Amarinder
opposes GI tagging of Basmati
CHANDIGARH: Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has written to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop the Geographical Indications (GI) tagging
of 13 Basmati producing districts of Madhya Pradesh as it would adversely
affect other Basmati producing states in the country, including Punjab.In a
letter to Modi, Amarinder has urged him to immediately direct the Ministry of
Commerce to drop the idea of issuing GI tag for the 13 districts for which
Madhya Pradesh has sought inclusion in the list of regions eligible for GI
tagging of Basmati.
Terming it an economically and socially important international
issue, Amarinder said with two lakh Punjab farmers engaged in Basmati
cultivation, the move to include Madhya Pradesh in GI tagging could have a
negative effect on the agriculture of the state, as well of Haryana, Himachal
Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Western UP and two districts of Jammu and Kathua
in J&K, which are already GI tagged.
Amarinder said he had written a demi-official letter to the then
Union Minister of State for Commerce on April 18, 2017 highlighting Punjab's
concerns, but the issue did not appear to have been resolved. Seeking the Prime
Minister's intervention, he stressed the need for early resolution and status
quo to be maintained on the issue.
India asks Germany to resolve early
fungicide issue in rice
New
Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) India today asked Germany to address at the earliest the
issue related to the tolerance level of fungicide tricyclazole in Basmati rice
exports. The issue was raised by Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh in a
meeting with German Food and Agriculture Minister Peter Bleser here. The
European Union has decided to bring down the tolerance level of fungicide
tricyclazole to zero level from next year which is likely to impact India's
basmati rice shipments. In an official statement, Agriculture Ministry said
that Singh "requested the German Minister to use his good office for early
resolution of the issue relating to Tricyclazole in Indian rice exported to the
EU." Singh also raised the issue of acceptance of digital phytosanitary
certificates by the EU countries. India and Germany also discussed about
ongoing bilateral projects being implemented in various areas of farm sector.
Separately, Singh also met Danish Minister
Environment and Food Minister Esben Lunde Larsen, Serbia Agriculture Minister
Branislav Nedimovic and stressed on further cooperation in the field of
agricutlure with India. PTI LUX MKJ .
http://www.newindianexpress.com/pti-news/2017/nov/03/india-asks-germany-to-resolve-early-fungicide-issue-in-rice-1691341.html
Indian farmers
behind smog in Pakistan: EPD minister
LAHORE: Without having the actual data of
air pollution within Pakistan, Punjab government has blamed the crop stubble
burning in the Indian part of Punjab as a major reason of smog in Pakistan.
Environment Protection Department (EPD) Minister Zakya Shahnwaz expressed these
views during a media briefing along with EPD and Meteorological department
officials. During the press briefing, no official could explain the actual
statistics of air pollutants present in the atmosphere and no actual figures
were given regarding the air quality monitoring conducted earlier by
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Smog has continued to wreak havoc
throughout Punjab for the last 10 days, causing low visibility and diseases
among the citizens. Prior to the occurrence of smog in the country, EPD had
formulated a smog policy to cope with the issue preemptively. However many
questions were raised by the authorities concerned when on November 3, 2016,
the phenomenon of smog was experienced for the first time in Lahore.
Maintaining that the major reason
behind smog was the burning of crop stubbles in Indian Punjab, Zakya Shahnwaz
stated that around 35 million tons of rice paddies were burnt by farmers on the
other side of the border. Presenting a National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) image depicting the situation of crop stubble burning in Indian Punjab,
the minister alleged that the activity was the major contributor of smog in
Pakistan.
“The situation of smog is worse in
India than in Pakistan. We have taken sufficient measure to deal with the issue
and now we are monitoring the situation on daily basis,” she added. Secretary
EPD, Capt (r) Saif Anjum speaking on the occasion stated that hundreds of
factories have been sealed in wake of smog while strict measures also have been
taken against the vehicles causing pollution.
“EPA has sealed at least 175 industrial units
during the campaign against violators of the environmental law while it also
has lodged First Information Report (FIR) against 22 factories,” he said and added
that around 16,000 vehicles have been fined on charges of causing pollution.
However, he did not explain whether the fine was posed by EPA or traffic
police. Chief Meteorologist Muhammad Riaz stated the phenomenon was caused due
to lack of timely rain. Like the EPD minister, he also reiterated that the smog
has been caused due to the burning of crop stubbles which resulted in smog and
entered with air which blew towards Pakistan. During yesterday’s press
briefing, EPA officials tried to express that the department’s performance was
up to the mark in an attempt to befool the public but the reality was
altogether different and the inefficiency of the concerned departments was
evident. The air pollution is a major contributor to smog but EPA has kept silent
about it for years.
Though it was the primary
responsibility of EPA to monitor air quality in the province, especially after
the 18th amendment in the constitution but the department
refrained from performing the duties despite continuous warnings of
international organizations like World Bank, WHO and many experts. Smog is a
byproduct of different pollutants like nitrogen oxides, Particulate Matters
(PM2.5 and PM10), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), tropospheric ozone and
Peroxyacetyl Nitrate (PAN). All of these substances are very chemically
reactive and are harmful to human and other living things. Though the EPA has
started taking actions against violators however this move is being carried out
without any scientific evidence as no fact-based data of pollution level
in the city and other parts of the Punjab has been recorded.
After last year’s occurrence of
smog in Lahore, EPA procured the air pointers to monitor the air quality after
investing a huge amount but to date, no data has been released. According to
information available with Pakistan Today, said air pointers had to be
installed in five different districts of the Punjab, which EPA has failed to
install to date. However, some of these air pointers were installed in Lahore
ten days earlier to monitor the air quality however the authorities continue to
ignore the bad air quality in rest of the province.
Even though it has been labelled
that Indian farmers are to be blamed for the smog in Pakistan, no official
could inform the actual composition and structure of pollutants entering the
country. Sources state that if the air was blowing toward eastern direction
then it was the responsibility of the Met office to inform other concerned
departments. Many experts believe the newly established coal-fired power plant
in Sahiwal may be the reason behind smog in the southern part of Punjab but EPD
secretary denied the accusation while stating that modern technology has been
adopted in the said plant.
SMOG | Burning
rice residue, is this the reasons?
LAHORE: The government may have
sprung into action to control the smog which is dominating the city’s
atmosphere, but experts fear these efforts have come too late in the day. Come
late October, the city is engulfed with smog and this has been the case for the
last few years during the late fall and early winter season. According to
recent research, the gradual built up of smog is a result of rampant and
unchecked carbon emissions from multiple sources such as vehicular and industry
emissions, coupled with rice residue burning in the Indian and Pakistani Punjab
region.
In the wake of the recent smog
built up, the Punjab Environment Protection Department sprung in action and
held a press conference. As she spoke to the media, Provincial
Environment Minister Begum Zakia Shahnawaz said the issue was not only limited
to Punjab, but had engulfed a significant part of South Asia.
The minister claimed the situation
in neighbouring Indian Punjab was far worse and has been increasing due to the
burning of rice residue. She said that the situation was exasperated by
the wind direction from east to west, which puts further pressure on the
environment in western Punjab. According to Environment Protection Department
Secretary Saif Anjum, smog buildup can also reach the Khyber-Pakhtukhwa region
given the weather conditions. Anjum added that during the coming days,
the situation was likely to remain the same or might even get worse in terms of
reduced visibility. Commenting on relevant measures to control the situation,
the secretary added 197 FIRs have been registered against farmers who were
found burning their rice residue, while 65 growers were arrested. He said that
apart from legal action, the department has also launched an awareness campaign
to curtail residue burning. According to Saif, during the last one week, 15,178
smoke-emitting vehicles were also fined. Moreover,, as many as 175 factories
and smoke emitting units have been closed, while 35 factories were charged with
FIRs for not complying with emission standards. Sectary EPA admitted that
environmental pollution has increased over the past few years and there is a
pressing need to adopt sustainable practices. Commenting on these measures,
Lahore Baachao Therik Convener and Lahore Conservation Society member Imrana
Tiwana rubbished the ministry’s claims. She said it is high time that the
government takes the wellbeing of people seriously. Calling it a national
emergency that has reached catastrophic levels, Tiwana added the negligence on
the part of departments concerned could constitute a criminal offence. The
social activist said there were no signs of the government seriously
implementing environmental safety policies. “Now when the lives of people are
at risk, the ministry is resorting to excuses. “Focusing on the industries,
vehicular emission laws, uncontrolled and mismanaged urbanisation doesn’t seem
to be a priority of government departments. It is simply a matter of taking
very simple steps to avoid this situation,” Tiwana said. “As far as the issue
of carbon emissions from India is concerned, it is one of the many contributing
factors. I am sure it is as much of a problem for them as it is for us since
the matter of carbon emissions is a global issue and not limited to just one
region,” Tiwana added. Burning rice residue In a research
paper titled “Why Do Farmers Burn Rice Residue? Examining Farmers’ Choices in
Punjab, Pakistan”, it was found that the total cost of handling rice residue
and preparing wheat fields after rice, when farmers fully burn rice residue, is
Rs3,424 (US$ 41) per acre. The research found out that the practice of burning
costs substantially less than others such as using the residue as compost. The
paper was written by Forman Christian College Department of Economics Associate
Professor Tanvir Ahmed and Innovative Agriculture Faisalabad President/Chief
Executive Officer Bashir Ahmad. The research found out that incorporation of
rice residue, which is the next best alternative in terms of the cost of
handling residue and preparing wheat fields, costs 20% more than the cost of a
full burn. The researchers also noticed that the most important alternate
practice of full residue removal, on average, is 34% more costly than simply
burning the residue. According to the research, with a total area of about 1.1
million hectares, rice/wheat cropping is the dominant cropping system in many
districts in Punjab, Pakistan and approximately 80% of the wheat crop in the
province is grown after harvesting rice. Often, there is widespread late
planting of wheat, especially when basmati rice is the preceding rice variety.
Farmers burn rice residue as many believe it has a beneficial effect on yields.
The research suggests that growers who are burning their residue will need some
form of incentive to move them towards rice residue incorporation, which is the
next best alternative. Adopting full incorporation or removing pural and
incorporating the lower parts of rice stem, however, requires investment in new
planting equipment which needs to be subsidised. The average subsidy required
to incentivise farmers to move towards residue incorporation would be in the
range of Rs674-908 (US$ 8-11) per acre. That is the difference between the
average cost of fully burning and the average cost of full or partial
incorporation of residue into the soils.
Alerts – Issued by European
Commission RASFF Portal on Basmati Rice
Japanese Gov’t Boosts Local Rice Production
November
3, 2017
Farmers pose with the Japanese government
donated BCS rotary tillers.
Donates US$500K farm equipment
The Japanese government has
donated to Liberian farmers some energy saving farming equipment that will
enable them to produce more rice to feed the country’s growing population.The
equipment, which comes with a US$500,000 price tag, include 31 pieces of BCS
rotary tillers and 424 pieces of garden weasels.
The donation is part of the
Japanese Rice Grant Project implemented by the Community of Hope Agriculture
Project (CHAP) in five of the 15 counties that suffered the worst of the Ebola
outbreak in 2014 and 2015. The counties are Lofa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand
Bassa, Bomi and Montserrado.
CHAP executive director Robert
Bimba donated the farm equipment simultaneously to heads of farming
cooperatives from those counties at the formal program held in Monrovia over
the weekend.
CHAP is a locally-based non
governmental organization working with local farmers to build their capacity.
Director Bimba described agriculture
as key to Liberia’s food security recovery, urging the farmers to help grow
more rice to fed the population. He underscored the importance of the project
to the farmers from the Ebola affected counties.
He said the organization formally
launched the Japanese Rice Project in Bomi, Cape Mount, Grand Bassa and
Montserrado counties with the objectives to build the capacity of farmers, link
them with markets, and making available to them seed rice, fertilizers and rain
boots.
“The project is working with over
1,800 farmers, so we want to thank the Japanese government and the Ministry of
Agriculture for the grant,” he said.
A representative of the farmers
thanked CHAP, the Japanese government and the authorities of the Ministry of
Agriculture for the donations, which they promised to use for their intended
purpose.
The Japanese government is also
constructing the Somalia Drive thoroughfare, while in the health sector, it has
contributed US$2.256 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund to protect
Liberian children from infectious diseases.UNICEF said it will use the Japanese
grant to strengthen the Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI) services which
focus on seven of Liberia’s 15 counties with more than 450,000 children and
will fund training and supplies to strengthen the capacity of healthcare
workers at the community level to treat and prevent childhood diseases.
Published:
November 3, 2017
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan dumps water worth $22 billion
into the sea every year mainly because of lack of storage capacity and poor
conservation practices, Indus River System Authority (Irsa) Chairman Sher Zaman
Khan said on Thursday.
Briefing the participants of the Senate Forum for Policy
Research, Khan warned if the current water crisis continued, it would aggravate
food security situation as the country would not be able to produce major
crops.
“If dams are not constructed on a war footing, in the near
future Pakistan will not be able to produce major crops like wheat, rice,
sugarcane, cotton and maize due to the acute water shortage,” Khan told the
forum meeting.
The Irsa chief informed the forum – chaired by Senator
Nayyar Husain Bokhari – that the water regulator had already informed the
provinces they might face 36% irrigation water shortage during the Rabbi season
(October-March).
According to Khan, about 500,000 tonnes of silt deposits
in the Terbela dam and the Mangla dam every day. “Because of this, [our] two
major water reservoirs have already lost 12% of their storage capacity,” he
added.
The forum unanimously agreed to the need for construction
of more dams, especially the Kalabagh dam, on an urgent basis to help improve
the water conservation system.
The meeting was informed that monsoon rains are a major
source of water in Pakistan.
Khan said 80% of water comes from monsoon rains and the
rest from other sources. However, he added, due to shortage of storages, huge
quantity of water is dumped into the sea which otherwise could be stored.
At the forum, Pakistan Council of Research in Water
Resources (PCRWR) Chairman Dr Muhammad Ashraf underscored the importance of
dams. He expressed serious reservation to the absence of a national water
policy.
“Kalabagh dam can easily be completed in five years,” he
said, adding that the Akhoori dam could also be constructed as an alternative
to Kalabagh dam within a few years. He warned that out of the 43 lakes in
Pakistan, levels of 26 have dropped drastically in the past few years.
He also spoke about the depleting quality of drinking as
well as ground water. “The analyses of the water quality in major cities of
Pakistan in 2015-16 are eye-opener and call for measures on a war footing to
save as many lives as possible,” he said.
Irsa committee meets
An emergency meeting of the Irsa Advisory committee
reviewed the water availability situation. The meeting was chaired by Irsa
Chairman Sher Zaman and attended by Irsa members and officials of the Water and
Power Development Authority (Wapda) and the provincial irrigation department.
Irsa spokesperson Khalid Rana told reporters the committee
anticipated that the country would receive 23.96 million acre feet (MAF) water
instead of 29.48 MAF estimated earlier. Irsa had anticipated 20% water shortage
for during Rabi season but now it expected 36% shortage.
“Sindh, Punjab and Wapda submitted their working paper
regarding the water availability in the reservoirs and rivers. The advisory
committee reviewed the data and forecast that the water shortage for the Rabi
season will be 36%,” Rana said.
Earlier the total water availability was estimated of
29.48 MAF – 24 MAF from river flows and about 7.8 MAF currently stored in two
reservoirs. In October, however, the rivers received 4.1 MAF water – 17% less
than anticipated 4.9 MAF.
Since Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) are
exempted from any cut in their water share, they will get their full share of
1.9 MAF. The shortage would be distributed between Sindh and Punjab.
(With additional input from Zafar Bhutta)
Paddy bonus
casts shadow over rice export in Chhattisgarh
A major portion
of the state is reeling under severe drought
R Krishna Das | Raipur Last
Updated at November 3, 2017 16:58 IST
41
The bonus on paddy announced by the Chhattisgarh
government had cast a shadow over the export prospects of rice in the state.
The state government had announced a bonus of Rs 300 per quintal
on paddy which would be procuring at minimum support price (MSP) from the
farmers. While the move had cheered the farmers who would be getting a higher
return, the rice traders in the state had been in distress.
The Centre has approved Rs 80 per quintal hike in paddy MSP at Rs 1,550 for common grade variety and Rs 1,590 for ‘A’ grade variety. The farmers in Chhattisgarh would hence get Rs 1,850 per quintal for common grade and Rs 1,890 for “A” grade variety of paddy that they would sell to the government through the societies.
The Centre has approved Rs 80 per quintal hike in paddy MSP at Rs 1,550 for common grade variety and Rs 1,590 for ‘A’ grade variety. The farmers in Chhattisgarh would hence get Rs 1,850 per quintal for common grade and Rs 1,890 for “A” grade variety of paddy that they would sell to the government through the societies.
A major portion of the state is reeling under severe drought.
Subsequently, the production was likely to be affected. The government
estimates that it would bear a 30 per cent loss in paddy production. For the kharif
marketing season 2017-18, Chhattisgarh had set a target to procure 6.9 million
tonnes of paddy at MSP.
“Following less production, a major portion of the produce would
be consumed by the government at MSP while the farmers would be reluctant
to sell the leftover stock to traders at a lower price,” Yogesh Agrawal,
president of Chhattisgarh rice millers’ association, said. The traders would
either have to purchase paddy at the higher price or would be
deprived of stock, he added.
According to Agrawal, the traders in Chhattisgarh quoted the high
price to their counterparts abroad as they were left with no other option.
Following a competition, traders abroad would prefer to purchase from Odisha,
Maharashtra or Andhra Pradesh.
Besides, the state government had announced that it would not
release water for Rabi crops due to drought, which would affect around a
million tonnes of paddy. The entire stock of summer rice
(Rabi rice) produced in the state is exported.Chhattisgarh had been exporting
about 1.5 million tonnes of parboiled rice. The produce is shipped mainly to
African countries besides neighbouring Bangladesh.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/paddy-bonus-casts-shadow-over-rice-export-in-chhattisgarh-117110300776_1.html
Floods
cut rice yield in NE by 400,000-500,000 tonnes
By Thai
PBS
Over
one million rai of rice farm land in the Northeast have been damaged by
flooding and this will bring down rice yield for the 2017-18 main crops by 5-6
percent or between 400,000-500,000 tonnes, according to the Thai Rice
Exporters.
Speaking
after a meeting with agricultural and commerce officials as well as rice
millers from 20 northeastern provincess on Thursday (Nov 2) to assess rice
production situation and rice prices in the aftermath of massive
flooding, Charoen Laothammatat, president of Thai Rice Exporters
Association said over one million rai of rice field in the region has been
damaged.
Northeastern
provinces, including Roi Et, Ubon Ratchathani and Yasothon which are major
rice-growing areas, were severely affected by flooding in July-August caused by
heavy rainfalls from tropical storm “Sonca.”
ps://www.liberianobserver.com/news/japanese-govt-boosts-local-rice-production/
