Thursday, February 28, 2019

28th February ,2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter



Philippines can meet own rice demand, says crop expert
If farmers decide to shift to planting high-value rice at the right time and place, Teodoro Mendoza says the country can achieve full rice self-sufficiency
Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
Published 9:40 PM, February 27, 2019
Updated 9:40 PM, February 27, 2019
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Description: WE'RE CAPABLE. The use of good rice seeds can help Filipino farmers meet the country's rice demand, but this may not be sought after due to the approval of liberalized rice trade. Photo by Darren Langit/Rappler
WE'RE CAPABLE. The use of good rice seeds can help Filipino farmers meet the country's rice demand, but this may not be sought after due to the approval of liberalized rice trade. Photo by Darren Langit/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines – While there are fears that some farmers may decide to stop planting rice, an expert believes the Philippines can achieve full rice self-sufficiency.
Teodoro Mendoza, a former trustee of the Philippine Rice Research Institute, said in a roundtable discussion on Wednesday, February 27, that "the technology is already there."
"So, us in the R&D (research and development)…if you ask us, we can be a rice-growing country. Why? The technology is already there. The hybrid and inbred seeds are already there and they have high yields," he said.
If farmers were to plant on favorable areas measuring 1.5 million hectares (ha) and produce an average of 7.5 tons per hectare during the dry season, then cover 2.6 million ha and produce an average yield of 4.5 tons during the wet season, it would translate to 23.4 million metric (MT) tons in a year.
Mendoza noted that this would be more than enough to cover the Philippines' rice demands. The average daily domestic consumption of rice in the country is around 32,000 MT.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol earlier told reporters that the government will have to settle for a 93% rice self-sufficiency rate to accommodate the entry of imported rice, going against the Duterte administration's earlier promise.
Mendoza, also a retired professor from the Institute of Crop Science at the College of Agriculture and Food Science in the University of the Philippines Los Baños, said it is difficult to estimate by how much the self-sufficiency rate would drop, if indeed it does.
"It's hard to guesstimate. [Right] now that we have support, what we have reached is 93% [of rice self-sufficiency, but] Secretary Piñol said that it's foolishness to talk about rice self-sufficiency," Mendoza added.
Last February 14, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the rice tariffication law or Republic Act No. 11203, lifting the decades-long quantitative restriction (QR) on rice imports and liberalizing the rice trade. (READ: Business as usual for rice industry after Duterte signs rice tariffication law)
The law also removed the National Food Authority's regulatory powers, limiting its functions to storing buffer stocks and providing rice during times of calamity.
The QR is a safeguard, non-tariff measure imposed by any World Trade Organization (WTO) member which restricts the importation of sensitive goods.
In exchange for maintaining the QR, the Philippines had raised the minimum access volume (MAV) – or the amount of rice which can enter the country – to 805,200 MT at an in-quota rate of 35%.
Should rice imports go above the MAV, the in-quota tariff rate for most-favored nations would increase to 40%.
With the passage of the rice tariffication law, the MAV will revert to its 2012 level of 350,000 MT.
Aside from the agreement with the WTO, the Philippines has another agreement to import rice from its traditional partners, Vietnam and Thailand.
During the roundtable discussion, IBON Foundation executive director Jose Enrique Africa noted that these two countries are able to export rice because of government support to farmers.
Caveat
Mendoza warned, however, that production for farmers is "not only technical" since there is "a big perception factor."
"If you perceive that you won't profit, you won't invest too much. So the tendency [for the farmers] is not to plant at all," he explained.
With the start of the harvest season coming, the P15 to P17 per kilogram (kg) price of palay may even go down to P12 per kg, meaning more losses for farmers.
This is aside from threats posed by climate change and the looming El Niño which may affect the production of crops.
Rice stakeholders warned that if there are shortages in rice stocks in other countries, it would further raise the global price of rice, making it harder to procure.
Only around 6% of rice are available for trading in the world market, or around 10 million MT. – Rappler.com
nion Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Radha Mohan Singh inaugurated Central Genomics and Quality Laboratory facility at ICAR NRRI in Cuttack
February 26, 2019 



Description: http://orissadiary.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/D0UxzxyU8AUJkvW-640x427.jpg
 Cuttack: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh inaugurated Central Genomics and Quality Laboratory facility at ICAR – National Rice Research Institute (NRRI) in Cuttack (Odisha) today. He praised the NRRI for its stellar role in the development of agriculture not only in Eastern region but also at the national front. Since its inception in 1946, the Institute contributed immensely in country’s Green Revolution and steered groundbreaking research in development of high-yield rice varieties thereby helping achieve self-sufficiency in rice production.
Shri Singh said that for ensuring nutritional security, for the first time in the world, the Institute recently released two high-protein rice varieties (CR Dhan 310, CR Dhan 311) and two climate-smart varieties (CR Dhan 801 and CR Dhan 802), which are tolerant to both submergence and drought and few biotic stresses to face the challenges of climate change. He added that the Institute is working on developing and popularizing super-yielding varieties and agro-technologies for higher productivity, profitability, climate resilience and sustainability of rice farming.
He said that the NRRI is the nodal agency for planning, implementation and monitoring of Bringing Green Revolution in Eastern India (BGREI) programme which is being implemented in 118 districts of seven Eastern states. With its implementation, more than 25% of yield increase has been recorded in the states of Assam, Bihar and Chhatisgarh, whereas 12-15% yield increase has been reported in Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Eastern UP. Shri Singh congratulated NRRI for developing Mobile App ‘riceXpert’ which is helping in providing information to farmers in real time besides facilitating the flow of information from scientist to farmers.
Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan was also present on this occasion. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan addressed farmers, agri-experts & researchers at the launch of several development project at ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack and shared my thoughts on the pro farmers policies adopted by the Modi Govt to empower our farmers and double their income by 2022.

Dubai Scientists Grow Super Crops That Thrive in Salty Deserts

By Bruce Stanley
February 28, 2019, 2:00 AM GMT+5 Updated on February 28, 2019, 12:19 PM GMT+5
Scientists in Dubai are developing crops like quinoa that can thrive in the salty soils intruding into the world’s croplands. Winning over enough people to eat them is proving a greater challenge.
At an experimental farm within sight of the world’s tallest skyscraper, researchers at the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture are trying to help farmers in the Middle East and beyond earn a living from unlikely plants known as halophytes. These plants, from trendy quinoa to obscure salicornia, flourish in salty and arid environments where staple crops like wheat or rice would wither.
An ICBA scientist checks the temperature of the leaves of ripening quinoa in Dubai.
Source: ICBA
Concerns about climate change, population growth, and the degradation of fertile farmlands add urgency to the work of ICBA, which runs on a shoestring budget of $15 million a year. The United Nations estimates that food production must increase 60 percent in thirty years to meet demand, while gains in crop yields are slowing.
“You can see the disaster coming. I can’t understand why more people aren’t acting to prevent it,” says Ismahane Elouafi, ICBA’s director general. Governments are reluctant to invest in new foods and remain tethered to staple crops that “are just too demanding on water.”

Take-Off

Quinoa is growing faster each year than staple crops but from a much lower base
Source: UN Food & Agriculture Organization
Note: Annual quinoa production is just 0.02% of wheat output
Through selective breeding, the non-profit research institute developed five varieties of quinoa -- a protein-rich, gluten-free grain that tastes like nutty rice -- that grow especially well in salty soil. The center is introducing them in Egypt and Morocco.
Agronomists at ICBA cultivate a patchwork of sandy plots on the fringe of Dubai’s desert interior. A vault where the temperature is kept at 2 degrees Celsius (36 degrees Fahrenheit) safeguards the fruits of their efforts: 14,000 types of seeds from more than 250 plant species.
These seeds are enough for trial use, but a breakthrough to large-scale halophyte production requires government or business support. Planting a new crop is only the first step for ICBA, which operates projects in 28 countries from Senegal to Bangladesh and counts the U.S., Sweden and the United Arab Emirates among its top donors. The center has to transform laboratory wins into commercial successes.
“The marketing aspect is vital,” said Dionyssia Lyra, a halophyte agronomist at ICBA. “We need advertising. We need chefs.”
Quinoa is often more expensive than wheat, and many people are unfamiliar with products made from it. To make headway in rural Egypt, ICBA organized cooking workshops for 120 women to train them to prepare food from salt-tolerant crops. Changing palates has proven difficult in other markets.

Water Stress

Middle Eastern countries will be the most vulnerable to water scarcity in 2040
Source: World Resources Institute
Wajih Syed, co-founder of Kinwa Foods Pvt Ltd., spent more than two years persuading farmers in Pakistan to plant ICBA-supplied quinoa seeds in salty soils. The grain can earn these farmers up to 20 percent more profit than wheat, and some growers have started to cultivate it on land no longer fertile enough for traditional crops, he said. Yet the grain remains a niche product.
“Changing the eating habits of a thousand years is not an easy job,” Syed said. “I don’t see quinoa becoming a staple food in Pakistan for at least the next decade.”
Ripe quinoa at ICBA’s Dubai facility, left, and drip lines water quinoa crop, right.
ICBA also breeds salt-tolerant sorghum and pearl millet, as well as salicornia, known as sea asparagus or glasswort. Salicornia can be used in salads, animal fodder and even biofuel. Etihad Airways PJSC, the Abu Dhabi carrier, recently used jet fuel blended with locally produced oil from salicornia in a commercial flight.
The research center’s modest profile and resources belie its importance in the quest for food security in nations like the U.A.E., which has little arable land and imports as much as 90 percent of its food. Like other oil-rich countries in the region, the U.A.E. is scouring the planet for farmland to help ensure supplies.

Food Slump

United Arab Emirates could benefit from planting high-value halophytes
Source: UN Food & Agriculture Organization
Salt-loving Salicornia plants growing at the ICBA farm in Dubai. Biosaline Agriculture
Biosaline Agriculture
Many farms in the Middle East rely on underground water reserves for irrigation. Aquifers are rarely replenished in the arid climate, and as groundwater levels decline, the reserves become dense with salts that can kill traditional crops. In coastal areas, seawater often intrudes into diminishing aquifers, making salinity worse.
And still, this international organization is struggling to drum up cash to develop crops the world needs.
“It’s so hard to fund-raise for research when you are in the U.A.E. because the donor thinks you are swimming in oil money,” Elouafi said. “When they see these high skyscrapers and luxury and what have you -- the images of Dubai that are portrayed everywhere -- it’s super-hard.


Odisha: Union Agri Min inaugurates Central Genomics & Quality Lab at NRRI
 - February 26, 2019 

Description: https://odishasuntimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/lab-inauguration-640x481.jpg
Cuttack: Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Radha Mohan Singh today inaugurated the Central Genomics and Quality Laboratory facility at the National Rice Research Institute (NRRI) in Odisha’s Cuttack in the presence of Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The state-of-the-art laboratory, inaugurated in record time of less than 3 years, will help the farmers in analyzing the quality of soil, water and produce; and accelerate the development of new varieties of rice, Singh said.
The laboratory complex has Environmental Soil Science Laboratory, Soil quality laboratory, Grain quality laboratory, Food proximate laboratory, Molecular Biochemistry Laboratory, Nutrition and sensory laboratory, Genomic Selection laboratory, Marker assisted selection laboratory, QTL mapping laboratory, Bioinformatics and SNP genotyping laboratory.
The Minister praised the NRRI for its stellar role in the development of agriculture not only in Eastern region but also at the national front. Since its inception in 1946, the Institute contributed immensely in country’s Green Revolution and steered groundbreaking research in development of high-yield rice varieties thereby helping achieve self-sufficiency in rice production.
“For ensuring nutritional security, for the first time in the world, the NRRI recently released two high-protein rice varieties (CR Dhan 310, CR Dhan 311) and two climate-smart varieties (CR Dhan 801 and CR Dhan 802), which are tolerant to both submergence and drought and few biotic stresses to face the challenges of climate change,” Singh said.
The Institute is working on developing and popularizing super-yielding varieties and agro-technologies for higher productivity, profitability, climate resilience and sustainability of rice farming, he added.
The Minister congratulated the NRRI for developing Mobile App ‘riceXpert’ which is helping in providing information to farmers in real time besides facilitating the flow of information from scientists to farmers.
On the occasion, Singh also inaugurated the front facade and circulating area at the Cuttack Railway Station, footover bridge and escalator on east side entry of the railway station, and a Post Office at Arunadoya market here.

PH rice competitive vs imports, says Neda

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:10 AM February 28, 2019
More than half of the country’s rice producers are capable of competing with imported rice  in terms of prices, while those who cannot may opt to plant special rice variants and develop a niche market.
This was Socioeconomic Planning Undersecretary Rosemary Edillon’s response to claims of industry groups that the deregulation of rice importation would displace thousands of local farmers.
The policy shift is expected to be implemented next month, following the approval of the Rice Import Liberalization Act by President Duterte.
“There are about 46 provinces that are competitive, meaning they can compete [with imported rice] in terms of price. That’s out of 76 or 78 rice-producing provinces, so more than half,” Edillon said in a phone interview.
“Not all farmers need a significant push for them to be very competitive. Some farmers even produce high-quality rice, in which case, they would compete not on the basis of price but on the basis of quality,” she added.
Edillon cited Nueva Ecija, Kalinga and Iloilo as some of the areas whose rice output could compete with imported rice.
In a roundtable discussion yesterday, industry groups said the cost of producing rice in the country was still higher than those in other countries. Even with the tariffs, imports would still be cheaper.
Teodoro Mendoza, a former professor at the University of the Philippines Los Baños who sat at the Philippine Rice Research Institute’s board, said the annual subsidy set by the government for the farm sector would not be enough to modernize the rice industry.
Under the measure, a Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund was created to subsidize rice farmers with a yearly allocation of P10 billion.
Mendoza said the amount was only 2.5 percent of the sector’s contribution to the economy at P400 billion. He said to mechanize the industry, the government would need to shell out P31 billion.
However, Edillon said excess from the tariff revenue would be used to develop the sector. The Neda projected a yearly revenue of P28 billion from the law.

‘Rice price crisis could hit PHL despite rollout of rice trade lib law’

Description: https://39byfk2z09ab1y1bzj1l5r82-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/top01-011018-696x464.jpgPrices of assorted varieties of rice are seen at the San Andres public market in Manila in this file photo.
By Cai U. Ordinario & Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas
THE implementation of the rice trade liberalization law will not necessarily make imports cheaper, as the projected hike in the demand for the staple could make it more expensive and lead to another price crisis, according to a local agronomist.
The Philippines cannot simply depend on imports, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said, as thinning rice supply will not be enough to meet the requirements of the world’s expanding population.
Additional pressure on thinning rice supply, University of the Philippines Los Baños Agriculture Economist Teodoro Mendoza said, could jack up international and domestic prices as the Philippines is one of the biggest rice importers.
Higher demand for rice in countries like Africa, India and China could further exert pressure on international prices and lead to volatility, Mendoza said.
“It has already happened in 2008 when we imported 2.5 million metric tons [MMT]. We were the world’s largest [rice] importer at that time. We also triggered the increase in rice prices which reached $1,000 per metric ton [MT],” he said.
“At that time, our exchange rate was at 47 to the dollar, but now, if rice prices will increase to $1,000 per MT, rice prices, including transportation costs, could reach about P65 per kilogram,” Mendoza added.
Ibon Foundation Executive Director Sonny Africa told the BusinessMirror that, while it is hard to say that rice price crises could ensue after the law becomes effective, it could lead to supply volatility.
“Consumers are now even more vulnerable to price and supply shocks from foreign-exchange movements, unilateral decisions of a handful of major rice exporters, competition in tight global rice markets, and even rice trader exploitation,” Africa said.

Higher MAV

Mendoza said the draft implementing rules and regulation (IRR) released by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) on Tuesday, which indicated a possible increase in the minimum access volume (MAV), could be a sign that the government is already anticipating an increase in rice prices.
The draft IRR stated that the Neda, upon the recommendation of the National Food Authority Council (NFAC), could adjust the MAV. Under the law, the country’s MAV would return to its 2012 levels at 350,000 MT once the law
becomes effective. Currently, Mendoza noted that the MAV is at 850,000 MT. Adjusting the MAV means cheaper rice for consumers, which is crucial especially during the lean months of July and August.
“They are already anticipating that their base computation of $400 per ton would increase. It has already increased to $480 but by July or August, it could further increase to $700 per ton. If you will impose a 35-percent tariff, that will make rice more expensive,” Mendoza explained to the BusinessMirror.
“But more than that, if we experience a severe El Niño, farmers will not be able to plant in rain-fed areas and even irrigated areas because there could be a water shortage. Water in Metro Manila will be prioritized so the Angat dam cannot release water for farms; the same thing will happen to the Pantabangan Dam in Pampanga,” he added.
Mendoza said the law will eventually discourage farmers from planting rice as prices will go down. He noted that when the President signed the law, the prices of rice already have fallen to around P15 to P17 per kilogram, from P20 per kg.
Once implemented, he said the law will displace some 10 million Filipinos working as farmers and farm hands and other workers in allied industries. This, Mendoza said, could cut rice self-sufficiency level to 70 percent from the current 93 percent.
A 70-percent sufficiency level, he said, translates to 3.5 MMT of rice imports to meet the country’s requirement for rice. Currently, he said, rice consumption per capita stands at 114 kg.

Appeal to farmers

During the Northern Luzon cluster public consultation on the IRR of the Republic Act 11203 on February 26, Piñol appealed to farmers to not abandon their farms once the law takes effect.
“The fear that we will be flooded with imported rice, the moment we open the gates of our country, may be true for the short term,” he said.
“But if the purchases of importers exceed 3 MMT, the price of rice in the world market would shoot up. And imported rice could become more expensive,” Piñol added.
He said the volume of rice traded in the global market is “too thin.” He noted that global rice production is estimated at 800 MMT, of which only 40 MT is exported or traded.
Of the 40 MMT, Piñol said about 37 MMT to 38 MMT is already committed to rice-importing countries, leaving at least 3 MMT for the additional purchases of any other interested country.
“The implementation of the law could send shocks to the local market, such as the decline in prices, due to the entry of imports. But that will not last,” he said.
“The Philippines is growing by at least 2 million annually and that’s a lot of mouths to feed. We cannot solely depend on the world market. Farmers need to continue planting rice. The Department of Agriculture will help them become competitive,” he added.

China to officially import rice and broken rice from Myanmar
Description: Trucks on Mandalay-Muse road section. (Photo-Tun Nay Hlaing)
Trucks on Mandalay-Muse road section. (Photo-Tun Nay Hlaing)
PUBLISHED 27 FEBRUARY 2019
China will officially import rice and broken rice via China-Myanmar border this year, according to a statement by the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF).
The delegation led by Union Minister for Planning and Finance Soe Win and officials from Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) attended the 2nd China Myanmar Economic Corridor Forum held in Yunnan of China From February 18 to 23.
At the forum, both sides discussed a plan to export a quota of 400,000 tons of rice to China in 2019. China has warned that it would take effective action against illegal exports. Myanmar allows exports of rice to China at Muse border gate. But China has not designated rice imported from Myanmar as an legal good. Whenever Chinese authorities have made crackdown on rice imports, Chinese merchants have to suspend rice imports from Myanmar frequently. Due to China’s crackdown over the months, the rice exports via border gates have declined by half.
Nay Lin Zin, Secretary of Myanmar Rice Millers Association said: “Since many years, we have long been relying on informal trade. Chinese merchants are unable to buy rice as Chinese authorities are trying to legalize rice imports.”
Myanmar exports rice to EU and African countries via sea route and to China via Muse border trade.
From April, 2018 to January 18, 2019, Myanmar earned over 640 million USD from the exports of over 1.9 million tons of rice.
Rice export via border route accounts for 51 per cent of the total rice exports and the export via sea route for over 48 per cent.

NEDA: Rice M.A.V. may exceed 350,000 metric tons

Description: https://39byfk2z09ab1y1bzj1l5r82-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/top01-022719-696x453.jpgA rice farmer walks on the field at the International Rice Research Institute in Laguna in this BusinessMirror file photo taken in January. According to the draft IRR of the rice trade liberalization law, more rice imports from non-Asean countries can enter the Philippines at lower tariff rates.
The government may increase the volume of rice imports from non-Asean countries that can enter the Philippines at a lower tariff rate, according to the draft implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the rice trade liberalization law.
Based on the second draft of the IRR for Republic Act (RA) 11203, the minimum access volume (MAV) for rice will revert to its 2012 level of 350,000 metric tons (MT) based on the country’s commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
“If there will be a huge demand for rice from India, Pakistan, China, then that’s the time we will increase the MAV,” National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Assistant Secretary Mercedita A. Sombilla told the BusinessMirror via SMS.
“Any recommendation to increase it [MAV] will depend on market situation,” Sombilla added.
The draft IRR indicated that an “equitable and transparent” mechanism for allocating the MAV shall be developed and established.
It also stated that the Neda may be advised by the National Food Authority Council (NFAC) to formulate guidelines on the auction of the rice MAV to importers. These guidelines will be formulated on or before March 5.
The auction of the rice MAV will be implemented by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).
The Department of Agriculture (DA) said rice imports from non-Asean countries within the MAV will be charged a lower applied tariff of 40 percent, while those outside of MAV will be slapped a rate of 50 percent.
For rice imports from Asean member-states like Vietnam and Thailand, the applied tariff rate is 35 percent, as provided for the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (Atiga).
Apart from paying tariffs, rice importers will be required to secure sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSIC) from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).
This covers even rice importation for the purposes of donation during calamities and emergency situations. In these instances, the agency/office/organization or private entities, if they are based in the Philippines, will be required to secure the SPSIC.
This is because the food safety regulatory function of the NFA stipulated in the Food Safety Act of 2013 will be transferred to the BPI.

Powers of the President

Upon the recommendation of Neda and as advised by the NFAC, the President “may increase, increase, reduce, revise or adjust existing rates of import duty up to the bound rate” of rice tariffs.
Further, in the event of an “imminent or forecasted shortage,” the draft IRR provides that the President may allow the importation of rice at a lower applied tariff “for a limited period and/or specified volume” to address the situation.
The lower applied tariffs shall only apply for a maximum of 90 days or until the “shortage ceases to exist, whichever comes first.” The extension of the period may be done upon the recommendation of Neda, as advised by the NFAC.
However, the draft IRR stipulated that these powers of the President will only be allowed when Congress is not in session. The NFAC may create a technical working group to monitor these kinds of events.
The draft IRR also provides that the President may task the secretary of trade and industry and the Philippine International Trading Corp.  “to expeditiously participate in the rice industry to enhance market competition and stabilize rice prices.”
The Neda Board Committee on Tariff and Related Matters will determine the need for negotiation and renegotiation of international trade agreements/commitments for rice.
The Philippine position and tariff modifications will be recommended to the President, who has the power to negotiate and/or renegotiate the country’s trade agreements.
These trade agreements include WTO agreements and RA 8178 as amended by RA 11203; Atiga; Asean Plus trade agreements; an Agreement on Asean Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve, and Asean Food Security Reserve  Agreement, among others.

NFA rationalization

The draft IRR provided that, effective on March 5, the functions and powers of the NFA, such as those on licensing and instituting a quedan system, are repealed.
The NFA will be given 60 days to transition and restructure according to the stipulations in RA 11203. The NFA will be required to submit its restructuring or reorganization plan for the review and approval of the Governance Commission for GOCCs within the first 30 days of effectivity of the IRR.
The reorganizational plan will include the compensation packages for employees considered redundant; work-force plan for those who will be retained; job matching and retooling of personnel; and other systems that will allow the NFA to mange the country’s buffer-stocking requirements and become “an open market player in the rice industry.”
The NFA’s Commercial Stocks Survey activities will also be transferred to the Philippine Statistics Authority starting on March 5. This means all documents and records concerning commercial rice stocks will be turned over to PSA within 15 days of the effectivity of the IRR.
In terms of buffer stocking, the NFAC is tasked to craft rules, regulations and procedures involving the acquisition, maintenance and distribution of buffer stocks by December 31.
Until the study is commissioned and completed, the NFA will be tasked to adopt a rice inventory level equivalent to 15 to 30 days of national rice consumption. This procurement will be funded by the NFA’s 2019 appropriations for palay procurement.

Safeguards

The IRR provides for a Special Rice Safeguard to help protect local rice farmers from sudden or extreme price volatilities. These will be imposed in accordance with RA 8800 or the Safeguard Measures Act and its IRR.
The DA will be tasked to monitor rice importation and impose rice safeguards if the volume of imports exceeds the average in the last three years. The volume trigger will be 125 percent of the average in the last three years.
In line with this, all tariff lines with the heading 10.06 in the Asean Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature will be annexed to the IRR of RA 8800 on the list of agriculture products eligible for special safeguards.
“If the volume trigger is activated, the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue a department order requesting the commissioner of Customs, through the secretary of finance, to impose an additional special safeguard duty on an agricultural product, consistent with Philippine international treaty obligations,” the IRR stated.
“The additional safeguard duty shall be at most one-third of the applicable out-quota customs duty, and is only valid at the end of the year in which it is imposed,” it added.

Road map

The DA will lead the crafting of the Rice Industry Roadmap, which, the IRR stipulated, should be adopted no later than September 5.
Agencies that will craft the road map include the Neda, Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Trade and Industry, National Irrigation Administration and the National Anti-Poverty Commission.
Representatives from the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries Committees on Food Staples and Agricultural and Fisheries Mechanization and a farmer will also help draft the rice road map.
Image Credits: Nonie Reyes

Pakistan, China set to sign second FTA by June 2019



 (MENAFN - Gulf Times) Pakistan and China are set to ink much-awaited second free trade agreement by June 2019 and to this effect a technical experts' delegation from Islamabad will leave for China by end of February, a relevant top official has said.
'Yes, both the countries have progressed on this account and are set to ink the second FTA by June 2019 and to this effect, Pakistan's experts' team is to leave for Beijing to further fine-tune the bilateral trade agreement.
And in March, commerce secretary Younas Dagha will hold meeting with vice commerce minister of China to give final shape to the agreement.
First FTA with China was, he said, concluded in 2012, but it didn't yield the required dividends as the items on which Beijing had provided tariff concessions but later on provided more concession on the said items to Asean countries owing to which Pakistan' products in Chinese market remained no more competitive and Pakistan's exports to China continued to stay at $1.2bn whereas import from China soars to over $15bn.
There are 8,000 tariff lines that have been negotiated with Chinese counterparts and to shape up the trade deal-II in favour of Pakistan, Pakistan remained in talks as per the studies and models commerce ministry have had exclusively for China.
Beijing has already extended the commitment to Islamabad during the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan that China will double its imports from Pakistan.
According to Commerce Minister Razak Dawood, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, during the visit, in clear words asked the top leadership of Pakistan that they are ready to double the imports from Pakistan and if Pakistani entrepreneurs have the capacity, after doubling the imports from $1.2bn to $2.2bn, they would also increase imports from Pakistan by more $1bn.
So China, he said, is ready to triple the imports from Pakistan but it all depends upon the ability of Pakistani entrepreneurs.
In addition, Beijing has also agreed to extend to Pakistan a special quota for export of sugar and rice which will also help to have a massive surge in exports to China.
The cabinet member said that a crucial meeting of Pakistan top officials is going to take place in Beijing on November 9 with their counterparts to shape up the process to finalise placing the dollars in Pakistan's account to improve reserves situation and carve out the modus operandi to improve the export of Pakistani goods to China.
Pakistan exports range from $120mn-$150mn a month which improved in the July 2018, August, September, October and November to $200mn a month.
In the remaining months, commerce ministry wants to jack up its monthly export to $400mn to materialise the offer of China.
Pakistan's export to China stands at $1.2bn per annum which can go up to $2.2bn and then to $3.2bn.
Pakistan wants market access and unilateral concession of 313 tariff lines, but the Chinese premier by setting aside these demands offered Pakistan's top leadership that his country is poised to increase its imports from Pakistan by 100% and later on it would also increase them by another 100%. This will help decrease trade deficit with China.
The official said that Pakistan can increase its exports by just $500mn by sending to Chinese market 1mn tonnes sugar and 1mn tonnes rice.
China's imports stand at $2tn but Pakistan entrepreneurs lacks the ability to harness even 1% share in China's total imports.
MENAFN2502201900670000ID1098171105
Myanmar seeks higher export quotas to China for rice this year
THIHA KO KO 27 FEB 2019
Description: A rice shop at Bogyoke Aung San Market in Yangon. Aung Htay Hlaing/The Myanmar Times
A rice shop at Bogyoke Aung San Market in Yangon. Aung Htay Hlaing/The Myanmar Times
Myanmar and China have discussed raising the quota of rice that can exported to China from Myanmar says an official from the Myanmar Rice Federation.
400,000 tonnes of rice export to China market as legal quota, according to official.
The talks took place during the Second China Myanmar Economic Corridor Forum held in Yunnan Province, China. The Myanmar delegation to the forum was led by Planning and Finance Minister U. The countries mainly discussed cooperation on the Kyauk Phyu Special Economic Zone, Muse-Mandalay railway project, and agricultural exports to China. Separately, Myanmar and China discussed rice raising rice exports to China to 400,000 tonnes. 
In 2016, China permitted Myanmar to export 100,000 tonnes of rice and now Myanmar rice merchants are seeking to raise the quota by 300,000 tonnes.
U Nay Lin Zin, joint secretary of the Myanmar Rice Federation, said China is supportive of exports of rice and broken rice in the border areas and will take action to legalise such border trade.
Description: A Myanmar farmer ploughs the land with buffaloes as he prepares to plant rice ahead of the rainy season in Naypyitaw. Photo - EPA
A Myanmar farmer ploughs the land with buffaloes as he prepares to plant rice ahead of the rainy season in Naypyitaw. Photo - EPA
Currently, Myanmar exports rice and broken rice to China through border trade, but the trade is not official and China’s government levies import taxes strictly for rice from Myanmar.
“Under the Belt and Road Initiative, China is trying to formalise trade with neighbouring countries. China should reduce import taxes if it wants to formalise trade. Doing so would only strengthen trade,” said U Nay Lin Zin.
During the talks, the Myanmar Rice Federation and sme Chinese companies also discussed barter-trade system for the rice from Myanmar and commodities from China. 
Myanmar exported 1.7 million tonnes of rice and broken rice worth US$ 578 million between April and December last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.  Around 52 percent was exported by sea, while therest was sold at the border to China. At those levels, rice exports have decreased by over a third from 2.5 million tonnes worth US$780 million in the same period the year before. The main reason for the recent fall in exports is lower demand from China

The Ministry of Commerce and Myanmar Rice Federation are now working on an action plan to increase rice exports. The plan includes improvements in production, quality, market information, and research, and connecting with new markets. 

Review: Hamtramck’s Yemeni sandwich maker Hello Shawarma stacks ‘Shower Burgers’ and shawarma burritos 

click to enlargeDescription: A “shower burger” — named after an amusing misspelling of “shawarma burger” that stuck.
A “shower burger” — named after an amusing misspelling of “shawarma burger” that stuck.

Hello Shawarma

12197 Conant St., Hamtramck
313-707-0988
Open Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.- 10 p.m., Friday-Saturday 10 a.m.- midnight, Sunday noon-10 p.m.
Wheelchair accessible
Prices: Entress $7 to $17, sandwiches $4.25 to $7
One of the best perks of living in Hamtramck are the killer sandwiches made by Yemeni immigrants, who fuse Middle Eastern and "American" ingredients and condiments. It's something that we've seen more of in recent years with restaurants like Boostan, Fantastic Subs, and others. What they've discovered is that cheese is really good on a chicken shawarma sandwich. So is ranch, and hot sauce, too.
Hello Shawarma — a Yemeni-owned carryout restaurant that rolls sandwiches in a small space next door to Walter's Party Store in Hamtramck's northeast corner — even gets into what's sort of "Mexican" turf with the shawarma burrito: a package consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped around shaved-from-the-spit beef or chicken shawarma, a mix of cheeses, lettuce, tomato, onion, and "Hello sauce," the latter of which is a mix of garlic sauce, mayo, and herbs.
Exhibit B is Hello Shawarma's Shower Burger, which doesn't hold a beef patty, but moist, small chicken shawarma shavings piled between round sesame seed buns with lettuce, tomato, onion, melted shredded cheddar cheese, and Hello sauce. Why is it called a "Shower Burger?" Owner Al-Hareth Malik says it was supposed to be called a "shawarma burger," but the company that made the sign accidentally wrote "shower." Malik and his crew thought it was funny, so here we are.
The excellent shawarma burritos and Shower Burgers don't exactly hold the flavor profiles of a Michelin-starred restaurant, which is partly why Hello Shawarma is the type of unassuming place that the food media might overlook. It's also off the beaten path, and its clientele is largely those living in the dense surrounding neighborhoods in Hamtramck and Detroit's Banglatown.
Many of Hello Shawarma's dishes are Middle Eastern fare that metro Detroit knows, and it does the standards well, but it's at its best in sandwiches like the saj shawarma. Saj is actually a common plate in parts of the Middle East that holds good and greasy meat that's rolled in a flour tortilla with potato chips, pickles, and garlic sauce. It's traditionally made with a thin, chewy bread, but Hello Shawarma substitutes a flour tortilla. Indeed, it tastes like a shawarma with potato chips on it, and that's a pretty good thing.
The chicken cream chop sandwich isn't unfamiliar, but the thick coating of ranch to go with its breaded chicken, lettuce, and tomato enhances the package. Even the Hello beef shawarma and Hello chicken shawarma sandwiches stand apart from the usual shawarma sandwiches. The former comes with beef heavily dusted with cumin, that's wrapped in a pita with onions, tomatoes, pickles, parsley, and tahini. The chicken shawarma's bird is rolled with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, parsley and Hello sauce. Those not looking for meat will find a falafel sandwich that's flavorful, though it's more like a standard issue falafel.
The sandwiches are only part of Hello Shawarma's menu, but there's a similar formula in the N.Y.-style gyro plate, which is a version of a common New York street food. Those of you who are also thrilled and proud that Hamtramck is the undisputed N.Y.-style gyro capital of the upper Midwest will want to know that Hello Shawarma's N.Y.-style gyros are made with hunks of gyro meat instead of ground chicken and beef, or shawarma meat, as the city's other NY-style gyro parlors do it. The rest of the package is standard — a bed of yellow rice with thick layers of lettuce, tomato, onions, meat, sriracha sauce, and house made ranch.
Hello Shawarma's sauteed lamb dish is filled with salty hunks of tender and slightly chewy lamb among slices of mushroom and onions and a very detectable presence of garlic and cilantro. That's all served with a bed of basmati rice. The deboned chicken is probably the best value on the menu — a mountain of basmati rice and five or six big hunks of charred chicken arrive in a tray with grilled hunks of red pepper, carrots, and zucchini. The bird was a little dry but super flavorful after cooking in either a mix of cumin coriander, clove, cardamom and other spices, or garlic paste, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
The sides and appetizers are the usual Middle Eastern restaurant plates, and the fattoush and vegetarian grape leaves do their job. The mojadara is a thick, dark brown mix of lentils, rice, and caramelized onions. Hello Shawarma also makes a long list of smoothies, which are solid.
Unique Indian cuisine at Park Point 
Royal of India
300 Park Point
Daily: 11:30 to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
360-4418; royalofindia.com
I went on a gastronomic adventure the other day. I was already eager to visit Royal of India in Park Point, not just because I enjoy heading to the plaza anyway for music and books, or because it's nice to see the previously empty space opened up again. I just really like Indian food.
Royal of India occupies a space where Asian fusion Wok With Me Too was, and it was a shame that it closed down. The first thing I noticed about Royal upon entering is that through the dining area is that it seems warmer than before, the lighting had not changed much. The walls are repainted a muted dandelion hue with merlot trim and accents. The new color scheme paired with the mahogany-stained lacquered tables contribute to the room feeling dark and cozy, though the dining area is as expansive and plentiful as it was before. And the vibe of the place just feels brighter, because owners Nobin and Anisha Chuhan ensure that someone greets you at the door immediately, so everyone instantly feels like they are welcome.
Nobin started me with some papadum (oven baked flat flour chips) ($1) with tamarind and mint chutneys and soon returned with vegetable samosas ($2.99). I tried my best to not devour all of these appetizers at once. After all, I had more entrees to sample. Alas, they were so good, and my will was weak. The papadum is light in texture, yet it is full of flavor, not just salty. Though deep fried, the vegetable samosas did not bleed oil on anything they touched. They were packed with vegetables, and dipping them in the tamarind chutney gave them a sweet-hot taste that I'll yearn for until the next time I visit.
Description: A feast for royals: some Indian cuisine standards, including chicken makhani and palak paneer, at Royal of India. - PHOTO BY JACOB WALSH
·     PHOTO BY JACOB WALSH
·       A feast for royals: some Indian cuisine standards, including chicken makhani and palak paneer, at Royal of India.
Next, Anisha brought out something I'd never seen in an Indian restaurant: chicken momo ($9.99; vegetable momo are also available). These are a set of six steamed dumplings stuffed with Nepali-seasoned chicken, and served with a spicy tomato sesame sauce. The dumplings and the sauce are both Anisha's own recipe. The chicken inside was so juicy, it nearly melted in my mouth. Again, I attempted to not eat all of them at once, and again, I consumed all of them.
Description: Royal of India's buffet changes items regularly, so a frequent visitor can sample the whole menu. - PHOTO BY JACOB WALSHFinally, Nobin provided me with three standard Indian restauarant dishes: aloo gobi ($10.99), palak paneer ($11.99), and chicken makhani ($12.99). The aloo gobi is a cauliflower potato medley sautéed with garlic, tomato, ginger, and other spices. Palak paneer includes cubed cheese mixed in a sautéed spinach and onion cream sauce. Chicken makhani is cubed chicken breasts in a sweet, creamy tomato sauce. All of these were accompanied with basmati rice and house-made garlic naan ($2.99).I will admit that I ate too much. I inhaled nearly all of the food I ordered, not out of gluttony, but out of enjoying the taste of everything put before me. The food here is so good, it was difficult to leave some to take home. Okay, I may be a little bit gluttonous.
click to enlarge
·     PHOTO BY JACOB WALSH
·       Royal of India's buffet changes items regularly, so a frequent visitor can sample the whole menu.

DA embarks on rice import liberalization info blitz

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:11 AM February 27, 2019
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has begun a nationwide information campaign on the effects of the newly enacted Rice Import Liberalization Law to allay fears of industry stakeholders who remain skeptical about the measure.
“The information campaign hopes to address the fears and concerns of the rice industry stakeholders as the government prepares to implement the law signed by President Duterte on Feb. 15,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said.
The regional consultation began yesterday at Clark, Pampanga, for stakeholders in Northern Luzon.
The following days will be dedicated to stakeholders in Southern Tagalog (Lipa, Batangas), Mindanao (Davao City), and Visayas (Iloilo City).
Piñol said the campaign aims to help the members of the rice industry understand the details of the law, and collate comments as part of the agency’s responsibility in the formulation of the law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR).
The IRR, which are being drafted by the government’s economic team and other concerned agencies, will thresh out the details of the law, including the process of importation and the new function of the National Food Authority under the new rice regime.
DA hopes that recommendations coming from stakeholders will be considered, to ensure that no part of the sector will be at a disadvantage. The secretary noted in an earlier interview the importance of holding dialogues, adding that “it is the stakeholders who know what they need.”
The measure, to be implemented next month, will allow private entities to import rice from more efficient producers outside the Philippines, provided that they pay the appropriate duties set by the law.
Farmer groups are worried that the unimpeded entry of more affordable rice will lead to “chaotic rice trading” and force local rice producers out of the market.
“I will be lying if I say that I feel comfortable with the measure. The truth is just like the rice farmers, I have my misgiving and fears,” Piñol said.
“But now that the measure has been signed into law, both I and the DA, as part of the instrumentalities of the government, must do our part to ensure that it is implemented well and loopholes plugged,” he added.
The secretary added that “in spite of the challenges that the rice industry is facing now, rice farming will continue and must be pursued.” —KARL R. OCAMPO

DA chief sees ‘hidden dangers’ in deregulated rice transactions

Published February 27, 2019 10:53pm 
The Rice Tariffication Law, which is set to take effect on March 5, will officially remove quantitative restrictions on rice.
In an episode of Brigada that aired on Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol admitted there are certain dangers to look out for in a more liberalized rice trade.
"It's a fantastic scenario but there could be hidden dangers, actually, because when you have unregulated transactions, what would prevent the importers from collaborating with one another?" he said.
"And instead of bringing in lower-priced rice, halimbawa yung 25 percent brokern, they bring in triple A rice from Vietnam which they would sell in the market at P50 to P60. Who's gonna prevent them from doing that? That could happen," he added.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has vowed that Republic Act No. 11203 will ensure that market rice prices will remain affordable.
The NEDA also said a drafting committee is finalizing the law's Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) which contains provisions on the removal of NFA’s regulatory powers and the streamlining of import requirements.
RA 11203 allows unlimited importation of rice as long as private sector traders secure a phytosanitary permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry and pay the tariff on shipments from Southeast Asia.
The measure, however, drew criticism from different sectors including local farmers who feared the law would impede their livelihood as imported rice is expected to flood the markets.
When Piñol was asked: 'Sa tingin niyo po ba, ito ang talagang magiging solusyon sa problema natin ng bigas?', he said: "I don't know if this is the right solution but since the law has been signed and I'm a worker of government, I have to implement it." — Margaret Claire Layug/BM, GMA News

Rice industry needs long term strategy

SGGPWednesday, February 27, 2019 14:23
Amid the context of poor consumption, paddy price in Mekong Delta provinces is  unlikely to be as high as it was in the past year; reducing rice farming area and balancing export volume are considered as a sustainable way out for the rice industry.
Description: Traders buy paddy in the Mekong Delta provinces. (Photo: SGGP)
Traders buy paddy in the Mekong Delta provinces. (Photo: SGGP)
After the Prime Minister’s instruction to buy paddy for temporary storage, the prices of paddy slightly increased but remained lower than previous year. Paddy prices and consumption are still facing difficulties. Consumption of winter-spring paddy has become an urgent matter as firms do not have enough credit to buy paddy for farmers. In order to solve the problem, the Government should have solutions and policies to establish longer value chain for rice industry, said Mr. Le Minh Hoan, Secretary of Dong Thap Province’s Party Committee.
Firms have been increasing purchase of paddy for farmers in the past few days.
Mr. Nam Hung, a farmer in Chau Thanh A District in Hau Giang Province, said that although firms have started to buy paddy, prices are still at extremely low levels. He has just sold at VND4,600 per kilogram, VND1,000 per kilogram lower than that in the same period last year, though his paddy variety is of high quality.
At such price level, farmers merely earn a profit of around VND20 million per hectare, about VND10 million per hectare lower than that in the previous year. Currently, the prices of paddy in Hau Giang, Can Tho and An Giang fluctuate from VND4,600 to VND5,100 per kilogram.
The price of winter-spring paddy has dropped VND300 per kilogram compared to that in the period before lunar New Year and VND1,000 per kilogram compared to the same period last year. Farmers still have profits but not much. Banks should provide open mechanism for firms to access capital source. Relevant ministries and industries should allocate quotas for buying of paddy for temporary stockpile in order to stabilize paddy level in provinces in the Mekong Delta, Mr. Le Tien Chau, chairman of the People’s Committee of Hau Giang Province, suggested.
Paddy prices have slightly gone up by VND100-VND150 per kilogram in the last few days after the Prime Minister instructed firms to buy paddy for temporary stockpile. However, in rural and remote areas, it was difficult for farmers to sell paddy to traders. Amid the situation, Dong Thap, Hau Giang, Tien Giang and Long An provinces have encouraged cooperatives and firms to open their warehouses to help farmers to keep paddy until paddy prices rebound. At the present, most rice exporters have been experiencing financial crunch. Meanwhile, farmers are on pins and needles, waiting for the price to go up and firms to buy paddy.
Capital source, longer loan duration and interest rate are the three main issues mentioned by rice exporters. According to some firms, in recent years, export of rice has been smooth since the beginning of this year. Firms usually export rice immediately after they buy. However, consumption is poor this year so firms need longer loan duration to stockpile rice and wait for suitable time for export.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Nam, chairman of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), said that rice export will be more complicated and face cutthroat competition this year.
Due to peak harvest, a sudden increase is seen in demand for stockpiling paddy. Most food traders experience a shortage of capital. VFA has proposed the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to ask commercial banks to provide specific credit package with maximum loan duration of six months to help firms to have enough money to buy paddy for farmers in March and hold initiative in choosing the suitable time to sell paddy. Hereby, farmers will also have money to invest in the coming summer-autumn rice crop.
SVB’s governor Le Minh Hung said that banks pledged to collaborate with provincial ministries and authorities to timely provide enough capital for firms with interest rate not higher than 6 percent per annum.
Mr. Le Minh Hoan said that the authority should get rid of old thinking and have a long-term strategy for rice industry though it does not contribute much in export turnover, it is the livelihood of millions farmers in the Mekong Delta provinces. His idea has received concurrence of several leaders of provinces in the Mekong Delta and firms.
Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the ministry is reviewing the area of paddy fields for the summary of food security program. In which, the ministry will propose a reduction of around 5,000 hectares of rice growing area out of 4 million hectares in inefficient regions. At the same time, it will carry out restructuring for rice industry. Firms will invest heavily in processing stage so as to make use of products made from rice, diversify market and focus on competing in home ground.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the past 10 years, paddy production hit 700-709 million tons of which commercial rice was 31-48 million tons per annum. The largest rice producers in the world include China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Brazil and Japan. Last year, rice exports exceeded US$3 billion, the highest level in the past six years.
By Cao Phong – Translated by Thuy Doan

Best parts of the deferred Rice Bill should be retained: Farmers’ networkDescription: File photo

national February 27, 2019 01:00
By PIYAPORN WONGRUANG
THE NATION

THE COUNTRY’S leading alternative farm advocacy group yesterday suggested that future parliamentarians retain the best parts of the scrapped Rice Bill while improving regulations that would otherwise give an advantage to big agro firms.


The latest version of the bill, as updated on Monday, contained some good points after amendments to the previous version, said Witoon Lianchamroon, director of the Biodiversity-Sustainable Agriculture-Sovereignty Action Thailand (BioThai Foundation).
On the positive side, the changes specifically addressed the need for farmers to continue using local rice varieties that they have come to rely on. However, the amendments failed to ensure that the local varieties would be endorsed by the state like the privately developed varieties, and that could deny them widespread use like the varieties sold by big agro firms in the market. Such restrictive clauses should be removed, Witoon said.
In addition, Article 27/3, which had been added, should not include “new rice varieties” for state promotion and support, he said. Up to 80 per cent of these new varieties were already protected under the Plant Varieties Protection Act. As farmers could not legally produce them locally, there is no need for further protection or support under a future rice bill, but there is a need to ensure farmers are not further deprived of their rights.
He said the lawmakers should not have based the bill’s language on the Plant Varieties Protection Act, which already protected the rights of commercial breeders at the expense of the rights of farmers.
India’s Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers’ Rights Act should be explored as a model, Witoon suggested.
The Rice Bill, the first in the country aiming for holistic rice production management, became highly controversial and was rewritten several times before the final draft was finished on Monday but was “postponed indefinitely” by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) yesterday. The most controversial point lay in Section 5, concerning zoning and trade in rice varieties. Critics accused the section of depriving farmers of their right to access their favoured, and often local, varieties and instead forcing them to buy certified varieties from big agro firms.
Key NLA drafter Kittisak Rattanawaraha announced the postponement of the controversial bill shortly after the NLA began deliberating seven laws, including the Rice Bill, whose readings were being rushed through. 
Description: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/img/photos/2019/February/26/92455a337c25338cc4760aed209142d5.jpeg
File photo
Kittisak told a press conference that before deliberations began, he met NLA president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, whip Somchai Sawangkarn, and some others involved in drafting the Rice Bill. They concluded that deliberations for the second and third readings to pass the bill could not be completed before the NLA adjourned. They decided the bill should be postponed indefinitely.
He denied the NLA was instructed by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to end deliberations on the bill, saying it had nothing to do with the General. In an open letter by 32 civil groups in the Northeast on Sunday, Prayut was urged to pressure the NLA to drop the bill.

Thailand’s Farmers Applaud the Shelving of Controversial Rice Bill

Thai Rice Growers Association chairman Suthep Kongmak support the deferral of the Rice Bill as it was a positive move and a mutual way out of the current impasse on the matter.
BANGKOK – Thailand’s Rice Growers Association has hailed the move by the Thai Junta Government the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to shelve the controversial Rice Bill as a positive move and a mutual way out of the current impasse on the matter.
Rice Growers Association chairman, Suthep Kongmak, said Tuesday the deferral was a positive move and a mutual way out of the current impasse on the matter.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he was informed lawmakers had decided to put the bill on hold in a bid to boost public understanding about its provisions.
“They did not want to have this issue distorted. There are a lot of people who understand it and a lot who don’t,” said Gen Prayut. “I’m worried about those farmers who haven’t yet grasped it.”
The bill was scheduled to be deliberated in its second and third readings Tuesday afternoon, but NLA president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai told legislators that the bill had been pulled.
Kittisak Ratanawaraha, spokesman of an NLA committee vetting the bill, said it was a pity the bill was not on the agenda but that this was agreed on in a meeting between Mr Pornpetch, NLA whip Somchai Sawangkarn, the committee’s chairman Gen Marut Patchotasing, the committee’s chief adviser Singsuek Singprai, as well as himself.
The group decided to postpone the matter indefinitely and parliament will decide whether to pursue it after the March 24 election, Mr Kittisak said.
“The bill is still with parliament. When a new government comes into office, they could take it up for consideration,” said Mr Kittisak. “The NLA will not deliberate it anymore for fear of sparking social conflict.”
By Aekarach Sattaburuth and Sunthorn Pongpao




Food and Agribusiness Webinars

Webinar Series Produced by University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture


Host and Interviewer


Bobby Coats 
Professor - Economics

University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness

Executive Producer


Mary Poling 
Coordinator of Interactive Communications

University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Office of Information Technology

 

Upcoming Webinars:

Date: Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019

Time: 8:00 AM CST

Title: Climate Change and Food Security: Challenges and Solutions.

Description: : Energy, climate and water have been an integral part of food security in the 20th century. The reliance of modern agriculture on these three parameters is the basis for the green revolution paradigm. This paradigm requires cheap energy (i.e. fertilizer), available water (i.e. irrigation), and a stable climate in order to provide the food, fiber and fuel needs for a population of approximately 7 billion people. Unfortunately, it is increasingly clear that all three parameters are changing rapidly and unpredictably. Consequently the ability to maintain, not only the current food supply (principally cereals), but to meet the caloric needs of the additional 2 billion individuals anticipated by 2040 is quickly being recognized as a global “stress test” of science and agriculture. Here I will overview both the direct (water, climate) and indirect (nutrition, pollinators) factors that are likely to contribute to changes in cereal productivity. In addition, I will outline a set of probable strategies that can, potentially, address these challenges; including polyculture, energy efficiency, CO2 breeding and improved pest management.

Presenter: Dr. Ziska is a Plant Physiologist with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Maryland. After graduating from the University of California, Davis, he began his career as a Smithsonian fellow, and then took up residence as the Project Leader for global climate change at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines before joining USDA. Since joining USDA, Dr. Ziska has published over 100 peer-reviewed research articles related to climate change and rising carbon dioxide that address: (1) Agriculture and Food Security; (2) Weeds and weed management; (3) Invasive species; (4) Plant biology and public health. Dr. Ziska is a contributor to the 2014 International Panel on Climate Change report (Food Security Chapter); the 2014 National Climate Assessment (Public Health Chapter); and most recently, The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment. His work has appeared in Scientific American, USA Today, CBS Nightly News, CBS’ Sunday Morning, National Geographic, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of Weed Biology and Climate Change (with Jeff Dukes, Wiley Press) and the editor of Invasive Species and Global Climate Change (with Jeff Dukes, CABi Press). His most recent book is: Agriculture, Climate Change and Food Security in the 21st Century: Our Daily Bread, through Cambridge Scholars publishing.
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Thailand’s Farmers Applaud the Shelving of Controversial Rice Bill
Thai Rice Growers Association chairman Suthep Kongmak support the deferral of the Rice Bill as it was a positive move and a mutual way out of the current impasse on the matter.BANGKOK – Thailand’s Rice Growers Association has hailed the move by the Thai Junta Government the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to shelve the controversial Rice Bill as a positive move and a mutual way out of the current impasse on the matter. Rice Growers Association chairman, Suthep Kongmak, said Tuesday the deferral was a positive move and a mutual way out of the current impasse on the matter. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he was informed lawmakers had decided to put the bill on hold in a bid to boost public understanding about its provisions. “They did not want to have this issue distorted. There are a lot of people who understand it and a lot who don’t,” said Gen Prayut. “I’m worried about those farmers who haven’t yet grasped it.” The bill was scheduled to be deliberated in its second and third readings Tuesday afternoon, but NLA president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai told legislators that the bill had been pulled. Kittisak Ratanawaraha, spokesman of an NLA committee vetting the bill, said it was a pity the bill was not on the agenda but that this was agreed on in a meeting between Mr Pornpetch, NLA whip Somchai Sawangkarn, the committee’s chairman Gen Marut Patchotasing, the committee’s chief adviser Singsuek Singprai, as well as himself. The group decided to postpone the matter indefinitely and parliament will decide whether to pursue it after the March 24 election, Mr Kittisak said. “The bill is still with parliament. When a new government comes into office, they could take it up for consideration,” said Mr Kittisak. “The NLA will not deliberate it anymore for fear of sparking social conflict.”
China to officially import rice and broken rice from Myanmar
Description: Trucks on Mandalay-Muse road section. (Photo-Tun Nay Hlaing)
Trucks on Mandalay-Muse road section. (Photo-Tun Nay Hlaing)
PUBLISHED 27 FEBRUARY 2019
China will officially import rice and broken rice via China-Myanmar border this year, according to a statement by the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF).
The delegation led by Union Minister for Planning and Finance Soe Win and officials from Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) attended the 2nd China Myanmar Economic Corridor Forum held in Yunnan of China From February 18 to 23.
At the forum, both sides discussed a plan to export a quota of 400,000 tons of rice to China in 2019. China has warned that it would take effective action against illegal exports. Myanmar allows exports of rice to China at Muse border gate. But China has not designated rice imported from Myanmar as an legal good. Whenever Chinese authorities have made crackdown on rice imports, Chinese merchants have to suspend rice imports from Myanmar frequently. Due to China’s crackdown over the months, the rice exports via border gates have declined by half.
Nay Lin Zin, Secretary of Myanmar Rice Millers Association said: “Since many years, we have long been relying on informal trade. Chinese merchants are unable to buy rice as Chinese authorities are trying to legalize rice imports.”
Myanmar exports rice to EU and African countries via sea route and to China via Muse border trade.
From April, 2018 to January 18, 2019, Myanmar earned over 640 million USD from the exports of over 1.9 million tons of rice.
Rice export via border route accounts for 51 per cent of the total rice exports and the export via sea route for over 48 per cent.

PH rice competitive vs imports, says Neda
More than half of the country’s rice producers are capable of competing with imported rice  in terms of prices, while those who cannot may opt to plant special rice variants and develop a niche market. This was Socioeconomic Planning Undersecretary Rosemary Edillon’s response to claims of industry groups that the deregulation of rice importation would displace thousands of local farmers. The policy shift is expected to be implemented next month, following the approval of the Rice Import Liberalization Act by President Duterte.
 “There are about 46 provinces that are competitive, meaning they can compete [with imported rice] in terms of price. That’s out of 76 or 78 rice-producing provinces, so more than half,” Edillon said in a phone interview. “Not all farmers need a significant push for them to be very competitive. Some farmers even produce high-quality rice, in which case, they would compete not on the basis of price but on the basis of quality,” she added. Edillon cited Nueva Ecija, Kalinga and Iloilo as some of the areas whose rice output could compete with imported rice. In a roundtable discussion yesterday, industry groups said the cost of producing rice in the country was still higher than those in other countries. Even with the tariffs, imports would still be cheaper.
Teodoro Mendoza, a former professor at the University of the Philippines Los Baños who sat at the Philippine Rice Research Institute’s board, said the annual subsidy set by the government for the farm sector would not be enough to modernize the rice industry. Under the measure, a Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund was created to subsidize rice farmers with a yearly allocation of P10 billion. Mendoza said the amount was only 2.5 percent of the sector’s contribution to the economy at P400 billion. He said to mechanize the industry, the government would need to shell out P31 billion. However, Edillon said excess from the tariff revenue would be used to develop the sector. The Neda projected a yearly revenue of P28 billion from the law.
https://business.inquirer.net/265785/ph-rice-competitive-vs-imports-says-neda?utm_expid=.XqNwTug2W6nwDVUSgFJXed.1

NFA to focus solely on buffer stocking under Rice Tariffication Law

Published February 28, 2019 4:01pm 
By JON VIKTOR D. CABUENAS, GMA News
There will be intermittent supplies of rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) starting March, with an influx of cheap commercial rice expected due to the passage of the Rice Tariffication Law, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said Thursday.
According to NEDA Assistant Secretary Mercedita Sombilla, the NFA mandate will be reduced solely to ensure the sufficient supply of buffer stocks of rice in the Philippines.
Under its current mandate, NFA regulates the rice sector, and is the only agency allowed to import rice shipments into the country. However, this will be changed by the Rice Tariffication Law.
Starting March 5, the NFA will only be mandated to ensure that the Philippines has enough buffer stocks—30 days worth of the country's total consumption during the lean season, and 15 days otherwise.
"Until December 2019, NFA buffer stocks will continue to have the 15- to 30-day inventory stock and all other existing guidelines will be followed," said Sombilla.
"What's going to be removed immediately would be the regulatory function—licensing and provision of import permits to traders," she explained.
Under the new law, the buffer stocks will be released in areas which would be affected by disasters and calamities. Otherwise, the supplies will be stored by the NFA until such time that they will be qualified to be auctioned off.
"They are going to be replenished. You cannot keep that buffer stock for a long time," said Sombilla, noting that this will be the time when the supplies would be auctioned off.
The auctioned rice, already marketed as commercial rice, will then be released to the market, which will most likely be priced at P27 per kilogram.
"There will still be the P27 [per kilogram rice] in the market, but we can probably expect much lower price with cheaper imports coming in," said Sombilla.
"Certainly, the P27 will continue to be there because of NFA's buffer stocking and its continuous unloading of its stocks. It can probably even go cheaper once we stabilize the market," she added.
The Rice Tariffication Law also allows the unlimited importation of rice as long as private sector traders secure a phytosanitary permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry and pay the 35-percent tariff for shipments from neighbors in Southeast Asia.
The law earmarks P10 billion for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), of which P5 billion will be allotted to farm mechanization and P3 billion to seedlings. The fund intends to ensure that rice imports won’t drown out the agriculture sector and rob farmers of their livelihood.
In the same press conference, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the additional funds are expected to drive the growth of the agriculture sector moving forward.
"To the extent that the additional P5 billion will be used proactively or immediately by the farmers and it can be dispersed so quickly with the new 2019 budget, then it can have an impact with the lag, perhaps in the third or fourth quarter of the year," he said.
Pernia earlier blamed the weak performance of the agriculture sector in 2018 as one of the factors why the Philippines fell behind its economic growth target of 6.5 to 6.9 percent in 2018. — BM, GMA News

DA gets P5-B to cushion impact of rice import liberalization
 February 28, 2019, 1:18 pm
MANILA — Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said that PHP5 billion has already been released under the 2018 national budget to protect farmers from the possible adverse effects of the lifting of the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) on rice.
Last December 2018, a Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) amounting to PHP5 billion was released to the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the National Rice Program, the administration's economic team announced in a joint statement on Thursday.
This program is complementary to the Rice Tariffication Law’s Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, or RCEF, a PHP10-billion fund that will help farmers transition to a new rice regime.
According to Diokno, “we are listening very carefully to the concerns of our farmers. Some are worried that the RCEF is an unprogrammed fund, which can only be released once there is excess revenue. We will make sure that a minimum of PHP10 billion is made available for the RCEF per year in farmer support programs even if tariff collections are less than expected.”
“PHP5 billion was released in December 2018 to help protect farmers through the National Rice Program. Another PHP10 billion will be released through the RCEF once excess revenue collection is realized from the tariffs on rice imports,” National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said.
RCEF will be used to provide farmers tools and equipment, assistance in the production, promotion, and distribution of certified rice seeds, upgrading of post-harvest storage facilities, credit assistance, irrigation support, and R&D support.
“The RCEF will ensure that protection will go to farmers through direct support programs. We will make certain that affected farmers will receive proper and adequate support as they transition to a new regime. We will also establish transparency and grievance mechanisms for this purpose,” said Pernia.
The Rice Tariffication Law was signed and approved by President Duterte last February 14. The law, which seeks to liberalize the importation of rice, is expected to lower retail prices of rice, help lower inflation by 0.5 to 0.7 percentage points this year, and improve farmers’ incomes, productivity and competitiveness.
According to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, “On economic impact, liberalizing the rice sector could also translate into upgrades from credit rating agencies, thus lower borrowing costs for the country, besides making it more attractive to investors.” (PR)

Mechanical rice production

February 26, 2019 by David Bradley, Inderscience
Description: rice
Cambodia, Kratie: A worker is removing the rice seedlings. Image: Wikipedia
Growing rice is an intensive business. But in China where it is the primary food crop, mechanisation has not reached maturity, although it is as high as 90 per cent in some provinces. Writing in the International Journal of Information Technology and Management, researchers have looked at the fuel consumption index and the working efficiency index as the main basis for a rice transfer machine.
Xin Yang and Zhenxiang Zeng of the School of Economics and Management, Hebei University of Technology, Jinyu Wei of the School of Management, at Tianjin University of Technology, and Xinjiang Cai of Yanshan University, explain how they have determined the best model for an optimal working ratio and efficiency, which not only satisfies the requirements of a short payback period on investment but also gives the operator long service life of the equipment.
The team explains that in most areas of China, manual handling is still the main way in which harvested rice is taken from field to transportation. Of course, given that rice grows in wet land, those fields are still wet, muddy after the harvest and manual handling is slow, inefficient, and uncomfortable for the handlers. "This problem cannot be ignored, because the traditional way has become the bottleneck of the realisation of full mechanisation of the rice farming," the team explains. The insights gained from the team's analysis of mechanical picking could ultimately boost the amount of mechanization in other provinces allowing rice farming to become more efficient as the population continues to grow.
More information: Xin Yang et al. The research on the selection of the rice transfer machine, International Journal of Information Technology and Management (2019). DOI: 10.1504/IJITM.2019.097885

USA Rice Calls Out Chinese Violations in Puerto Rico  
By Jesica Kincaid
 
ARLINGTON, VA -- USA Rice representatives traveled to Puerto Rico last month to meet with U.S. customs officials and the trade in response to mislabeled rice supplied by China's state grain trader entering that market. 
Puerto Rico is an important medium grain outlet traditionally supplied by milled rice from the mid-South, but USA Rice believes an importer there is now improperly labeling the country of origin of a rice brand and likely marketing short grain rice as medium grain, both violations of U.S. regulations.
"As the U.S. rice industry continues its decade-plus fight to sell rice to China, China's state trader is taking advantage of the open U.S. market to capture a significant share of the business in Puerto Rico, with what appears to be rice improperly labeled and being sold well below prevailing world prices," said USA Rice COO Bob Cummings who led the mission to defend this important market.
Cummings explained that U.S. Customs regulations require the country of origin of imported goods be clearly identified to U.S. consumers, but that the rice in question is labeled, "Product of China and/or USA," which is not allowed.
"We made our case to U.S. Customs officials in San Juan and asked for appropriate enforcement," he said. "The rice from China also appears to be short grain, but is packaged and labeled as medium grain, and we intend to pursue this labeling violation as well."
"It appears someone is trying to mislead American consumers here with at the very least ambiguous labeling if not outright false labeling," said Bobby Hanks, a Louisiana miller and Chair of USA Rice's International Trade Policy Committee. "And then you look at the impossibly low prices being offered and it's hard to conclude they are doing anything other than trying to steal this market out from underneath us."

The U.S. Customs district of San Juan, Puerto Rico reports imports of 22,271 metric tons of milled rice from China in the first 11 months of 2018, nearly 10 times the amount during the same period of 2017.  Imports from China were negligible in the preceding years.  "We will aggressively pursue these violations to restore this market for U.S. rice against a competitor who continues to not play by the rules," Cummings concluded.
USA Rice Daily

Haiti’s desperation puts US rice sector in a bind

By Bill Tomson
The island nation of Haiti, rocked by recent violent protests over allegations of corruption, inflation and a flailing economy, needs cheap food, and the country is reaching out to U.S. rice farmers and millers for help.

Haiti’s desperation puts US rice sector in a bind

By Bill Tomson
The island nation of Haiti, rocked by recent violent protests over allegations of corruption, inflation and a flailing economy, needs cheap food, and the country is reaching out to U.S. rice farmers and millers for help.
It was soon after Haiti President Jovenel Moise pledged in a televised address earlier this month that he would not step down amid the turmoil, that his foreign affairs minister walked into the USA Rice Federation’s suite of offices in Arlington, Va.
Minister Bocchit Edmond was on a mission to try to secure cheap food to help quell the hostilities that were spilling out into the streets in the form of riots. With urgent requests for help from the U.S. government so far unanswered, Edmond — together with Haitian Ambassador Hervé Denis — found himself at the Arlington offices, seated across from leaders of the largest association of rice millers and farmers in the U.S.
"We are very appreciative Minister Edmond personally came to brief us on the very serious situation," USA Rice President and CEO Betsy Ward said in a statement after the meeting with Edmond.
While USA Rice’s leaders offered their sympathy, there is little the group can do to help the Haitians, according to industry sources with knowledge of the meeting.
The group was being put in a precarious situation. On one hand, Haiti is the second largest foreign market for U.S. rice by volume, so upsetting the ruling administration could have negative consequences. On the other hand, U.S. rice farmers and millers are commercial operations that cannot survive if they give away their product.
Haitian farmers produce about 80,000 metric tons of rice per year, but the nation needs a lot more than that. Haiti imports about 500,000 tons every year, according to USDA data, and about 90 percent of that comes from the U.S.
The U.S. rice sector “is certainly not in a position to operate in Haiti other than on a competitive basis,” an industry source told Agri-Pulse.
Securing cheap food — rice is present in almost every Haitian meal — is so important to the stability of his country that President Moise made a surprise call to talk to USA Rice leaders and Edmond in the middle to their meeting. 
“Even though we do have Haitian importers, we are trying to see if (USA Rice) can talk to different associations or different rice producers and how they can help our importers to get a better weight or price,” Edmond told Agri-Pulse in an interview.
USA Rice was at a loss for a direct answer to Edmond, the minister said, but he admitted his suspicions that the answer will not be what he is hoping for.
What he and President Moise are asking for is that the USA Rice Federation somehow rally its members to come to Haiti’s assistance by slashing their prices and shipping over tons of discounted rice to the government, which would then distribute the grain cheaply.
The idea, Edmond said, is to mollify the population that is struggling to afford fuel and basic food commodities. It’s a simple supply and demand equation, the minister said. If U.S. rice farmers helped flood the country with rice, the cost to Haitians could not help but drop, even during the current ramped-up inflation.
But U.S. rice farmers, millers and the USA Rice Federation cannot legally fix or arbitrarily reduce prices. Sympathies aside, that message was given directly to Edmond during the Arlington meeting, two industry officials said.
“One of the things (Edmond) was told is that under U.S. statute … it is unlawful to collude on prices and so (the U.S. rice industry) cannot come together and say that they are going to cut prices for Haiti,” an industry source said. “It is simply a commercial market.”
And U.S. farmers need it to remain a commercial market and not morph into an “aid” country, another industry source said.
Officials that could help are at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), but the agency would not commit to any food aid beyond what it is already providing “to families severely affected by natural disasters, such as recurring drought and tropical storms.” 
One complication, a USAID spokesman told Agri-Pulse, is the agency does not want to hurt local farmers by flooding markets and pushing down prices.
“Our decisions on when, where, and what type of additional emergency food assistance we provide in Haiti are separate and apart from the current political situation,” the spokesman said. “USAID bases its assistance on assessed needs and local context, including detailed evaluations of local market conditions to ensure the interventions are appropriate and do not displace Haitian farmers.”
For more news, go to: www.Agri-Pulse.com


https://punemirror.indiatimes.com/pune/civic/sppu-ncl-work-to-boost-aroma-of-basmati-grains/articleshow/68191677.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst


A 100 varieties of rice were explored from Karnataka, Maharashtra and North India; PIC: NIKHIL GHORPADE
Soil pollution and pesticide abuse have resulted in the quality getting compromised

Scientists and professors at Pune University are working to formulate a composition that enhances the aroma and quality of the basmati and other scented rice varieties. A research on the same has been published in Food Chemistry journal and Springer has brought out Scented rice (Oryza sativa L) Cultivars of India: APerspective on Quality and Diversity, a book on the same.

The experts claim that increasing soil pollution and pesticide abuse have resulted in degrading the quality of the crop and aroma of the grain.
“A compound called 2 acetyl 1 pyrroline is responsible for the peculiar aroma of the basmati and some other scented rice varieties,” said Altafhusain Nadaf, a professor at the botany department of Savitribai Phule University (SPPU). Nadaf said that the compounds, along with other volatiles, present in different proportions result in varying degree of aroma.

The professor said that researchers explored over 100 varieties of rice across Karnataka, Maharashtra and North India, where these cash crop varieties grow.

Syed Dastager, a senior scientist at National Collection of Industrial Microorganisms, National Chemical Laboratory (NCIM, NCL), said, “There is a lot of awareness on the organic growth of the vegetables and food. The idea is to restore the original properties of the rice that are lost to the hybrid ones.”

He added that these scented rice varieties, especially basmati, fetch good value in the export market. “There is a dip in the price due to the deteriorating quality of the grains,” Dastegar said.


Dastager added that using natural methods like bacteria that are responsible for the aroma synthesis were identified and separated for cultivation. The bacteria were cultivated and introduced to the soil near the roots in a natural way. “The result was positive as the aroma quality enhanced and also the quality of the crop,” he added. Along with basmati, other scented varieties studied were ambemohar, kumud, ghansal, tansal and kalsal, among the hundred plus species.

He added that creating a consortium of two aroma synthesising bacteria also helped to improve the quality of the produce and aroma. “Such consortium of rice variety Ambemohar 157 and Basmati 370 yielded better growth of the crop. The field experiments have shown that such possibilities are achievable through natural methods,” Nadaf told Mirror. Efforts are now being made to carry out observations by taking the experiments out of controlled conditions.

Farmers applaud Rice Bill being put on ice

Description: C:\Users\Mujahid\Downloads\Farmers applaud Rice Bill being put on ice _ Bangkok Post_ news_files\c1_1635690_190227070606_620x413.jpg
Thai Rice Growers Association chairman Suthep Kongmak support the deferral of the Rice Bill as it was a positive move and a mutual way out of the current impasse on the matter.Farmers' groups have hailed the National Legislative Assembly (NLA)'s move to shelve the controversial Rice Bill.Thai Rice Growers Association chairman, Suthep Kongmak, said Tuesday the deferral was a positive move and a mutual way out of the current impasse on the matter.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he was informed lawmakers had decided to put the bill on hold in a bid to boost public understanding about its provisions.
"They did not want to have this issue distorted. There are a lot of people who understand it and a lot who don't," said Gen Prayut. "I'm worried about those farmers who haven't yet grasped it."
The bill was scheduled to be deliberated in its second and third readings Tuesday afternoon, but NLA president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai told legislators that the bill had been pulled.
Kittisak Ratanawaraha, spokesman of an NLA committee vetting the bill, said it was a pity the bill was not on the agenda but that this was agreed on in a meeting between Mr Pornpetch, NLA whip Somchai Sawangkarn, the committee's chairman Gen Marut Patchotasing, the committee's chief adviser Singsuek Singprai, as well as himself.
The group decided to postpone the matter indefinitely and parliament will decide whether to pursue it after the March 24 election, Mr Kittisak said.
"The bill is still with parliament. When a new government comes into office, they could take it up for consideration," said Mr Kittisak. "The NLA will not deliberate it anymore for fear of sparking social conflict