Is it truly necessary to have three rice
crops these days? What behaviors can be identified as going against nature's
law and damaging the ecosystem? How can we limit or even stop the production
and use of plant protection products that have become an environmental and
public health hazard?
We have been paying mere lip
service to "sustainable development" for a long time now, while
continuing actions and behavior that drastically undermine sustainability.
The field crab in the Mekong Delta
is asking us questions we can only ignore at our peril.
*Nguyen Trong Binh is a lecturer at the Mekong University in Vinh
Long Province. The opinions expressed are his own.
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/perspectives/fielding-some-tough-questions-from-the-mekong-delta-s-field-crab-4136294
PHilMech sets bidding for P10-B
farm equipment
August 10, 2020, 9:00 PM
by Madelaine B. Miraflor
Philippine Center for Postharvest
Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) is hurrying to finish the auction for
P10-billion worth of farm equipment by the end of this year in fear of falling
short anew in spending its annual Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF)
allocation.
PHilMech Executive Director Baldwin Jallorina Jr. said in a virtual media
briefing that the agency is now in the process of distributing P2 billion worth
of farm equipment under RCEF, while the auction and awarding is still on-going
for another P5.5 billion worth of machineries.
But because the agency actually has P10-billion worth of RCEF money to spend
this year, Jallorina hopes to be able to bid out another P2.5 billion worth of
farm machinery before the year ends.
One of the requirements of Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), which allowed
unlimited rice importation in the country, is for the government to help
Filipino rice farmers become competitive by giving them access to free seeds
and modern farm equipment to be funded by RCEF, the collection of tariffs from
rice imports.
RCEF is supposed to be injected with P10 billion annually from 2019 to 2024. Of
this, only P5 billion is allotted to mechanization but because PhilMech wasn’t
able to spend its last year’s RCEF allocation, PhilMech has now P10 billion to
spend this year.
“PhilMech plans to conduct in the third quarter the pre-bidding and award of
contracts for another P2.5 billion worth of farm machineries scheduled to be
distributed early next year,” Jallorina told reporters.
“If we can at least award the contracts so we don’t have to return the money
the better,” he added.
Jallorina may be referring to the provision of General Appropriations Act (GAA)
where unspent funds should be returned to the government’s “General Fund”
towards the end of the year.
However, the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of RTL specified that the
utilized RCEF money, not like a regular budget allocation, shall not revert to
the General Fund but shall continue to be used for the purpose for which it was
set aside.
Meanwhile, Jallorina said Philmech targets to finish the distribution of the
P7.5 billion worth of machineries under the first and second batch of bidding
the agency conducted and is currently conducting all by the end of this year.
So far, the agency has already distributed 512 pieces of farm machines in six
regions. The type of farm machines distributed so far are four-wheel tractors,
hand tractors, floating Tillers, precision seeders, walk behind transplanter,
reaper, and combine harvester.
Philmech Director for Applied Communications Division Aldrin Badua said all the
companies that participated in the bidding are local companies but a lot of
them will just be importing these machineries.
“A lot of the machinery that will be
supplied to us are locally manufactured such as the tractors, floating tillers,
rice miller, mechanical driers,” Badua said.
“There are also imported ones which
will come from Thailand, India, and China, but we can assure you that these are
good quality,” he added.
When asked how PhilMech is adjusting when it comes to the significant increase
in its annual budget, Jallorina said PhilMech had no problem absorbing
billions of RCEF money
“We don’t have a problem in terms of absorptive capacity. Now that we are
handling billions, our capacity is still enough,” Jallorina said, adding that
the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved the earlier request of
the agency to hire additional 59 personnel.
In March last year, PHilMech Deputy Director Raul Paz said while his agency is
the most appropriate agency to handle the farm mechanization program of the
government it is also a “very small agency” that is not prepared to handle
billions of funds.
He said at that time that PhilMech only
receives an average annual funding of around P200 million to P300
million.
According to him, PhilMech needs to hire
more people, get more vehicles for effective transportation, and expand its
procurement unit before it can effectively utilize its P5-billion annual RCEF
allocation.
https://mb.com.ph/2020/08/10/philmech-sets-bidding-for-p10-b-farm-equipment/
Farmer groups in NegOcc, other
provinces in WV get P48M in machinery support
BAGO. Members of Newton-Camingawan-Para Farmers Association in
Bago City, Negros Occidental receive farm machinery from Department of
Agriculture – Western Visayas recently. (Contributed Photo)
-
ERWIN P.
NICAVERA
August 10, 2020
RICE-BASED Farmer Cooperatives and Associations (FCAs) in Negros
Occidental and other provinces in Western Visayas have received the initial
batch of farm machinery amounting to P48 million through the Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) program of the Department of
Agriculture (DA).
Eight farmer groups in the province recently received eight units of
riding-type transplanter worth P1.6 million each which form part of the 20
units distributed by the agency in the region.
For FCAs in other provinces, the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development
and Mechanization (PhilMec) turned over two units to those in Aklan, also two
units each in Antique, one unit in Capiz and seven in Iloilo.
These are on top of 10 units of precision seeders distributed to cooperatives
and associations in Aklan with one, Capiz with two units, and Iloilo with seven
units.
DA-PhilMec Visayas Cluster Head Engineer Romar Areno, in a statement, said the
machines are used for rice production.
Areno said the precision seeder can plant pre-germinated seeds on a dry land
preparation while the riding-type transplanter can plant young rice seedlings
on a wetland preparation.
“Both can plant in a precise row spacing and distance between hills are
adjustable depending on the desired space between 11 to 21 centimeters,"
he added.
The RCEF farm mechanization component seeks to benefit 38 FCAs from the 37
municipalities in Western Visayas under the 2019 budget.
To avail of the interventions, FCAs applied for the DA accreditation. Members
of the eligible association should have at least 50 hectares of rice areas to
qualify.
Also, the association must have a minimum rice area of 100 hectares within the
peripheral barangays from the proposed location of the agricultural machinery
and postharvest facilities.
"It is also important that FCAs can operate the machinery and equipment we
provide," Areno said, citing that the operators underwent hands-on
training before the turnover of the equipment.
The FCAs, for their part, had provided sheds for the machinery and were
required to follow the suggested service fee.
To ensure the full utilization and sustainability of the intervention, the
PhilMech also requires FCAs to handle the project using an integrated and
systems approach of farm machinery operation and management.
DA-Western Visayas said the RCEF mechanization component seeks to increase
farmers' productivity through efficient and cost-reducing rice mechanization
interventions to eligible farmers groups.
The region has a P193.78 million allocation out of the P2 billion national
budget for the first tranche implementation of the RCEF farm mechanization
program, the agency added.
Other machinery and equipment such as the four-wheel-drive tractor, hand
tractor, floating tiller and combine harvester are yet to be turned over within
the year.
The PhilMech also has ongoing procurement for the remaining P3 billion national
budget for RCEF mechanization support.
For her part, DA-Western Visayas Regional Director Remelyn Recoter said aside
from mechanization, the program also aims to support the local rice farmers
through the provision of quality seeds, access to credit, and rice extension
service which are implemented by Philippine Rice Research Institute, Land Bank
of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines, and the
Agricultural Training Institute and Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority, respectively.
"All these interventions are geared toward boosting the local production
of rice and improving the competitiveness of rice farmers as the quantitative
restrictions on rice importation were lifted in 2019 with the passage of RA
(Republic Act) 11203 also known as the Rice Tariffication Law," she added.
(With reports from DA-Western Visayas)
/www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1866542/Bacolod/Business/Farmer-groups-in-NegOcc-other-provinces-in-WV-get-P48M-in-machinery-support
Global Rice Production to Hit New
Highs with US, India and Bangladesh Hoping for a Bumper Crop
August 11, 2020
Gayathri Arvind
The countries, India, Bangladesh and the US, have benefited
from the favourable weather conditions. Therefore, they are all in good stead
to achieve a bumper rice harvest this year.
Record US Rice Harvest Predicted
According to agricultural experts
in the country, the rice crops from Mississippi and Louisiana seems to be
looking good. Further, a rice specialist at LSU AgCenter, Mr Dustin Harrel says
that halfway through the harvest it looks like the total product will tie the
second-highest yield.
In the US, Arkansas has the highest
amount of acres under rice (1.4 million acres), followed by California with
507,000 acres. The harvest this year looks in good shape across the US. Accordingly, Bobby Golden, rice expert
from the Mississippi State University Extension Service confirmed that the crop
in the state forecast promising result.
55 Lakh Tonnes Surplus Crop in Bangladesh
Bangladesh rice Research Institute
(BRRI)
reports that Bangladesh will have surplus rice amounting to 55 Lakh tonnes by
November. BRRI Director General Md Shahjahan Kabir shared these findings in a
webinar about Bangladesh’s chances of facing a rice shortage due to the pandemic. Further, he also mentioned that
farmers were hoarding the crop in expectation of a rise in prices in the days
ahead.
But, the current amount of rice
stocks will exhaust soon. And, according to the Food Ministry, the target
of paddy procurement might not be achieved
by the end of August. However, Sadam Chandra Majumder, the Minister for Food,
assures that paddy procurement would fill the deficit. Further, he mentions
that the government has taken necessary steps to import the cereal in case of
shortage. Additionally, it’ll ensure market stability. Also, the Food Secretary
Mosammat Nasmanara Khanum agrees that is it necessary to stock up for the sake
of customers.
Bumper Rice Harvest in India, Bangladesh, and the US
Owing to Favourable Weather Conditions
Good Monsoon to Help Bumper Crop in India
India received an excess of 18%
rainfall more than usual this season supporting cultivators in achieving bumper
harvest. Further, many labourers have returned to their villages due to the
pandemic lockdown. Thus, lowering the labour wages in rural areas, and the
excess human resources are contributing a lot to agriculture. Furthermore, if good weather
continues, rice production is likely to be up by at least 20%. Thereby, it’ll
make India one of the largest exporters of rice.
Uttar Pradesh has not been doing
well on the industrial front. But, paddy farmers in the state have benefited
from good rainfall. Accordingly, the districts that are collectively known as
the “rice bowl of UP” received above-average rainfall. Also, the area under the
cultivation of paddy increased; thus, farmers finished sowing 80% of the crop
before the third week of July. Further, agricultural SK Singh says that farmers
have preferred more of indigenous seeds this year. Along with this, they have
gone for fewer pesticides, and the prices are also looking better.
Trilochan Mohapatra, the
Director-General of ICAR, told the Financial Express that they were expecting a
higher output or at least the last years’ production to be levelled this year.
Because the sowing of Kharif crops increased by 19% and also supported by
favourable climatic conditions. But, a bumper production might not be good news
for the farmers. Instead, it might result in depressed prices because of the
lack of demand in the market. Further, the
announcement regarding the minimum support price is not out. Thus, we must wait
and see how the situation pans out.
In all, the favourable monsoon had
a positive impact on rice crops. The US, India, and Bangladesh are all set to
reach new highs with a bumper harvest. The effect of the bumper harvest on
market demand is yet to unfold.
https://www.grainmart.in/news/global-rice-production-to-hit-new-highs-with-us-india-and-bangladesh-hoping-for-a-bumper-crop/
LOUISIANA RICE
HARVEST REACHING HALF-WAY MARK
Mon, 08/10/2020 - 11:26am
Rice is moved from a grain cart to a trailer to be hauled to a
rice dryer. Photo by Bruce Schultz/LSU AgCenter
BRUCE SCHULTZ, LSU AGCENTER
CROWLEY — The harvest for the 2020 rice crop in south Louisiana
is nearing the halfway point, and the result is a big improvement over a string
of bad to mediocre years.
“If these yields hold out, I believe it would tie the second-highest-yielding
year, and it still has the potential to be a record if the high yields hold
out,” said LSU AgCenter rice specialist Dustin Harrell. “Regardless if the
current crop does not reach the record, it will definitely rank up there with
one of our highest-yielding years.”
The record year for growing rice in Louisiana was in 2016 with an average of
7,300 pounds an acre, which equals 45 barrels or 162 bushels. Harrell estimates
the current crop at 7,250 pounds — 44.7 barrels or 161 bushels — so far. That
compares to 6,300 pounds — 39 barrels or 140 bushels — last year.
Varieties are yielding in the mid- to upper 40 barrels (or more than 144
bushels) an acre with some hitting 50 barrels (180 bushels), he said. Hybrids
are reaching the upper 50- to low 60-barrel (216-bushel) range.
Unlike last year, when the crop was hurt by extreme weather, growing conditions
were ideal this year. “Conditions were almost perfect for growing rice,”
Harrell said.
Occasional rain interfered with the start of the harvest, but drier weather has
allowed farmers to get into the fields.
Don Groth, resident coordinator of the AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research
Station, said this year’s weather has been much more favorable for growing a
crop. “The environmental conditions are totally different than last year,” he
said.
The disease incidence is also much lower. “We’re not seeing fall and kernel
smuts that we saw last year,” he said.
Smuts are starting to show up on later-planted rice. “But nothing compared to
what we had last year,” he said.
Groth, a plant pathologist, said sheath blight and blast disease pressure has
also been light this year.
That has helped boost yields. A field of the variety CL153 at the Rice Research
Station yielded 59 barrels or 212 bushels per acre. A nearby farmer who had a
bad sheath blight problem on a field of CL153 still yielded 54 barrels an acre,
Groth said.
Jeremy Hebert, AgCenter agent in Acadia Parish, said the harvest is in full
swing in his area. “There’s a lot of rice that’s ready to come out now,” he
said.
The 2020 crop is a big improvement from 2019. “It’s a big contrast from last
year. Things actually worked out in farmers’ favor,” he said.
Unlike last year, the bad disease problems such as smuts that hurt the 2019
crop have not been a major factor this year. “They haven’t even seen it in
fields adjacent that had smut real bad last year,” Hebert said.
Jimmy Meaux, AgCenter agent in Calcasieu and Jefferson Davis parishes, said the
harvest in Calcasieu is close to half finished, and Jefferson Davis is 35% to
40% complete.
Afternoon showers have been less frequent in the past few days, allowing
farmers to make good progress. Yields in Calcasieu Parish are in the mid-40
barrels, and Jefferson Davis yields are mirroring Acadia Parish.
“The crop looks better than last year so far,” Meaux said. “Not a lot of
disease.”
In Vermilion Parish, AgCenter agent Andrew Granger said 75% of the crop is
harvested. Yields are good but not great, with most varieties producing more
than 40 barrels an acre and hybrids exceeding 50 barrels an acre.
The crop there was affected by excessive rainfall late in the season and high
nighttime temperatures, Granger said.
Conditions are good for the 30% to 35% of the parish’s acreage that will be
used to grow a second crop. The remaining acreage will be used for crawfish.
Farmers are also benefitting from a price increase over last year. “Even a
dollar a barrel more makes a huge difference,” Granger said.
Todd Fontenot, AgCenter agent in Evangeline Parish, said a little more than a
third of the acreage has been harvested there. “Just about everybody is in the
fields now,” he said.
Yields are in the mid- to upper 40 barrels with hybrids in the mid-50 barrels.
Field conditions are causing combines and tractors to rut fields badly. “Things
are pretty wet,” Fontenot said.
Evangeline Parish’s second-crop acreage will decrease because more crawfish is
being produced.
In north Louisiana, AgCenter agent Keith Collins in Richland Parish said some
early-planted fields have been drained, and harvest may begin soon.
“We will begin harvest earlier this year as we had rice planted in early to
mid-April in some areas, Collins said. “Much of our rice was planted in May.”
Collins is optimistic for the north Louisiana crop. “I think the crop looks
pretty good. I have concerns about rice that pollinated the last two weeks of
July as we had frequent rain showers and cloudy days,” he said.
https://www.gueydantoday.com/news/louisiana-rice-harvest-reaching-half-way-markWhy panic buyers are finding calm but palay farmers are not
By: Karl R. Ocampo - Reporter / @kocampoINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:04 AM August 11,
2020
Palay prices have gone down for the seventh consecutive
week as farmers struggled to compete with the influx of imported rice amid
lower demand from consumers and ebbing relief efforts.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA)
latest price monitoring report, the average farm-gate price of palay during the
second week of July went down to P18.49 a kilo after peaking at P21 a kilo in
June. This is the seventh week that prices at the farm gate registered a
decline—an unusual trend going into the lean season for palay.
The lean months between July and September signal an
arduous “waiting time” for farmers; it is the period that separates one harvest
from the next. During lean months, palay prices usually pick up given the tight
supply.
But the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the new rice
tariffication law, is also changing price trends.
At the beginning of the lockdown, the government has
aggressively imported rice amid panic buying from consumers. Demand, in recent
weeks, has normalized to prepandemic levels, however, as buyers have begun
adjusting to their consumption patterns while relief efforts have also died
down.Federation of Free Farmers national chair Raul Montemayor said the dip in
palay prices was something they were already worried about even before the lean
season began as imported rice continued to arrive.As of Aug. 7, data from the
Bureau of Plant Industry showed that about 1.49 million metric tons of rice
entered the country beginning this year, almost half of which arrived two
months before the start of the lean season in July.
The Department of Agriculture, upon the ceaseless
prodding of industry groups, said they would only be releasing the bulk of rice
imports during lean months to avoid unreasonable price spikes in the market and
needless competition between local and imported rice.
However, rice prices recorded by the PSA showed minimal
price cuts at the retail, reflecting the disconnect between farm-gate and
retail rates, often disrupted by middlemen and resellers.
The rice tariffication law is meant to bring down the
cost of producing palay to increase farmers’ profit while keeping consumers
happy with cheap rice prices. It is a balancing act that has yet to be mastered
by economic managers. INQ
https://business.inquirer.net/305034/why-panic-buyers-are-finding-calm-but-palay-farmers-are-not
Why panic buyers are finding calm but palay farmers are not
By: Karl R. Ocampo - Reporter / @kocampoINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:04 AM August 11,
2020
Palay prices have gone down for the seventh consecutive
week as farmers struggled to compete with the influx of imported rice amid lower
demand from consumers and ebbing relief efforts.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA)
latest price monitoring report, the average farm-gate price of palay during the
second week of July went down to P18.49 a kilo after peaking at P21 a kilo in
June. This is the seventh week that prices at the farm gate registered a
decline—an unusual trend going into the lean season for palay.
The lean months between July and September signal an
arduous “waiting time” for farmers; it is the period that separates one harvest
from the next. During lean months, palay prices usually pick up given the tight
supply.
But the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the new rice
tariffication law, is also changing price trends.
At the beginning of the lockdown, the government has
aggressively imported rice amid panic buying from consumers. Demand, in recent
weeks, has normalized to prepandemic levels, however, as buyers have begun
adjusting to their consumption patterns while relief efforts have also died
down.Federation of Free Farmers national chair Raul Montemayor said the dip in
palay prices was something they were already worried about even before the lean
season began as imported rice continued to arrive.As of Aug. 7, data from the
Bureau of Plant Industry showed that about 1.49 million metric tons of rice
entered the country beginning this year, almost half of which arrived two
months before the start of the lean season in July.
The Department of Agriculture, upon the ceaseless
prodding of industry groups, said they would only be releasing the bulk of rice
imports during lean months to avoid unreasonable price spikes in the market and
needless competition between local and imported rice.
However, rice prices recorded by the PSA showed minimal
price cuts at the retail, reflecting the disconnect between farm-gate and
retail rates, often disrupted by middlemen and resellers.
The rice tariffication law is meant to bring down the
cost of producing palay to increase farmers’ profit while keeping consumers
happy with cheap rice prices. It is a balancing act that has yet to be mastered
by economic managers. INQ
https://business.inquirer.net/305034/why-panic-buyers-are-finding-calm-but-palay-farmers-are-not#ixzz6UndCZuIg
PHilMech sets
bidding for P10-B farm equipment
Published August 10, 2020, 9:00 PM
by Madelaine B. Miraflor
Philippine Center for Postharvest
Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) is hurrying to finish the auction for
P10-billion worth of farm equipment by the end of this year in fear of falling
short anew in spending its annual Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF)
allocation.
PHilMech Executive Director Baldwin
Jallorina Jr. said in a virtual media briefing that the agency is now in the
process of distributing P2 billion worth of farm equipment under RCEF, while
the auction and awarding is still on-going for another P5.5 billion worth of
machineries.
But because the agency actually has
P10-billion worth of RCEF money to spend this year, Jallorina hopes to be able
to bid out another P2.5 billion worth of farm machinery before the year ends.
One of the requirements of Rice
Tariffication Law (RTL), which allowed unlimited rice importation in the
country, is for the government to help Filipino rice farmers become competitive
by giving them access to free seeds and modern farm equipment to be funded by
RCEF, the collection of tariffs from rice imports.
RCEF is supposed to be injected with P10
billion annually from 2019 to 2024. Of this, only P5 billion is allotted to
mechanization but because PhilMech wasn’t able to spend its last year’s RCEF
allocation, PhilMech has now P10 billion to spend this year.
“PhilMech plans to conduct in the third
quarter the pre-bidding and award of contracts for another P2.5 billion worth
of farm machineries scheduled to be distributed early next year,” Jallorina
told reporters.
“If we can at least award the contracts so we don’t have to return the money
the better,” he added.
Jallorina may be referring to the provision
of General Appropriations Act (GAA) where unspent funds should be returned to
the government’s “General Fund” towards the end of the year.
However, the implementing rules and
regulations (IRR) of RTL specified that the utilized RCEF money, not like a
regular budget allocation, shall not revert to the General Fund but shall
continue to be used for the purpose for which it was set aside.
Meanwhile, Jallorina said Philmech targets
to finish the distribution of the P7.5 billion worth of machineries under the
first and second batch of bidding the agency conducted and is currently
conducting all by the end of this year.
So far, the agency has already distributed
512 pieces of farm machines in six regions. The type of farm machines
distributed so far are four-wheel tractors, hand tractors, floating Tillers,
precision seeders, walk behind transplanter, reaper, and combine harvester.
Philmech Director for Applied
Communications Division Aldrin Badua said all the companies that participated
in the bidding are local companies but a lot of them will just be importing
these machineries.
“A lot of the machinery that will be supplied
to us are locally manufactured such as the tractors, floating tillers, rice
miller, mechanical driers,” Badua said.
“There are also imported ones which
will come from Thailand, India, and China, but we can assure you that these are
good quality,” he added.
When asked how PhilMech is adjusting when
it comes to the significant increase in its annual budget, Jallorina said
PhilMech had no problem absorbing billions of RCEF money
“We don’t have a problem in terms of absorptive capacity. Now that we are
handling billions, our capacity is still enough,” Jallorina said, adding that
the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved the earlier request of
the agency to hire additional 59 personnel.
In March last year, PHilMech Deputy
Director Raul Paz said while his agency is the most appropriate agency to
handle the farm mechanization program of the government it is also a “very
small agency” that is not prepared to handle billions of funds.
He said at that time that PhilMech only
receives an average annual funding of around P200 million to P300
million.
According to him, PhilMech needs to hire
more people, get more vehicles for effective transportation, and expand its
procurement unit before it can effectively utilize its P5-billion annual RCEF
allocation.
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:GeyP74FVAngJ:https://mb.com.ph/2020/08/10/philmech-sets-bidding-for-p10-b-farm-equipment/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk
PHilMech sets
bidding for P10-B farm equipment
Published August 10, 2020, 9:00 PM
by Madelaine B. Miraflor
Philippine Center for Postharvest
Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) is hurrying to finish the auction for
P10-billion worth of farm equipment by the end of this year in fear of falling
short anew in spending its annual Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF)
allocation.
PHilMech Executive Director Baldwin
Jallorina Jr. said in a virtual media briefing that the agency is now in the
process of distributing P2 billion worth of farm equipment under RCEF, while
the auction and awarding is still on-going for another P5.5 billion worth of
machineries.
But because the agency actually has
P10-billion worth of RCEF money to spend this year, Jallorina hopes to be able
to bid out another P2.5 billion worth of farm machinery before the year ends.
One of the requirements of Rice
Tariffication Law (RTL), which allowed unlimited rice importation in the
country, is for the government to help Filipino rice farmers become competitive
by giving them access to free seeds and modern farm equipment to be funded by
RCEF, the collection of tariffs from rice imports.
RCEF is supposed to be injected with P10
billion annually from 2019 to 2024. Of this, only P5 billion is allotted to
mechanization but because PhilMech wasn’t able to spend its last year’s RCEF
allocation, PhilMech has now P10 billion to spend this year.
“PhilMech plans to conduct in the third
quarter the pre-bidding and award of contracts for another P2.5 billion worth
of farm machineries scheduled to be distributed early next year,” Jallorina
told reporters.
“If we can at least award the contracts so we don’t have to return the money
the better,” he added.
Jallorina may be referring to the provision
of General Appropriations Act (GAA) where unspent funds should be returned to
the government’s “General Fund” towards the end of the year.
However, the implementing rules and
regulations (IRR) of RTL specified that the utilized RCEF money, not like a
regular budget allocation, shall not revert to the General Fund but shall
continue to be used for the purpose for which it was set aside.
Meanwhile, Jallorina said Philmech targets
to finish the distribution of the P7.5 billion worth of machineries under the
first and second batch of bidding the agency conducted and is currently
conducting all by the end of this year.
So far, the agency has already distributed
512 pieces of farm machines in six regions. The type of farm machines
distributed so far are four-wheel tractors, hand tractors, floating Tillers,
precision seeders, walk behind transplanter, reaper, and combine harvester.
Philmech Director for Applied
Communications Division Aldrin Badua said all the companies that participated
in the bidding are local companies but a lot of them will just be importing
these machineries.
“A lot of the machinery that will be
supplied to us are locally manufactured such as the tractors, floating tillers,
rice miller, mechanical driers,” Badua said.
“There are also imported ones which
will come from Thailand, India, and China, but we can assure you that these are
good quality,” he added.
When asked how PhilMech is adjusting when
it comes to the significant increase in its annual budget, Jallorina said
PhilMech had no problem absorbing billions of RCEF money
“We don’t have a problem in terms of absorptive capacity. Now that we are
handling billions, our capacity is still enough,” Jallorina said, adding that
the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved the earlier request of
the agency to hire additional 59 personnel.
In March last year, PHilMech Deputy
Director Raul Paz said while his agency is the most appropriate agency to
handle the farm mechanization program of the government it is also a “very
small agency” that is not prepared to handle billions of funds.
He said at that time that PhilMech only
receives an average annual funding of around P200 million to P300
million.
According to him, PhilMech needs to hire
more people, get more vehicles for effective transportation, and expand its
procurement unit before it can effectively utilize its P5-billion annual RCEF
allocation.
https://mb.com.ph/2020/08/10/philmech-sets-bidding-for-p10-b-farm-equipment/
Study finds N95 respirator masks can be decontaminated
using a rice cooker or Instant Pot
Shane McGlaun - Aug
10, 2020, 7:49 am CDT
A new study from the University
of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, has looked at a new method of sanitizing N95
respirator masks using common home appliances. The study found that placing an
N95 respirator into a cooker, such as a rice cooker or Instant Pot, that
produces dry heat for 50 minutes, will decontaminate the masks inside and out.
At the same time, the sanitation method also preserves the filtration and fit
of the masks.
The researchers say that this
sanitation method could enable wearers to safely reuse limited supplies of the
respirators that were originally meant to be one-time use items. N95 masks are
highly prized during the coronavirus pandemic. Not only can it protect others
from droplets, the wearer might expel but also protect the wearer by filtering
out smaller particles that might carry the virus.
These respirators have been in
very short supply since the pandemic started. The researchers say that there
are many different ways to sterilize something but most methods destroy the
filtration or fit of the N95 respirator. The team had hypothesized the dry heat
might be a method that could decontaminate the masks while maintaining the
filtration and fit without requiring special preparation or leaving a chemical
residue.
Researchers also had a goal of
finding a method that was widely accessible to people at home. Researchers
verified that with one cycle of their test model’s rice-cooking preset
sanitized the mask. The setting maintains the cooker’s contents at around
100-degrees Celsius was able to decontaminate the mask over 50 minutes inside
and out. The Sanitation method is effective on four different virus classes,
including the coronavirus, and was found to be more effective than ultraviolet
light.
After sanitation, the team tested
the respirators and found they maintain the filtration capacity of more than
95% and kept their fit. The masks were able to perform appropriately after 20
cycles of decontamination in the electric cooker.
https://www.slashgear.com/study-finds-n95-respirator-masks-can-be-decontaminated-using-a-rice-cooker-or-instant-pot-10632710/
The Acclaimed Soba Maker Who Champions Home Cooking
Working out of her California kitchen,
Sonoko Sakai pays homage to Japanese culinary traditions through recipes, food
activism and intimate classes.
Sonoko
Sakai in the “soba room” of her studio in Highland Park, Los Angeles.Credit...Philip
Cheung; Assistant: Kali Vineburg
By Mimi Vu
·
Aug. 10, 2020
Wandering among the artisanal shops of
Kamakura, Japan, with her grandmother, a young Sonoko Sakai used to watch with
fascination as tofu makers, tea roasters and rice millers crafted their
products by hand. There was a fishmonger who delicately sliced and dried his
fish on wire mesh screens, and a senbei (rice cracker) maker who sat on a
tatami mat turning over each crisp, aromatic disc with chopsticks above a
charcoal grill.
As the
Queens-born daughter of an executive with Japan Airlines, Sakai, now a cookbook
author, teacher and food activist, also spent plenty of time familiarizing
herself with other traditions and other tastes. She grew up between Japan, the
U.S. and Mexico, and during the years the family was in America, her mother
would gamely devise meals using Japanese staples — miso, dried bonito, kombu —
and frozen supermarket foods. (One of her specialties was a lasagna served with
rice, and sometimes a little soy sauce.) “Traveling the world allowed us to
dream and imagine,” said Sakai, “but I knew Japan would always be waiting for
us.”
T
PRESENTS: 15 CREATIVE WOMEN FOR OUR TIME |
Flour sifters, bannetons,
serving baskets and strainers in the soba room.Credit...Philip
Cheung
Glasses of umeshu, or plum
wine, a liqueur made by steeping green ume fruits in shochu (a grain liquor)
and rock sugar.Credit...Philip
Cheung
As
Sakai, now 65, wrote in her 2019 cookbook, “Japanese Home Cooking,”
it’s her grandmother’s dedication to classicism, along with her mother’s
fearless improvisation, that most inspires her work today as an educator,
noodle maker and advocate of modern, craft-based home cooking. “Nurturing
ourselves and our families through good food really starts there,” she said.
For the past 10 years, she has taught classes in everything from umeboshi
pickling and miso fermentation to curry-brick making from the
culinary laboratory — brimming with flour sacks, fermentation vats and spice
jars — that takes up most of her 1920s Spanish-style home in Highland Park, Los
Angeles. She’s also conducted workshops at cooking schools across the States
and created soba pop-ups and events at buzzed-about California restaurants such
as Bar Tartine, MTN, Tsubaki, Porridge + Puffs and N/Naka.
Still,
her career in food came about almost by accident. For two decades, Sakai worked
as a film producer and international film buyer, while nurturing her culinary
interests on the side. (She occasionally wrote about Japanese cooking for the
Los Angeles Times, and published her first cookbook in 1986.) But in 2008,
burned out and dispirited by the critical reception of a film she produced, she
quit the business and, on a lark, took a noodle-making class in Japan. She
immediately fell in love with the craft. Over the next few years, she continued
learning from masters in Tokyo, including the famed soba shokunin (or
artisan) Takashi Hosokawa and the buckwheat miller Yoshitomo Arakawa, who is
known for his incomparably flavorful sobakoh (buckwheat flour). Back home in
Los Angeles, Sakai soon began teaching Japanese cooking herself. Her reputation
grew by word of mouth, and she became renowned in her own right as a maker of
some of the most sublime soba in the country.
Video
Clockwise from top left: Soba in a chilled
dashi broth garnished with thinly sliced young Meyer lemons and Mexican limes
from Sakai’s garden. A salad of tomatoes and red shiso leaf and a green salad with
squash and cucumber. Zaru soba (or cold soba) with an accompanying dipping
sauce.CreditCredit...By
Philip Cheung
While
she still humbly refers to herself as “just a home cook,” the
scope of her vision is broad. When she first began to make noodles, in 2009,
she found commercially available buckwheat flours in America to be so dry and
bland that she started seeking out higher-quality sources — and ended up
befriending experts in heritage grains, including Glenn Roberts, the founder of
the famed Anson Mills in South Carolina (who later
introduced her to Stephen Jones, the director of the Bread Lab, a grain-breeding research center at Washington
State University and another collaborator). Eight years ago, Roberts and Sakai
began encouraging Southern California farmers to revive then little-grown
varieties such as Sonora, Red Fife and einkorn wheats and Abruzzi rye. Today
the project, which Sakai calls a
heritage grain restoration movement, is thriving, stretching from Tehachapi,
Calif. (where Sakai and her husband, the artist Katsuhisa Sakai, own a ranch),
to Tennessee and Vermont. “The quality of the flour that we’re seeing, that
we’re tasting, is so amazing that it’s something I would like to support for
the rest of my life,” she said.
Editors’ Picks
Soba dough is cut into thin strands with the
help of a komaita, or cedar cutting guide.CreditCredit...By
Philip Cheung
At the
same time, she’s committed to developing her repertoire — in “Japanese Home
Cooking,” you’ll find a recipe for crispy mochi waffles
with tatsuta-style (marinated and fried) chicken and a fragrant, spicy-sweet
maple yuzu kosho (yuzu chili paste), alongside those for more classic dishes —
and sharing her sensibility and know-how via intimate exchanges. Before the
pandemic hit, one of her workshops would typically begin in her small tiered
hillside garden, where she grows a vast array of produce: deep amber-colored
persimmons, tart and astringent yuzu, ruby red Santa Rosa plums, eggplant,
zucchini, shiso leaves, mitsuba and lemongrass. Once
students have picked what they need for the class, they head inside for a tour
of the studio, which is filled with handcrafted maple-wood butcher tables and
large abstract wood sculptures made by her husband. There’s an obligatory visit
to the fermentation room, which used to double as a guest bedroom until it got
so funky that friends who stay over now opt for the living room sofa. Here, students
can sample things like miso and shio koji (koji salt). Then they
get down to work, and afterward enjoy the results of their labor, whether it’s
a bowl of chewy ramen noodles or a plate of delicate tempura.
Video
One of Sakai’s favorite rituals as a child was
harvesting ume plums from an old tree in her grandmother’s garden to make
umeboshi (pickled ume fruits) and umeshu. “I believe umeshu and umeboshi had
something to do with my grandmother’s longevity,” says Sakai. “She lived to
102. The tree was probably as old as she was.”CreditCredit...By
Philip Cheung
Now that her
live classes are temporarily on hold, Sakai has shifted online by offering
webinars and creating kits with impeccably sourced ingredients —
buckwheat flour milled by Arakawa, kombu from Yagicho Honten in Tokyo, turmeric and chiles
from Diaspora Co. — for students to use in
their own kitchens, while following along with her tutorials. And this month,
she is introducing a handcrafted curry powder, the first product in a
forthcoming pantry line. The lockdown, and the accompanying surge in interest
in home cooking, has only expanded her reach, allowing her to teach people as
far away as Hawaii and Indonesia — and to forge a wider community bolstered by
the comforting, connective power of food, something that, in this time of
crisis, feels more valuable than ever. “Every cook has an
opportunity to express themselves through food,” she said. “It is a form of
art, and it’s such a beautiful thing.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/10/t-magazine/sonoko-sakai-chef-cooking-soba.html\
Sonoko Sakai chef cooking soba
Chinese scientists find new evidence of
ancient domestication of plants
2020-08-10
14:20:45XinhuaEditor : Gu Liping
Chinese paleontologists have found
new evidence of how ancient humans domesticated wild plants, according to the
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The discovery was made at the
Yahuai Cave site, in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, where
plant remains dating back 30,000 years have been examined by researchers from
the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology under the CAS,
the Institute of Archaeology under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and
several other institutes.
Researchers at the site examined
phytoliths -- microscopic silica bodies that persist long after the plants have
decayed -- and found that ancient humans living at the site used and
domesticated different plants during different periods. These included elm
trees, bamboo, palm trees and Oryza -- a genus within the grass family that
includes rice.
The 16,000-year-old Oryza
phytoliths provided key evidence for the domestication of wild rice by ancient
humans.
The stoneware discovered at the
site showed that the region, due to its mild climate at that time, was a refuge
for people from the north seeking to survive extreme climate events.
The study was published in the
journal Science China Earth Sciences.
http://www.ecns.cn/news/2020-08-10/detail-ifzyxfhw7470212.shtml
Robbins
named executive director of the Arkansas Rice Federation
by Mark
Gregory | August 10, 2020 at 4:00 a.m.
Kelly Robbins - Submitted photo
The
Arkansas Rice Federation Board recently announced that Hot Springs native Kelly
Robbins has been selected as its new executive director.
Most
recently, Robbins served as executive director for the Arka
nsas
Petroleum Council. He has previously served as executive vice president for
three trade groups, including the Associated General Contractors of Arkansas,
Arkansas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association and the Arkansas
Forestry Association.
"It's
an honor to join a well-established team of hardworking producers, millers, and
merchants, who make our state's rice industry the finest in the land,"
Robbins said in a news release. "With their ongoing input and guidance,
Arkansas Rice will continue its successful efforts representing our important
community to the public, consumers and officials at all levels."
"Kelly's
extensive history in association management and lobbying make him a good fit to
represent our industry well," Arkansas Rice Federation Chairman David
Gairhan said in the release. "His many years of experience and skill set
make him an asset for our team."
Robbins
will oversee all trade association activities and manage contract work for the
federation. Campbell Ward will continue to conduct all marketing and public
relations activities. Campbell Ward partners include previous Arkansas Rice
Executive Director Lauren Waldrip and Becky Campbell.
The
Arkansas Rice Federation represents all aspects of the rice industry including
the Arkansas Rice Council, Arkansas Rice Farmers, Arkansas Rice Merchants and
Arkansas Rice Millers.
https://www.hotsr.com/news/2020/aug/10/robbins-named-executive-director-of-the-arkansas/
Record setting
rice crop predicted for this year
Could tie for
second biggest yield
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUGUST 09, 2020 - 5:53 AM
Getty_Images_Alekyjas
(AP) — Agriculture experts in Louisiana and
Mississippi say the rice crop is looking good. Dustin Harrell is a rice
specialist at the LSU AgCenter.
He says Louisiana is about halfway
through its harvest, and the pounds of rice per acre could at least tie the
second highest yield.
Mississippi's harvest is about to
begin. Mississippi State University Extension Service rice expert Bobby Golden
says the state's estimated 150,000 acres of rice look very good.
U.S. Agriculture Department
statistics show Louisiana planted about 430,000 acres.
Arkansas, with 1.4 million acres,
leads the nation and California is second at 507,000 acres.
Missouri farmers planted 219,000
acres, and those in Texas 184,000.
https://wwl.radio.com/articles/ap-news/record-setting-rice-crop-predicted-for-this-year
H. Rouse
Caffey Rice Research Station
·
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
·
337-788-7531
·
337-788-7553
·
1373 Caffey Road Rayne , LA
70578
Since
1908, the Rice Research Station has been conducting research and developing new
rice varieties that benefit the rice industry in Louisiana and help put rice on
the table for families around the world. Rice farmers themselves help support
the station’s efforts through a check-off fee, which creates a fund distributed
by the Louisiana Rice Research Board. The station covers about 1,000 acres near
Crowley, La., and includes more than 30 acres devoted to research on crawfish.
Some rice varieties are developed for crawfish forage for those farmers who
double-crop.
https://www.lsuagcenter.com/portals/our_offices/research_stations/rice
Rice looking good in Louisiana and Mississippi
NEWS
Posted: Aug 9, 2020 / 01:45 PM CDT / Updated: Aug 9, 2020
/ 01:45 PM CDT
CROWLEY, La. (AP) — Agriculture
experts in Louisiana and Mississippi say the rice crop is looking good.
“It’s a big contrast from last
year,” Jeremy Hebert, AgCenter agent in Acadia Parish, said in a news release
Friday from the Louisiana State University AgCenter. “Things actually worked
out in farmers’ favor.”
Louisiana is about halfway through
its harvest, and its yield — the amount per acre — could at least tie for
second-highest ever, said Dustin Harrell a rice specialist at the AgCenter.
Mississippi’s harvest is about to
begin and the state’s estimated 150,000 acres (about 60,700 hectares) of rice
look very good, said Mississippi State University Extension Service rice expert
Bobby Golden.
U.S. Agriculture Department
statistics show Louisiana planted about 430,000 acres of rice this year.
Arkansas, with 1.4 million acres, leads the nation and California is second at
507,000 acres. Missouri farmers planted 219,000 acres, and those in Texas
184,000.
“Conditions were almost perfect for
growing rice” this year — unlike last year, when bad weather left Louisiana
farmers only about 6,300 pounds of rice per acre, Harrell said in a news
release Friday.
He estimated the current crop at
7,250 pounds per acre, just 50 pounds an acre below the record set in 2016.
There also is far less disease,
said plant pathologist Don Groth.
Golden, based at the Delta Research
and Extension Center in Stoneville, said the first Mississippi farmers to plant
rice may be able to start draining their fields the second week of August.
“There is some extremely
good-looking rice out there, but it’s too early to tell where our yields will
be,” Golden said in a news release Friday.
Louisiana only planted about 5,000
more acres of rice this year than last. Mississippi State extension row-crop
economist Will Maple noted that the total was up more than 30% in Mississippi
and 15% nationally.
That likely will hurt prices, he
said.
“The national average farm price
for long-grain rice is projected down this year at $11.60 per hundredweight
from $12 last year,” Maples said.
By: Associated Press
Copyright
2020 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
https://www.brproud.com/news/rice-looking-good-in-louisiana-and-mississippi/
Rice
harvest looms, fields look good
By SPECIAL TO THE PRESS
REGISTER,
Fri,
08/07/2020 - 12:15pm
STONEVILLE,
Miss. -- Rice harvest is approaching in the Mississippi Delta, and early signs
point to good yields in 2020.
Bobby
Golden, rice specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service
and an assistant professor with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry
Experiment Station, said the condition of the state’s estimated 150,000 acres
of rice looks “very good” as growers prepare to fill their combines. With 221
rice-producing farms, Mississippi was No. 5 among U.S. states in rice
production with a total value of $91 million last year.
“The
first fields that were planted may start draining as soon as the second week of
August. Outside of some of the early rice that flowered in high heat, the
majority of the state’s rice crop will flower in good heat conditions,” said
Golden, who is based at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville.
“There is some extremely good-looking rice out there, but it’s too early to
tell where our yields will be.”
Rain
chances forecasted in the Delta through mid-August are marginal, and rainfall
or high wind shouldn’t affect pollination in 2020 as it did in previous years.
Insect and disease problems this year has also been limited so far.
“We
may escape a lot of the issues we have had in the past with paraquat drift on a
portion of the crop because the soybeans are slightly behind the rice this
year,” Golden said. “I expect stink bugs will pick up in the next week. We have
not had a blast issue this year like years past, and sheath blight has been
minimal compared to normal.”
Planted
rice acreage -- about 2.9 million acres -- is up 30% over last year statewide
and 15% over 2019 nationally. Extension row-crop economist Will Maples said
this increased production will cause a stagnation in market prices.
“While
domestic rice consumption is projected to remain strong in the 2020–21
marketing year, the increase in production is limiting any upward price
movement, as we will see an increase of rice stocks,” Maples said. “The
national average farm price for long-grain rice is projected down this year at
$11.60 per hundredweight from $12 last year.”
Rice
fields in Mississippi feature a mix of conventional, hybrid and nonhybrid rice
varieties, about half of which are tolerant to imidazolinone herbicide. One
conventional variety planted in about 15% of the state’s rice fields was
developed at MSU. This variety is often referred to as Rex.
September
marks the 30th annual celebration of Mississippi Rice Month. Established in
1991 by the U.S. Congress, National Rice Month celebrates the nation’s rice
industry.
MSU
Extension and Delta Rice Promotions Inc. partner each year to host an annual
rice tasting luncheon in support of Mississippi Rice Month. This year’s
installment has been canceled due to COVID-19.
https://www.pressregister.com/front-page-slideshow/rice-harvest-looms-fields-look-good
Vietnam exports 3.9 million
tonnes of rice in seven months
VNASaturday, August 08, 2020 10:36
Vietnam
exported 3.9 million tonnes of rice, earning US$1.9 billion, in the first seven
months of this year, according to the Department of Agro Processing and Market
Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Export volume fell 1.4 percent but increased by 10.9 percent in
value over the same period last year.
The department also said that in the first half of this year,
the Philippines ranked first in Vietnam's rice export market with nearly 37
percent of total rice exports.
Vietnam exported 1.4 million tonnes of rice to the Philippines,
raking in US$635 million , up 13.3 percent and 30.5 percent, respectively, over
the same period last year.
Other markets with strong growth in rice exports included
Senegal (up 19.6 times), Indonesia (2.8 times) and China (nearly 90 percent).
Vietnam’s average rice export price in the first six months hit
$487.6 per tonne, 13 percent higher than the same period in 2019.
https://sggpnews.org.vn/business/vietnam-exports-39-million-tonnes-of-rice-in-seven-months-87901.html
Vietnam sees hike in rice exports to Africa
In
2019, Vietnam exports rice to 35 out of 55 African countries. (Photo: VNA)
NDO – Vietnam’s exports of rice to the African
market increased sharply in the first half of 2020 and are expected to keep
rising over the following months and even into next year, according to
Vietnamese Trade Counsellor to Algeria Hoang Duc Nhuan, who is also in charge
of trade affairs in Mali, Niger, Senegal and Gambia.
In 2019, Vietnam exported rice to 35 out of 55
African countries, with a combined turnover of approximately US$630 million, of
which the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal, Mozambique, Cameroon, Gabon, Tanzania
and Egypt were among the major importers.
For the markets covered by the Vietnamese trade
mission in Algeria, the revenue from Senegal was US$32.6 million, while the
value was US$6.3 million for the Algerian market.
This year, the outbreak of locust swarms and
the COVID-19 pandemic, together with high population growth and competitive
rice prices in the international market, have caused governments and people of
African nations to increase their storage of foods and foodstuffs, including
rice.
According to the US Department of Agriculture,
Africa’s rice demand in 2020 is estimated at 15.7 million tonnes, with Senegal
expecting to import 1.25 million tonnes, up 13.6% year-on-year, and Mali aiming
to buy 350,000 tonnes, up 16.6%. It is forecast that the region’s rice imports
will continue to rise next year.
In the first six months of 2020, Vietnam
exported 41,149 tonnes of rice to Senegal, raking in US$14.58 million, a
28.5-fold increase in volume and a 19.5-fold rise in value over the same period
last year.
Performing the assigned functions and tasks,
the Vietnamese trade mission in Algeria has been monitoring changes in trade
policies and updating the demand for rice imports and relevant regulations in
the countries that it is in charge, especially regarding the aspect of payment
in the context of COVID-19, in order to promptly provide information on the Ministry
of Industry and Trade (MOIT)’s website, as well as to introduce Vietnamese
companies to the business opportunities and the list of rice importers in the
African nations.
So far this year, the Asia-Africa Market
Department under the MOIT has coordinated with Vietnam’s regional trade
missions to organise virtual seminars to advertise the potential of the
African-Middle East market, attracting the participation of hundreds of
Vietnamese enterprises.
Since mid-July, African countries, including
Mali, Niger and Senegal, have reopened their land and air borders after
bringing the pandemic under control. These are the positive signals that help
these nations to restore trade and investment exchanges with foreign partners,
including Vietnam.
https://vietreader.com/business/10328-vietnam-sees-hike-in-rice-exports-to-africa.html
Opportunities
for Vietnamese rice
VietReader
Large-scale
rice field in the Mekong Delta. (Photo: SGGP)
In early August this year, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA)
officially took effect. This is a door that opens up many opportunities for
Vietnamese enterprises to export to the EU market. Accordingly, Vietnam’s rice
products will be exempt from export tariffs to the EU, of which, 80,000 tons of
rice will enjoy tax incentives. In the Mekong Delta, Trung An Company in Can
Tho City is one of the exporters in the fragrant and high-quality rice segment
to fastidious markets.
The
EVFTA is a rare opportunity for Vietnamese rice exporters. In the past many
years, the company has associated with farmers to cultivate around 7,000
hectares of rice or around 150,000 tons of rice under safe procedures, meeting
choosy markets, said Mr. Pham Thai Binh, Director of Trung An Company.
This
year, the company will strive to reach an export of 80,000 tons of high-quality
fragrant rice. The current export price of fragrant rice of Trung An is the
dream of many enterprises when reaching an average price of US$700-$900 per
ton, of which, the price of rice exported to Germany, France, Switzerland, and
the US is the highest, up to $1,500 per ton.
Currently,
the paddy prices in the Mekong Delta are stable at a high level, with regular
paddy fetching over VND5,000 per kilogram and high-quality paddy over VND6,000
per kilogram. However, the price of rice in the country has increased sharply
in recent weeks because traders are hoarding their goods. In the first seven
months of this year, Vietnam exported nearly 3.9 million tons of rice, worth
$1.9 billion, up 10.9 percent in value over the same period last year. It is
forecasted that Vietnam will outdo Thailand to rise to the position of the top
rice exporter in the world right in this year.
According
to Mr. Pham Thai Binh, Trung An Company is making every effort to implement the
rice production chain following advanced food safety procedures to meet the
demand from demanding markets. The company does not need preferential policies,
but only needs a mechanism for enterprises to access bank loans and expand the
production scale from 7,000 hectares at present to about 20,000 hectares in the
next few years.
Besides
traditional markets, Vietnamese rice is having an opportunity to access more
widely the EU market when the EVFTA came into effect. However, according to
some enterprises, Vietnamese rice is rarely available in supermarkets in the
EU. Thai and Cambodian rice products are still dominant in this market.
Vietnam’s rice quality has now been improved. However, according to a rice
exporter in the Mekong Delta, the main weaknesses of Vietnamese rice are poor
brand promotion, unstable production process, and an unstable supply of
high-quality rice.
According
to Mr. Ho Quang Cua, who has the merit of breeding the ST rice varieties, since
ST25 rice won the world’s best rice award, the trend of using branded rice in
Vietnam has increased, and the possibility of exporting safe rice to the US
market has become easier. Currently, ST24 and ST25 rice varieties have had a suitable
transformation to cope with saltwater intrusion. ST24 and ST25 rice varieties
are currently the wise choices of thousands of farmers in the Ca Mau peninsula.
Mr. Truong Van Chet, a farmer in Nga Nam Town in Soc Trang Province, planted 1
hectare of ST24 rice variety under organic farming standards. Besides reducing
costs by VND2.5 million – VND3.6 million per hectare, depending on the season,
organic farming helps the soil to be improved well and the rice seeds to be
bright, firm, and full. Especially, the consumption of rice is stable as
enterprises are consuming the output after harvest.
In
the domestic market, the prices of ST25 and ST24 rice varieties are at
VND30,000 per kilogram, equivalent to over $1,300 per ton. The quality of ST24
and ST25 rice has been confirmed. This will be a turning point for the
Vietnamese rice brand to solidify itself in the world market if the raw
material areas can be built, attached to safe production processes. Mr. Ho
Quang Cua proposed that they need to build an ST fragrant rice cultivation area
in the rice-shrimp farming area of the entire Ca Mau peninsula. This will be a
famous area on the world rice production map. The basis of this is the ability
to easily export safe rice to the US and European markets. They proposed the
safe production of fragrant rice in this rice-shrimp area and the rice
production programs here, they will try to limit the use of chemicals.
Many
opportunities are opening up to Vietnamese rice, the problem is that local
authorities need to have policies to support the connection between enterprises
and farmers, creating a “well-known rice region on the world map”, like the
desire of Mr. Ho Quang Cua.
By
Cao Phong – Translated by Thanh Nha
https://vietreader.com/business/10388-opportunities-for-vietnamese-rice.html
Bac Son rice
fields turn yellow amid harvest season
Chia sẻ |
10/08/2020 21:21
GMT+7
Each year the arrival of the
ripening rice season in Bac Son Valley in Lang Son province sees the area boast
a romantic beauty with yellow being the prominent colour visitors can enjoy.
Rice fields sit within the immense
Bac Son Valley, serving to create poetic and peaceful scenery.
The site has developed into an
ideal destination used by travelers to escape from the chaos of daily modern
life.
A view of the picturesque
scenery throughout Bac Son Valley during the ripening rice season
The field appears like a yellow
carpet with the sun shining on it.
From the peak of the mountain,
tourists are able to admire panoramic views of the stunning and vast paddy
fields.
An image of Bac Son Valley
captured as the sun sets
For most guests, sunrise and
sunset can be considered the best times in which to admire the ripening paddy
fields of Bac Son.
During the evening, dusk
descends on the valley.
The sight of dawn in Bac Son
Valley offers visitors a wonderful experience. Indeed, climbing to the peak of
Na Lay mountain to witness the clouds is a memorable moment for visitors to
enjoy.
The magnificent scenery as
viewed early in the morning.
Cloud hunting is also an
unmissable experience for travelers to Bac Son district in Lang Son province to
take part in.
The homes of local ethnic Tay
people make the paddy fields appear even more charming.
A small river impresses
visitors as it meanders through a nice natural landscape.
Images of rice fields, lotus flowers,
farmers, and banyan trees are typical of a peaceful Vietnamese countryside.
Beautiful scenery throughout
Bac Son Valley remains intact.
https://vietnamnet.vn/en/travel/bac-son-rice-fields-turn-yellow-amid-harvest-season-665236.html
PHL rice inventory falls 7.8% in June
August 10, 2020 | 12:03 am
PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS
THE NATIONAL rice inventory fell
7.8% year on year to 2.40 million metric tons (MT) in June, the Philippine
Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
In its Rice and Corn stocks
inventory report, the PSA said the year-earlier inventory level was 2.60
million MT. May total 2.80 million MT.
In June, the PSA said rice stocks
held by households rose 19.8% year on year to 1.26 million MT while inventory
held by commercial warehouses fell 10.7% to 891.40 thousand MT.
Meanwhile, the National Food
Authority (NFA) inventories fell 54.9% to 248.33 thousand MT.
Compared to the previous month,
the PSA said the national rice inventory fell 14.3%, with household stocks down
17.4%, commercial warehouse holdings falling 6.8%, and NFA depositories
declining 22%.
“Of the month’s total rice
stocks, 52.4% were in the households, 37.2% were in commercial warehouses, and
10.4% in NFA depositories,” the PSA said.
Meanwhile, corn stocks in June
rose 5.3% year on year to 905.52 thousand MT.
Corn stocks held by households
rose 20% to 96 thousand MT while the inventories of commercial warehouses rose
3.8% to 809.53 thousand MT.
NFA held no corn stocks for the
month.
Month on month, the country’s
corn stocks in households fell 38.9% while holdings of commercial warehouses
rose 18.5%.
“About 89.4% of this month’s
inventory were in commercial warehouses and the remaining 10.6% were in the
households,” the PSA said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
https://www.bworldonline.com/phl-rice-inventory-falls-7-8-in-june/
Japanese
Food Fair Promotion Features U.S. Rice
By Sarah Moran
HONG KONG -- Every summer, AEON Department Store
partners with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Trade Office to
host the American Food Fair, and USA Rice joined the promotion this year for
the second time.
"There were seven different U.S.-origin
rice products on display during the food fair; that's two more than last
year," said Jim Guinn, USA Rice director of Asia Promotion Programs.
"Five brands actually were featured on end-caps, prime shelf locations
that are coveted placements because of their prominent position in
stores."
AEON is a Japanese-owned supermarket chain
frequented by more affluent consumers in Hong Kong that carries household goods
and food products, everything from fresh ingredients to staple groceries, both
local and imported from around the world. AEON operates 12 stores in
neighborhoods throughout Hong Kong. 
"Although the current relationship between
the U.S. and China is strained, there's still substantial interest in U.S. food
products here," said Guinn. "Political tensions should not
negatively impact the duty-free access of the many U.S. agricultural products,
including rice, entering Hong Kong."
Rice looking good in Louisiana and Mississippi
August 10, 2020 9:51:10 AM
CROWLEY, La. -- Agriculture experts
in Louisiana and Mississippi say the rice crop is looking good.
"It's a big contrast from last
year," Jeremy Hebert, AgCenter agent in Acadia Parish, said in a news
release Friday from the Louisiana State University AgCenter. "Things
actually worked out in farmers' favor."
Louisiana is about halfway through
its harvest, and its yield -- the amount per acre -- could at least tie for
second-highest ever, said Dustin Harrell a rice specialist at the AgCenter.
Mississippi's harvest is about to
begin, and the state's estimated 150,000 acres of rice look very good, said
Mississippi State University Extension Service rice expert Bobby Golden.
U.S. Agriculture Department
statistics show Louisiana planted about 430,000 acres of rice this year.
Arkansas, with 1.4 million acres, leads the nation and California is second at
507,000 acres. Missouri farmers planted 219,000 acres, and those in Texas 184,000.
"Conditions were almost
perfect for growing rice" this year -- unlike last year, when bad weather
left Louisiana farmers only about 6,300 pounds of rice per acre, Harrell said
in a news release Friday.
He estimated the current crop at
7,250 pounds per acre, just 50 pounds an acre below the record set in 2016.
There also is far less disease,
said plant pathologist Don Groth.
Golden, based at the Delta Research
and Extension Center in Stoneville, said the first Mississippi farmers to plant
rice may be able to start draining their fields the second week of August.
"There is some extremely
good-looking rice out there, but it's too early to tell where our yields will
be," Golden said in a news release Friday.
Louisiana only planted about 5,000
more acres of rice this year than last. Mississippi State extension row-crop
economist Will Maple noted that the total was up more than 30 percent in
Mississippi and 15 percent nationally.
That likely will hurt prices, he
said.
"The national average farm price
for long-grain rice is projected down this year at $11.60 per hundredweight
from $12 last year," Maples said.
https://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=82852
How the French Make Rice
By Bill Buford
August 7, 2020
France consumes much less rice than other European
countries. Lyon, however, is a curiously baffling exception.Photograph from
Shutterstock
The starches that you might find on a plate of food in France are
many and varied, and include potatoes (there are a hundred ways of preparing
them), turnips (an ancient accompaniment to duck), and beans (essential to
wintry dishes like a cassoulet). But you rarely see rice. France grows it (in
the Camargue, in the south), and has done so since the sixteenth century. But
today almost every country in Europe eats not only more rice than the French
but much more. Lyon, however, is a curiously baffling exception. There,
rice—imported rice—is at the heart of many of the city’s otherwise very local
dishes.
Why Lyon? Rice—a grain indigenous
to China, and among humankind’s first domesticated crops—reached different
parts of Europe at different moments. It came to Spain around the tenth century
(brought by the Moors), and by the fourteenth century it had turned up in
Italy, where an early published rice recipe appears in the anonymous Venetian
cookbook “Libro per Cuoco.” Subsequently, rice arrived in France via the
country’s international trade fairs, which in Lyon were called the foires.
These started in the fifteenth century, and became the portals through which
the world’s silk, spices, food, and so on were brought to the Gauls. Many foods
were introduced through the foires. Rice happened to be the one
that the Lyonnais decided to make their own.
Their preparation is often called a
“pilaf,” and is made with onions, butter, and chicken stock. Many cultures have
their own variations on pilaf (whose name is derived from a Persian word
describing the grain cooked in broth). In Lyon, it is something like a version
of Italian risotto, except that it involves a long-grain rice (basmati or
jasmine, for example), instead of sticky, short-grain arborio. Also, unlike
risotto, a pilaf is neither stirred nor simmered on the stove top; it is cooked
in the oven, covered by a circle of parchment paper, and achieves a surprisingly
delicate puffy texture, as if it has been gently but moistly roasted.
Bill Buford makes French rice pilaf.
“It is perfect with a sauce,” the
chef Daniel Boulud told me recently. “Lyonnais
dishes always have a sauce.”
Like potatoes and gravy, I thought.
Long rice is good with sauces because of its texture. The grains are firm and
have body, and a sauce seems to cling to them more effectively than it does to,
say, a risotto preparation, which can easily tend toward mush. In Lyon, the
most iconic local dish is chicken, especially the famous breed from the
nearby town of Bresse, and, however it might be made (and the Lyonnais have
many preparations), it is always served with some kind of sauce. I lived in
Lyon for five years and never once saw a plate of chicken that was just, well,
chicken.
Boulud was born just outside the
city. “There were many Italian foods in Lyon,” he told me. In the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries, Italians were so numerous there that Florence declared
them to be members of an official colony, governed by the laws of the
northern-Italian city. The Lyonnais even briefly fell in love with
Parmigiano—they called it “fromage de Milan”—as if the
approximately two thousand cheeses made in France were insufficient. But fromage
de Milan would turn out to be a sixteenth-century fad. Not so
for rice. Boulud recalled cooking a meal recently for the chef Jacques Pépin,
another native of Lyon. “I wanted to make something that said ‘home,’ ”
Boulud said. “So I made a poulet au vinaigre”—chicken with a
vinegar sauce, a bouchon and bistro
favorite—“with plenty of rice. It took us both right back to our childhoods.”
Boulud’s pilaf is, I was pleased to
discover, a little different from the orthodox preparation. When asked, he
admitted that he uses shallots, not onions. “So do I!” I declared. Shallots, to
my mind, seem more French than Italian, and they have a bright, sharp
complexity that you don’t get from an onion, which can be sweet almost to the
point of seeming fruity. Boulud also admitted (whispering, as if someone nearby
might overhear) to adding a glass of white wine.
“So do I!” I said, feeling
delightfully conspiratorial. (French cooking can be so rule-governed. There is
one way, and no other, and you learn it, and you don’t deviate from it.)
Sometimes, I volunteered, I also add a splash of vinegar!
“Really?” Boulud asked.
“Is that bad?” I said.
“No, no, of course not.”
But was it? I made the rice the
other night, and my son George, ever the table’s food critic, observed that it
was “different.” He then made a face. “Vinegar, probably,” I offered. “Yes,
that’s it. I don’t like it,” he said. But, for me, the dish’s abundant fat—some
Americans call it “stick-of-butter rice”—seems to call out for some biting
acidity.
The rice is initially prepared in a
pot with a lid, but when it goes into the oven the lid is replaced by the
circular piece of parchment paper. This floats floppily on the brothy rice as
it cooks, and is essential to achieving that wonderful puffiness. If you keep
the lid on, it creates a mini oven inside the pot and dries out the rice,
whereas the paper condenses the evaporating liquid and has the effect of
rehydrating the dehydrating grain. The rice then swells with the flavors of the
cooking liquid.
Boulud revealed a couple of his
tricks. First, he pokes a small hole in the paper. (“It releases some of the steam.”)
Second, he butters the parchment’s underside. The butter then slowly melts
during the cooking. The rice is not just rehydrated; it is enriched unctuously.
“Genius,” I said. Who else butters
their paper?
When the preparation is almost
ready, you remove the parchment, fluff the kernels gently with a fork (you want
to separate, not break, them), and add a little more butter, which not only
melts instantly in the still-hot rice but also seems to diffuse throughout it.
You don’t need to stir.
Lyonnais Rice
Pilaf
Serves 4–6
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups long-grain rice, such as basmati
or jasmine
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 2 shallots, or 1 medium onion finely diced
- 2–4 Tbsp. white-wine vinegar (optional,
and according to taste)
- 3–4 oz. white wine
- 3 oz. butter
- Salt
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring chicken stock to a boil and keep warm.
3. Prepare parchment paper: trace a
circle around the rim of the lid of a medium-sized pot, then cut. (Or you can
try the arts-and-crafts folding trick beloved
by show-offy pastry chefs.) Butter one side.
4. Heat a medium-sized pot over a
medium flame. Add an ounce of the butter. Once it melts, add shallot, reduce
heat to low, and cook for a minute or two, stirring continuously. The objective
is to soften the shallots, never to brown them. They should look creamy.
5. Add rice to the pot and stir. If
there is not enough butter to coat the rice (even if only just), add a little
more. Add white vinegar, if using, and slowly reduce, until almost all of the
liquid has evaporated. Then add the white wine and reduce again.
6. Add chicken stock, and salt
according to taste. Turn up the heat to high. When stock starts to boil, stir
once, then cover pot with lid and reduce heat to its lowest setting. Cook for 2
minutes.
7. Remove pot from heat. Replace
the lid with circle of parchment paper and put pot into oven.
8. After 15 minutes, taste a kernel
of rice to insure that it is cooked through—it should be tender but with a
little resistance in the bite. If needed, cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.
9. Remove pot from oven, and fluff
up rice gently with a fork, to insure that it is not too compressed. Add
butter. Leave to cool with parchment paper on top.
Serve with chicken.
Bill Buford, a former fiction editor at The New
Yorker, is the author of “Among the Thugs,” “Heat,” and “Dirt.”
RecipesCookingRiceFrance
Béarnaise, the
French Sauce That Makes Ordinary Food Spectacular
With its vivid acidity, sauce béarnaise—made of a vinegar
infusion, egg yolks, and clarified butter—is at the heart of the French
kitchen.
Video
The Secret to Rice
Pilaf is in Your Kitchen Drawer
With the help of his twin sons, Bill Buford demonstrates how using
parchment paper will allow you to perfect a Lyonnaise staple.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/kitchen-notes/how-the-french-make-rice
NFA rice
inventory stands at only 7 million bags
Louise
Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star
) - August 10,
2020 - 12:00am
MANILA,
Philippines — The current rice inventory of the National Food Authority (NFA)
stands at only seven million bags due to huge demand from local governments
units and relief agencies amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Despite
the thin inventory, NFA administrator Judy Dansal said there is no reason to
worry even as the lean season has already started.
“Our
current buffer stock, which if NFA will feed the 109 million Filipinos daily
will only last for seven days. But, that is not the situation,” Dansal told The
STAR.
“We
only share a maximum of five percent market participation and this time, only
two percent of the 33,000 metric tons daily consumption requirement,” she said.
The
private sector holds the bulk of the country’s inventory, especially since the
Philippines opened its door to more imports last year.
Even
Agriculture Secretary William Dar emphasized that there is enough rice
inventory this month and thereafter.
“No
cause for alarm. We have enough rice supply in the country today,” Dar said in
a separate exchange.
Dansal
explained that the low inventory of NFA was caused by the unusual behavior of
local government units, relief agencies, and even legislators when the
government imposed the community quarantine on March 16.
NFA
has so far sold more than five million bags since the quarantine began.
“Another
reason is the declaration of stoppage of export by Thailand and Vietnam, and
the high price of imported rice from exporting countries which resulted in a
decline of importation by the private sector,” Dansal said.
“As
a consequence, private traders bought unhusked rice or palay from the domestic
produce at a price higher than the government’s palay support price of P19 per
kilogram,” she said.
Under
the Rice Tariffication Law, NFA was stripped of its import powers and was
limited to buffer stocking through local procurement.
“We
are not in a bad situation. We continue to procure stocks now, it is not in big
volumes yet because the main harvest will start by September or three weeks
from now,” Dansal said.
Further,
NFA sales to LGUs and other government relief agencies have been reduced from
10 percent to two percent.
“Our
stocks are now being pre-positioned to our warehouses in the different parts of
the country and are sufficient to address any forthcoming emergency or
calamity,” Dansal said.
Despite
the assurance from the government, some groups said this is still alarming as
the next big harvest is still in October.
The
Nagkakaisang Grupo Laban sa RTL said that it pays to be prepared, especially
with the pandemic still hovering in the picture.
“Since
we are not out of the woods yet in this COVID-19, plus the threat of disasters
is highest during this semester, our past experiences should have already given
us enough lessons more or less on the definition of what a ‘sufficient
buffer-stocks’ should be during rainy days,” the group said.
www.philstar.com/business/2020/08/10/2034067/nfa-rice-inventory-stands-only-7-million-bags
Come November, there will be more
than 55 lakh tonnes of surplus rice
12:00 AM, August 10, 2020 / LAST
MODIFIED: 02:01 AM, August 10, 2020
Still food ministry taking preparations to import grains to build
up stock
Star
Business Report
Bangladesh will have more than 55
lakh tonnes of surplus rice after meeting the domestic demand at the end of
November, according to a study by the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI)
unveiled yesterday.
The state agency sees no shortage
of rice in the near future as aus harvest is ongoing and aman will hit the
market in November-December. As the production of rice has increased, the country
had two crore tonnes of rice in stock until June, the BRRI said.
The findings were shared by BRRI
Director General Md Shahjahan Kabir at a webinar on whether Bangladesh was
going to face any rice shortage in the short run amid the pandemic.
The BRRI said farmers have reaped
benefits of the increased prices of paddy.
A tendency is growing among farmers
to hoard paddy this year because of the fear of food shortages and expectations
of higher prices in the days ahead, Kabir said.
The BRRI expects that aus rice
production would not be less than 30 lakh tonnes though floods have damaged
crops on 30,000 hectares.
The findings come at the time when
the food ministry is preparing to import the staple to keep the public stock
intact.
The present stock of 12.5 lakh
tonnes of rice and wheat is set to exhaust by December owing to the
government's food distribution and other social safety net programmes.
The food ministry is mulling over
importing the grain amid sluggish progress in the procurement of rice and paddy
due to a lack of interest among millers and farmers to supply the cereal to
public warehouses.
Until now, the government's food
office could meet 20 per cent of its paddy procurement target of eight lakh
tonnes and 45 per cent of its rice procurement target of 11.5 lakh tonnes. And
by the looks of things, it is assumed that the target of paddy procurement is
unlikely to be achieved within the deadline of 31 August.
So, there will be a shortage of
rice that is expected to be met through paddy procurement, said Food Minister
Sadhan Chandra Majumder at the event.
"We have taken preparations to
import to maintain an adequate stock such that the market remains stable,"
he said, adding that businesses might hike the prices of the grain if public
food stock depletes. Some traders are waiting in the wings to increase the
prices but the government will not let it happen.
"We have taken all the
preparations to stay clear of a crisis like the acute shortage of onion that
the nation endured last year," he added.
Prolonged floods damaged
transplanted aman seedlings along with a portion of standing aus crop, said
Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque.
Uncertainty about the amount of aus
production, fear centring a low yield of aman and a spike in prices have
created concerns among people, the minister said.
"We will import rice in a
small quantity if aman cultivation suffers," he said, adding that the
agriculture ministry took measures to increase the production of aman and
support flood-affected farmers so that they can grow rice and other crops.
Razzaque said an adequate stock of
food grains should be maintained to keep the market stable and ensure food
security during the times of pandemic.
"We will need to distribute
more rice under the social safety net schemes if the coronavirus situation
lingers," he said.
Shamsul Alam, member of the General
Economics Division under the planning ministry, cited the incidence of rice
price spiral after the harvest of boro paddy and raised questions about the
accuracy of production estimates.
"We should follow market
signals. We must make preparations for import if prices of rice do not
decline," he added.
The food office might be able to
purchase an additional five lakh tonnes of the grain in the rest of the period
of the procurement programme, said Food Secretary Mosammat Nazmanara Khanum.
"The requirement of food
distribution could be met until December by the present stock. We need to build
up stock for the subsequent period for the sake of consumers," she added.
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/come-november-there-will-be-more-55-lakh-tonnes-surplus-rice-1942525
Rice Prices
as on : 11-08-2020 03:29:40
PM
Arrivals
in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.
|
Arrivals
|
Price
|
|
Current
|
%
change
|
Season
cumulative
|
Modal
|
Prev.
Modal
|
Prev.Yr
%change
|
|
Rice
|
|
Manjeri(Ker)
|
290.00
|
NC
|
12180.00
|
3500
|
3500
|
NC
|
|
Sultanpur(UP)
|
200.00
|
11.11
|
8087.00
|
2400
|
2350
|
-12.73
|
|
Shahjahanpur(UP)
|
150.00
|
-21.05
|
7991.00
|
2600
|
2605
|
-0.57
|
|
Gondal(UP)
|
108.00
|
-6.9
|
8825.00
|
2400
|
2420
|
-2.04
|
|
Sindhanur(Kar)
|
100.00
|
900
|
132.00
|
2400
|
3000
|
-
|
|
Azamgarh(UP)
|
90.00
|
-5.26
|
5979.20
|
2570
|
2565
|
5.33
|
|
Barabanki(UP)
|
84.00
|
-1.18
|
1003.00
|
2435
|
2470
|
0.21
|
|
Dadri(UP)
|
80.00
|
-36
|
2370.00
|
5950
|
5950
|
-
|
|
Hardoi(UP)
|
70.00
|
16.67
|
8957.80
|
2430
|
2450
|
-2.80
|
|
Bindki(UP)
|
70.00
|
-12.5
|
6140.00
|
2500
|
2500
|
5.04
|
|
Barhaj(UP)
|
70.00
|
-30
|
10765.00
|
2580
|
2580
|
7.50
|
|
Gorakhpur(UP)
|
65.00
|
22.64
|
1404.70
|
2565
|
2550
|
-
|
|
Birbhum(WB)
|
58.00
|
-3.33
|
489.00
|
2540
|
2530
|
5.83
|
|
Manvi(Kar)
|
50.00
|
-50
|
1121.00
|
1700
|
1700
|
-
|
|
Ghaziabad(UP)
|
50.00
|
25
|
2925.00
|
2840
|
2850
|
-2.74
|
|
Maur(UP)
|
46.00
|
-22.03
|
779.00
|
2575
|
2570
|
4.89
|
|
Sehjanwa(UP)
|
45.00
|
-10
|
2723.50
|
2565
|
2560
|
18.75
|
|
Khalilabad(UP)
|
40.00
|
-20
|
2000.00
|
2550
|
2550
|
13.33
|
|
Lakhimpur(UP)
|
40.00
|
NC
|
2981.00
|
2420
|
2440
|
2.11
|
|
Saharanpur(UP)
|
37.00
|
-22.92
|
2919.50
|
2740
|
2720
|
-6.80
|
|
Aligarh(UP)
|
35.00
|
-12.5
|
4662.00
|
2540
|
2550
|
-0.39
|
|
Meerut(UP)
|
31.50
|
10.53
|
1081.50
|
2830
|
2830
|
-4.71
|
|
Shamli(UP)
|
31.00
|
-11.43
|
1429.90
|
2785
|
2775
|
0.91
|
|
Basti(UP)
|
30.00
|
-14.29
|
1862.00
|
2570
|
2570
|
5.54
|
|
Muradabad(UP)
|
30.00
|
-14.29
|
1867.00
|
2630
|
2620
|
3.14
|
|
Soharatgarh(UP)
|
30.00
|
150
|
1591.70
|
2560
|
2570
|
4.92
|
|
Asansol(WB)
|
30.00
|
-6.25
|
1309.01
|
3100
|
3100
|
9.15
|
|
Guskara(Burdwan)(WB)
|
29.00
|
11.54
|
509.00
|
2500
|
2500
|
-
|
|
Lalitpur(UP)
|
28.00
|
-12.5
|
1776.50
|
2460
|
2450
|
-8.21
|
|
Mathura(UP)
|
28.00
|
3.7
|
3223.50
|
2550
|
2550
|
-0.78
|
|
Choubepur(UP)
|
28.00
|
-27.27
|
2539.85
|
2500
|
2500
|
-6.54
|
|
Katwa(WB)
|
27.50
|
1.85
|
456.30
|
2500
|
2500
|
-
|
|
Chorichora(UP)
|
27.00
|
17.39
|
1578.50
|
2550
|
2560
|
6.92
|
|
Balrampur(UP)
|
26.00
|
36.84
|
1170.00
|
2425
|
2420
|
5.43
|
|
Pukhrayan(UP)
|
25.00
|
150
|
680.00
|
2450
|
2470
|
4.26
|
|
Shahganj(UP)
|
25.00
|
56.25
|
151.00
|
2610
|
2650
|
11.54
|
|
Mainpuri(UP)
|
24.00
|
-4
|
4224.00
|
2665
|
2610
|
1.33
|
|
Egra/contai(WB)
|
22.00
|
4.76
|
618.00
|
2600
|
2600
|
13.04
|
|
Partaval(UP)
|
21.50
|
-28.33
|
854.50
|
2550
|
2550
|
11.60
|
|
Muzzafarnagar(UP)
|
21.00
|
5
|
4664.00
|
2785
|
2780
|
-5.75
|
|
Rampur(UP)
|
21.00
|
5
|
785.50
|
2620
|
2620
|
2.34
|
|
Vilaspur(UP)
|
21.00
|
5
|
1767.20
|
2630
|
2630
|
4.78
|
|
Chintamani(Kar)
|
20.00
|
100
|
585.00
|
2500
|
2500
|
11.11
|
|
Agra(UP)
|
20.00
|
NC
|
3612.00
|
2650
|
2620
|
-0.38
|
|
Madhoganj(UP)
|
20.00
|
-42.86
|
3803.50
|
2430
|
2430
|
8.00
|
|
Durgapur(WB)
|
20.00
|
-16.67
|
1248.25
|
2860
|
2850
|
8.75
|
|
Kayamganj(UP)
|
18.00
|
20
|
2070.00
|
2500
|
2490
|
-6.02
|
|
Utraula(UP)
|
17.50
|
-2.78
|
676.70
|
2430
|
2430
|
-
|
|
Sirsaganj(UP)
|
16.50
|
-2.94
|
1246.50
|
2610
|
2600
|
-3.15
|
|
Gazipur(UP)
|
15.50
|
10.71
|
2243.00
|
3250
|
3250
|
0.62
|
|
Etawah(UP)
|
15.00
|
50
|
2672.50
|
2525
|
2535
|
-2.88
|
|
Sahiyapur(UP)
|
15.00
|
25
|
2721.00
|
2560
|
2560
|
5.57
|
|
Paliakala(UP)
|
15.00
|
-34.78
|
817.50
|
2400
|
2420
|
5.96
|
|
Bahraich(UP)
|
14.00
|
-46.15
|
1187.90
|
2400
|
2400
|
-1.23
|
|
Jangipura(UP)
|
14.00
|
27.27
|
716.00
|
2650
|
2660
|
13.25
|
|
Robertsganj(UP)
|
12.50
|
38.89
|
344.10
|
2475
|
2500
|
5.32
|
|
Bharthna(UP)
|
12.50
|
13.64
|
2404.50
|
2550
|
2550
|
-3.41
|
|
Rasda(UP)
|
12.50
|
4.17
|
592.50
|
2570
|
2575
|
1068.18
|
|
Farukhabad(UP)
|
12.00
|
9.09
|
1282.00
|
2460
|
2460
|
-7.17
|
|
Pratapgarh(UP)
|
11.00
|
-29.03
|
517.00
|
2425
|
2415
|
8.50
|
|
Raath(UP)
|
9.00
|
32.35
|
300.90
|
2350
|
2350
|
-
|
|
Jafarganj(UP)
|
9.00
|
-35.71
|
1169.00
|
2380
|
2420
|
1.28
|
|
Karvi(UP)
|
8.50
|
-15
|
696.00
|
2440
|
2430
|
3.17
|
|
Badayoun(UP)
|
8.00
|
-20
|
1120.50
|
2650
|
2625
|
5.16
|
|
Etah(UP)
|
8.00
|
-11.11
|
494.50
|
2620
|
2600
|
2.34
|
|
Unnao(UP)
|
8.00
|
2.56
|
262.40
|
2450
|
2450
|
-1.01
|
|
Devariya(UP)
|
8.00
|
6.67
|
1121.50
|
2570
|
2585
|
6.20
|
|
Ajuha(UP)
|
8.00
|
14.29
|
454.00
|
2480
|
2500
|
1.22
|
|
Banda(UP)
|
7.00
|
-6.67
|
396.50
|
2440
|
2435
|
4.27
|
|
Mohamadabad(UP)
|
7.00
|
-12.5
|
910.80
|
2470
|
2480
|
-
|
|
Mirzapur(UP)
|
6.00
|
20
|
329.50
|
2685
|
2680
|
11.18
|
|
Fatehpur(UP)
|
5.60
|
21.74
|
2334.30
|
2495
|
2500
|
6.17
|
|
Bareilly(UP)
|
5.50
|
-54.17
|
2033.00
|
2580
|
2590
|
1.98
|
|
Atarra(UP)
|
5.00
|
-16.67
|
890.50
|
2425
|
2450
|
2.75
|
|
Kasganj(UP)
|
5.00
|
-16.67
|
528.50
|
2610
|
2600
|
1.56
|
|
Mawana(UP)
|
5.00
|
-50
|
349.20
|
2800
|
2780
|
-
|
|
Raibareilly(UP)
|
5.00
|
-28.57
|
1696.50
|
2475
|
2470
|
10.00
|
|
Jhijhank(UP)
|
5.00
|
-50
|
456.50
|
2500
|
2520
|
-
|
|
Kannauj(UP)
|
4.50
|
12.5
|
480.10
|
2500
|
2520
|
-5.30
|
|
Lucknow(UP)
|
4.20
|
23.53
|
4990.30
|
2440
|
2430
|
-12.07
|
|
Jahangirabad(UP)
|
4.00
|
NC
|
280.00
|
2660
|
2640
|
-0.75
|
|
Kosikalan(UP)
|
3.60
|
20
|
267.80
|
2560
|
2540
|
1.99
|
|
Auraiya(UP)
|
3.50
|
75
|
275.10
|
2530
|
2540
|
-3.44
|
|
Fatehpur Sikri(UP)
|
3.50
|
9.38
|
164.70
|
2580
|
2590
|
0.39
|
|
Chitwadagaon(UP)
|
3.50
|
16.67
|
493.80
|
2600
|
2590
|
23.81
|
|
Tundla(UP)
|
3.50
|
NC
|
318.50
|
2630
|
2620
|
1.94
|
|
Jayas(UP)
|
3.40
|
-2.86
|
737.40
|
2300
|
2300
|
12.20
|
|
Naanpara(UP)
|
3.40
|
-15
|
697.70
|
2390
|
2390
|
1.27
|
|
Mahoba(UP)
|
3.30
|
NC
|
480.20
|
2460
|
2460
|
8.61
|
|
Chhibramau(Kannuj)(UP)
|
3.30
|
-2.94
|
634.50
|
2470
|
2460
|
-5.00
|
|
Tulsipur(UP)
|
3.00
|
50
|
109.10
|
2420
|
2420
|
-
|
|
Charra(UP)
|
2.80
|
40
|
134.50
|
2560
|
2550
|
0.39
|
|
Bishnupur(Bankura)(WB)
|
2.00
|
-4.76
|
210.10
|
2600
|
2600
|
NC
|
|
Jhansi(UP)
|
1.80
|
28.57
|
156.20
|
2470
|
2485
|
4.00
|
|
Baberu(UP)
|
1.60
|
-11.11
|
98.70
|
2430
|
2420
|
9.21
|
|
Muskara(UP)
|
1.60
|
6.67
|
90.90
|
2400
|
2400
|
2.13
|
|
Melaghar(Tri)
|
1.50
|
50
|
72.30
|
2700
|
2700
|
NC
|
|
Lalganj(UP)
|
1.50
|
50
|
283.00
|
2350
|
2350
|
-
|
|
Shikohabad(UP)
|
1.50
|
50
|
278.00
|
2610
|
2600
|
-11.53
|
|
Akbarpur(UP)
|
1.50
|
-6.25
|
419.80
|
2410
|
2410
|
-0.82
|
|
Panichowki(Kumarghat)(Tri)
|
1.40
|
-6.67
|
66.40
|
2850
|
2900
|
-
|
|
Maudaha(UP)
|
1.30
|
62.5
|
36.60
|
2355
|
2350
|
0.64
|
|
Alibagh(Mah)
|
1.00
|
NC
|
98.00
|
2200
|
2200
|
NC
|
|
Murud(Mah)
|
1.00
|
NC
|
97.00
|
2200
|
2200
|
NC
|
|
Tanda Urmur(UP)
|
1.00
|
NC
|
14.30
|
2415
|
2440
|
-
|
|
Anandnagar(UP)
|
1.00
|
-16.67
|
224.10
|
2540
|
2545
|
10.43
|
|
Bharuasumerpur(UP)
|
1.00
|
-33.33
|
35.80
|
2500
|
2500
|
28.21
|
|
Khair(UP)
|
1.00
|
-33.33
|
83.80
|
2590
|
2590
|
-0.38
|
|
Balarampur(WB)
|
1.00
|
-33.33
|
30.03
|
2600
|
2600
|
0.78
|
|
Khatra(WB)
|
0.90
|
-10
|
110.40
|
2600
|
2600
|
NC
|
|
Atrauli(UP)
|
0.70
|
16.67
|
10.50
|
2560
|
2560
|
-
|
|
Dahod(Guj)
|
0.60
|
-71.43
|
1048.00
|
4200
|
4200
|
5.00
|
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/rice-prices/article32325203.ece
Rice import decision after
reviewing situation: Minister
11:24 PM, August 09, 2020 / LAST MODIFIED: 11:27 PM, August 09, 2020
UNB,
Dhaka
Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur
Razzaque today said the government will review the overall situation, including
the flood's impact on Aush and Aman paddy, before importing rice.
"Currently, there's no fear of
food shortage in the country," he said while speaking as the chief guest
at an online seminar on "Food Security in Covid-19 Situation: Is
Bangladesh Going to Face Rice Deficit?" organised by Bangladesh Rice
Research Institute (BRRI).
Razzaque said the ongoing floods
have caused a lot of damage to Aush and Aman paddy in many areas.
"A decision to import rice
will be taken if the yield of Aman is not good and the floods are
prolonged," he said, assuring that all sorts of activities are underway in
agriculture to deal with the damage caused by the ongoing floods.
https://www.thedailystar.net/country/news/rice-import-decision-after-reviewing-situation-minister-1942389
IMD says
strength of monsoon westerlies waning
Strength of the monsoon
westerlies over the southern parts of the Arabian Sea has reduced from Sunday
and is likely to reduce further during the next five days, an India
Meteorological Department (IMD) update said on Monday. Under this scenario,
rainfall activity may reduce further over Kerala and Karnataka during this
period.
During the 24 hours ending Monday
morning, the monsoon came down heavily (rainfall in cm) over Balod-23;
Dhamtari-20; Shirali-17; Chhota Udepur, Honavar and Gondia-15 each; Agumbe-14;
Idukki, Vadodra and Baroda-12; Mount Abu, Kudulu and Cherrapunji-11each;
Mangaluru, Cannur, Jaipur, Jabalpur and North Lakhimpur-10 each; Valprai,
Karnal and Nizamabad-9 each; Anandpur Sahib, Rajgarh, Sawai Madhopur,
Hanamkonda-8 each; and Kochi and Ambikapur-7 each.
Extremely heavy rainfall observed
at isolated places over Chhattisgarh while it was heavy to very rainfall at
isolated areas over Coastal Karnataka, Vidarbha and Gujarat region and heavy at
isolated places over Rajasthan, Assam, Meghalaya, Kerala, EastMadhya Pradesh,
Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, the IMD said.
Fresh low-pressure area up
But a fresh low-pressure area
(second in the current series) has formed over the North-West Bay, crossed
coast, and moved into Chhattisgarh and later East Madhya Pradesh on Monday. The
IMD said that the low may get a move to the North-West and merge with the
larger monsoon trough lying along a North-West to South-East direction over the
next two days.
The monsoon trough was in its
near-normal position on Monday evening with the low-pressure area embedded in
it. The East-West shear zone of monsoon turbulence in the upper level passes
across Central India, having left the South Peninsula behind. The shear zone
decides the area active of monsoon play embedded rain-generating system/s
spearheading the proceedings.
Meanwhile, the IMD has said on
Monday that another low-pressure area (third in the current series) may form
over North-West Bay around August 13, with its short to medium model guidance
not ruling out a fourth one following close on its heels. Thus August is
playing true to form, when suddenly it prompts the Bay to wake up into
activity, sending monsoon to a peak.
More low’s may brew in Bay
The IMD sees reasonably
widespread to widespread rainfall with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated
places over major parts of North-West India for the next three days. The likely
swathe of affected geography includes the hills of the North-West and adjoining
plains of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and East Rajasthan,
some of which nurse a rain deficit.
Fairly widespread to widespread
rainfall with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places is also being
forecast for parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat region four days until August
14 with further enhancement of rainfall intensity likely over NorthGujarat and
South-West Madhya Pradesh on August 13 and 14, the IMD outlook said.
An extended outlook for August
15-17 says that fairly widespread to widespread rainfall/thundershowers may
lash West, Central, East and North-East India and along the northern parts of
West Coast. Isolated heavy to very heavy falls are forecast for
East-CentralIndia, The North-Eastern States, northern parts of the West Coast,
Gujarat state, Rajasthan and parts of Uttar Pradesh.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/heavy-rain-over-kerala-may-reduce-from-tuesday/article32314233.ece#
