Rice deal with
Dhaka in the offing
7 Aug 2017
Thailand is seeking to strengthen its
trade relations with Bangladesh in the hope of exporting more rice to the South
Asian country, according to Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn.
She said delegates will be in Dhaka on Aug 9-10 for the 4th
Thailand-Bangladesh Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting. They are due to meet
Bangladeshi Commerce Minister Tofial Ahmed, who is expected to raise several
trade cooperation issues."The discussion will be a good opportunity to upgrade our ties and could lead to a free-trade agreement (FTA) in the near future," said Ms Apiradi.
Bangladesh is expected to discuss a proposal to buy Thai rice, and could ask to enter a long-term contract. Bangladesh was among Asian countries that approached Thailand to buy rice recently, after their food crops were damaged by bad weather over the past few years.
It offered to buy around 200,000 tonnes of parboiled-grade Thai white rice for prompt shipment to serve strong demand at home. However, the deal has not yet be sealed since the countries are still discussing the price and delivery period.
In the short-term the countries are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on rice purchasing, covering a certain amount of rice that Bangladesh would buy from Thailand each year to secure its food security in the long run.
Other issues expected to be discussed concern further investment and cooperation covering agriculture, food-processing, fishery, construction, energy and tourism.
With a population of 160 million, Bangladesh has had annual gross domestic production (GDP) averaging 6% a year over the past 10 years.
It is Thailand's third-biggest trade partner among South Asian countries after India and Pakistan, with annual two-way trade with Thailand worth US$1 billion (33 billion baht) last year, up 10.4% from the previous year.
Thai exports to Bangladesh were worth around $940 million. Major exporting items are plastic pellets, chemical products, cement, textile, steel, tapioca products and cosmetics.
Thailand, meanwhile, imported from Bangladesh covered garments, fertiliser and livestock.
Bangladesh is not only a potential trade partner, but due to its sharing a boundary with India, is also seen as the gateway to the Middle East and African countries.
Rice basmati weakens on low demand
PTI | Aug
6, 2017, 09:12 PM IST
New Delhi, Aug 5 () Rice basmati prices slipped by Rs 200 per
quintal at the wholesale grains market today on the back of easing demand
against ample stocks position.
A few other bold grains also declined on reduced offtake by
consuming industries.
Traders said tepid demand against sufficient stocks position,
mainly led to the decline in rice basmati prices.
In the national capital, rice basmati common and Pusa- 1121 variety
slipped by Rs 200 each to Rs 6,000-6,100 and Rs 4,600-4,625 per quintal,
respectively.
Other bold grains like bajra and maize also eased to Rs
1,150-1,155 and Rs 1,290-1,300 against last close of Rs 1,190 -1,200 and Rs
1,300-1,305 per quintal, respectively.
Jowar yellow and white too finished lower at Rs 1,400- 1,450 and
Rs 2,800-2,900 from previous levels of Rs 1,450- 1,500 and Rs 2,900-3,100 per
quintal, respectively.
Following are today's quotations (in Rs per quintal):
Wheat MP (desi) Rs 2,100-2,350, Wheat dara (for mills) Rs
1,760-1,765, Chakki atta (delivery) Rs 1,765-1,770, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) Rs 260-300, Shakti Bhog (10
kg) Rs 255-290, Roller flour mill Rs 970-980 (50 kg), Maida Rs 1,010-1,020 (50
kg)and Sooji Rs 1,035-1,040 (50 kg).
Basmati rice (Lal Quila) Rs 10,700, Shri Lal Mahal Rs 11,300, Super Basmati Rice
Rs 9,800, Basmati common new Rs 6,000-6,100, Rice Pusa (1121)
Rs 4,600-4,625, Permal raw Rs 2,150-2,175, Permal wand Rs 2,200-2,225, Sela Rs
2,300-2,400 and Rice IR-8 Rs 1,825-1,850, Bajra Rs 1,150-1,155, Jowar yellow Rs
1,400-1,450, white Rs 2,800-2,900, Maize Rs 1,290-1,300, Barley Rs 1,465-1,475.
SUN KPS SRK
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/rice-basmati-weakens-on-low-demand/articleshow/59943988.cms
Rice growers
pessimistic about new varieties
August 07, 2017
RICE is the second major crop in the country whose contribution to
the gross domestic product (GDP) stands at 0.6 per cent and 3pc in the
agricultural value-added sector.Since rice is not a staple food in the country,
a large quantity of the produce is exported, fetching around $2 billion foreign
exchange each year.
Still, the commodity fails to appear on policymakers’ priority
list, at least in Punjab which produces 97pc of the fine aromatic rice.Rice
growers generally complain of high fertiliser prices, shortage of canal water,
high price of farm inputs, high rent charges of agricultural machinery, and a
lack of consultancy facilities and finance during the crop production
stage.Moreover, they also say that research institutes have failed to develop
new varieties of basmati having better yield and resistance against pest
attacks and climate change.
Rice growers are sowing the same super kernel basmati variety for
the last over two and a half decades. But the seed is now losing its
productivity and attracting more pest attacks, says Chaudhry Nisar Ahmad, the
central president of Kissan Board Pakistan.He says there is a need to introduce
new hybrid varieties that could yield more and perform better in case of pest
attacks. This, he believes, will help growers earn more and bring down the
production cost of rice. However, he doesn’t think a new variety could be
developed in the near future.
Stakeholders say the government is ready to spend huge
sums on compensations or reliefs but is not developing new seed varieties that
may help farmers stand on their own feet
His pessimism is not that misplaced as policymakers in the
province have allocated a meagre amount in the latest budget for the purpose.
Budget documents say that a sum of Rs8.74 million has been
allocated for the provision of laboratory and field equipment to the staff of
the Rice Research Institute in Kala Shah Kaku for developing hybrid basmati
rice that is resistant to bacterial leaf blight disease as well as flood and
salinity.
The project, with a total estimated cost of over Rs44m, was
approved in 2015 and was allocated Rs8.84m that year and Rs12.86m in 2016. The
completion of the project or provision of the equipment will take at least two
more years as budget documents show its throw-forward beyond June 2019 to the
tune of Rs5.66m.
Interestingly, the federal government allocated a sum of Rs20bn in
the year 2016-17 as cash support for rice growers at a rate of Rs5,000 per acre
to help them come out of the financial crunch caused by falling global prices.
Pakistan Kissan Ittehad President Khalid Mahmood Khokhar regrets
that the government is ready to spend huge sums of money on compensations or
reliefs but is not ready to allocated sufficient funds for research work to
develop new seed varieties that may increase farm yields and ensure a better
return to the growers so that they may not look towards the government for
support.
Some private parties are now trying to fill the void. A rice
exporting firm, which also runs its own farms, claims it will provide a new
basmati seed for the next crop (in 2018).
Shahzad Ahmad Malik, CEO of the Guard Agricultural Research
Services, says the firm will first introduce the open pollen variety while in
the 2019 season it will also provide hybrid variety of the rice.
He claims that the new varieties will be capable of yielding
3,200kg per acre while the length of its grain will be 8mm plus, which is in
highest demand in the international market.
India, the main competitor of Pakistani basmati rice on the world
market, has already developed 8mm-long rice grain variety.
“Currently, we are finalising formalities for the registration of
the new seed with the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council,” he adds.
An official of the agriculture department acknowledges that the
government is performing poorly in providing growers with seeds of various
crops.
He says the government is meeting 30pc of the seed needs and a
similar contribution is made by the private sector, while the rest is taken
care of by the growers themselves who save seed from the previous crop for use
in the next season.
“But the absence of an effective quality monitoring system is
causing a new problem, i.e. a lack of uniformity as the seed is not coming into
the market from a single source,” he adds
Dawn News
USA Rice in Mexico Runs Professional Culinary Gauntlet from
Student Chefs to Restaurant Suppliers
Two new culinary institutions here, Universidad Justo Sierra and Edayo, recently hosted USA Rice programs where students learned how to create and present gourmet restaurant-quality dishes using U.S.-grown rice as the main ingredient.
For the USA Rice program at Edayo a mock restaurant was created, giving the student chefs real-world restaurant industry experience. Using U.S. rice as the primary ingredient, students prepared a variety of main dishes and desserts that were then presented to a panel of judges and restaurant guests. This enabled the students to learn first-hand the value of rice as a high-yielding, adaptable ingredient.
"Gastronomy programs are popular in Mexico and several institutions are opening each year to meet the demand of aspiring chefs who want to enter the vibrant foodservice industry here," said Brian King, chairman of USA Rice and also chairman of the USA Rice Western Hemisphere Promotion Subcommittee. "USA Rice activities encourage culinary institutions to include a rice course in their curriculum to teach about rice's great versatility and inspire the next generation of chefs to think about U.S. rice when it comes to creating new restaurant menus."
To stay in touch with Mexico's professional foodservice sector, last month USA Rice exhibited for the first time at Expo Proveedores de Restaurantes (Restaurant Suppliers Trade Show) held in Monterrey, known as "The City of Business" and ranked by Fortune magazine as the best city to do business in Latin America. An estimated 8,000 visitors, including employees and owners of thousands of restaurants, industrial cafeterias, catering companies, and hotels attended the trade show to make important connections.
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Product sample selection
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"We
included several U.S. origin rice packages at our booth to highlight the
variety of rice types available in the market," said Gaby Carbajal, USA
Rice promotions director in Mexico.
Throughout the two-day show, USA Rice conducted cooking demonstrations to showcase U.S.-grown rice's great versatility and easy preparation, and showed booth visitors how to incorporate more rice in their menus as a way of providing a healthy product while at the same time increasing profits.
"USA Rice also took advantage of this opportunity to visit new culinary institutions and supermarkets in this part of the country," said Carbajal. "It was nice to see in the supermarkets here at least one of the brands using our 'Authentic American rice' logo. USA Rice developed this logo to make it easier for shoppers to find U.S. origin rice on the shelves."
Throughout the two-day show, USA Rice conducted cooking demonstrations to showcase U.S.-grown rice's great versatility and easy preparation, and showed booth visitors how to incorporate more rice in their menus as a way of providing a healthy product while at the same time increasing profits.
"USA Rice also took advantage of this opportunity to visit new culinary institutions and supermarkets in this part of the country," said Carbajal. "It was nice to see in the supermarkets here at least one of the brands using our 'Authentic American rice' logo. USA Rice developed this logo to make it easier for shoppers to find U.S. origin rice on the shelves."
Brown-rice quality, shelf life
improved with new technology
AUGUST 6, 2017
The consumption of brown rice is
becoming popular these days because of its health benefits. However, the
ordinary brown rice has a shelf life of one to two months only. But with the
newly introduced superheated steam treatment system (SSTS), it can last for
nine months without spoilage and rancid flavor.
The new technology was discussed
by Dr. Dominic S. Guevarra during the National Science and Technology Week
Technology Forum held recently at the Philippine Trade Training Center in Pasay
City.
Guevarra, senior science research
specialist of the Metals Industry Research and Development Center of the
Department of Science and Technology (DOST-MIRDC), led the project, “Design and
development of superheated steam treatment system for stabilized brown rice”,
with funding from the DOST’s Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and
Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD).
He explained the advantages of
eating brown rice and the need to improve its quality and shelf life through
SSTS. Brown rice is unpolished rice with the bran retained and only the hull
removed during milling.
The SSTS involves the use of
specialized machine and the application of superheated steam to deactivate the
enzyme and reduce or delay enzyme activity, which starts after the bran layer
of the brown rice has been exposed. MIRDC designed and developed two types of
machine: the Batch-type and the Continuous-type SSTS.
Guevarra said the project has
already obtained the optimum parameters, such as temperature, treatment time
and capacity at which both machines performed best. The physico-chemical
properties of the treated rice have already been tested and results were
satisfactory. MIRDC, in coordination with Food and Nutrition Research
Institute (FNRI), implemented the project, which was completed last year.
During the forum, FNRI’s Dr.
Rosemarie Garcia explained that brown rice has been existing a long time ago
when rice milling machines have not yet been widely used in the country.
Nowadays, many prefer brown rice because of its health benefits in terms of
boosting the body’s immune system, reducing diabetes, controlling body weight
and others.
Garcia is the study leader of the
project’s component on “Chemical, physico-chemical, microbiological and sensory
evaluation of stabilized brown rice produced using superheated steam assembly,”
also funded by DOST-PCAARRD.
More than 100 participants
composed of students, researchers and employees of non-governmental and
government organizations attended the Techno Forum. This activity was
coordinated by PCAARRD’s Socio-Economics Research Division and Agricultural
Resources Management Research Division.
MIRDC and FNRI will continue the
project’s field testing and promotion. The project team is providing
capability-building assistance to interested fabricators, rice millers and
farmers’ cooperatives.
Patent application for the
technology has already been filed at the Intellectual Property Office of the
Philippines.
The development of the SSTS
machines and processes is expected to increase the production and consumption
of brown rice in the Philippines and make it affordable and readily available
to all types of consumers, children and adults, rich and poor.
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/brown-rice-quality-shelf-life-improved-with-new-technology/
PHL likely to import 580,050
MT of rice next year–NFA’s Aquino
AUGUST 7, 2017
State-run National Food Authority
(NFA) has projected that it would need to import some 580,050 metric tons (MT)
of rice next year to make sure its stockpile is sufficient throughout 2018.
NFA Administrator Jayson Laureano
Y. Aquino gave the estimate during his agency’s recent 2018 budget deliberation
at the House of the Representatives, where he defended the need for a
P7-billion subsidy for its buffer-stocking purposes.
NFA Spokesman Marietta J. Ablaza
told the BusinessMirror that the projected rice importation by the government
in 2018 was calculated based on the food agency’s mandated stockpile
requirement and its target distribution next year.
“The NFA is mandated to have 15
days inventory at any given time and 30 days at the start of July 1. At
the same time, we want to fulfill our distribution target, so the 580,050 MT
was based on our supply-and-demand [assessment],” Ablaza said in a recent
interview. “So that’s our proposal for us to complete our distribution target
[next year].” However, Ablaza said the rice-importation scheme for the proposed
580,050 MT would depend on whatever the NFA Council would approve.
“That depends on what the NFA
Council approves, whether it is open-tender or [we] go back to
government-to-government [scheme]. It will depend next year,” she said.
Ablaza added that the proposed
580,050 MT of rice importation is on top of the NFA’s target palay procurement
of 1.2 million MT next year. The food agency’s palay-procurement target next
year is 433 percent more than the 255,000 MT it is eyeing to buy this year.
Given the target palay
procurement and rice importation, the NFA is eyeing to achieve a
rice-distribution volume of 1.355 MMT next year, according to documents
provided by the NFA.
“1.2 million [MT] of palay is
what we need to buy in order to fill our importation. We really have to work
double time in order for us to achieve the target,” Ablaza said. “Palay is a
better buffer stock than rice because we can store it longer and we can
schedule the milling whenever we need to. Plus, we want to support our
farmers.”
In his presentation, Aquino said
the NFA is mandated to provide support price to farmers to ensure their
economic returns while providing low-income consumers with affordable rice in
the market.
“Having support price to farmers
while providing affordable rice in the market are among the government’s social
services that require subsidy,” he said.
The NFA chief said the fivefold
increment in their palay-procurement target next year is in line with President
Duterte’s pronouncement to prioritize local Filipino rice farmers than imports.
Aquino added that it is also the
government’s planned support for the farmers with the expected impact of cheap
rice from abroad should the quantitative restriction on the staple is scrapped
next year.
“The President pronounced that
the NFA should exert effort to source its buffer stock from local farmers,”
Aquino said. “The farmers are expected to seek government support because of
the impending influx of cheap rice from abroad resulting in low farm-gate
prices.”
Aquino estimated—based on a
P18-per-kilogram pricing—that the NFA needs a budget of P21.6 billion to buy
the 1.2 MMT palay from Filipino farmers next year.
“The procured paddy will be
converted into rice. After serving its purpose as buffer stock, it will be sold
to NFA accredited outlets at P30 per kg to provide low-income consumers
low-priced rice,” he said.
“The proceeds of the sales will
be used to augment the financial requirement for personnel services and
maintenance and other operating expenses,” he added.
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/phl-likely-to-import-580050-mt-of-rice-next-year-nfas-aquino/
Early
floods threaten Mekong rice fields
Early
season flooding and heavy rainfall have severely damaged thousands of hectares
of rice fields in the Mekong Delta province of Long An.
Local
youth association members join farmers on the field during early harvest to cut
losses
Water levels in the province hit
2.37m on August 4, 1.53m higher than the previous year’s figure. Water levels
rose approximately 5-10cm every day.Among the affected localities, Tan Hung
district suffered the most damage, with 2,400ha of rice field flooded, 125ha
almost destroyed and 900ha forced to be harvested early which resulted in a
significantly smaller yield, according to the provincial agriculture
department.
By the department’s estimation,
another 3,000ha of rice field in the province faces flood threats should the
water continue to rise. Farmers are scrambling to find desperately needed
manpower to harvest their rice to minimise loss, with many farmers set to lose
up to 5,000-6,000 USD.Local authorities have called on members of the
provincial armed force and youth associations to reinforce numerous dykes and
help farmers with early harvest.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/society/183281/early-floods-threaten-mekong-rice-fields.html
NFA to reduce reliance on cheap rice imports
Expect a major policy shift in the National Food Authority’s
buffer stocking scheme next year as the state-run grains agency looks to reduce
its reliance on cheaper imported rice while increasing local procurement.
With the impending influx of cheaper rice from abroad, NFA
Administrator Jason Laureano Aquino said the NFA would be increasing local
palay procurement to 1.2 million metric tons next year, a massive increase from
the 225,000 MT projected for this year.
“The NFA targets to procure locally 1.2 million MT of paddy. This
is higher than the NFA 2017 target of 225,000 MT,” Aquino told Congress during
a budget hearing last week.
“This would also ensure government support to marginalized rice
farmers to be affected by cheaper farmgate prices as a result of higher
importation of cheaper rice from abroad,” he said, citing President Rodrigo
Duterte’s order to source buffer stocks from local farmers.
For this year, the NFA plans to buy 43 million bags of rice from
farmers nationwide in a bid to replenish its dwindling rice stocks, which have
remained critically low despite the expected arrival of imports in the next two
months.
NFA Spokesperson Marietta Ablaza has said the grains agency would
buy the bulk of the target volume during the main harvest season from October
to December.
“So far, we have procured about 230,000 bags during the dry season
harvest, and we plan to have a massive buying of palay during our main harvest
to beef up our stocks,” Ablaza told The Manila Times in a telephone interview.
The lower buying price of P17 per kilo, however, is making it
difficult for the agency to compete with private traders.
The NFA was created with the intention of protecting the interests
of both rice producers and consumers. As such, its two primary mandates are to
stabilize the price of rice and to ensure food security.
The price stabilization mandate means that the NFA tries to
influence prices on two fronts. It must support the palay farmgate price at a
level that is enough to ensure a reasonable return for farmers. At the same
time, it must also ensure that the price of rice is low enough for consumers.
Over the past decade, the NFA has relied massively on cheaper
imported rice to replenish its buffer stocks since it could not compete with
private millers and traders in buying locally grown palay.
Buying rice from abroad cuts the agency’s spending and it can earn
more and slash losses by selling to consumers at higher prices.
Aquino also told members of Congress that they were also looking
to import 580,050 MT of rice in 2018, more than double that imported by the
government this year. But the volume is significantly lower than the average
state-led importation over the last decade.
Sought for comment, Rachel Miguel, special assistant to the NFA
chief, said the importation would help augment local palay procurement.
Miguel did not disclose the target arrival for the imported rice,
saying the proposal was still subject to the approval of the multi-sectoral NFA
Council.
The NFA Council has not been keen on exercising the importation
option as it pushes institutional reforms within the debt-ridden grains agency.
Under a recent NFA restructuring proposal, rice for buffer
stocking will be accumulated via higher domestic procurement, while import
volumes would be reduced via encouraging the private sector to undertake the
purchases.
The NFA’s policy of “buy high-store long-sell low” will now shift
to a policy where the agency’s selling prices are gradually increased to
approach market levels, with social welfare agencies handling subsidized rice
if needed but buying stocks from NFA at market prices
http://www.manilatimes.net/nfa-reduce-reliance-cheap-rice-imports/343120/
The absolute imperative for intentional minded
agriculture and agri-business - Some supportive responses from readers
ANIS HAFFAR
07 AUGUST 2017
The Writer, Anis Haffar
The Daily Graphic (August 4, 2017) headline, “Ghana’s high rice
imports: AfDB decries $400m annual bill” is a noteworthy serendipitous response
to last week’s column where I referenced the miraculous rice fields of
Thailand. The Graphic headline quoted the president of the African Development
Bank, Akinwumi Adesina: “Ghana absolutely has no business at all importing
rice. You are spending US$400 million a year importing what you should be
exporting. "Year after year, Ghana’s
lack of leadership foresight to come to grips with that common sense reasoning
is mind boggling. The responses to last week’s column were so numerous, I have
selected a few to share with readers. The first one read as follows:“Thank you my brother for this hard truth. I read your article with tears in my eyes and my head heavy with thoughts. I remember the Operation Feed Yourself and the Green Revolutions with its associated backyard gardens. Hmmm, I wonder everyday where we are heading to as a country?”
Agriculture and jewellery in Thailand
Another said, “Great article. It particularly hit home because I too have visited Bangkok and the real back story is that the King of Thailand is a very educated man and his love of agriculture and his leadership in that area is what spurred Thailand into becoming an agricultural heavy weight. So as your title states, their success was ‘intentional’. But that just goes without saying because the success of advanced economies in every area of endeavor has been based on ‘intention’.
“I was even more fascinated by the Thai precious metals industry. When I landed I was approached by a government sponsored tour guide who convinced me to purchase a tour package, which made sense because I was only there for three days. They dropped me off at my hotel and came back that evening to be taken to a tailor shop (at his suggestion) …
“Then check this, the next day he picked us up to where they make their jewellery. First they showed a movie of the history of precious metals in their country and the different kinds of sapphires and rubies. And at the end, we exited into a room full of jewellery and stones where they served us free champagne as we browsed looking for something we could take with us. Who wouldn’t buy? And as I experienced this I thought about Ghana and our missed opportunities with our gold.
Needed: vision and creativity
“Problem in Ghana is that we think that if someone has graduated from school particularly with an advanced degree or schooled and worked abroad or for the United Nations or World Bank somehow that qualifies to them to lead. The truth is, and it bears saying, that many of these people were and are just cogs in the machinery, just that some are higher level cogs in a machinery not of their own creation but technicians simply trained to stoke the fires of the engines, so that the real owners can turn their attention to more creative ownership matters and enjoyment of their wealth.
“But to expect them to have vision or a spark of creativity or genius is not forthcoming. The new crop of leaders and visionaries, though they exist, are turned off by the dirty politics. The political appointments are not given to the creative types with the knowledge and vision to make things happen.”
Frequent flying ministers and government officials
Yet another reader responded, “Anis, you travelled that far out on your own to appreciate this phenomenon, ‘the specter of hectares and hectares of lush green rice and other agricultural fields in Bangkok’. Human beings did this! The sad part is that there has never been a year since our independence when we did not have a Minister of Agriculture and other Senior Government Officials in the other sectors of the economy. All these people are frequent flyers, freely attending conferences everywhere in the World.
“The see it all: the serious and disciplined efforts to do the right things in some of the developed (and sometimes not so developed) countries they visit. They come back and fail to replicate any of the good things they saw elsewhere. I am of the view that the Airport Press, must be empowered to stop and speak to every Minister / Senior Government Officials on his/her return from these Workshops and Conferences in order to get them to tell Ghanaians about the lessons they learnt on the trips and how they intend to implement aspects of these in Ghana. In the absence of these feedbacks / Reports to Ghanaians, these trips become essentially, costly holidays and a drain on our poor economy. Our leaders must be fiercely competitive.”
Conclusion: Isaiah 54:2
So the question is simply “Is this as good as it gets? Are we going to re-think, act intentionally and get better, or is this it?” If African nations must be led to change, this must be the question the leaders must ask of themselves every blessed day. Eradicating poverty requires commitment and persistence. That is what it takes to seize opportunities for greater prospects.
It’s worth remembering and acting on the possibilities from this verse from Isaiah 54:2; “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations: spare not, lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes; for you shall break forth on the right hand and on the left [for you and your] descendants”.
Email: anishaffar@gmail.com
http://www.graphic.com.gh/features/opinion/the-absolute-imperative-for-intentional-minded-agriculture-and-agri-business-some-supportive-responses-from-readers.html
Agriculture:
APC’s achievements fantastic – Saraki
By Ifeanyi Nwoko
The President of the Senate, Dr
Bukola Saraki, said that the government of the All Progressives Congress (APC)
had recorded tremendous achievements in agriculture.
He told the News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, that the feats of the party in agriculture
were, however, not adequately reported.
He berated some media houses for
always making headlines with negative stories while ignoring such success
stories.
The President of the Senate noted
that in the area of rice farming and processing, Nigeria under the APC
government, had risen to a point where it would soon be completely self
sufficient.
“You can see what the APC government
is doing in agriculture but this is something we don’t talk about, the success
that the APC government has made is tremendous.
“Am sure in a few years time we
will be self sufficient in rice and that is a major achievement for a country
that is always importing rice to now get to the stage where we no longer have
to import rice.
“But how often do you report it,
how often does it make your front pages in the papers?
“But the point I am making is
that some of these things that we have done in agriculture, I am happy to see
that there are a lot of successes,” he said.
Recalling the poultry farm he
established during his tenure as governor of Kwara, he said that the farm had
grown to be the second largest poultry in Nigeria but was not being reported.
Saraki said that the farm was a
true example of a success story, adding that with its current growth rate, it
would soon become the largest in Africa with many international companies
buying into it.
“That farm today is probably the
second largest poultry farm in the country and probably in another three
years,it will be the third largest in West Africa.
“Recently the farm was bought
into by the largest poultry farm in South Africa.
“I don’t think there is any other
example of success in seeing something start from nothing and growing to a
state where it is viable and growing to a stage where you can see private
sector involvement.
“If you go to the community
around there, you will see a lot of small scale industries that have picked up
and small scale farmers also. It has been a great success.
“The problem sometimes is that
some of you in the media, you don’t like going beyond Lagos and Abuja.”
The President of the Senate,
however, warned that the success story of the APC government in agriculture and
those of other states and individuals would amount to nothing if smuggling was
allowed to thrive.
He said that while the government
was working hard to ensure self sufficiency in various aspects of agriculture,
smugglers were hampering governments efforts.
He, therefore, called on all
agencies concerned to immediately step up their game and end smuggling in
Nigeria.
“I was in the farm recently with
the governor of CBN and what we saw there was very impressive, the only thing
they (farmers) are still having problems with is the issue of smuggling.
“People are still smuggling
chicken and that is our biggest challenge.
“The same thing with rice, we
have been working and taking on Customs that they need to do something about
these issues.
“We had to give the management of
Customs all the support we have to make sure that they must do something about
smuggling.
”Once we can address smuggling, I
think it is the greatest challenge to our success in agriculture.”
http://www.nan.ng/news/agriculture-apcs-achievements-fantastic-saraki/
Glutinous
rice exports to China slowing down
HCM City (VNA) – Exports of glutinous rice to China, Vietnam’s biggest rice importer, are stagnating, despite overseas shipments of the commodity soaring 34 percent in the first half of 2017.
Statistics from the Vietnam Food Association show that 2.65 million tonnes of rice were shipped abroad with free-on-board value of 1.65 billion USD in the first six months of 2017, an increase 0.25 percent in volume and 1.85 percent in value from the same period last year.
More than 1.16 million tonnes or 43.8 percent of the volume was shipped to China between January and June.
Meanwhile, more than 660,000 tonnes of the total exported rice was glutinous rice, surging 34 percent from a year earlier.
Overseas shipments of glutinous rice have sold well for the last three years as China began to purchase more of this product. Glutinous rice has made up 25 percent of exported rice volume, compared to 16.65 percent and 6.65 percent in the respective first halves of 2016 and 2015.
Most of Vietnam’s glutinous rice was destined for China, with a little for Indonesia.
The demand for glutinous rice in China has been relatively high in recent years, boosting both domestic and export prices. Businesses even exported glutinous rice at 490-500 USD per tonne at the end of this year’s winter-spring crop.
However, glutinous rice exports to China have slowed down over the last week, causing a drop in export prices, from 460-470 USD per tonne a week ago to 420-430 USD per tonne at present. Domestic prices also fell from 10,800-11,200 VND per kg to 10,400 VND per kg, said Dang Thi Lien – Director of the Long An Foodstuff Co. Ltd.
[Infographics: Vietnam’s rice export markets development strategy]
Many companies blamed the slowdown on changes in China’s glutinous rice import policy, forcing Chinese importers to offer lower bids to Vietnamese sellers to make up for higher import expenses.
Vietnamese firms will struggle to make a profit if they sell glutinous rice at 420-430 USD per tonne to China while purchasing it at 9,000-10,000 VND per kg from local farmers, explaining why the exports have slowed down.
Some enterprises said although China is a good market where Vietnam’s glutinous rice has few rivals, once supply surpasses demand, Vietnam’s dependence on the market poses great risks.
Experts said the agriculture ministry’s Department of Crop Production and localities should control the structure of planted rice varieties and avoid expanding the glutinous rice area.
Rice exporters also need to expand markets, especially in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, to avoid excessive dependence on China.-VNA
http://en.vietnamplus.vn/glutinous-rice-exports-to-china-slowing-down/115923.vnp
Finally, a law to curb biopiracy
7 August 2017 - 10:05am
Gurdial Singh Nijar
LAST week the Dewan Rakyat passed a bill to curb
"biopiracy". This is the stealing of the biological resources of a
country without its consent.
Once it becomes law shortly
(after the Dewan Negara and the king give their assent), a permit will be
required to access our biological resources for research and development; or to
access traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples associated with these
resources. If it is for a commercial purpose then there must be a
benefit-sharing agreement with the resource provider – invariably indigenous
and local communities. Or states – who have jurisdiction over state parks and
forests. For pure research purposes, for example by universities, there is no
need for a benefit sharing agreement.
Crucially, in all cases the prior
informed consent of indigenous and local communities is mandatory when their
traditional knowledge associated with the biological resource is taken. For it
is their traditional knowledge as to the uses of these resources that is much
sought after. Indeed, such knowledge has clothed, fed and healed the world.
The World Health Organisation
reports that three-fourths of the drugs in modern medicine are based on leads
provided by the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and local
communities. Even the life-saving anaesthesia – so critical for surgeries – is
reportedly based on the traditional knowledge of South American indigenous
peoples. They caught monkeys perched high up on trees by shooting them with a
dart loaded with plant-based "poison". Only the monkey's outer skin
would be pierced (so the poison did not contaminate the animal) but the
monkey's bodily functions continued. So rigor mortis would not set it and the
monkey would fall to the ground.
In the past corporations,
essentially from the North, accessed the resources and the traditional
knowledge for free on the basis that they were "the common heritage of
mankind". Developing countries protested because these resources –
including seeds which farmers provided to collection centres (mainly in the
North) – were then accessed by corporations, turned into products, patented and
commercialised. The huge profits reaped were never returned to the holders of
the traditional knowledge nor the country from where the resources were
accessed. And so, for example, the traditional knowledge of the multi-uses of
the neem plant – described by Gandhi as a village pharmacopoeia – was pillaged
by Western scientists visiting Indian villages – who patented the precise use
of the active ingredients of the bioresource.
Finally, an international
Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) was enacted in 1992. It vested the resources
in the country and in its people; and made it a condition that there must be
prior informed consent of the resource provider. Malaysia is a party to the
CBD. The CBD's benefit sharing requirements were reinforced by another
international agreement – the Nagoya Protocol of 2010. Malaysia played a
pivotal role in the negotiation of this protocol – as a spokesperson for
developing countries grouped as the Like Minded Megadiverse Countries.
This bill paves the way for the
country to ratify the protocol.
The bill was a long time in the
making. Essentially because our constituent states, which constitutionally have
exclusive jurisdiction over land and its resources, were wary of the
encroachment of federal authority over their rights. The matter was resolved
with the jurisdiction to implement the law being vested entirely in states. The
federal government plays a coordinating role. As well as provide the link to
international enforcement when a resource illegally taken from the state is
developed and patented elsewhere.
Under the Nagoya Protocol,
countries who become parties to this treaty must ensure that anyone using
biological resources (and the associated traditional knowledge) or applying for
rights over products created from this use, has acquired the resource legally
from the country of origin. Else, the country will be subjected to compliance
measures. This is an added value for our states as only parties (read, the
federal government) can be a party to the protocol to avail itself of these
enforcement measures. So, if someone steals a resource or associated
traditional knowledge and seeks later to patent or commercialise a product
developed from the resource in a foreign country, then it must prove that it
has acquired the resource legally in compliance with our laws. The foreign
country which is a party to the protocol is obliged to put in place measures
that will prevent any illegal use.
This is indeed a significant step
forward in ensuring that we as a country, and indigenous and local communities,
do not lose benefits arising from the pirating of our resources and traditional
knowledge by foreign corporations and persons.
That this illegal taking could
well result in huge losses can be illustrated by a recent example. A US
researcher patented a fungi which has the potential to treat a recurring
disease of the oil palm. This translates into huge potential value. He
collected the resource on a visit to a research university in Malaysia. He
refuses to acknowledge that he needs to get our consent nor come to a benefit
sharing arrangement.
Biopiracy has been a worldwide
phenomenon. The San indigenous people had their traditional knowledge of the
hoodia plant accessed for treating obesity. The indigenous people were
by-passed entirely. Neither their consent was sought; nor any benefits accrued
to them. They had to fight long and hard to secure benefits. Turmeric and
basmati rice – all have been misappropriated in similar fashion. There are many
other examples. The Nagoya Protocol is focused on staunching these thefts.
Malaysia is rich in bioresources.
We are among the 12 richest biodiversity countries in the world. One of our
plants is now in the midst of testing to provide a remedy for AIDS. Modern
biotechnology also relies on genetic resources and its derivatives to create
new products. We house the oldest rainforest in the world – which stores these
resources. Our indigenous peoples are the ones who can unlock the value of
these resources with their traditional knowledge as to the use of these
biological resources. The renowned Sarawak Biodiversity Centre has been
actively carrying out research on biological resources based entirely on the
traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples. It has successfully entered into
arrangements with companies and researchers to derive benefits if any resultant
products are commercialised.
The bill will provide the
necessary framework for regulating (and incentivising) research and development
– by both foreign as well as local researchers.
In this context local researchers
from public universities and research institutions can freely exchange the
materials between themselves for pure research without the need for any
additional permit beyond the initial one. Only when a "hit" yields a
product will they be required to enter into a benefit sharing agreement.
Overall, this new Access and
Benefit-Sharing law will optimise the benefits accruing to the country, states
and indigenous peoples, encourage domestic researchers and provide the
necessary financial and technological means for us to promote the conservation
and sustainable use of the components of our rich biodiversity.
Gurdial was the founder-director of the Centre of Excellence for
Biodiversity Law, a joint venture between the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environment and Universiti Malaya. The centre was involved in the drafting of
the ABS bill. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
Zachary Ball to
Lead Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering
Rice University chemist Zachary
Ball has been named director of Rice’s Institute of Biosciences and
Bioengineering (IBB). The institute promotes interdisciplinary research and
education encompassing physics, chemistry, biology and engineering.
Ball succeeds Jane Grande-Allen, who will continue to serve as the Isabel C. Cameron Professor and chair of the Department of Bioengineering.
Ball succeeds Jane Grande-Allen, who will continue to serve as the Isabel C. Cameron Professor and chair of the Department of Bioengineering.
“Zach is our first chemist in the
role of IBB director and I am very excited about how he will expand the scope
of our collaborative research,” said Yousif Shamoo, Rice’s vice provost for
research, who announced the appointment.
Ball sees his role with IBB as an
opportunity to soften boundaries between departments at Rice and to help
faculty connect with outside researchers in the Texas Medical Center.
“There is this inherent tension
at a university,” Ball said. “We still need a traditional department structure,
but there’s also a need to empower faculty in ways that are bigger and broader
than traditional departments can provide. That’s a big reason why IBB is and
remains a hugely important part of the Rice research ensemble. It’s uniquely
situated to encourage faculty collaboration.”
“Zach brings an objective clarity
on integration,” said Paul Cherukuri, IBB’s executive director. “He has a great
analytical understanding of all the things we’re doing at IBB and how to
integrate our activities across the disciplines.”
Ball used his own recent
experience at Rice as an example. “Since my lab moved to the BioScience
Research Collaborative, we’ve been near new people and it’s really changed how
we think about some research problems,” he said. “I see on a small scale how
bringing together people with different views can help build research that goes
in new directions.”
Ball’s Rice lab designs, builds
and studies novel transition-metal complexes with unique structures and
functions for applications in chemical biology and medicine, including the
development of next-generation protein drugs.
“I’m a chemist who clearly works
on biological problems, but I’ve also traditionally viewed myself as on the
fringes of what IBB does,” he said. “So I think it’s both a strength and a
challenge that I arrive at IBB with a different perspective. I’ll try to use
that unique perspective while also relying on the strong network of IBB faculty
to effectively enable progress in the many diverse fields that IBB
encompasses.”
Ball, an associate professor of
chemistry, joined the Rice faculty in 2006. He earned a bachelor’s degree at
Harvard University in 1999 and a Ph.D. at Stanford in 2004.
http://www.tmc.edu/news/2017/08/zachary-ball-lead-institute-biosciences-bioengineering/
Scientists
create food from electricity and CO2
This nutritional powder
does not need soil or sunlight to be made | Credit: Lappeenranta University of
Technology
·
07
August 2017
With climate change diminishing
the nutritional value of agricultural crops, scientists are making headway with
lab protein that can be produced anywhere
Finnish
scientists have created a novel form of food from electricity and water that
they claim could revolutionise the agricultural industry and end world hunger.
The single cell protein powder, which...
https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3015133/scientists-create-food-from-electricity-and-co2
Rice basmati weakens on low demand
PTI | Aug 6, 2017, 09:12 PM IST
New Delhi, Aug 5 () Rice basmati prices slipped by Rs 200 per
quintal at the wholesale grains market today on the back of easing demand
against ample stocks position.
A few other bold grains also declined on reduced offtake by
consuming industries.
Traders said tepid demand against sufficient stocks position,
mainly led to the decline in rice basmati prices.
In the national capital, rice basmati common and Pusa- 1121
variety slipped by Rs 200 each to Rs 6,000-6,100 and Rs 4,600-4,625 per
quintal, respectively.
Other bold grains like bajra and maize also eased to Rs
1,150-1,155 and Rs 1,290-1,300 against last close of Rs 1,190 -1,200 and Rs
1,300-1,305 per quintal, respectively.
Jowar yellow and white too finished lower at Rs 1,400- 1,450 and
Rs 2,800-2,900 from previous levels of Rs 1,450- 1,500 and Rs 2,900-3,100 per
quintal, respectively.
Following are today's quotations (in Rs per quintal):
Wheat MP (desi) Rs 2,100-2,350, Wheat dara (for mills) Rs
1,760-1,765, Chakki atta (delivery) Rs 1,765-1,770, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) Rs
260-300, Shakti Bhog (10 kg) Rs 255-290,
Roller flour mill Rs 970-980 (50 kg), Maida Rs 1,010-1,020 (50
kg)and Sooji Rs 1,035-1,040 (50
kg).
Basmati rice (Lal Quila) Rs 10,700,
Shri Lal Mahal Rs 11,300,
Super Basmati Rice Rs 9,800, Basmati common new Rs 6,000-6,100, Rice Pusa (1121) Rs 4,600-4,625, Permal raw Rs
2,150-2,175, Permal wand Rs 2,200-2,225, Sela Rs 2,300-2,400 and Rice IR-8 Rs
1,825-1,850, Bajra Rs 1,150-1,155, Jowar yellow Rs 1,400-1,450, white Rs
2,800-2,900, Maize Rs 1,290-1,300, Barley Rs 1,465-1,475. SUN KPS SRK
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/rice-basmati-weakens-on-low-demand/articleshow/59943988.cms
Arkansas farmers
optimistic despite floods
Published 1:05 am, Monday,
August 7, 2017
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JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) — While spring floods left many rice farmers
with fewer acres of rice than they originally planned, they're hopeful a rising
market can offset at least some of the lost acreage.
"We had 1,400 acres, and we were able to salvage 150
(acres)," Lynn farmer Jerry Morgan said. "The rest of it
failed."
Morgan said when the levee in Pocahontas broke in May due to
record floods, it sent water into the Lawrence County area, hurting the rice
crop.
With all of the recent flooding, Morgan said there is no more
"room for error" for farmers.
Pocahontas farmer Greg Baltz said he's down about 20 percent in
acreage, but said he's got some early and late crops that are looking good.
The Jonesboro Sun reports that in 2016, farmers were hit by excess
rain, in both May and August, but Morgan, along with other farmers, said the
damage done wasn't enough to recoup losses through insurance coverage. This
year, however, that changed, with insurance able to cover losses, though a
profit remains almost impossible, Morgan said.
"We lost enough (insurance) is going to pay us some,"
Morgan said, though the exact amount he'll be able to recover isn't yet known.
"... You're not going to make any money. It hurts. On top of last year,
when we didn't get any relief, it makes it difficult."
While flooding makes work hard for farmers in Northeast Arkansas,
the rice market as a whole is up, Morgan said, with the latest numbers in the
$12 per hundredweight range.
"It hasn't been there in a while," Morgan said.
If rice can wind up at about $6 per bushel, Sedgwick farmer Mitch
Worlow said, that would be great.
"When it's down below $5, bankers tighten up," Worlow
said.
While the market is up, Baltz said without a positive yield, the
increased value of rice won't mean much.
Craighead County Extension Agent Branon Thiesse said rice is
starting to head, so at this time, it's hard to tell exactly how the market
will look compared to previous years.
The recent hot temperatures also hurt the crop, Thiesse said.
"As it goes through the flowering period, cooler temperatures
will really help," Thiesse said. "... Higher temperatures lead to
pollination issues."
Worlow added that rice needs to not work as hard at night, and
needs cooler temperatures to help it rest.
Morgan said the country's recent deal with China to send American
rice to the country for the first time in history has a chance to make a major
difference.
"If China bought every grain (of rice) that we grew, it'd
last them 13 days," Morgan said. "... I really see potential for the
rice market."
USA Rice, an industry association, confirmed Morgan's assertion
about how long the rice would last. China is the largest consumer, producer and
importer of rice in the world, according to the association.
The new deal was announced July 20 by Secretary of Agriculture
Sonny Perdue.
While challenges remain, Morgan is confident rice has a good
future.
"I'm optimistic about rice, and have been," Morgan said
http://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Arkansas-farmers-optimistic-despite-floods-11737834.php
Glutinous
rice exports to China slowing down
HCM City (VNA) – Exports of glutinous rice to China, Vietnam’s biggest rice importer, are stagnating, despite overseas shipments of the commodity soaring 34 percent in the first half of 2017.
Statistics from the Vietnam Food Association show that 2.65 million tonnes of rice were shipped abroad with free-on-board value of 1.65 billion USD in the first six months of 2017, an increase 0.25 percent in volume and 1.85 percent in value from the same period last year.
More than 1.16 million tonnes or 43.8 percent of the volume was shipped to China between January and June.
Meanwhile, more than 660,000 tonnes of the total exported rice was glutinous rice, surging 34 percent from a year earlier.
Overseas shipments of glutinous rice have sold well for the last three years as China began to purchase more of this product. Glutinous rice has made up 25 percent of exported rice volume, compared to 16.65 percent and 6.65 percent in the respective first halves of 2016 and 2015.
Most of Vietnam’s glutinous rice was destined for China, with a little for Indonesia.
The demand for glutinous rice in China has been relatively high in recent years, boosting both domestic and export prices. Businesses even exported glutinous rice at 490-500 USD per tonne at the end of this year’s winter-spring crop.
However, glutinous rice exports to China have slowed down over the last week, causing a drop in export prices, from 460-470 USD per tonne a week ago to 420-430 USD per tonne at present. Domestic prices also fell from 10,800-11,200 VND per kg to 10,400 VND per kg, said Dang Thi Lien – Director of the Long An Foodstuff Co. Ltd.
[Infographics: Vietnam’s rice export markets development strategy]
Many companies blamed the slowdown on changes in China’s glutinous rice import policy, forcing Chinese importers to offer lower bids to Vietnamese sellers to make up for higher import expenses.
Vietnamese firms will struggle to make a profit if they sell glutinous rice at 420-430 USD per tonne to China while purchasing it at 9,000-10,000 VND per kg from local farmers, explaining why the exports have slowed down.
Some enterprises said although China is a good market where Vietnam’s glutinous rice has few rivals, once supply surpasses demand, Vietnam’s dependence on the market poses great risks.
Experts said the agriculture ministry’s Department of Crop Production and localities should control the structure of planted rice varieties and avoid expanding the glutinous rice area.
Rice exporters also need to expand markets, especially in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, to avoid excessive dependence on China.-VNA
http://en.vietnamplus.vn/glutinous-rice-exports-to-china-slowing-down/115923.vnp
Close to 645,000 tons of semi- and wholly-milled rice worth nearly 9.55 trillion rials ($250 million) were imported into Iran during the first four months of the current fiscal year (March 21-July 22), registering a 14.5% and 26.7% growth in weight and value respectively compared with the corresponding period of last year. The Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration also reported that the UAE, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey and Iraq were the main countries from where the products were imported, Mizan Online reported. India’s English-language daily the Tribune recently wrote that increased buying from Iran has led to Basmati rice emerging as the top agricultural export in the Indian commodity basket. During the April-June period, basmati contributed 29% to India’s agricultural and processed food product exports value-wise, followed by buffalo meat (19.33%). According to the country’s Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority data, basmati exports for the Q1 stood at 1.25 million tons compared to 1.18 million tons during the corresponding period of last year. Iranians consume 3.2 million tons of rice a year, of which more than 2.2 million tons are supplied by domestic farmers. The Agriculture Ministry expects domestic rice production to increase by 10-15% in the current Iranian year, because of favorable weather condition and timely distribution of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, machinery and equipment among local farmers. The government periodically places a ban on imports during the harvest season to support local farmers. Import tariffs have increased from 22% four years ago to 40% at present for the same reason. The two northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran are home to a majority of Iran’s paddy fields. Director General of Grains and Staple Foods Office with the Ministry of Agriculture Kaveh Khaksar said 81% and 70% of rice harvest in the two provinces respectively were mechanized in the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2017). “The figures are estimated to increase to 86% for Mazandaran and 80% for Gilan in the current year. Expansion of mechanization is aimed at increasing productivity and achieving self-sufficiency. A 100% automation of rice harvest is projected by the end of the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan [2017-22],” he said. Khaksar noted that out of the 185,000 hectares of paddy fields in Mazandaran, 38,000 hectares went under mechanized rice cultivation. In Gilan, mechanized rice planting was carried out over 95,000 hectares from a total of 238,000 hectares of paddy fields. According to Kambiz Abbasi, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture, the government of President Hassan Rouhani invested 6 trillion rials ($156 million) on mechanization of rice production, which investment is “unprecedented”. He added that mechanization would cut rice harvesting costs by up to 70%. Abbasi noted that in view of water shortage in Iran, the administration is not willing to expand paddy fields in provinces other than Mazandaran and Gilan. According to the Central and West Asia Rice Center, with around 54% of Central and West Asia’s paddy fields located in Iran, the country accounts for 61% of the regions’ combined rice production. CWARice was officially established in 2010 at the Rice Research Institute of Iran in the city of Rasht in Gilan. Its member states include Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The mission of CWARice is to conduct advanced rice research with an emphasis on new production technologies that will be required to adapt rice production systems in the region to climate change.
Author Name: https://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-domestic-economy/69864/growth-in-rice-importsLoans offer for rice harvest
The government has injected another $23 million through the Rural Development Bank (RDB) to provide loans to rice mills and exporters who lack working capital to buy rice from farmers in the up-coming harvest season and stabilise the rice price.
RDB’s CEO Kao Thach said yesterday that mills and exporters who meet the criteria may apply for the loans without discrimination.
“We hope that the total of $50 million of government emergency loans would stabilise the rice price during the harvest season because most rice mills and rice exporters still have working capital to purchase rice from farmers in this new harvest season,” Mr Thach said.
He said that the rice harvest season starts in September, so the new loan would help to stabilise prices.
The government has also approved another $15 million to RDB to work with private partners to build silos and warehouses in Kampong Thom, Prey Veng and Takeo provinces, Mr Thach said.
“Besides the western provinces such Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Pailin and Pursat, the government found that Kampong Thom, Prey Veng and Takeo provinces also have the potential to produce rice, so we have to build warehouses and silos in that area,” Mr Thach said.
“As planned, we want the capacity of the warehouses to store from 50,000 tonnes to 100,000 tonnes and silos to dry from 1,500 tonnes, but sizes would be changed according to the price and infrastructure of the silo and warehouse.”
He added that the government had approved $30 million to build warehouses and silos for the rice sector.
In April, the government conducted a $15 million bidding contract to build a 3,000-tonne silo facility and 200,000-tonne rice warehouse. Cambodia Rice Bank won the contract for the facilities in Battambang.
The silo is expected to be finished by the end of the year and the warehouse will be fully operational for the 2018 harvest season.
Phou Puy, CEO of the Cambodia Rice Bank, said that once the facility is ready, it will help stabilise prices during the harvest season and will benefit farmers in Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Pursat and Siem Reap provinces.
“We spent about $5 million on machines and other facilities for silos and all of these facilities will be installed in July,” Mr Puy said.
He said the Cambodia Rice Bank also signed two other agreements with Taiwan’s Agrosun Co. and Thailand’s International Rice Engineering Co. to supply machinery for the silos.
Mr Puy said farmers would no longer have concerns about rice production and price fluctuations after harvests. The rice, he said, could be stored when prices were low and released to be sold when prices recovered.
Mr Thach said that silos and warehouses in Kampong Thom, Prey Veng and Takeo would be smaller than in Battambang, but investment would be expanded in future in these strategic rice-growing areas.
Nguon Sokha, secretary of state at the Finance Ministry, said the government through the ministry had decided to inject more capital to the RDB to provide loans to all key players in the agricultural production chain – from farming communities, processing factories to exporters and microfinance institutions.The stooped labour of women rice farmers
Meet the women who labour on farms for our plates of rice.
It’s a sweltering June day in Muridke in Sheikhupura district in Punjab. The harsh summer sun glints off of the rice paddies which cover thousands of acres in this area. Some of the world’s finest Basmati rice is grown here. Dotting these paddies are the colourful figures of hundreds of women bent over the sodden earth, manually planting each seedling.
Razia Bibi and her daughters wade through the pesticide filled muddy sludge, which fills the field. They hold bunches of seedlings in one hand and use the other to swiftly place each plant into the earth at a specific distance. Doing this work for every summer of their lives has made their movements almost mechanical and working in large groups, they manage to transplant rice over large swathes of land each day. But, the land they work on is not theirs, neither is the rice they grow.
The working conditions are harsh; the water that fills the fields is full of leeches and corrosive chemicals. Each day someone in the group collapses from the heat. The wages are abysmal. But, Razia is a widow with six children, two of whom have polio. So in a place like Muridke, her options are limited.
Like most industrial cities along this stretch of the G.T Road, Muridke is chaotic, polluted and deeply unequal. Capitalist development has come here in bits and has left most behind in its wake.
The nouveau riche drive expensive cars on perpetually dug up roads and the forlorn faces of the poor stare from the back of Qingqi rickshaws. Small and medium industrial units are ever multiplying but never have enough electricity. Local clothing brands have arrived in hordes. There is even a McDonald’s. But, basic civic amenities are missing, as are educational and employment opportunities.
In the urban areas most women work in the informal sector as domestic workers, whereas in the rural areas they are employed in agricultural labour. In most farms, makeshift cots hang from trees where babies of the women working in the fields sleep. Toddlers splash around in the polluted water in the rice paddies and as soon as they are old enough to use their hands they are expected to join their family in agricultural labour.
Within the rice value-chain, women’s main role is during the transplantation of rice from nurseries, which takes place for around 45 days once a year. Explanations of why this task is reserved almost exclusively for women vary.
The women rice workers argue transplantation of rice is too arduous a task for men to perform. Others such as landowners claim women are able to stay bent for longer periods of time. In the past, women were also involved in the harvesting of rice and would collect the grains. However, now most farmers use mechanical harvesters, which has also taken away these women’s chance of collecting some grains to take home.
Meet the women filling plates our of rice
Shagufta is sixteen. She was eight when she was forced to leave school and join the rest of her family in agricultural labour. “My mother said she could no longer make ends meet so it was time I contributed to the family income,” she says.
She misses school. “I used to hate the teacher, he would beat us. But, now I wish I could turn back time. I wish I could throw on a starched white uniform, go to school and study hard. I even miss the beatings,” she says with a wistful smile.
For a whole day's work, Shagufta says she makes around 100 Rupees, none of which she gets to keep. “If I have done the work, I should get to keep the money, but that’s not how it works does it? I give every penny to my family because if I don’t, nobody gets to eat,” she says.
Women’s work in the transplantation process is part of the package of services offered by a group or a family on a single acre of rice for which they are paid between Rs2500 and Rs3000 and the individuals within the group are not separately compensated.
Shamshad Bibi is a rice grower. Landless farmers like her lease the land from landowners on which they grow crops to sell to a middleman, locally referred to as an Aarti. She explains how the high cost of inputs, coupled with the expenses of the families, which almost always exceeds their income, puts them in an exploitative relationship with the Aarti. “The Aarti is the only person who will lend to us. We borrow money for pesticides, fertilisers, electricity bills and also for weddings and medical emergencies,” she says.
“When the crop is ready, we take the harvested rice to the Aarti who is supposed to pay for grain, but since most people have already borrowed so much, hardly any cash is given,” Shamshad explains. “When you’re illiterate you can’t even argue with the math,” she adds.
Fatima Bibi, another rice grower, says she faces abuse and insult from whoever she asks for money, whether it is a loan or payment of wages. “I’ve even been beaten for asking. Where someone had borrowed Rs1000 they insist it was 2000 and you can’t argue back,” she says.
Being poor means these women also have no social or legal protections against sexual exploitation and harassment. “The boys of landowners say lewd things to us. They throw water on the girls and try to grab us any chance they get,” Shagufta says.
Her aunt Zubaida says this is very common, no one says anything. “We are too poor to take these people on,” she says.
“I was bending down to transplant the seedlings one day and when I tried to get up, I couldn’t. Since then, I have suffered from severe back pain,” — Shenaz Bibi, 65
A large portion of the income earned by these families goes towards medical expenses. The arduous labour is taxing on the body. Fumes rise from the polluted water filling the fields and affecting the lungs. Almost all those who work in rice paddies suffer from Foot Immersion disease, a condition so common in rice workers it is called ‘paddy-foot’, where the skin on their feet and hands begins to decay and blister, leading to sores breaking out.
Constant immersion in hot water also causes the nails to become infected and come off. The paddies are full of snakes and leeches, and bending down for hours at a stretch leaves many permanently handicapped.
Shehnaz Bibi says she was a little girl when her mother passed away and her grandparents put her to work in the fields. She continued to transplant rice for the rest of her life, until the age of around 65 when she suffered a herniated disk. “I was bending down to transplant the seedlings one day and when I tried to get up, I couldn’t. Since then, I have suffered from severe back pain,” she narrates.
There are no free medical services in these villages and travelling to the nearest government hospitals is an added expense. Fatima Bibi says the hospitals are so overcrowded, the staff treats poor people like her very badly.
“If you have money you can go to see a private doctor, otherwise you can suffer at home and even die. No one cares,” Shehnaz Bibi states indignantly. A number of these plague rice farmers across Asia.
Hope on the horizon
International NGO Oxfam is working towards promoting sustainable supply chains for agricultural products within which women are adequately compensated. The country director for Oxfam in Pakistan Mohammad Qazilbash told Dawn that agribusiness companies have a role to play in improving the conditions of rice workers. “Oxfam is working with MATCO, Pakistan’s largest rice exporter and other agribusiness companies to promote corporate social responsibility and other private sector regulatory frameworks to ensure better conditions for rice workers,” he said.
However, Qazilbash added that consumers couldn’t be absolved of responsibility urging them to “make more ethical choices and ask businesses how their rice is sourced. They need to demand that workers are treated in a dignified manner in accordance with labour laws.”
Additionally, he said, the government must play its role in promoting pro-poor policies and ensure that adequate health and childcare facilities are provided to cotton-pickers, rice growers and other workers in the agriculture value-chains. “Moreover, investment should be made to promote responsible and innovative small and medium enterprises in the agricultural sector.”
