Tuesday, February 26, 2019

26th February ,2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter


Canada's New Food Guide Outlines What to Eat and How to Eat it 
By Pereina Choudhury

TORONTO, ON -- Eat well.  Live well.  That's the mantra of Canada's new Food Guide unveiled earlier this year and it's good news for rice growers. 

Gone are the four food groups - vegetables and fruit, grain products, dairy, and meat - that were the foundation of the last guide.  The new guide introduced by Health Canada, the country's government agency responsible for public health, promotes three main food groups colorfully depicted on a plate as a user-friendly reference - brown rice is featured! 

Also gone are suggested serving sizes.  Instead, to help Canadians make the right nutrition choices, the new guide advises maintaining a proportionally balanced food plate.  Canadians are encouraged to fill half their plate with fruits and vegetables; a quarter with protein, and a quarter with whole grain foods like brown rice. 

"These recommendations align perfectly with USA Rice activities that have been underway in Canada," said Asiha Grigsby, USA Rice manager of international promotion.  "In recent years, the role of rice in plant-based diets has been highlighted, and alliances with vegan and vegetarian influencers have been an integral part of the Canadian communications strategy."

The new guide suggests a different approach to eating, emphasizing home cooking as a means to maintaining a healthy diet and encouraging families to cook and eat together.  Health Canada developed the new guide using evidence-based research and consultations with various stakeholders that included health professionals; the agency did not meet with representatives from the food and beverage industry.

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture releases a similar publication every five years called the 'Dietary Guidelines for Americans,'" said Cameron Jacobs, USA Rice manager for domestic promotion.  "Last week USDA announced the 20 health and nutrition experts serving on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee who will be reviewing the next edition scheduled for 2020.  During this process, USA Rice is contributing official comments, and more importantly, recent research we have on how the nutrient intake of infants and toddlers (0-23 months old) who consume rice includes a greater intake of key nutrients such as calcium and iron as well as lower intake of added sugar, cholesterol, sodium, and saturated fats."



Rice Webinar:  Tuesday February 26

Tune in Tuesday, February 26, at 8:00 a.m. Central Time, for a new rice webinar hosted by Dr. Bobby Coats, with the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the University of Arkansas.  Milo Hamilton, an agricultural economist and president and founder of Firstgrain, will discuss the rice market outlook, in both the long and short term with an emphasis on the big picture.

Go here to register for the webinar. 

Rice millers booked for embezzlement

Posted at: Feb 26, 2019, 6:57 AM; last updated: Feb 26, 2019, 6:57 AM (IST)
Muktsar: The Muktsar police have booked owners of a rice mill for allegedly misappropriating custom-milled paddy worth about Rs 1.5 crore. In his complaint to the police, a Markfed official alleged that Vijay Kumar and Rajiv Kumar, owners of Goyal Food Industries, Gruharsahai Road, Muktsar, embezzled 21,051 bags of paddy during the 2015-16 financial year. Acting on it, the police have registered a case under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC. TNS

Atwima Nwabiagya rice farmers appeal for support

Date: Feb 25 , 2019 , 16:23
BY: Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor
Category: 

Rice farmers in the Atwima Nwabiagya District in the Ashanti Region have appealed to the government to subsidise the cost of planting materials to enable them to produce more for local consumption.

They explained that many rice farmers were unable to afford the cost of certified seeds, and as such used unapproved and low yielding seeds for planting.
That, they said, usually resulted in low quality yields which the market often rejected.

Ghana News Headlines

For latest news in Ghana, visit Graphic Online news headlines page Ghana news page
According to the farmers, if they received the government’s assistance in the form of subsidies and early release of fertilisers they would be able to step up production and contribute to a reduction in rice importation.
Field trip
The concern of the farmers was raised during a field trip and demonstration on a rice farm at Sokwai in the Atwima Nwabiagya District.
The trip was organised by the Crop Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-CRI) for rice farmers from three communities in the district and was aimed at exposing the farmers to new varieties of rice released in 2017 as well as educate them on good agronomic practices.
Concerns
The farmers admitted that there was high demand for local rice but their inability to afford inputs for their work was making it difficult for them to meet the demand.
The Chairman of the Rice Millers Association in Atwima Nwabiagya, Mr Maxwell Ayirebi, appealed to the government to release fertiliser subsidy coupons to the farmers in time in order to speed up processes of production.
He said very often they got the coupons very late and at a time they did not need them or when there were no fertilisers in the depots.
Furthermore, he said there was the need for the government to invest in rice mills and assist the private sector to bring modern mills into the country.
“We are not asking that it be given to us for free but if the government could assist us with credit facility to buy them and pay back later, it will be of great help to the rice industry,” he said.
He commended CRI for releasing the improved rice varieties promptly as it helped rice farmers to grow more rice.
CRI
A Senior Research Scientist and Rice Breeder at the CRI, Dr Maxwell Darko Asante, who took the farmers around the farm said the project to develop new rice varieties for the market was a collaboration between the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) and the CRI and was funded by the African Union.
He said the CRI had developed six new rice varieties that were being tested at the demonstration farm to give opportunity to farmers to observe their performance.
The new varieties are Emopa, Enapa, Kantinka, Boafo, Mpuntuo and Datey.
Dr Asante said the new varieties were high-yielding and disease-resistant, and therefore good for Ghana’s climate.
He reiterated the call by the farmers on the government for support to produce more for the market.



New tariff law will discourage rice farming
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte signed  last week into law  the Rice Tariffication Bill, which he certified  as urgent  when  filed in Congress in October  last year.  This will now remove import restrictions on rice “for the greater good”, according to Malacañang. We are wondering if the measure had the full support of the Department of Agriculture (DA) because this will open the country to a free flow of imported rice. From statements of the DA on Wednesday last week, with the new law, they said Filipino farmers would need immediate help to improve productivity to compete with the imported cereal. Agricultural secretary Manny Piñol himself expressed concern that without the “intervention” local farmers cannot expect to compete with cheaper imports.

Rice tariffication removes tariff barriers for imported rice and will allow the free flow of the staple into the Philippine market. Rowena del Rosario-Sadecon of the Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement said that the measure would create “chaos”. We are taking up this issue in our column because Western Visayas as a major rice producer will be adversely affected by the new law. According to Secrotary Piñol, our country plans to raise our rice production to 20 million metric tons this year, compared to 19.6 million last year.  With a very competitive market because of the imported rice stock, will rice farming be still be viable as a livelihood? Imposing tariff on local rice does not appear to have the full support of our farmers and the DA itself.  But why was the law passed? Why do we heed the advice of politicians instead of listening to our farmers?

We have written a column on Feb. 11 last year with the title “PH should learn from India’s rice program”.  India is the second biggest country in the world with a population of 1.339 billion in 2017, next to China’s 1.410 billion. The Philippines ranked 13th in world population as of 2017 with 104.92 million people. One thing we have in common with China and India is that we are also a rice-eating country like them.  It is interesting to note that with its big population, India was able to increase its rice production and became self-sufficient in the cereal by simply adopting a program of paying their farmers twice the market price of their produce at harvest time.

Under the circumstances, with the expansion of a fast-growing city like Iloilo, although a rice-producing area, we are afraid that farm owners might be attracted to converting their land for residential, commercial or industrial purposes rather than lose money in rice production.

eremy Pintolo/File
Don’t delay rice tariffication, Piñol warned


NFA officials earlier said they are exploring their options in questioning the law before the Supreme Court.

Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) - February 25, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol was warned yesterday not to delay or derail the implementation of the landmark rice tariffication law, which he had opposed when it was being deliberated in Congress.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the economic affairs committee and one of the authors of Republic Act (RA) 11203, defended the law as a major solution to the unstable price and supply of rice in the country amid the strong opposition of Piñol and the National Food Authority (NFA).
“Secretary Piñol, please cooperate fully in implementing the law,” Gatchalian told dzBB when asked about the possibility of officials from the Department of Agriculture (DA) delaying the law’s implementation.
“He must work for the success of the law even if he’s against it,” Gatchalian said.
NFA officials earlier said they are exploring their options in questioning the law before the Supreme Court.
RA 11203 replaces the quantitative restrictions imposed by the government on rice imports with a 35 percent tariff as required by the World Trade Organization.
The law also allocated P10 billion annually for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) for six years to be extended to farmers for various initiatives including mechanization, educations, provision of choice fertilizers and seeds.
The senator also warned that he would scrutinize the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) that the DA and National Economic and Development Authority are expected to issue in the next 30 to 90 days to make sure the IRR remains faithful to the intent of the law in ensuring stable rice supply and lower prices while supporting the local farmers as well as enhancing the country’s competitiveness in producing the staple.
Gatchalian said the country’s uncertain rice supply and the poor competitiveness of local farmers have been an issue in government for decades.
He said DA and NFA officials have been “countering and countering” the Rice Tariffication law for a long time but “have not presented any credible solution.”
Gatchalian said the law is expected to lead to a reduction of rice prices by P2 to P7 per kilo.
He said another law providing for free irrigation to farmers would also help improve the country’s rice production.
About half of the country’s rice-producing regions have already become as productive as Thailand and Vietnam in growing the staple, Gatchalian noted.
This means that the regions can easily compete with imports and with the RCEF helping the other provinces, it is possible that the country will have almost no need to import rice in the future, Gatchalian maintained.
Meanwhile, reelectionist Sen. Nancy Binay and former senator Juan Ponce Enrile raised issues on the Rice Tariffication law yesterday in Bulacan.
Binay noted that the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration has warned of a possible dry spell in the first quarter of this year due to the developing El Niño phenomenon.
For his part, Enrile cautioned the government in its importation of rice.
“When you bring in too much commodity from the outside, you deprive local farmers of their source of livelihood, so we should be using tariffs to protect them,” Enrile maintained. 
Enrile said rice could be imported from other countries at low levels of tariff. – With Ramon Efren Lazaro



Look beyond cheap paddy markets
Description: https://static.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20190226/c1_1635238_190226044051_620x413.jpg This week is a crucial time for the controversial rice bill as the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), which was hand-picked by the military regime, is expected to have a second reading amid pressing...  Please credit and share this article with others using this link:https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1635238/look-beyond-cheap-paddy-markets.
http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip

Supply of imported rice increased in markets ahead of rice tariffication’s effective date


25 February 2019
Description: https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/zA8CVvy.MfXCKlEppRBVdA--~A/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw/http:/media.zenfs.com/en-SG/homerun/untv_news_969/32a59e7eb0fdc5d5140f9c1cb5367e2e
QUEZON CITY, Philippines – The Rice Tariffication Law is yet to take effect on March 5.
However, rice vendors in Trabaho Market noticed that there is already an abundance of supply of imported rice in the market.
The Confederation of Grain Retailers of the Philippines (GRECON) said the supply increased because of the delivery of more than one million metric tons of imported rice that was part of the out-quota shipment by the private sector.
Such a scheme was approved by the government when last year’s supply depleted.
“Sa out-quota, kahit gaano karami pwede na pong magpasok ng imported na bigas basta magbabayad ka ng service fee na itinakda ng NFA Council,”explained Orly Manuntag of GRECON National.
According to retailers, the price of commercial local rice in Trabaho Market dropped by P200 per sack.
Susan said they were forced to sell imported rice to augment their sales.
“Kalat ang imported ngayon sa totoo lang. Ewan ko kung saan-saan nanggagaling ngayon,” said Susan Doctor, a rice retailer.
She explained that there are some varieties of imported rice that sells at P47 per kilogram with the quality similar to the local rice that sells at P52 per kilogram.
There are also a variety of local rice that sells as low as P36 per kilogram.
Retailers said that though consumers prefer imported, they still recommend locally grown rice.
“Mas malakas ang local. Mas masarap iyon,” said Oliver Santiago, also a rice retailer.
Consumer Pregrina Salvaña said she prefers local rice as it is “malambot” (soft) and “malagkit” (sticky) while Vicky Estrella said her husband doesn’t like the stickiness of the local rice so she prefers to buy the imported.
With Rice Tariffication, importation of rice will be allowed at 35% to 50% tax.
Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol clarified, however, that its full implementation will not yet take effect unless the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) is completed.
The IRR will also decide if the National Food Authority (NFA) low-priced rice will still be available in the market even after their supply of imported rice is consumed. – Marje Pelayo (with reports from Rey Pelayo)

Greens oppose introduction of GM golden rice

Staff Correspondent | Published: 00:13, Feb 26,2019
      


Description: http://www.newagebd.com/files/records/news/201902/65862_144.jpg
Ubinig, Narigrantha Prabartana and Nayakrishi Andolan hold a news conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Monday to discriminate their opinion on genetically modified rice. — New Age photo
Greens on Monday appealed to the government not to approve genetically modified golden rice cultivation in Bangladesh to protect the interest of the countrymen.
They said that American seed firm Monsanto with its Indian subsidiary Mahyco influenced government officials, agricultural researchers and experts to introduce GM golden rice cultivation in Bangladesh contrary to the interests of farmers and common folks.
They made their remarks at opinion exchange meeting hosted by UBINIG, Probartana and Nayakrishi Anodolon at the National Press Club.
They said that the agriculture ministry has sought approval of the environment ministry to grow GM golden rice on request from the International Rice Research Institute
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association executive director Syeda Rizwana Hasan said that an Indian parliamentary standing committee did not approve growing GM golden rice on the ground that it would benefit the seed company and not India and its people.
She said that she failed to understand why state machinery could be held hostage by foreign seed company.
It would be a big crime if the state allowed poison mixed food, she said.
Jahangirnagar University economics professor Anu Muhammad said that the giant seed conglomerate was active in advancing its interests in Bangladesh.
The people could be protected only if there was accountability, he said.
He said that American Cornell University have its award to the Bangladesh prime minister to advance Monsanto’s interests in Bangladesh.
UBINIG executive director Farida Akhter in her presentation said that transgenic changes in seeds would spell disaster to Bangladesh.
She appealed to the government not to approve introduction of GM golden rice cultivation in Bangladesh in the wake of Bt Brinjal seeds’ failure to deliver.
She said that UBINIG’s studies in 19 districts from December 2018 to January 2019 revealed that the farmers suffered losses by growing Bt brinjal.
She said that the Department of Agricultural Extension could not protect the interests of the farmers who were motivated to Bt brinjal as the DAE evaluated only environmental effects of Bt brinjal on other crops and damage to soil it could spell.
Sharing his field experience, journalist Delwar Jahan, also coordinator of Prakritik Krishi, said that farmers who grew Bt brinjal incurred huge losses without any compensations.


Moody's hails Rice Tariffication Act, BSP Charter amendment
By Joann Villanueva  February 25, 2019, 8:11 pm
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MANILA – Moody’s Investors Service considers both the rice tarrification law and the amendment in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Charter as "plusses" that will further strengthen the central bank’s capacity.
The two measures were among those signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte last February 15. “(These) will enhance macroeconomic and financial stability, a credit positive for the sovereign,” the debt rater said in a report dated February 23, 2019.
Economic managers pushed for rice tarrification to liberalize rice importation, ensuring adequate supply in the country and thus, prevent shortages. The law, which is expected to become effective on March 5, is seen to help prevent a repeat of last year's inflation surge.
Prior to this, the government used the minimum access volume (MAV) scheme.
Authorities project the tarrification to reduce inflation by around 0.7 percentage points.
Rice, which is the Filipino's staple food, accounts for about 9 percent of the consumer price index (CPI). “We expect the expected increase in the volume of rice imports will diminish the price volatility of rice, helping insulate Filipino households’ consumption to adverse agricultural shocks,” it said.
Meanwhile, the amendment of the BSP Charter expands the central bank’s supervisory oversight over non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) The report said this “will enhance financial stability given the linkages between the banking system and these entities (NBFIs).”
The Charter amendment also gives the BSP authority to issue its own debt paper again, which Moody’s said will provide the central bank “another tool to fine-tune liquidity management and improve the effectiveness of monetary policy.” It also removed money supply and credit levels as basis for determining monetary policy.
“Together, these measures will help supplement the BSP’s strong record of maintaining monetary and financial stability and help improve liquidity management amid capital flow volatility,” it added. (PNA)

Vietnam to export 100,000 tons of rice to China

Saturday, February 23, 2019 21:27
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development yesterday held a meeting between Vietnamese exporters with a delegation of Food Valley of China (FVC) to exchange information about expanding export market of the two nations. 
Description: A signing ceremony of Memorandum of Understanding on rice export between the Vietnam Southern Food Corporation and the Food Valley of China
A signing ceremony of Memorandum of Understanding on rice export between the Vietnam Southern Food Corporation and the Food Valley of China
At the working session, Vice Minister of the Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam and former Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Hu Qianwen witnessed a signing ceremony of Memorandum of Understanding between the Vietnam Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood 2) and the Food Valley of China on exporting 70,000 tons of ordinary rice and 30,000 tons of glutinous rice to Chinese market.

In addition to rice, export of Vietnamese fruits including durian, avocado and mango is highly appreciated by FVC.

Representative of FVC said that Vietnamese enterprises would send information to FVC enterprises so that they could pay a visit to Vietnam to do research as well as instruct technical standards to facilitate export activities when China gives a green light to the product imports.

Besides that, FVC will support the Vietnamese enterprises to improve science and technology in production as well as processing.

Farmers’ dismay over rice trade lib law may lead to lawsuits–report

 -
Last updated on February 25th, 2019 at 03:55 am
THE Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-FAS) said the Philippine government may face lawsuits over the rice trade liberalization law as opposition against the measure grows.
In a Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain) report, USDA-FAS Manila noted that Republic Act (RA) 11203 would “likely face legal challenges in the form of lawsuits in the near future” as some rice industry stakeholders are “dismayed” over the measure.
RA 11203 liberalized the country’s rice trade, including the removal of the quantitative restriction on imports, and also deregulated the National Food Authority, leaving it as a buffer-stocking agency for emergencies.
“The rice tariffication law has also been met by strong opposition from some sectors, with legal challenges in the form of lawsuits likely in the near future,” the Gain report, which was published recently, read.
The report also agreed with farmers that the country’s rice imports will increase, particularly from Asean member-states, after Manila liberalized rice trade.
The USDA earlier projected that Philippine rice imports this year could reach 2.3 million metric tons (MMT), driven by stronger appetite from traders as they anticipate the full liberalization of the industry.
This would be the second consecutive year that the Philippines will import over 2 MMT of rice, as purchases from abroad last year were also estimated at 2.3 MMT, according to the USDA.

‘Undue haste’

Farmers belonging to the Federation of Free Farmers Inc. (FFF) on Sunday decried the “undue haste” of the economic managers to finish the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) by March 5 sans proper consultation with affected stakeholders.
The FFF noted that RA 11203 provides a 45-day period for the government to consult farmers, millers and other stakeholders in crafting the IRR.
FFF National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said it is important to maximize the 45-day period allotted by the law to ensure that farmers are well informed about the impact of the law.
This would ensure that the concerns of farmers will be heard and will be considered in the IRR, considering that the law has “a lot of loopholes” that need to be clarified, Montemayor added.
“Why are they rushing the completion of the IRR?  Have commitments been made to some importers?  Most farmers have not heard of the Official Gazette, nor do they read newspapers, so they do not even understand what is inside the law,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
“How do you expect ordinary farmers to understand, much less critique, this draft in one-day ‘stakeholder consultations’?” he added, noting that the latest draft of the IRR consists of 32 pages.
Officials of the agriculture department sounded the alarm last week that the government could face lawsuits if it would implement the rice trade liberalization law on March 5 sans the IRR.
Some members of the President’s economic team had announced that the new rice trade regime would take effect on March 5 even without the necessary IRR.
Farmers’ groups and other allied industry stakeholders have stated that they may challenge the law before the court due to lack of public consultation in crafting the bill.
Some groups are looking into the possibility of securing a temporary restraining order against RA 11203 from the Supreme Court.



Black rice is the new brown rice - Benefits of black rice


Posted: Feb 23, 2019 11:34 AM PST
Updated: Feb 23, 2019 11:34 AM PST
583

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) - You've been told to switch from white rice to brown rice to get more fiber and nutrients. 
Now, there's another type of rice to think about... that's black rice.
Health expert Karen Owoc told KRON 4’s Marty Gonzalez that health-conscious shoppers should consider black rice.
Karen says it is a whole grain and more nutritious than brown rice. It has more fiber content, protein, fewer calories and nutrients. Karen says Anthocyanins are plant purple/blue pigments, the same pigments that give blueberries, purple grapes, plums, tart cherries, and beets their color and health benefits.
These purple/blue pigments have anti-inflammatory effects and protect against carcinogens. They may help prevent heart disease (Compared to white rice, black rice decreased Atherosclerotic plaque formation by 50% in rabbits.)
A study showed that a spoonful of black rice bran contains more Anthocyanins than a spoonful of blueberries. Scientists are finding that rice contains arsenic, a heavy metal.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that’s present in soil or water due to minerals in the earth and can eventually end up in food, drinking water, and wine.
A study out of Harvard found no increased cancer risk from long-term consumption of rice (eating five or more servings of white or brown rice a week) in U.S. men and women.
Cooking Tips to Reduce Arsenic Content: Cook rice like pasta In 6 parts water per 1 part rice (6:1). This drastically reduces arsenic levels by 40% as arsenic is water-soluble.
The Takeaway: If you really like rice, choose black for its unique health benefits, and avoid eating rice grown In Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, and China (due to higher levels of arsenic).

Rabi sowing closes with record rice acreage of 49 lakh hectares

Our Bureau  New Delhi | Updated on February 25, 2019  Published onFebruary 25, 2019
Description: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/incoming/atjuks/article24719251.ece/alternates/WIDE_435/gujarat-kharif-sowingjpg
The last-minute spurt in rice planting in West Bengal, Assam and Karnataka has pushed the rice-sown area to a record 49 lakh hectares (lh) even as the current rabi season’s total sowing wound up to 636 lh, nearly 1.86 per cent lower than last year’s 648 lh.
It may be recalled that rice acreage during last year’s rabi season stood at 43 lh.
According to the final rabi sowing data released by the Agriculture Ministry last Friday, the area under wheat almost touched 300 lh, which similar to last year, while pulses and coarse cereals were nearly 5 and 15 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year.
Description: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/5u6cfz/article26367049.ece/alternates/FREE_615/bl26FebRabicol

At 80.4 lh, oilseeds, on the other hand, remained more or less the same as in the last rabi season, the data showed.
While the increase in wheat sowing in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh has somewhat compensated for the drop in wheat acreage in Maharashtra and Gujarat, the States are reeling under a drought.
The drought in Maharashtra was what dragged down the pulses and coarse cereal cultivation. Karnataka and Maharashtra are the other two States that reported a lower area under pulses cultivation.
Karnataka has also sown less coarse cereals this time as compared to the last season, despite the State government announcing financial incentives to encourage the cultivation for nutri-cereals.
While gram cultivation is down by about 10 per cent as compared last year, there has been a nearly 31 per cent spike in kulthi cultivation to 5.55 lh.
Among coarse cereals, jowar cultivation is down by 19 per cent to 25 lh and maize by around 10 per cent to 15.56 lh.
Thanks to an increase in mustard/rapeseed cultivation in Rajasthan as compared to last year, oilseeds have been able to match up in area, even though the area under oilseeds cultivation is lower than the normal in many States, including Karnataka.
Published on February 25, 2019


RIFAN flags off 2019 dry season rice farming

. .Published Date Feb 24, 2019 2:53 AM

Description: https://cdn.dailytrust.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Rice-Framers-Association-of-Nigeria-RIFAN-367x367.jpgRice Farmers Association of Nigeria, (RIFAN) has flagged off its multi-billion naira 2019 dry season rice farming.RIFAN President, Aminu Goroyo, told the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) during the flag off in Abuja, that the project was executed under the Central Bank on Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers programme (ABP).
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The president however, said that the association was working out the fund modalities with the bank.
He said that the planting would commence simultaneously in the 774 local government areas of the 36 states of the federation and FCT.
Goroyo said that each state and the FCT would commence distribution of high breed seeds and farm inputs to over 700,000 participating farmers that were expected to cultivate 570,000 hectares of land.
“To this end, for easy cultivation and good harvesting, 52 registered input suppliers, 20 service providers and 450 private extension officers will be involved.
“The programme, being a technology-driven process, will ensure that all aspects of the farming are involved.
“This 2019 dry season farming is in strict compliance with the use of only irrigable land with adequate irrigation facilities under the supervision of extension agents.”
Goroyo said that the CBN had expressed its willingness to continue to give necessary assistance to RIFAN because of its success story in rice production.
He said that most farmers are enthusiastic about the dry season farming because they were sure of high yields.
Goroyo stressed that the federal government decision to ban rice importation was another source of encouragement as it had started yielding the desired result.
“Nigerians are now consuming made in Nigeria rice, and aside from that, the volume of rice smuggled into the country has reduced to 5 percent and farmers are now getting dividends and value for their efforts,” he said.
The RIFAN president recalled that rice production in Nigeria has increased from 5.5 million tonnes in 2015 to 5.8million tonnes by end of 2017.
He, therefore, challenged the beneficiaries not to default in their loan repayments because it would help to grow the economy.
“It has become a must to grow the Nation’s economy and feed this country; the population is growing at a high proportion and when you pay back your loan, farmers will be on land to farm and feed.
NAN reports that APB was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 17, 2015, to create a link between anchor companies involved in the processing and smallholder farmers of the required key agricultural commodities and address the country’s food deficit.

Black rice is the new brown rice - Benefits of black rice

o     
Posted: Feb 23, 2019 11:34 AM PST
Updated: Feb 23, 2019 11:34 AM PST
583

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) - You've been told to switch from white rice to brown rice to get more fiber and nutrients. 
Now, there's another type of rice to think about... that's black rice.
Health expert Karen Owoc told KRON 4’s Marty Gonzalez that health-conscious shoppers should consider black rice.
Karen says it is a whole grain and more nutritious than brown rice. It has more fiber content, protein, fewer calories and nutrients. Karen says Anthocyanins are plant purple/blue pigments, the same pigments that give blueberries, purple grapes, plums, tart cherries, and beets their color and health benefits.
These purple/blue pigments have anti-inflammatory effects and protect against carcinogens. They may help prevent heart disease (Compared to white rice, black rice decreased Atherosclerotic plaque formation by 50% in rabbits.)
A study showed that a spoonful of black rice bran contains more Anthocyanins than a spoonful of blueberries. Scientists are finding that rice contains arsenic, a heavy metal.
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that’s present in soil or water due to minerals in the earth and can eventually end up in food, drinking water, and wine.
A study out of Harvard found no increased cancer risk from long-term consumption of rice (eating five or more servings of white or brown rice a week) in U.S. men and women.
Cooking Tips to Reduce Arsenic Content: Cook rice like pasta In 6 parts water per 1 part rice (6:1). This drastically reduces arsenic levels by 40% as arsenic is water-soluble.
The Takeaway: If you really like rice, choose black for its unique health benefits, and avoid eating rice grown In Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, and China (due to higher levels of arsenic).

New tariff law will discourage rice farming

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Description: https://www.panaynews.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/novera_rural-update.jpgPRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte signed  last week into law  the Rice Tariffication Bill, which he certified  as urgent  when  filed in Congress in October  last year.  This will now remove import restrictions on rice “for the greater good”, according to Malacañang.We are wondering if the measure had the full support of the Department of Agriculture (DA) because this will open the country to a free flow of imported rice.
From statements of the DA on Wednesday last week, with the new law, they said Filipino farmers would need immediate help to improve productivity to compete with the imported cereal. Agricultural secretary Manny Piñol himself expressed concern that without the “intervention” local farmers cannot expect to compete with cheaper imports.
Rice tariffication removes tariff barriers for imported rice and will allow the free flow of the staple into the Philippine market. Rowena del Rosario-Sadecon of the Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement said that the measure would create “chaos”.
We are taking up this issue in our column because Western Visayas as a major rice producer will be adversely affected by the new law. According to Secrotary Piñol, our country plans to raise our rice production to 20 million metric tons this year, compared to 19.6 million last year.  With a very competitive market because of the imported rice stock, will rice farming be still be viable as a livelihood?
Imposing tariff on local rice does not appear to have the full support of our farmers and the DA itself.  But why was the law passed? Why do we heed the advice of politicians instead of listening to our farmers?
We have written a column on Feb. 11 last year with the title “PH should learn from India’s rice program”.  India is the second biggest country in the world with a population of 1.339 billion in 2017, next to China’s 1.410 billion. The Philippines ranked 13th in world population as of 2017 with 104.92 million people.
One thing we have in common with China and India is that we are also a rice-eating country like them.  It is interesting to note that with its big population, India was able to increase its rice production and became self-sufficient in the cereal by simply adopting a program of paying their farmers twice the market price of their produce at harvest time.
Under the circumstances, with the expansion of a fast-growing city like Iloilo, although a rice-producing area, we are afraid that farm owners might be attracted to converting their land for residential, commercial or industrial purposes rather than lose money in rice production.
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Historical Quote of the Week
“The biggest public schools division in the country is the Division of Iloilo.” (For comments or re-actions, please e-mail to jnoveracompany@yahoo.com)/PN
BSP charter changes, rice tariff credit positive for Phillippines
Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star) - February 26, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Moody’s Investor Service said the recent signing of two landmark laws crucial in enhancing macroeconomic and financial stability is positive for the credit rating of the Philippines.
Christian de Guzman, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s, said the signing of multiple economic reforms into law, including amendments to the charter of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as well as the rice tariffication law, promotes greater macroeconomic stability.
“These measures will enhance macroeconomic and financial stability, a credit positive for the sovereign,” De Guzman said.
Last Feb. 14, President Duterte signed Republic Act 11211 or an act amending RA 7653 otherwise known as The New Central Bank Act and RA 11203 or the Rice Import and Export Liberalization Act set to take effect on March 5.
De Guzman said the amendment to the BSP’s charter expands the regulator’s supervisory oversight over non-bank financial institutions such as money service businesses, credit granting businesses and payment system operators that would enhance financial stability given the linkages between the banking system and these entities.
He added the revised charter allows the BSP to issue its own debt securities, providing another tool to fine tune liquidity management and improve the effectiveness of monetary policy.
 “The issuance of its own debt will enhance the BSP’s ability to better calibrate liquidity condition through open market operations, allowing it to rely less on its deposit facilities and reserve requirements, which at 18 percent is one of the highest globally,” he said.
The BSP’s Monetary Board slashed the level of deposits banks are required to keep with the central bank by 200 basis points, releasing close to P200 billion or 1.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), as part of the commitment of the late BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. to bring down the level to single-digit by the end of his term.
Excess liquidity, as reflected in BSP’s overnight deposit and term deposit facilities declined to P120 billion or 0.7 percent of GDP as of end-November from as high as P1 trillion or 7.6 percent of GDP in mid-2016.
“The BSP’s intention to gradually reduce the reserve requirement will further ease liquidity constraints notwithstanding policy rate tightening since May 2018,” De Guzman said.
The BSP raised interest rates by 175 basis points in five straight rate-setting meetings from May to November last year to prevent inflation from spiraling out of control. The consumer price index accelerated to 5.2 percent last year from 2.9 percent in 2017, exceeding the BSP’s two to four percent target, due to elevated oil and food prices as well as weak peso.
The Moody’s executive said, other notable changes include the official removal of money supply and credit levels as a basis to determine monetary policy; the prohibition of any injunction or restraining order on the BSP, except by the Philippines’ two highest courts; an increase in BSP’s capitalization to P200 billion from P50 billion; and the exemption of the bulk of its activities from taxation.
“Over the past decade, the Philippines has been one of the fastest growing economies in Asia Pacific, with accelerating credit growth contributing to a decline in domestic liquidity, which contributed to rising domestic interest rates last year,” he added.
On the other hand, De Guzman said the rice tariffication scheme would help alleviate local supply-demand imbalances by eliminating quantitative restrictions on rice imports.
Last year, he pointed out weather-related supply disruptions led to a decline in the growth of rice production, leading to an uptick in domestic rice prices as rice accounts for nearly 10 percent of the entire consumer price index basket.
“We expect the expected increase in the volume of rice imports will diminish the price volatility of rice, helping to insulate Filipino households’ consumption to adverse agricultural shocks,” De Guzman said.
The BSP estimates the rice tariffication law would reduce inflation by 0.6 percentage point this year and 0.3 to 0.4 percentage point next year.
Moody’s, along with S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Rating, has assigned a notch above minimum investment grade rating for the Philippines.
Investment grade rating leads to lower borrowing costs for the national government and Philippine companies in international markets, allowing higher valuations for their issuances.

Gov’t can impose import ban amid rice tariffication

Published February 25, 2019, 10:00 PM
By Madelaine B. Miraflor
Philippine can always impose import ban even after the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law once there is already a supply glut in the local rice market.
This was according to Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), one of the strongest agriculture lobby group in the country, and was later on backed by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol.
SINAG Executive Director Jayson Cainglet said in a phone interview that under a liberalized scheme, the Philippine government can always impose import ban depending on the season and on the amount of rice that is available in the market.
Signed into law last week, the Rice Tariffication Law seeks to replace volume restrictions on rice imports with tariff as required by the country’s commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
“It is within the power of the government to impose import ban. All the countries do that. It should be included in the IRR [the Implementing Rules and Regulations] of the law. As long as the government can prove that the amount of imported rice that entered the could already injure the local rice sector, it should be okay to impose the ban,” Cainglet said.
Piñol, in an interview with reporters, backed this up, saying that technically, it is part of the law.
Based on the Rice Tariffication Law, the tariff rate for imported rice coming from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) like Thailand and Vietnam is about 35 percent. Outside ASEAN, the tariff rate will be higher at 50 percent.
The law also says that tariff rate could go as high as 180 percent, but it didn’t cite specific scenarios that will trigger such.
Piñol said a supply glut could push the tariff rate this high or when the local farmers are already suffering from the oversupply.
“When you increase the tariff to 180 percent, who else will import? That is technically an import ban,” Piñol said.
Meanwhile, he also assured that low-priced rice will still be available in the market even if the National Food Authority (NFA) will no longer be allowed to import.
Based on NFA’s current stocks, it can only sell rice at P27 per kilo to P32 per kilo until August this year.
“NFA will still be selling lower priced rice in the market. How low? Something that has to be discussed in the IRR of the Rice Tariffication Bill,” Piñol said.
On Thursday, Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) has warned consumers that they may have to pay more for rice under a liberalized market.
Raul Montemayor, National Manager of the FFF, said that at current prices, it will cost importers at least P29 to bring in the rice after paying a 35 percent import tax or tariff.
He said that by the time this rice reaches the retail market, the selling price could go up to P35 per kilo after providing for transfer costs, profit margins and related costs. This means it will be impossible for private traders to match the price of NFA rice.
“Retail prices could indeed go down from the current P40 per kilo level to P35. But for the poor consumers, this means an increase of P8 per kilo compared to the P27 they used to pay for NFA rice. Those who will benefit from the imports will be relatively better off consumers who can actually afford to pay more but will now enjoy a P5 reduction in prices,” said Montemayor.

'Research to be done' on Rice County Tobacco 21 idea


·       Feb 25, 2019 Updated 

An increase in e-cigarette usage has been a key part of the Tobacco 21 movement in Minnesota. (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio News)

The possibility of raising the tobacco-buying age in Rice County to 21 has caused quite a buzz.
Faribault Mayor Kevin Voracek brought the idea up at a Jan. 29 Faribault City Council meeting and has recently reached out to all of Rice County’s mayors to gauge their opinions on a switch. He’s waiting on feedback before taking any further action.
Many residents pushed back against the idea, saying 18-year-olds should be able to make that decision for themselves and minors would get access to them regardless of an ordinance change.
Voracek has said he wouldn’t continue to pursue the idea, even in just Faribault, unless every Rice County city isn’t on board. But he hasn’t yet changed his mind on the issue, saying that for every person pushing back against the idea, there’s as many people in support.
The Rice County Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) is on board with the idea, which has been implemented in 23 Minnesota communities, according to the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation.
According to SHIP Coordinator Josh Ramaker, 94 percent of adult smokers tried their first cigarette by age 21 and 81 percent did so by age 18.
“High school smokers aged 18 and 19 years old are often a supplier for younger kids who rely on friends, classmates and peers to buy tobacco and nicotine products. By increasing the gap between high schoolers and individuals aged 21 and older, this would greatly reduce the access of students to obtain tobacco and nicotine products,” Ramaker said. “Increasing the sales age for tobacco and nicotine products will help counter the tobacco industry’s efforts to target young people at a critical time when many move from experimenting with tobacco and nicotine to regular smoking and vaping.”
According to the 2017 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey, 13.6 percent of Rice County high school juniors used tobacco in 2016 and 6.3 percent of freshman did so.
“With youth tobacco use rising in Minnesota for the first time in 17 years, preventing youth from starting is essential to reducing smoking prevalence. Raising the purchase age to 21 will reduce teens’ ability to buy tobacco themselves or to access them through social sources,” Ramaker said.
He also referenced a 2015 report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies stated that “raising the [minimum age of legal access] will reduce tobacco use initiation, particularly among adolescents 15 to 17 years of age, improve the health of Americans across the lifespan and save lives.”
Much of the emphasis on Tobacco 21 changes is due to e-cigarette usage, which increased from 2.1 million middle and high school students using in 2017 to 3.6 million in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
This means that Rice County’s numbers could be even higher than they were in 2016. According to the CDC, 27.1 percent of high school students used tobacco products in 2018, with e-cigarette usage the highest at 20.8 percent.
As for Rice County, Voracek said there’s still “research to be done” before anything goes into place.
He’s still waiting to hear from the rest of the county’s mayors. On March 8, he’ll be attending a southeast Minnesota mayors meeting, where he’s sure the topic will come up once again.
Reach Sports Reporter Jacob Swanson at 507-333-3129 or on Twitter @FDNjacob.

Reinvigorating the agriculture sector
BIZLINKS - Rey Gamboa (The Philippine Star) - February 26, 2019 - 12:00am
Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol is often criticized for his scant knowledge of agriculture economics, having been more popular as a journalist and writer – and, with the May 2016 presidential election, a good friend of the elected president.
It has not helped that the country’s worst inflation in a decade had to be during his watch as agriculture secretary,  when runaway prices of rice and vegetables turned out to have been manipulated by traders taking advantage of rising oil prices and the effect of the government’s tax reform initiative.
Piñol also seems to not have come to terms with of the role of the National Food Authority in the emerging regime of rice tariffication, and whether the new law recently signed by the President will indeed be good for the country’s rice self-sufficiency aspirations.
Surprisingly, too, the good secretary had recently pooh-poohed warnings of a more severe El Niño in the country that would affect agricultural lands and produce, as well as the livelihood of millions of farmers affected by a prolonged drought.
Against the backdrop of the rice tariffication law, at least P10 billion per annum will be appropriated for rice farmers, now estimated at just four million, over the next six years to improve their yields and profitability, as well as make them competitive in the world market.

Making rice farmers competitive

The Palace has said that the mechanism for this appropriation under the established Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) is corruption-free. The biggest concern now, however, is the effectiveness of the Department of Agriculture-led programs that will make rice farmers truly competitive.
The RCEF alone, however, seemingly huge will not do the job alone. Under the fund’s guidelines, P5 billion a year will be channeled to farmer associations, registered rice cooperatives, and local government units in the form of rice farming machineries like hand tractors, four-wheel tractors, mechanical transplanters, combine harvesters, dryers, seed cleaners, and single-pass rice mills.
Atleast P3 billion will go to developing, propagating, and promoting inbred rice seeds to rice farmers and organizations through the Philippine Rice Research Institute, and the remaining P2 billion will be made available for lending to rice farmers and cooperatives, as well as for teaching modern methods of farming, seed production, and farm mechanization.
The fund will initially zero in on 1,100 rice-producing communities in the first few years, which should result in a new breed of enlightened rice farmers that are adept at new forms of rice farming, and will be competitive at par with or better than Thailand’s rice farmers.

Essential complementary measures

But we all know that any army of enlightened farmers will not be enough. Years of neglect by the government of the country’s agricultural sector has led to inadequate and crumbling infrastructure to support farmers and fishermen.
Rebuilding old irrigation canals and putting up new ones should be a priority to keep farms well supplied with water. For this, a nationwide water management system must also be in place to ensure that fields, as well as cities have adequate water sources.
Infrastructure support is also needed for more farm-to-market roads, as well as improved shipping efficiency and lower costs to ensure that the produce from farms, fishing communities, and livestock growers get to consumers at lower costs.
Other essential complementary measures should encourage cooperatives to invest in cold storage facilities and technologies that would prolong the life of produce. The private sector, likewise, should be supported to invest in the expansion of existing ports or building new ones.

Focus on resiliency

The country’s economic managers had issued last month a call for the agriculture department to put more focus on improving the sector’s productivity in view of the economy’s vulnerability to any inadequate supply of food and the continuing sluggish performance of the sector.
From a policy point of view, the 0.5 percent growth of the farm sector last year is barely enough to keep up with the population’s expansion, currently estimated at 1.6 percent a year. This is unacceptable especially with the vulnerability that the country as experienced last year with the food supply shortage.
An often-stated reason for the deterioration of the agriculture sector’s gross domestic product contribution, now at just eight percent, aside from the lack of irrigation, are unfavorable weather conditions. Yet, other countries in Southeast Asia similarly experience destruction to farmlands caused by natural calamities.
If we are to heed the pattern of weather changes that the world is currently experiencing, part of preparing our agriculture sector for self-reliance is focusing on resiliency measures that would mitigate the effect of droughts and typhoons.
Improving the crop insurance system for farmers so that they are able to return to planting at the soonest time to recover losses should be given more attention.
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has warned that El Niño may be longer this year, and this should serve as a advance notice for our government officials to help farmers in affected regions prepare.
Now, more than ever, we should expect our government leaders to be able to lead the country to food self-sufficiency. The Rice Tariffication Law and the RCEF must be seen as measures that will be used to strengthen our rice farms, and eventually the whole agriculture sector.
For the sake of 105 million Filipinos, and those that will be born in the coming decades, we cannot afford to waver on this.

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https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/02/26/1896669/reinvigorating-agriculture-sector

PhilRice promotes agricultural drones to farmers

by UNTV News   |   Posted on Monday, 25 February 2019 10:12 AM
Description: https://www.untvweb.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/drone-rice-farmers.pngA drone operator demonstrates the uses of drone in the rice field
NUEVA ECIJA, Philippines — The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), together with Davao-based drone firm New Hope Corp, conducted a drone seminar for 60 seed growers from various regions in the country as part of its promotion to use multi-purpose drone spreaders to expedite work in the rice field.
The said seminar took place at the Philrice compound in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija last Thursday.
Farmers were introduced to the benefits of drone usage in agriculture which include the quick and efficient spreading of seeds and fertilizers; easy application of chemicals on rice fields and automation of feeding tasks in fishponds.
“It can take snap shots at the farm and then i-analyze natin yan to gauge the plant health through full band five camera. Marami tayong bands na hindi nakikita with our own eyes,” New Hope Corp chief executive officer, Anthony Tan said.
Description: https://www.untvweb.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/drone-rice-1.pngA multi-purpose drone spreader takes off
The multi-purpose drone is capable of spraying seeds onto 30 hectares of farmland in just a day.  In turn, farmers are spared from getting sick due to chemical exposure.
The seed growers who attended the PhilRice seminar are convinced by the convenience that drone technology offers. They are particularly drawn to the guarantee of fast production which they find imperative amid looming stiff competition with the entry of imported rice and other agricultural products.
The cost of the device itself is quite hefty at P850,000. But this can be rented from a service provider at P850 per hectare of farmland.
At present, New Hope Corp is considering other measures to further improve their product for the benefit of farmers.  — Freema Salonga with reports from Danny Munar















https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1634462/assembly-whips-to-iron-out-problems-with-rice-bill