Thursday, September 12, 2019

https://thecubanhandshake.org/rice-farmers-hope-cuban-trade-could-spur-local-boost/

Rice farmers hope Cuban trade could spur local boost

BATON ROUGE – Rice is a big part of Louisiana’s culture, and the state grows more than almost every other state in the country.
Now, state leaders are hoping to expand the industry even more, by trading with Cuba.
Just west of Baton Rouge, rice farms are working diligently providing the food we all know and love. This year, rice industry leaders have their eye on Cuba, a nation that imports about the same amount of rice that Louisiana grows.
But exporting that rice to Cuba has been impossible for the last fifty years.
“The US is not allowed to sell rice to Cuba,” Jim Guinn said. “If we were able to, it’s one of the largest markets in the western hemisphere for rice.”
Now that diplomatic relations are slowly starting to thaw, local products may soon leave our ports headed straight to the island.
Louisiana exports about half of the rice it produces, and because of its location, experts say trading to Cuba is a no brainer. It could also provide a much needed economic boost to local farmers.
Farmers like Kevin Berkin are struggling to make ends meet. That’s why he supports the state’s efforts to branch out and explore new markets.
State leaders, local farmers and businessmen are planning to take a trip to Cuba in July to discuss new moves for trade, tourism and economic development.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

11th September,2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter


Rice stocks rise 40.3% in August


SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
RICE STOCKS RISE 40.3% IN AUGUST
THE country’s rice inventory increased by 40.3 percent to 2.133 million metric tons (MT) as of August 1, compared to its level a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
In its monthly inventory report, PSA said the figure, however, was 18.7 percent lower from 2.625 million MT a month earlier.
PSA said stocks in National Food Authority (NFA) depositories rose by 355.8 percent to 461.03 million MT year-on-year. Likewise, stocks in the households and commercial warehouses were up by 6.2 percent to 792.66 million MT and 30.7 percent to 880.15 million MT, respectively.
Description: https://s14255.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/rice.jpgA seller fixes his rice display in his store at the Quinta Market in Quiapo, Manila. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
On a monthly basis, stocks from all sectors posted significant decreases. Total stocks from households went down by 21.4 percent while that from commercial warehouses and NFA depositories fell by 20.0 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively.
Of the total rice inventories, 41.2 percent were from commercial warehouses, 37.1 percent from the households, and 21.6 percent from NFA depositories.
The country’s rice stocks rose with the implementation of Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law, which opened up the market to the unimpeded flow of cheap imported rice.
The Philippines is seen to become the second largest importer in the world this year, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Philippine rice imports are expected to reach an all-time high of 3 million MT, just 500,000 MT short of China’s rice importation requirement.
In the same report, PSA said total corn stocks declined by 40.7 percent to 724,080 MT as of August 1 from last year’s 1.221 million MT. The figure was also fell by 12 percent from 822,700 MT in July.
Corn stocks inventory from households grew by 32.9 percent to 93,300 MT while it decreased by 45.2 percent to 630,780 in commercial warehouses year-on-year. Meanwhile, there were no corn stocks in NFA depositories during the period.
Compared to their levels a month earlier, total corn stock in the households went up by 52.5 percent while those from commercial warehouses fell by 17.2 percent.
Some 87.1 percent of the total corn inventory was held by commercial warehouses while the remaining 12.9 percent consisted of inventory held by households.

Repeal of rice tariffication law sought

By: DJ Yap - Reporter / @deejayapINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:09 AM September 10, 2019
MANILA, Philippines — Calls are mounting at the House of Representatives for the amendment or the downright repeal of the law that liberalized rice importation, which has been blamed for the plummeting prices of palay or unhusked rice to the detriment of local farmers.
Occidental Mindoro Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato and Quezon City Rep. Jose Christopher Belmonte expressed their intent to file a joint resolution to amend Republic Act No. 11203, or the rice tariffication law, which led to the unimpeded importation of rice with corresponding tariffs.
“We need to move quickly to help our farmers who are in a dire situation,” Sato said in a statement.
‘Worst harvest season’
“They are gearing up for the worst harvest season in the history of palay production this September and October and we should be able to assist them in their most difficult time,” she added.
Belmonte said he and his colleagues in the Liberal Party would push for the measure to help the executive department explore more sources of funding for direct cash transfers for farmers to “help save them.”
The Makabayan bloc, on the other hand, said the plight of local farmers necessitated more drastic action, particularly the repeal of the law.
“The signs of the times reaffirm the need to repeal a measure that has ensured immense profit for rice traders, has starved our farmers and their families, and has wreaked havoc to our local rice industry,” the group said.
The Makabayan bloc includes Representatives Ferdinand Gaite, Carlos Zarate, Eufemia Cullamat, Arlene Brosas, France Castro and Sarah Elago.
Prices of palay plummet
The rice tariffication law was one of the measures eyed by the country’s economic managers to help address soaring inflation by allowing the public access to cheap rice.
To protect the agricultural sector, the bill created the P10-billion Rice Competitive Enhancement Fund to help local farmers improve their productivity and competitiveness.
Critics, however, said the law had failed to address the sudden and sharp plunge in the price of palay in many parts of the country.
Sato confirmed reports that the prices of palay had plummeted to P7 to P8.
On Thursday, Sen. Francis Pangilinan filed a joint resolution in the Senate to amend the rice tariffication law and to grant P13 billion in immediate cash assistance to rice farmers.
The Makabayan lawmakers said rice liberalization had visibly produced “disastrous impacts” on farmers, millers and consumers.
“As of the second week of August, retail prices of regular and well-milled rice remain high at P38.38 per kilo and P42.71 per kilo, respectively, despite massive importation of cheap rice,” the group said.
Laws, whether good or bad, are manipulated by crooks
SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
·       LAWS, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD, ARE MANIPULATED BY CROOKS
Description: https://s14255.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MARLEN-V.-RONQUILLO.jpgMARLEN V. RONQUILLO
THE Republic Act (RA) 10592, or Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) Law, if implemented according to its lofty ideals, would give a second lease on life to convicted criminals — except those who committed heinous crimes — who have behaved well in prison and with the real intent of going back to the mainstream as reformed men and women.
The impact of the law on the broader society, again if implemented based on its lofty ideals, would be immense. The crowded jails would be decongested. The budgetary allocation for the correctional system would ease up. The ex-criminals who return to the mainstream with the best of intentions will take on any job just to prove their worth, and this would fill up jobs that very few and only the desperate would take.
The current knee-jerk reactions to the GCTA, which came in the wake of the Sanchez release fiasco, are totally unnecessary. What the law probably needs is an iron-clad provision that states that the dregs like Sanchez are not covered.
The truth is the GCTA is a policy reform of the prison system that is tempered and moderate, once viewed in the context of what developed economies have been doing. If you are observant enough, you will be electrified by what is going on in San Francisco, one of the world’s wealthiest and most liberal cities, in relation to the upcoming election of its new district attorney or DA.
One of the candidates is Chesa Boudin, a Yale-trained lawyer. Both his parents, members of the radical group called Weather Underground (many men of my age are familiar with the actions of this group and that was during general period of the First Quarter Storm), started their long prison sentences when Chesa was just 14 months old. The dad is still in prison and a parole consideration will only come upon reaching 112 years old. His mother, released earlier, has earned her PhD.
This sums up the campaign philosophy of Boudin and what he stands against: “Money bail instead of equal justice. Solitary confinement instead of meaningful treatment. Building prisons instead of funding education.”
Boudin also promises to close down most of San Francisco jails under a sweeping criminal justice and prison reform plank.
The GCTA, or what comes close to our own version of a well-intended prison reform program, is the most talked-about law in the country right now because the usual suspects have taken advantage of the law to make money illegally. Around 1,900 convicts jailed for heinous crimes, including the killers of the Chiong sisters of Cebu City, have been freed under the GCTA.
The GCTA Law excludes those who were jailed for heinous crimes, and the mass release from jail of 1,900 convicts could have only been fast-tracked by money changing hands. The Ombudsman is now looking into the culpability of past and present Bureau of Correction (BuCor) officials. Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto 3rd said he had received reliable information that, indeed, there is a “freedom for sale” racket going on at the National Bilibid Prisons.
Some of the 1,900 may be already out of the authorities’ reach as they may have slipped out of the country. Of course, they will be treated as “fugitives” after the presidential deadline on their surrender lapses. The problem is that those capable of committing heinous crimes are not easily threatened. What if they have now assumed new identifies?
If they can pay for their release, they can also pay to acquire new identities.
RA 11203, or the “Rice Tariffication Law,” is definitely a bad law — a very, very bad law. When a law literally sentences three million small rice farmers with the death penalty — and invents token amelioration such as pledging tariff collections from unlimited rice imports to supposedly ease the rice farmers’ misery — that is, at best, a brutal practice of social darwinism. The state is parent to all its citizens and this doctrine was established early on by the English in the grand state concept of parens patriae.
The state, through the laws it passes, does not choose winners and losers, which it precisely did when it passed the Rice Tariffication Law. The law has condemned small rice farmers, all three million of them, into a life of hell. Right now, palay prices hover between P8 to P10 per kilogram, a price that does not fully cover the cost of seeds, fertilizers and diesel for the shallow tube wells.
The rock-bottom palay prices could have been cushioned by real subsidies and support from the collected rice tariffs. But then again, here is the rub.
A farmers group, the Federation of Free Farmers, has been tracking the volume of rice imports post-tariffication. This has been the gist of its work. The rice imports reported at the customs zone have been massively underpriced, precisely to lower the tax payments. The lower payments naturally depress the volume of tariff collections, the money pool that would go the amelioration program for rice farmers.
Put simply, this is the reality. Farmers are dying and rice importers are deliberately depressing the rice tariffs via undervaluation of rice imports to inflict a second death sentence on the small farmers.
Senators, like Caligulas playing the flute as the nation burns, are still extolling the “virtues” of the Rice Tariffication Law.What a country. What a people

Palay procurement, tariff hike set to help rice farmers: agri chief

Michelle Ong, ABS-CBN News
Sep 11 2019 10:31 AM | Updated as of Sep 11 2019 11:33 AM
MANILA -- The National Food Authority will buy rough rice from farmers at a higher price while tariffs on further imports this year could be increased to help local producers of the staple grain cope with falling prices, an official said Wednesday.
The NFA will buy palay with 14 percent moisture content at P19 per kilo, compared to the so-called "farm gate" price of P17.62 in the second week of August, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.
The rice tariff rate could also be raised to 47 percent from 35 percent since total imports from March reached 2.4 million metric tons compared to the 2 million requirement for the period. This resulted in a surplus of 400,000 metric tons, he told ANC's Early Edition.
"We are serious in projecting a higher level of income for the farmers," Dar said.
Rice farmers have been complaining that the new tariff-based regime on imports of the staple grain caused prices to go down, hurting their income.
The government pushed for tariffs in place of import quotas under the Rice Tariffication Law to bring down prices as the cost of the staple pushed inflation to near 10-year highs in 2018.
The provinces of Isabela and Nueva Ecija will also buy wet palay at P15 per kilo, Dar said.
The NFA has roughly P7 billion per year to buy rice from farmers. Under Rice Tariffication, its functions were limited to buffer stocking.
Dar said the DA was also rolling out the P10 billion annual fund to help farmers cope with the tariff system. Half of the amount for 2019 has been allocated since its release last December.

MinDA thrust includes agri: Piñol

By Allan Nawal  September 11, 2019, 10:49 am
Description: https://files.pna.gov.ph/category-list/2019/09/11/minda-chair-manny-piol.jpg
PACT ON AGRI COOPERATION. Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and Philippine Ambassador to PNG Bienvenido Tejano witnessing the signing of an MOU on agricultural cooperation between Central Province Governor Robert Agarobe and Mindanao rice farmers, represented by MinDA Chairman Emmanuel Piñol, last week. (MinDA chairman Emmanuel Piñol's Facebook photo)
DAVAO CITY – Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chair Emmanuel Piñol on Tuesday defended his move to make agriculture one of his focuses, even as critics were saying he was no longer the agriculture secretary.
“While Agriculture in Mindanao is only one of the concerns of MinDA, it is now focusing on the basic issues of giving fruit, coconut and rice farmers access to the market. Failure on the part of the government to address this basic issue could lead to economic woes, which could result in security problems in Mindanao,” Piñol said.
Criticisms were hurled against Piñol following MinDA's fruits festivals in Luzon and his recent trip to Papua New Guinea, where he forged an agreement with Central Province Governor Robert Agarobe for the export of Mindanao rice to the Pacific nation. Under the agreement, PNG's Central Province Government will become the importer of Mindanao rice.
“Not a few called the idea of exporting "dumb" because they could not seem to understand why Mindanao would export its rice while the rest of the Philippines is importing. The recent implementation of the Rice Liberalization Law, which resulted in the flooding of the local market with imported rice, has brought down the farm gate price of locally produced paddy rice to as low as P10 to P12 in many parts of Mindanao,” he said.
He said farmers also experienced being turned away by traders because it was more profitable to just import from either Thailand or Vietnam.
Piñol said the loan support, free seeds and implements and commitment by the local government units to buy farmers' produce “do not address the problem of market denial.”
He said the export opportunities now being offered has opened the door for Mindanao farmers, especially when they started shifting to the production of premium rice varieties such as Dinorado, RC160, RC218 or Double Diamond, 7-Tonner or Banaybanay Rice, which command higher prices.
“This could (also) be the start of the shift to Organic Rice farming to serve the needs of a niche market of health-conscious consumers who prefer chemical-free rice,” he added.
Piñol said what he was doing at MinDA is plain and simple logical.
“MinDA will help Mindanao Rice farmers gain access to foreign markets with large Filipino communities with a marketing pitch, which would emphasize that by buying Mindanao Rice, they not only get a quality product but they will also help Filipino farmers survive the onslaught of unimpeded entry of imported rice. So, to those asking why Mindanao will export while the rest of the country imports, the answer is simple: Traders are importing a commodity while Mindanao is exporting a special product,” he added.
Piñol said the marketing strategy was to present Mindanao's Premium Rice “as a special product to enable it to command a better price and ensure farmers a decent income.” (PNA)

Abusive rice traders should face raps — solon

By: Daphne Galvez - Reporter / @DYGalvezINQ
INQUIRER.net / 02:15 PM September 11, 2019
Description: Abusive rice traders should face raps — solon
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / REM ZAMORA
MANILA, Philippines — Criminal cases should be filed against rice traders who are taking advantage of the rice tariffication law and manipulating the farmgate prices of rice for their own benefit, a lawmaker urged Wednesday.
Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda, chair of the House ways and means committee, said rice traders could be liable for unjust enrichment, economic sabotage, price manipulation resulting in loss of welfare among others.
“We can go after them in terms of damages, we can go after them in terms of economic sabotage, because it is national in character,” Salceda told reporters in an interview.
“There are enough laws to penalize them. This constitutes very well [to] economic sabotage especially of that new law. Sinisimulan pa nga lang ‘yung batas, nabastos na kaagad,” he added.
The lawmaker was pertaining to the rice tariffication law, which will effectively open the country’s doors to unimpeded importation of rice and provide an annual subsidy of P10 billion for the development of the rice industry. The law was intended to stabilize the rice supply in the country by liberalizing the rice industry.
However, the law, instead, strengthened the bargaining position of rice traders, enabling them to take hostage ordinary farmers.
Farmgate prices reportedly dropped to as low as P7 per kilo in Nueva Ecija due to increased local harvest and huge volume of imports following the implementation of the rice tarrification law.
“In other words, price manipulation, restraint of trade… There is a single buyer, ‘if hindi mo binenta sakin ng onse ‘yan, magi-import ako,’ ‘yun ang epekto ng rice tariffication law sa rice farmers,” Salceda explained.
In an aide memoire (diplomatic message) addressed to President Rodrigo Duterte, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, Salceda suggested that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) should investigate and “study [the] filing cases of economic sabotage, profiteering, and price manipulation against abusive traders.”
He said the DTI could invoke Executive Order No. 913 which grants it “adjudicatory powers to protect consumers from profiteering and price manipulation.”
“The mere intensification of efforts to investigate profiteering should itself be a deterrent to abusive farmgate pricing,” Salceda’s letter read. /jpv
U.S. Rice Featured at Costco Stores in Japan   


KAWASAKI & SHINMISATO, JAPAN -- Earlier this month, 20 of the 26 Costco outlets in Japan hosted in-store demonstrations featuring U.S. medium grain rice designed to highlight and promote the first-ever U.S. rice milled and packaged for retail sale here.

"I visited two Costco outlets near Toyko to observe the demos and it appeared that consumers there were very interested in U.S. rice," said Yumi Kojima, the USA Rice contractor who manages promotions in Japan.  "Quite a few of the shoppers knew about California rice and, when offered a taste test of the U.S. medium grain, were impressed by the quality, flavor, and texture."

The demonstrations targeted individual consumers as well as small "mom and pop" restauranteurs who shop at volume sellers like Costco.  

"Local foodservice rice users are frustrated with the government policy toward rice which incentivizes production of 'premium' varieties and rice for animal feed, but has left foodservice establishments clamoring for access to more reasonably priced rice," said Kojima.  "Fortunately, U.S. medium grain fits their needs very well, not only in terms of price but also quality."

Additional demonstrations at other retail chains featuring U.S. rice are planned for later this year.

Japan is the second largest market for U.S. rice based on value ($270 million in 2018), trailing only Mexico.

Celebrate September's National Rice Month With Grains That Do a Body Good

TORRANCE, Calif. - September 10, 2019 - ( Newswire.com )
​September is National Rice Month and Zojirushi is a sponsor of the LUCKYRICE Paddy in New York City and has also teamed up with USA Rice Federation to support their current rice promotion initiatives. Zojirushi has been producing rice cookers for over 45 years, and making technological advancements all the while. From short grain to long grain, brown rice to sushi rice and even quinoa, Zojirushi rice cookers are versatile and the perfect kitchen companion. Studies show that most Americans are eating less than the recommended allowance of healthy grains and with a Zojirushi rice cooker, it’s easy to cook great grains.
One of Zojirushi’s main goals is to educate the consumer about rice cooking techniques, such as choosing the right grain and properly rinsing rice before cooking. On Sept. 26, Zojirushi is hosting a media-only rice education seminar and sushi class with award-winning chef and author Hiroko Shimbo. This media event will allow attendees to have an interactive experience learning how to make sushi and other rice cooking techniques. The night’s festivities also include the LUCKYRICE Feast, a night market where partnering chefs will honor the culinary diaspora of rice dishes, which is open to the public.
In addition to the celebration, Zojirushi has partnered with USA Rice in providing rice cooker prizes for several of their promotions in September. From gifting commercial rice cookers to the winning chefs at an annual food & wine festival competition to providing cookers to the chefs on the USA Rice food service tour to participating in a month-long social media campaign giveaway, the Zojirushi and USA Rice partnership is a natural and mutually beneficial alliance.  
About LUCKYRICE
LUCKYRICE is a lifestyle brand that celebrates Asian culture through the lens of food. LUCKY CHOW is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, multimedia organization that explores and celebrates Asian cuisine while building greater awareness and understanding of Asian culture. 
About USA RICE
USA Rice Federation (USA Rice) is the global advocate for all segments of the U.S. rice industry. Our mission is to ensure the health and vitality of a unified U.S. rice industry by advocating on behalf of farmers, millers, merchants, and allied businesses. Through USA Rice, the U.S. rice industry has strong representation to ensure its voice is heard when and where it counts.  
About Zojirushi
​Zojirushi was established in 1918 as a producer of hand-blown vacuum bottles and has been a world leader in thermal products ever since. The Zojirushi line was expanded to include a wide range of stainless steel vacuum bottles, rice cookers, breadmakers, Air Pot ® beverage dispensers, thermal serving carafes, specialty cookware, small electrics, restaurant equipment, and other products. 
CAMPAIGN-SPECIFIC HASHTAG - #ricecantasteamazing
Related Links LuckyRiceUSA Rice
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Five Tonnes Of Ration Rice Seized From TDP Leader Srinivasulu Naidu’s Mill In Nellore 

ANDHRA PRADESH Yesterday, 11:58 am Updated: Yesterday, 1:48 pm
Police seized Five-and-half tonnes of ration rice meant for public distribution from a rice mill belonging to TDP leader Srinivasulu Naidu on Monday. 5 tons of ration rice was brought in on a lorry. While the ration rice was being examined by the Civil Affairs Department and the police, another auto with no number plate reached the mill with ration rice. Srinivasan Naidu's brother tries to hint the auto driver to secretly escape from there, However, Kavali Rural CI Murali Krishna, SI Aruna kumari and ASP Thirumala Reddy caught the Auto driver.
According to the reports, some of the dealers around Nellore and Prakasam districts are making profits by collecting ration rice from various sources and are selling them in the open market for a higher price. Even though police officers are taking strict actions against such millers there is no change in them.
Extensive networks have been set up to collect ration rice from Nellore and Prakasam zones. They are paying about Rs 15 per kg of ration rice. Ration rice after procurement is being transported to the mills in old urea bags. Here they are stored in mills and transported to the market. Civil Authority officers who got Information about the ration rice transportation at TDP leader Srinivasulu Naidu’s mill reached there and caught them on the spot.
Police registered a case over the Issue and started their Inquiry into the case.

FSII urges adoption of hybrid rice to increase rice productivity

ANI Last Updated at September 10, 2019 13:55 IST

Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organized a seminar on 'Seed Technology Innovation for Sustainable Rice Production' in New Delhi today.
The objective of the seminar was to discuss ways to enhance rice productivity sustainably and improve farmers' profitability in India. Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare, Kailash Choudhary was present at the event.
Other eminent guests present at the event were Dr Prem Kumar, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Bihar, Dr SK Malhotra, Agriculture Commissioner, Government of India and VK Gaur, Chairman and Managing Director, National Seed Corporation. Other participants at the event were senior government officials, farmer organizations scientists and industry representatives.
Rice is one of the primary crops of India and is therefore critical to increase its productivity. Among the rice-growing countries in the world, India has the largest area under paddy - 43.86 million hectares and ranks second by producing 163 MT (million tonnes) just next to China which holds the first position and produces 203 MT.
In India, up to 25 per cent of yield losses in rice crop are due to the disease and insect pest infestation. Further, low planting density, poor agronomic practices, and weed management, low seed replacement rate etc are also leading to low rice productivity.
The major challenge is however posed by its production; one kg of rice requires 2000-3000 litres of water. Therefore, average water inputs for India's rice production of 163 MT stands at 327 thousand billion litres. Since 90 per cent of the cultivated land in India belongs to marginal, small and medium farmers, it is essential for the country to make effective technologies and processes available to them.
Deliberations at the seminar brought forward the need for long-term research investments in bringing more productive hybrids with improved grain characters, strengthen seed production systems by geographic diversification and take up more intensive promotion of hybrid in new areas through PPP mode. Further, the State Government's support is also essential to increase acreage under hybrid rice in all states.
"Government is always thinking about finding ways to increase the income of farmers, as they do not get the requisite timely profits due to multiple issues. Farmer awareness regarding new technology and techniques is essential to realize the benefits in this sector. We also need to work together to change the perception of the farming profession. Farming needs to be branded in a way that more youngsters are interested in taking up agriculture as a profession", said Kailash Choudhary.
"Growing rice is very expensive in India and we have not been able to reach our full potential due to several limitations. Support through policies will facilitate the adoption of technologies and sustainable practices to achieve our goal of doubling farmer's income", said Dr M Ramasami, Chairman, FSII.
"Hybrid rice is one of the most feasible and practically adaptable approaches for the farmers as it gives 20-35 per cent additional yield and is environmentally sustainable. It requires less water and nitrogen as they grow in short duration, are stress-tolerant and are better adapted in rainfed conditions. Hybrids have been key in increasing productivity of maize and cotton in India but not in rice so far", said Ram Kaundinya, Director General, FSII.
"Technologies like Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) also hold tremendous benefits. It can cultivate rice in a sustainable manner by reducing water inputs, labour costs and can increase yields. For example, farmers use on an average 50 litres/acre of diesel for transplanting rice in the northern region. DSR gives an opportunity to save approximately 15 litres/ha of diesel consumption by eliminating puddling operations in the northern region alone", said Dr Shivendra Bajaj, Executive Director, FSII.
India's agricultural exports have increased from Rs 2,15,396 crores in 2015-16 to Rs 2,50,273 crores in the financial year 2017-18 registering a growth of nearly 16.19 per cent. This success can be primarily attributed to the higher exports of rice (both basmati and non-basmati) followed by raw cotton, oil meals, castor oil, etc. To surpass these records while growing rice sustainably, farmers will have to adopt and given access to new technologies and advancements in the field.
This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

·       EXPRESS NEWS

Recent spell of rains: a blessing for rice farmers

September 10, 2019
Description: Have helped overcome water shortfall, aided in good rice yield. PHOTO: REUTERS
Have helped overcome water shortfall, aided in good rice yield. PHOTO: REUTERS
KARACHI: The recent monsoon rains have helped overcome the water shortfall for summer crops, aiding farmers in ensuring a good rice yield and preparing land for potato, gram and canola in Pakistan.
“The raining has proved to be a blessing upon us (farmers),” Sindh Abadgar Board President Abdul Majeed Nizamani said while talking to The Express Tribune.
“We could not sow the crop,” he said.
“Had it not rained for 15-20 days in the recent past, farmers would have missed the season to sow rice in over 30-35% targeted land in Sindh,” he said.
The farmers required full supply of water in April-May for the rice crop. However, the acute water shortfall had not allowed a large number of farmers to sow the crop on time. “The 15-20 days raining has overcome the shortfall for the crop,” he said.
Farmers sow rice on over 1.8-2.2 million acre land in the province. The average production stands at 40-46 maund (37.32 kilogram) per acre, he added
Rice is produced in both upper and lower Sindh. The land around the Kotri barrage remains rich for rice crop.
Farmers are still sowing rice in some of the areas in the province. It is a heavy water-consuming crop and takes around 90 days to be harvested from the time of sowing, he said.
Pakistan Agri Forum Chairman Ibrahim Mughal said the timing of the rain proved to be perfect. “Rains saved farmers Rs4-5 billion,” he estimated.
Had it not rained farmers would have to spend the amount on fuels to water the standing summer crops (cotton, pulses, rice, sugarcane and maize) through tube wells, he said.
The heavy monsoon spells also helped prepare the land and sowing oilseeds rape, mustard and canola on time in September throughout Pakistan.
Besides, it also allowed farmers to sow potato and gram on time in September in the Punjab province. “The gram is sown especially in four districts of the province, including Layyah, Bhakkar, Mianwali and Khushab,” he said.
It slightly causes a delay in picking cotton crop, but helped taking phutti (cotton-flower) price up to Rs4,100 per maund from Rs3,700 before the rain.
The country is estimated to produce 10.5 million bales of 170 kilogram each this year against the set target of 11 million bales.
He said the PTI government has allocated Rs30 billion to introduce technology-driven solutions in agriculture sector and help farmers in taking high production of crops including sugarcane, sunflower, rice and wheat.
“However, it did not allocate a single penny for cotton, which remains the bread and butter for a large number of farmers nationwide,” he said.
Agriculture remains one of the strong pillars of the domestic economy, as its share stands around one-fifth of gross domestic product (GDP).

Rice tariffication responds to supply issues

posted September 10, 2019 at 12:30 am by Ernesto M. Hilario
Description: http://www.manilastandard.net/panel/_files/image/columnists_photos/hilario.jpg"While the law certainly has birth pangs, it would help farmers become more competitive over time and also lower inflation rates."

Should the six-month-old Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) be given the chance to work to address rice supply issues in the country?
Yes, according to our economic managers and lawmakers who crafted the law.
The law provides for the establishment of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), which will funnel P10 billion annually to the rice sector in the next six years. The RCEF is allocated for the procurement of farm machinery and equipment; rice development, propagation and promotion; and expanded rice credit and extension services.
The law also aims to protect local farmers from the entry of more imported rice into the country through the imposition of a 35-percent tariff on rice coming from member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) such as Thailand and Vietnam.
“Under the law, the mandatory review of P10-billion rice competitiveness enhancement funds would only be conducted by both Congress on the sixth year or year 2025,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said, brushing aside the suggestions of food security advocates and consumers groups to repeal the law.
As a safety net, the law also grants the President the power to increase, reduce, revise or adjust existing tariff rates to protect Filipino farmers.
Review of the RTL is not needed at this point, according to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, who noted the significant improvement in rice prices in the market since it came into effect.
“We should let the rice liberalization law, which is three decades late, do its work and give the economy time to adjust for the further easing of rice prices for more than 100 million Filipinos,” Dominguez said. He cited the law as one of the most important legislative achievements of the 17th Congress and the Duterte administration. Agriculture Secretary William Dar conceded that although the RTL had “birth pangs,” he believes it would help farmers become more competitive over time and also lower inflation rates.
Dar explained that prices had already been dropping even before Duterte signed the RTL on Feb. 14 this year. He also admitted that the assistance from RCEF has yet to benefit local farmers since the money had just been collected by the BOC last month.
Farmers’ groups had lamented that rice tariffication has been disadvantageous to them because retailers chose to purchase cheaper rice imports instead of rice from local producers.
However, Senator Cynthia Villar, the principal author of RA 11203, disputed their claim, pointing out that the law serves as the final compliance by the Philippines with its commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Philippine membership in WTO in the past 24 years aimed to counter the impact of the expected influx of cheap rice imports.
Under RA 11203 which amends RA 8178 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996, rice imports will be charged corresponding tariffs instead of limiting the amount of rice that enter the country,.
The law was crafted to provide for a more focused function for the National Food Authority (NFA), which is to buy palay from local farmers only.
The senator also lamented the attempts by certain quarters to discredit the rice tariffication law. “It is unfortunate that some groups are claiming that the rice tariffication bill which we have scrutinized and carefully studied in the Senate will not be beneficial to farmers. On the contrary, it includes a package of support programs that will help farmers adjust to competition under a tariffied regime,” she said.
“As Filipinos continue to struggle with inflation, the government has found ways to temper rising inflation and one of this is the full implementation of RTL for the next six years,” Villar said.
She added that these agriculture stakeholders and farmers cooperatives should coordinate with her office and assist them in asking the Department of Budget and Management to immediately release the P10-billion RCEF allocations intended for government agencies implementing the law.
As of July 15, the Bureau of Customs had already collected P6.5 billion in duties from rice imports by private traders following the implementation of RTL in March this year. However, for unknown reasons, the DBM has refused to remit the amount.
Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte, a co-author of the rice bill, said the RTL will not only liberalize imports of the staple but also benefit consumers as it will broaden access of Filipinos to cheap rice. This, he said, would “prevent a repeat of the 2018 inflation surge brought in large part by the supply shortfall and the subsequent increase in retail prices of rice.” We agree completely.
Singapore’s imports of Thai rice 'easily met' by alternative sources but climate change could affect food security

A Thai farmer stands in a paddy field that was hit by drought. (File photo: AFP)
10 Sep 2019 06:18AM (Updated: 10 Sep 2019 05:58PM)
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s imports of Thai rice can be easily met by alternative sources, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in response to CNA queries about recent reports of severe droughts in Thailand that had affected rice production there. 
“Singapore’s demand for rice is very small compared to total global rice production. For example, we account for only 1.2 per cent, 1.2 per cent and 0.6 per cent of Thailand, Vietnam and India’s total rice exports in 2018 respectively,” an MTI spokesman told CNA. 
“Over the years, we have been deliberate in our diversification strategy. Besides Thailand, Vietnam and India, we also import rice from Myanmar, Cambodia, Japan and the US. Some of these source countries, such as the US, are less affected by domestic shortages and will alleviate any shortages from other source countries.”
According to MTI, the Rice Stockpile Scheme (RSS) ensures an adequate supply of rice in the market during supply disruption, and all white rice, basmati rice, ponni rice and parboiled rice are classified as stockpile-grade rice. 
“Importers are required to store two months’ worth of imports in government-designated warehouses,” said the spokesman. 
An NTUC FairPrice spokesman told CNA that socio-economic factors and unfavourable weather conditions have affected supply and prices of rice from Thailand over the past year. 
The spokesman said FairPrice has limited the price increase over the past year to about 5 per cent on average, across its range of housebrand rice from Thailand. 
“This is due to various strategies such as stockpiling and forward buying to protect consumers from supply and price fluctuations.” 
NTUC FairPrice also imports rice from Vietnam, India, Australia, USA, Pakistan, Japan and Cambodia, said the spokesman. 
The supermarket chain has seen “growing acceptance” from its customers for rice from countries other than Thailand. 
“For example, the sales mix for Thai rice had decreased from about 90 per cent 10 years ago compared to about 75 per cent today. Concurrently, we have seen increased popularity of rice from Vietnam, which makes up about 15 per cent of our rice sales today,” the spokesman added. 

 

For now, consumers in Singapore can still cope with some price increases because of the country's relatively higher household incomes compared to most other countries, said Professor Paul Teng, adjunct senior fellow of food security in the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University. 
But the big threat to Singapore’s food security comes when large importing countries like China and Indonesia also suffer shortages in their food (rice) production, he added. 
“They will be in the market then to import huge volumes of rice and take up almost all that is available in the marketplace.” 
Only a small amount of rice, or 7 to 10 per cent of total global production, is traded, so any natural or man-made phenomenon that reduces rice production in main rice exporting countries like India, Vietnam and Thailand has implications, said Prof Teng. 
“Importing countries like Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia will all be competing for the reduced amount of rice. The problem is exacerbated if rice crops in the big importing countries like Indonesia and the Philippines are also affected by climate change and production in those countries are also reduced,” he added.
FOOD SECURITY VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE CHANGE 
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) noted that the country's food security is vulnerable to global driving forces and trends, such as population growth, rising urbanisation and incomes, disease outbreaks, resource scarcity and increasingly, climate change. 
“Singapore imports over 90 per cent of our food. We are exposed to global price and supply fluctuations as well as threats of food supply disruption and food contamination internationally,” said an SFA spokesman. 
“These vulnerabilities will become more acute overtime; as global crop and fishery yields are estimated to decline with the changing climate.” 
Citing January 2018 when Malaysia’s leafy vegetable production was affected by a monsoon, the spokesman said Singapore’s supply of vegetables from Malaysia decreased by about 20 per cent as compared to the same period the year before. According to the SFA, Malaysia supplied about 70 per cent of Singapore’s total leafy vegetable import in 2017. 
“Nevertheless, there was no significant impact to Singapore as importers have alternative sources like Thailand and China that were not affected by the monsoon to meet local demand and stabilise supply,” said the SFA spokesman. 
Aside from diversification, the spokesman said SFA also focuses on growing local produce as well as overseas. 
“Local production will help mitigate our reliance on imports and serve as a buffer during supply disruptions to import sources. Our agri-food industry needs to transform into one that is highly productive and employs climate-resilient and sustainable technologies,” said the spokesman. 
“We envisage farming to become more like manufacturing – where production takes place within a controlled environment with a defined input. The result is an assured and consistent output, and a predictable way to address the effects of climate change and extreme weather.”
Venturing overseas also opens up new markets and helps local farms overcome land constraints, said the SFA spokesman. 
“Produce from local farms, which are established overseas could also be exported back to Singapore, contributing to our food security.”
Prof Teng said “time-tested actions” like building stockpiles, diversification, farming overseas and technology-enabled indoor farming of selected food types in Singapore could boost food security. 
He noted that the government could put early warning systems for food insecurity based on monitoring and computer modeling, to give Singapore a head start on sourcing for supplies. 
“It is also imaginable that indoor farms to enable more community-based farming be supported by the government so that more citizens take ownership of their food security for some food items,” he added. 
Prof Teng noted that in the longer term, climate change will affect the types of crops and animals that Singapore’s traditional food sources can grow, as well as the nutritive value of the exported food. 
As for rice, he believes the real problem will surface when total global rice production has decreased due to climate change, but rice consumption continues to increase due to population growth and more people switching to eating rice, away from their traditional foods like taro, maize and plantain.
For alternatives, Prof Teng said wheat and potato are better for the environment as they require less water to produce the same amount, compared to rice. 
“In the longer term, while rice remains the preferred staple food for most Singaporeans, it may behoove us to consider reducing our per capita consumption of rice and replace it with more wheat and potato.”
Source: CNA/hw
Top agricultural scientists body rejects zero budget natural farming

This comes even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the 14th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification on Monday, mentioned that “we are focusing on ZBNF”.
Written by Harish Damodaran, Parthasarathi Biswas |New Delhi, Pune |Updated: September 10, 2019 11:10:17 am
Top agricultural scientists have hit out at ZBNF, calling it an “unproven” technology. (Express)
India’s premier academic body of agricultural scientists has hit out at Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), terming it as an “unproven” technology bringing no incremental value gain to either farmers or consumers.
“The government should not needlessly invest capital and human resources towards promoting ZBNF. We have given our recommendations in writing to the Prime Minister and it reflects the view held by the scientific community,” said Panjab Singh, president of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS).
This comes even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the 14th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification on Monday, mentioned that “we are focusing on ZBNF”. The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget speech, too, had talked of the need to “go back to basics” and “replicate this innovative model (that) can help in doubling our farmers’ income”.
The New Delhi-based NAAS – a farm scientists’ think tank with over 650 fellows and 15 regional chapters across India – had organised a day-long “brainstorming session” on ZBNF last month. It was attended, among others, by the Director-General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Trilochan Mohapatra and NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand.
“In all, there were about 75 experts that included scientists, policymakers, progressive farmers, NGOs and fertiliser, seed and crop protection chemical industry representatives. We reviewed the protocols and claims of ZBNF and concluded that there is no verifiable data or authenticated results from any experiment for it to be considered a feasible technological option. We had invited Subhash Palekar (the man behind ZBNF) as well, but he did not come,” claimed Singh, who is also a former ICAR Director-General.
ZBNF’s basic concept is that over 98 per cent of the nutrients required by crops for photosynthesis – carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water and solar energy – are already supplied “free” from the air, rains and sun. Only the remaining 1.5-2 per cent nutrients need to be taken from the soil and converted from “non-available” to “available” form (for intake by the roots) through the action of microorganisms.
To enable the microorganisms do their jobs, farmers must apply ‘Jiwamrita’ (microbial culture) and ‘Bijamrita’ (seed treatment solution), besides ‘Mulching’ (covering plants with a layer of dried straw or fallen leaves) and ‘Waaphasa’ (giving water outside the plant’s canopy) to maintain the right soil temperature-moisture-air balance. For insect and pest management, ZBNF recommends use of ‘Agniastra’, ‘Brahmastra’ and ‘Neemastra’, which, like ‘Jiwamrita’ and ‘Bijamrita’, are concoctions based mainly on urine and dung from desi cows. Since these also do not have to be purchased, it makes farming practically “zero-budget”.

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Critics, however, note that plant growth and crop yields require nitrogen, which is also a major component of amino acids that are the building blocks of proteins. “78 per cent of air is nitrogen, but it is not freely available to plants. Being non-reactive, atmospheric nitrogen has to be fixed into a plant-usable form such as ammonia or urea. He (Palekar) is further saying that ZBNF is effective only if dung and urine from black-coloured Kapila cows is used and farmers sow traditional varieties/landraces. It means that all the high-yielding varieties and hybrids developed by us, which have trebled India’s rice production to 116 million tonnes (mt) and increased it more than eight times to 102 mt for wheat in the last 50 years, are useless,” remarked a top ICAR scientist, who didn’t wish to be identified.
But according to Palekar, ZBNF is “seed-agnostic” and can be used for desi, hybrid or even genetically modified crops. “NAAS has no expertise to validate my method of farming. They have neither spoken to me nor the farmers who are practicing it. The academy should also have taken into consideration my schedule before calling me. Farmers organise workshops that I cannot cancel them just to attend this (NAAS) meeting,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ICAR has appointed a committee under Praveen Rao Velchala, vice chancellor of the Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University to study ZBNF’s viability. “We are examining if there is any science behind it and its strengths and weaknesses, including vis-à-vis normal organic farming. Currently, experiments in growing crops using ZBNF are taking place in five research station locations and we are also going to the fields of farmers who have supposedly adopted this technique. All this can be confirmed through analysis of soil data and fertility status,” Velchala told The Indian Express.
The committee, constituted in May, has had two meetings so far, while the five trial locations are Modipuram (Uttar Pradesh), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand), Kurukshetra (Haryana), Ludhiana (Punjab) and Palampur (Himachal Pradesh). At the Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research in Modipuram, ZBNF experiments have already been conducted for 2017-18 (wheat crop) and 2018-19 (paddy and wheat). “We are now doing our second season for paddy. Nothing conclusive has emerged, but meeting crop nutrient demand through this technique seems an issue,” stated N. Ravisankar, principal scientist at the ICAR institute.

FSII urges adoption of hybrid rice to increase rice productivity

ANI
10th September 2019, 18:27 GMT+10
New Delhi [India] September 10 (ANI/NewsVoir): Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organized a seminar on 'Seed Technology Innovation for Sustainable Rice Production' in New Delhi today.
The objective of the seminar was to discuss ways to enhance rice productivity sustainably and improve farmers' profitability in India. Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare, Kailash Choudhary was present at the event.
Other eminent guests present at the event were Dr Prem Kumar, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Bihar, Dr SK Malhotra, Agriculture Commissioner, Government of India and VK Gaur, Chairman and Managing Director, National Seed Corporation. Other participants at the event were senior government officials, farmer organizations scientists and industry representatives.
Rice is one of the primary crops of India and is therefore critical to increase its productivity. Among the rice-growing countries in the world, India has the largest area under paddy - 43.86 million hectares and ranks second by producing 163 MT (million tonnes) just next to China which holds the first position and produces 203 MT.
In India, up to 25 per cent of yield losses in rice crop are due to the disease and insect pest infestation. Further, low planting density, poor agronomic practices, and weed management, low seed replacement rate etc are also leading to low rice productivity.
The major challenge is however posed by its production; one kg of rice requires 2000-3000 litres of water. Therefore, average water inputs for India's rice production of 163 MT stands at 327 thousand billion litres. Since 90 per cent of the cultivated land in India belongs to marginal, small and medium farmers, it is essential for the country to make effective technologies and processes available to them.
Deliberations at the seminar brought forward the need for long-term research investments in bringing more productive hybrids with improved grain characters, strengthen seed production systems by geographic diversification and take up more intensive promotion of hybrid in new areas through PPP mode. Further, the State Government's support is also essential to increase acreage under hybrid rice in all states.
"Government is always thinking about finding ways to increase the income of farmers, as they do not get the requisite timely profits due to multiple issues. Farmer awareness regarding new technology and techniques is essential to realize the benefits in this sector. We also need to work together to change the perception of the farming profession. Farming needs to be branded in a way that more youngsters are interested in taking up agriculture as a profession", said Kailash Choudhary.
"Growing rice is very expensive in India and we have not been able to reach our full potential due to several limitations. Support through policies will facilitate the adoption of technologies and sustainable practices to achieve our goal of doubling farmer's income", said Dr M Ramasami, Chairman, FSII.
"Hybrid rice is one of the most feasible and practically adaptable approaches for the farmers as it gives 20-35 per cent additional yield and is environmentally sustainable. It requires less water and nitrogen as they grow in short duration, are stress-tolerant and are better adapted in rainfed conditions. Hybrids have been key in increasing productivity of maize and cotton in India but not in rice so far", said Ram Kaundinya, Director General, FSII.
"Technologies like Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) also hold tremendous benefits. It can cultivate rice in a sustainable manner by reducing water inputs, labour costs and can increase yields. For example, farmers use on an average 50 litres/acre of diesel for transplanting rice in the northern region. DSR gives an opportunity to save approximately 15 litres/ha of diesel consumption by eliminating puddling operations in the northern region alone", said Dr Shivendra Bajaj, Executive Director, FSII.
India's agricultural exports have increased from Rs 2,15,396 crores in 2015-16 to Rs 2,50,273 crores in the financial year 2017-18 registering a growth of nearly 16.19 per cent. This success can be primarily attributed to the higher exports of rice (both basmati and non-basmati) followed by raw cotton, oil meals, castor oil, etc. To surpass these records while growing rice sustainably, farmers will have to adopt and given access to new technologies and advancements in the field.
This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)

The Environmental Impact of Dry Rice Cultivation


Rice was domesticated thousands of years ago and since then has become one of the most important crops in the world.

Description: https://goodmenproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/iStock-1054754256-1.jpg

Rice was domesticated thousands of years ago and since then has become one of the most important crops in the world. This grain is grown all over the world, but primarily in South, Southeast and East Asia. Rice is the second largest cultivated crop worldwide. The growing of rice is typically labor-intensive and consumes large amounts of water. With water becoming increasingly scarce for agricultural uses, alternative ways to grow rice are being explored to farm this staple food more sustainably. One of these methods being looked into is dry rice cultivation.
Relationships to Needs
Rice is a widely used grain that is a staple food for many populations, especially in Asia. This food contributes to a significant portion of these people’s diets making it vital to their nutrition, and therefore their physical health.
Most rice farmers come from families that have made an occupation of cultivating this crop for many generations. Because of this, many farmers feel a sense of spiritual connection to their work.
Dry rice farming is a particular form of cultivation that farmers have practiced for centuries. This type of labor fulfills a meaningful livelihood for many rice producers. The income received from this work gives economic stability to the farmers, providing the farm families a sense of security.
Participating in economic and political decision-making is important for rice farmers to preserve the economic, social and political conditions that allow them to successfully pursue their farming livelihoods.
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It is particularly vital for dry rice farmers to always be actively searching for opportunities to learn. This will allow improvements to make this form of farming successful.
Relationships to Organizational Forms
Dry rice cultivation is primarily a form of natural resource management. This includes the conservation of the biological environment and resources such as water on the controlled land.
Much of the rice the farmers produce is sold. Some farmers use individual sales, adhering to singular customers; others engage in committed sales or services where the rice is sold to service providers with a long-term contract. Most farmers partake in self-provisioning, which entails the farmers growing the rice to consume themselves.
Relationships to Resources
The dry cultivation of rice involves agricultural practices to utilize and grow living things. This includes the crop being farmed and any animals used in the process. Air and atmospherewater, and land are all resources affected by this form of cultivation. These resources affected must be conserved in order for these agricultural methods to be sustainable in the long run.
Physical, human-made assets are any equipment or machinery that is used in producing rice. The most common of this is equipment that uses animal power as a form of energy to prepare the land for sowing. Human energy is expended in the form of manual labor through preparing the land and weeding among other things.Increasingly, machinery powered by fossil fuels is being used as well in rice fields.
Understanding patterns of abundance and scarcity
In rice production, water is one of the most important components for growth. The availability of water is becoming scarce, leading to questions of how long the current rate of water usage can sustain current agricultural production levels. Increased competition for water usage, decreasing levels of groundwater, pollution and salinization of water, and faulty irrigation systems are all contributing factors to this problem.
Ways to cultivate rice without the large amounts of water needed are becoming more prevalent, but there are still downsides to many of these systems. Many of these water saving systems have lower crop yields, which is why many farmers are hesitant to switch to these processes. Although several of these methods can competitively produce yields comparable to those of the flooded rice fields, many farmers see no reason to change their ways while there is still water available. Lowland farmers in particular have the greatest access to water, giving them no incentive to amend the way they have been farming for generations. Another weakness is that many of the lowland farmers use cultivars of rice that would do very poorly in dry cultivation practices. While many upland rice cultivars are better suited to these water management methods, the problem of getting these cultivars of rice to the lowland farmers arises. These difficulties as well as various other obstacles still plague the path toward more sustainable practices of rice cultivation.
Water Saving Systems
Cultivation with Mulching
One system that looks to be promising is the non-flooded mulching cultivation of rice. Much of the time farmers burn the crop residue, releasing air pollution, but using it as straw to mulch can be beneficial to the crops and soil. This technique can increase the organic matter within the uppermost top soil, enriching it over time with carbon and nitrogen as it slowly decomposes. Not only can it improve soil fertility, but also help prevent erosion. By preventing erosion, mulching can help retain higher levels of water. With this efficient water usage and other benefits of mulching, high yields are obtainable. This method of rice cultivation is an ecological alternative to traditional flooding practices.
Advanced Irrigation Systems
Alternate Wetting and Drying Irrigation
One of the most successful water-saving irrigation systems has used alternating between wetting and drying the fields. In this process, the field is supplied with water, then let completely dry before the next watering. Not only does this cut down on water usage, but it also minimizes the methane gas that is produced due to anaerobic decomposition of organic matter in flooded fields. It also helps support the growth of the rice because it allows for more rigorous root growth and a healthier abundance of aerobic organisms in the soil that help plant growth.
Pressurized Water Application Methods
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Using pressurized technology, such as sprinklers is a water conserving technique that is already practiced in other agricultural industries in the world. These technologies can give more precision with how much water is being applied to crops leading to less waste. Some of this technology can measure how wet or dry the soil is and automatically supply the fields with how ever much water is needed. These advancements may not be available, however, to the mass majority of farmers who have smaller operations and cannot afford such systems.
Upland Cultivars of Rice
One of the most important resources needed for dry rice farming is cultivars of rice that are suited to grow in drier climates. These water saving techniques will be unsuccessful if breeds of rice accustomed to flooded conditions are grown without the amounts of water needed. Many of these cultivars of rice that are adapted to growing with vast amounts of water are lowland breeds. This is because the lowlands have the most readily available access to water. Many upland areas do not have as easy access to usable water leading to breeds becoming naturally more resistant to drought like conditions. Using these cultivars is important to growing productive rice.

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Trade deficit narrows to $3.39 billion in July


Rice variety eyed vs climate change

BY CARMELITO FRANCISCO ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
A climate-resilient rice seed is being propagated in South Central Mindanao to address the need to reduce water requirements in growing rice.
The regional office of the Department of Agriculture in the region has partnered with the SeedWorks Philippines Inc. in establishing a 60-hectare demonstration farm for the propagation of Tatag Hybrid (TH) 82 hybrid rice variety which is expected to help farmers reduce their farm inputs, particularly water requirements.
The regional office, headed by Engr. Milagros Casis, has established the demonstration farm in Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat to test the productivity of the variety, which uses the Climate Smart Agriculture Technology through dry-seeding, in its pursuit of helping farmers earn more from their rice farms.
The seed is a product of an extensive research of Seedworks, a homegrown company which is among the few crop science companies that are members of the International Rice Research Institute’s (IRRI) Hybrid Rice Development Consortium. Many of the companies are multinational.
Remus S. Morandante, SeedWorks vice president for Sales and Public Affairs, explained that dry-seeding is rice farming technology that uses dry land preparation to improve productivity of rice fields that are located in tail-end of irrigation supplies as well those that rely main on rains and the upland areas.
In rice farming, in-bred rice varieties about half of their water requirements during land preparation.
Morandante said that with dry-seeding, these farms which are only planted once a year, can be planted twice a year with the use of Climate Smart Agriculture technology.
“The challenge before was the absence of appropriate rice varieties that could withstand the pressure of dry culture,” said Morandante, adding that with the TH82, the farm requires about 30 kilograms of seeds a hectare.
One of the first few users of the variety, Rene Guevarra of San Agustin, Digos City, Davao del Sur testified that the rice variety has allowed him to harvest about 11 metric tons a hectare. The average rice production rate is about four metric tons a hectare.
Another farmer, Baltazar Funa of Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat, also confirmed the resistance of the variety to dry spell over in-bred varieties.
“Dry-seeding is not actually new,” said Morandante, explaining that the Philippine government has promoted the technology in 1997 as way of preparing mitigating the impact of the El Nino phenomenon the following year to “save and conserve irrigation and rainfall water.”
The country is among the advocates of the technology, together with Australia and the US.
The early implementation of the technology was in the 1980s in the farms in Eastern Visayas, through the Kasaganaan saTigang na Lupa. In Bulacan, the similar project was named “Aerobic Rice Production”.
“A few months ago, many rice experts and even some farmers were laughing at us, saying that dry-seeding was not possible,” he said. “Now it is as clear as the sun rises in the East that Tatag Hybrid TH82 is the only variety for dry-seeding and rainfed areas. With minimal fertilization and chemical spraying, TATAG HYBRID TH82 stood by its purpose… matatag (sturdy) hybrid!”
The propagation will help farmers mitigate the impact of the Rice Tariffication Law as this will help them increase production and become more globally competitive, he added, as the country is expected to face a huge entry of imported rice.

Rice Prices

as on : 10-09-2019 11:50:32 AM

Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market.
Arrivals
Price
Current
%
change
Season
cumulative
Modal
Prev.
Modal
Prev.Yr
%change
Rice
Kalna(WB)
65.50
-0.76
799.00
2870
2860
-4.33
Gauripur(ASM)
56.00
12
1526.50
4500
4500
NC
Cachar(ASM)
40.00
100
3301.00
2400
2400
NC
Ghatal(WB)
9.00
-30.77
303.50
2500
2500
-1.96
Fatehabad(UP)
5.50
-60.71
348.40
2320
2320
-1.28
Published on September 10, 2019

MAP: Palay prices in the Philippines

While regional averages show that Filipino farmers do not sell below production cost, their earnings remain very little
Ralf Rivas
Published 6:40 PM, September 10, 2019
Updated 6:40 PM, September 10, 2019
PRICES. Filipino farmers earn very little, based on data from the government. Photo by Mau Victa/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines – On average, farmers are selling palay just a little above production cost, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The production cost of palay in the country is usually around P12 per kilo. The average farmgate price of palay is at P17.62, as of the 2nd week of August.
This means that farmers on average earn just P5.62 per kilo of palay sold.
If a farmer produces 4,000 kilos, it would mean earnings of P22,480 for that harvest period.
If the farmer's rice variety can grow in around 4 months, it means that a farmer earns just P5,620 per month.
However, Rappler found that Cavite's palay farmgate price is at exactly P12 per kilo. Assuming farmers there produce palay at P12 per kilo, this means that they sell it at break-even point. The PSA did not provide the production cost per region.
The highest palay farmgate price was recorded in Sorsogon at P22 per kilo.
However, it must be noted that these numbers provided by the PSA are provincial averages, which are prone to distortions if there are extreme values.
Farmers in Nueva Ecija have complained that farmgate prices can go as low as P7 to P8 per kilo. Some farmers said the selling price is at P12.
However, numbers from the PSA showed that the average farmgate price there is at P18.
As for retail prices, most regions reported that rice prices are still above P30 per kilo.
Regular milled rice is sold at P35.09 per kilo on average, while well milled rice is sold at P39.10.
Prior to the enactment of the rice tariffication law, economic managers touted that the measure would drastically bring down rice prices to P27 per kilo.
Metro Manila enjoys the cheapest prices, with regular milled rice at P28 per kilo and well milled rice at P33.60.
Sulu, one of the poorest provinces in the country, has the most expensive rice prices. Regular milled rice there is sold at P44 per kilo, while well milled rice is at P49.
In Nueva Ecija, the country's top rice producer, regular milled rice retails at P38 per kilo, while well milled rice is at P42.
Per region, data showed that Central Visayas registered the highest farmgate prices at P20.14 per kilo.
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao registered the highest retail prices at an average of P39.17, even though its palay farmgate price is among the lowest in the country at P16 per kilo.
The PSA gathered information from farmers who sold their palay and traders who bought palay during the reference period. Samples were chosen purposively within the areas. – Rappler.com

Rice inventory up over 40% year-on-year ahead of harvest

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THE national rice inventory was estimated at 2.133 million metric tons (MMT) as of Aug. 1, up 40.3% from a year earlier, but down 18.7% month-on-month, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
The estimate was contained in the PSA’s Rice and Corn Stocks Inventory report. The rice inventory is considered sufficient for about 67 days’ consumption based on an average daily rate of 32,000 MT.
Some 37.1% of the rice inventory was held by households, 41.2% by commercial warehouses, and 21.6% by the National Food Authority (NFA). The PSA gave no breakdown of domestically grown against imported rice.
Holdings of all categories increased compared to a year earlier. Household inventory increased 6.2%, rice held by commercial warehouses was up 30.7% year-on-year, and NFA stocks rose 355.8% from a year earlier.
On a month-on-month basis, stocks held by the three sectors fell. Household inventory declined 21.4%, rice held in commercial warehouses fell 20%, and NFA inventory was down 10.8%.
This month’s rice harvest runs until October, though unsold inventory bought at high prices has been lingering in traders’ warehouses, limiting their ability to purchase from domestic farmers and softening the market for palay, or unmilled rice, the form in which farmers sell their crop.



The Department of Agriculture (DA) is pushing local government units to embark on rice purchasing at “fair” prices. It is also encouraging them to mill and store rice, for later sale to other local governments. The measures are intended to support palay prices, which have dropped to as low as P7 in some areas, according to reports.
The inventory of corn, a key animal feed, was 724,080 MT, down 40.7% year-on-year and down 12% from a month earlier.Corn held in commercial warehouses accounted for 87.1% of the total, while households held 12.9% and the NFA zero.
Year-on-year, households raised their holdings 32.9%, while commercial warehouse inventory fell 45.2%.Month-on-month, household inventory rose 52.5%, while holdings of commercial warehouses fell 17.2%. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
China’s rice import quota to be met: CRF
September 10, 2019
Chea Vannak / Khmer Times

The Cambodia Rice Federation is confident the Kingdom will reach its milled rice export quota in the Chinese market, with the association emboldened by last week’s visit of China’s largest food processor, COFCO.
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The Kingdom was unable to meet the quota last year, shipping just 170,000 tonnes out of the 300,000 allowed.
This year, however, things will be different, argued Lun Yeng, CRF secretary-general. Mr Yeng said that a delegation from Chinese firm COFCO arrived in Cambodia last week to “understand the situation” of rice production in Cambodia.
“During the meeting, we talked about the milled rice quota because Cambodia was unable to export all 300,000 tonnes allowed last year,” Mr Yeng said, adding that, “This year, we will increase exports and reach 300,000 tonnes.”
In January last year, Cambodia and China signed an agreement expanding the amount of Cambodian milled rice that Chinese firms can purchase to 300,000 tonnes.
Mr Yeng told Khmer Times that that quota will soon be raised. “After reaching 300,000 tonnes in exports, we will begin working towards the new target for next year: 400,000 tonnes.”
CRF president Song Saran told Khmer Times recently that the association is now focusing on expanding exports to China and other countries in the region to reduce reliance on the European Union.
In the first half of 2019, Cambodia’s milled rice exports rose by 3.7 percent to 281,538 tonnes. Shipments to China represented 42 percent of all exports, about 118,400 tonnes.
However, during the same six months, Cambodia’s milled rice exports to the EU fell by almost 50 percent, according to CRF. The drop was the result of the tariffs the bloc imposed on Cambodian rice earlier this year.

Sanjay Dutt lambasts Kiran Bedi, BJP over free rice scheme

Puducherry, Sep 9 (UNI) Lambasting Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi and Bharatiya Janata Party on the free rice scheme, All India Congress Committee, secretary in-charge for the Union Territory Sanjay Dutt on Monday said Ms Bedi and BJP by making false allegation were enacting a drama as they knew that public mood has turned against them, following the adoption of a resolution by the Assembly on distribution of free rice.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr Dutt said the government had already clarified that the entire rice procurement was transparent and open for any scrutiny.
The assembly resolution reiterating the right of an elected government to distribute rice in kind and not crediting the amount meant for rice in the bank account of beneficiaries had rattled Ms Bedi and BJP.
“The filing of petition by BJP seeking a probe is a stage managed affair. They will fall into their own trap,” he said.

In a democracy the will of people mattered than anything else. The free rice distribution was an election promise of the Congress party and after coming to power it was the responsibility of the government to deliver on its promises. Moreover, the entire elected supported the government resolution on free rice distribution, he said.

Stating that BJP has double standards when it comes to distribution of free rice, Mr Dutt said the Saffron party had never questioned the free rice distribution scheme in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
“Since AIADMK is an ally of BJP, they are not questioning the decision. Here, they are opposing because it is a Congress government. The Raj Nivas has turned to a BJP headquarters in the last three and a half years,” he said.
Questioning the arrest of former finance minister P. Chidamabaram, the AICC leader said the National Democratic Alliance government has taken a vindictive stand as Mr Chidambaram had exposed its policy failures.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mr Chidambaram have correctly predicted the impact on economy due to demonetisation and flawed implementation of GST, he said.