Friday, October 25, 2019

25th October,2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter



Focused on Growth: Rice Production in Tanzania
ON OCTOBER 24, 2019WORLD NEWS
SEATTLE — Tanzania’s Government launched the Expanding Rice Production Project (ERPP) on March 12, 2015, in an effort to boost rice production, increase food security and strengthen the country’s agricultural sector. The project commenced in Morogoro, Tanzania’s mainland and Zanzibar, thanks to the government’s partnership with the Global Agriculture Food and Security Program. The ERPP is specifically focused on improving agricultural practices for small-scale farmers and farms run by women.
Effect on Income
Tanzania’s agricultural sector makes up 25 percent of the country’s GDP and employs 75 percent of the population. Since its launch, the ERPP has improved rice productivity and irrigation systems, as well as linked small farmers to markets to sell their produce. The increase in income has come through the sustainable seed systems implemented and the improvements in production technology. Because of the ERPP, farmers learned a new farming technique called System of Rice Intensification (SRI), which increased rice productivity by changing the management of plants, soil, water and nutrients. In mainland Tanzania, the average number of farmers producing rice paddies rose from 1.8 percent in January 2014 to 5.4 percent as of May 24, 2019 thanks to this program.
Effect on Food Security
The Expanding Rice Production Project has made an impact on food security by quickly and effectively increasing rice production in Tanzania. More than 13,000 people had benefited from the program as of December of 2017 with rice farmers tripling production.
Effect of/on Women
Out of the 13,369 people who have benefited from Tanzania’s Expanding Rice Production Project, 36 percent were women. Across Africa as a whole, women make up about 60 percent of the agricultural workforce and Tanzania is no exception. Many of the small farms in the country are run by women, most of whom have adapted the ERPP. Prior to participating in the program, despite being deeply involved in agricultural work, many women had limited access to production technology. As a result, this limited the potential growth of the sector. But, since the Expanding Rice Production Project introduced new technologies, women have been more actively involved in the agricultural field and their families have benefitted from raised standards of living.
Effect on Poverty
The overarching goal of focusing on bolstering rice production in Tanzania is to reduce long-term poverty. This is achievable through the new agricultural technologies that have been implemented in the country, as well as the new connections to global markets. By strengthening agriculture, and increasing food security, smallholder farmers will have less of a risk of falling back into poverty because fluctuation in food prices will decrease.
Tanzania’s Expanding Rice Production Project is expected to help 165,345 people by the end of the program in late April 2020.
China to import more rice from Cambodia
Chinese authorities have agreed to speed up the review of applications of 40 Cambodian firms that want to export rice to the Chinese market, according to local media.
VNA Thursday, October 24, 2019 20:39 
Description: China to import more rice from Cambodia hinh anh 1Illustrative image (Source: khmertimeskh.com)

Phnom Penh (VNA) – Chinese authorities have agreed to speed up the review of applications of 40 Cambodian firms that want to export rice to the Chinese market, according to local media.

The Chinese side agreed to prioritise work reviewing the applications of the 40 Cambodian firms at a meeting in Beijing this week between the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture and China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), Khmer Times reported.

The meeting aimed to discuss Cambodian exports to China, particularly rice, bananas and mangoes.

During the first round of reviews, 26 local rice traders passed the quality-control tests and were permitted to export rice to China.

“The second round of reviews is taking place soon and those that gain approval will be able to send their rice to China,” the paper quoted Ngin Chhay, director-general of the ministry’s General Directorate of Agriculture, as saying.

The decision by AQSIQ is seen as an important development that will help Cambodia achieve its goal of fulfilling its rice export quota in the Chinese market, said the English-language newspaper.

According to the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF), Cambodia exported 157,793 tonnes of rice to China from January to September. Exports to China accounted for 39.6 percent of Cambodia’s total rice exports.

Last year, Cambodia was unable to meet its rice export quota in the Chinese market, shipping only 170,000 tonnes out of the 300,000 allowed. This year, however, CRF is confident the Kingdom will be able to ship all the 300,000 tonnes of rice that it is allowed./.

S. Korea’s Rice Consumption Down Average 2.3 pct Annually over 3 Decades
Description: http://cache-02.cleanprint.net/media/pfviewer/images/CleanPrintBtn_text_small.png

Description: A rice paddy. (image: Korea Bizwire)
A rice paddy. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEJONG, Oct. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s per capita annual rice consumption fell an average 2.3 percent annually over the past three decades, data showed Thursday.
Per capita average annual rice consumption hit a record low of 61 kilograms in 2018, compared with a record high of 136.4 kilograms in 1970, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.
Rice is a key staple food for Koreans, but its consumption has been on a steady decline since 1980, when per capita average annual rice consumption stood at 132.4 kilograms.
The decline is mainly blamed on changes in the diets and eating habits of South Koreans.
South Korea’s rice output came to 5.29 million tons in 2017, accounting for 0.7 percent of global rice production.
China is the world’s largest rice producer with 27.9 percent, followed by India with 21.9 percent, Indonesia with 10.6 percent and Bangladesh with 6.4 percent.
Currently, South Korea imposes a 513 percent tariff on imported rice for quantities outside the quota of 409,000 tons of annual rice imports from the U.S. and four other countries under the system of tariff-rate quotas meant to provide minimum market access.
South Korea’s rice paddy area came to 760,000 hectares — about half the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut — in 2017, Statistics Korea said.

PCC looking into possible rice price manipulation
Technical working group to determine why prices have not gone down to desired levels
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:20 AM October 24, 2019
The country’s antitrust body is looking into possible manipulation of rice prices by unscrupulous groups, possibly working as cartels, keeping the prices of the staple high despite the abundance of supply in the market and the declining farm gate prices.
The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said on Wednesday it was forming a technical working group (TWG) with other government agencies to determine if this situation was caused by anticompetitive practices.
The actual members of the TWG have yet to be decided, but the Department of Agriculture will most likely be one of them.
The government has been trying to figure out why retail prices of rice have not gone down to desired levels despite the liberalization of rice importation and the low farm gate prices of the local produce.
The Duterte administration had pushed for the passage of the rice tariffication law when rice prices shot up, driving inflation rate to hit record highs last year.
The law, which replaced the quantitative restrictions on rice imports with tariff, should have made retail prices of the staple more affordable to Filipinos.
While PCC Chair Arsenio Balisacan said certain market observers had reported low prices of palay at the farms but the same could not be said for the rice sold in the market.
Balisacan said in an interview that the TWG would try to determine the root cause of the slow decline, as he noted that the causes of market disruptions had varied in the past, such as typhoons destroying crops and therefore making what were left more expensive.
“The intention of the TWG is to have a better understanding of the situation or the market. Hopefully, with that understanding we can have a clearer, firmer and more focused investigation,” he said.
PCC Commissioner Johannes Benjamin Bernabe deferred from jumping to any conclusion about which specific groups could be blamed for the rice price situation, noting the extensive value chain in agriculture from the farms to retail markets.
“Certainly, the farmers are not in a position to abuse any position they might have. They are not organized. They don’t have any leverage on imposing prices,” he said, adding that they were also looking at retailers right now.
“Primarily, the ones who have leverage in this value chain appear to be the middlemen. At this point, we don’t want to say anyone is liable, that there are any guilty parties. It’s just that in the PCC, it behooves us to try and narrow down who it is we should be prioritizing in terms of examining behavior or conduct,” he added.
RPT-Asia Rice-Vietnam rates hit multi-month peak on robust demand from Africa, Cuba
Sumita Layek
OCTOBER 25, 2019 / 6:34 AM / UPDATED 8 HOURS AGO

* Vietnamese rates rise to $350-$355/tonne from $350

* Indian rupee hits highest in over one-week

* Demand muted for Thai variety- traders

* Philippines may ease rice import restriction -Vietnamese trader

By Sumita Layek

BENGALURU, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Vietnamese rice export prices rose to a four-and-a-half-month high this week on healthy demand from Africa and Cuba as supply remained scant, while a stronger rupee helped rates for Indian variety recover from a four-month low.

Rates for Vietnam’s benchmark 5% broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 rose to $350-$355 a tonne — a four-and-a-half month high — from $350 a tonne a week earlier due to limited stockpiles.

“Supplies are running low while demand remains steady, especially from Africa and also Cuba,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

The Vietnamese market could get a further fillip as the Philippines, which accounts for 36% of total shipments from Vietnam, might be considering easing its restrictions on rice imports soon, another trader said.

In September, prices for the Vietnamese variety had touched their lowest in nearly 12 years at $325 per tonne.

In top exporter India, prices for the 5% broken parboiled variety RI-INBKN5-P1 rose to $368-$372 per tonne from $365-$370 a week ago.

The Indian rupee on Thursday hit its highest in more than a week, reducing exporters’ margins.

President of the Rice Exporters Association B. V. Krishna Rao, however, said, “demand from African countries is still weak”.

India’s rice exports in August fell 29% year-on-year to 644,249 tonnes due to weak demand from African countries for non-basmati rice, among other factors.

Neighbouring Bangladesh, meanwhile, has failed to secure any overseas deals since a long-standing export ban was lifted in May, due to cheaper rice from competitors.

“We are still looking for a market to export rice. India can export rice at $370-390 per tonne while we are asking for at least $500,” said Shah Alam Babu, president of Rice Exporters Association.

Prices in second biggest exporter Thailand’s benchmark 5-percent broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1 rose to $396-$410 a tonne on Thursday from $395-$400 last week.

Traders attributed the slight rise in prices to the changes in the currency exchange rate.

“There has been very little change in demand and supply and the strengthening of the baht has moved the price up slightly,” a Bangkok-based trader said.

A stronger baht has marred demand for the Thai variety for many months now.

“If the baht weakens a little, we may be able to sell some rice, but at the moment, Thai rice is just too expensive compared with competitors,” another rice trader said. (Reporting by Khanh Vu in Hanoi, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Ruma Paul in Dhaka and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; editing by Arpan Varghese and Shinjini Ganguli)

Why the rice trade wants India in the RCEP

Vishwanath Kulkarni  Bengaluru | Updated on October 24, 2019  Published on October 24, 2019
Description: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-agri-biz-and-commodity/1m4w06/article28024111.ece/alternates/WIDE_435/bl18ndvgkriceGBP6174R13jpgjpg

Trade sources feel this will give them access to the 10-million-tonne ASEAN market

At a time when domestic producers of commodities such as dairy and plantation products including coffee, tea, rubber, pepper and arecanut, among others, are wary of the proposed RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) deal, the Indian rice trade is keen that the cereal is included as part of the agreement as it could help boost exports.
Rice is among the few commodities where India has a competitive advantage in the ongoing RCEP talks. Negotiations are in advanced stages between the ten members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and countries with whom they (ASEAN members) have an existing free trade agreements such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, China and India, for the proposed RCEP.
The pact is a proposed comprehensive trade agreement that covers goods and services, among others, including investment, economic and technical co-operation and intellectual property rights. India is the second largest producer of rice after China, but is currently the largest exporter of the cereal. Trade sources believe that inclusion of rice as part of the RCEP pact will open up a market as big as 10 million tonnes per year in the ASEAN region, where the Indian players expect to get a fair chance to compete with other major producers such as Thailand and Vietnam. Though India has been the largest exporter of rice, including the basmati, for several years now, its market share in the ASEAN region is negligible (see table).
Indian exporters, mainly of the non-basmati rice variety, sources said, have largely been denied a fair chance to compete in markets such as Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and China due to various reasons, including the imposition of both tariff and non-tariff barriers by the consuming countries and their preference to source the cereal from regional producers. For example, in the Philippines, which annually imports about 2 million tonnes of rice, the Indian cereal faces a differential duty structure, which makes it expensive compared to other ASEAN competitors such as Thailand and Vietnam. Indian rice is subjected to a duty of 50 per cent in the Philippines, while the Thai and Vietnamese origin rice attract a duty of 40 per cent. This higher duty makes the Indian rice uncompetitive in the Philippines.
In the case of Malaysia, which has an annual rice import market of 1 million tonnes, the South East Asian nation prefers to buy the cereal from Pakistan over religious affinity. “Though India imports over 3 million tonnes of palm oil and related products from Malaysia, it is unfair that we get a raw deal from that nation when it comes to rice,” sources said. Similarly in Indonesia, the complex tendering process makes it tough for the private Indian players to participate.
Description: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/jgbxfq/article29779358.ece/alternates/FREE_615/bl24OctRicetblecol

China play

With regard to China, the largest buyer of rice among the proposed RCEP members, with an estimated market size of 3 million tonnes, Indian exporters are yet to receive any major orders. Last year, China had certified about 23 rice mills in India, including four non-basmati rice producers.
Meanwhile, China has started selling its old rice stocks in the African market, the stronghold of India, at a lower price.
“We want the Centre to insist on including rice as part of the RCEP deal as there is a possibility that attempts are likely to be made by ASEAN members to exclude it, knowing fully well that it is advantageous to us,” a source said.
Also, countries such as Japan and South Korea present an opportunity for Indian exporters to explore. Japan is currently importing all its rice requirements from the United States, while South Korea has a duty of 513 per cent on rice imports.
Besides helping consolidate its position in the global rice trade, the opening up of the RCEP market could help rake in more foreign exchange and also trim the bulging stocks in the Central pool, sources said. Unlike the African nations, which form the largest market for Indian rice exports, the export realisations could be higher in the ASEAN/RCEP bloc.
India’s rice production is on the rise and touched a new high of 116.42 million tonnes in 2018-19. With surplus rains aiding planting this year, output is likely to go up further. Moreover, the rice stocks in the Central pool are at a record high of 24.91 million tonnes as on October 1, ahead of the start of the procurement season.
According to the International Grains Council, rice production in India is projected to be 115.5 million tonnes for the 2019-20 October-September marketing year and consumption at 102.2 million tonnes. With an opening stock of 27.4 million tonnes, the total rice availability is projected at 142.9million tonnes. IGC has projected Indian rice exports for 2019-20 at 11.7 million tonnes.

New Paddy Rice Analysis Technology Unites Image and Pressure Testing

Oct 24, 2019

Description: New Paddy Rice Analysis Technology Unites Image and Pressure Testing
PerkinElmer has launched the PaddyCheckTM PC 6800, a rice quality testing platform designed to speed sample throughput, increases accuracy and provides standardization of results for more consistent classification.

Bringing together imaging and pressure technologies into one instrument and run, this automated, user-friendly technology delivers accurate results in five to ten minutes around key quality markers such as breakage and head rice yield (HRY).  The new solution also eliminates the need for the traditional, labor-intensive step of paddy kernel husking and polishing prior to testing.

Part of PerkinElmer’s food analysis portfolio – which includes quality and safety solutions for grain, dairy, produce, meat and oils – the PaddyCheck platform is now available in China, with other markets to follow.

The PaddyCheck solution, part of PerkinElmer’s Perten® product line, includes a comprehensive analysis system that requires no specialized training to operate. It consists of three sensors that are simultaneously served kernels via a rotary sample tray which adjusts for paddy rice of different varieties such as brown, indica and japonica.

The three sensors include: a polarization camera that looks through each kernel to determine transparency; a visible camera that measures morphological parameters such as kernel length, width, and color; and a pressure sensor that applies a 17N force to determine thickness and hardness, uncovering any fissures or potential breakage issues.

Results are then displayed on an intuitive, menu-driven touchscreen and stored for future reference. Additional data and statistical analysis can be conducted with PerkinElmer’s Singulator PlusTM software, exclusively created for the PaddyCheck platform, that allows individual kernel images, kernel force curves and more to be viewed.

Further, the compact and portable design of the PaddyCheck platform enables in-field testing, with a battery pack supporting three hours of run time and eight hours of standby life.

“Rice is a key staple in people’s diets around the world and helping to ensure the quality of this mega-grain is important for the food industry and consumers,” said Greg Sears, vice president and general manager, Food and Organic Mass Spectrometry, PerkinElmer. “With the PaddyCheck platform, research institutes, rice traders and farmers can perform fast, objective and standardized analysis to help satisfy the increasing research and planting demands of the ever-growing global food chain.

Government eyes tougher food safety rules for local, imported grains


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The Philippines is inching closer to implementing more stringent food safety measures for rice which will ensure that the staple, whether locally produced or imported, does not contain heavy metals and high levels of pesticides.
The proposed rules are also seen by high-ranking government officials as a way of limiting rice imports that have skyrocketed in recent months, according to sources privy to the matter.
A draft Department of Agriculture (DA) memorandum circular (MC) seeks to impose more stringent requirements for trading rice. The rules will cover heavy metal content, pesticide residue level, extraneous and filth contaminants, as well as microbiological parameters.
The draft MC, a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror, will put in place “food safety control measures for milled rice that can be used to prevent or eliminate food safety hazard or to reduce it to an acceptable level,” according to a DA presentation.
The MC also wants to protect the public from “unsanitary, unwholesome, misbranded or adulterated food” and “enhance industry and consumer confidence in the food safety regulatory system.”
“This is being done to ensure food safety, especially since a lot of imported rice has entered the [domestic] market,” the source told the BusinessMirror.
Once the draft MC is approved and signed by the DA it shall be applied to both local and imported milled rice.
All rice stakeholders and food business operators, including importers and exporters, are required to comply with the guidelines under the draft MC once it is enforced.

Heavy metals

Under the draft MC, the government would require rice sold in the market, be it locally produced or imported, to comply with maximum level (ML) of heavy metals. These metals include arsenic (for husked rice and polished rice), cadmium (polished rice), and lead (cereal grains).
The draft MC would also enforce the maximum residue limit (MRL) of pesticides in milled rice “for the first time,” another source told the BusinessMirror.
The draft circular outlines rules on extraneous material and filth contaminants, such as bukbok, thumbtacks and wire staples in rice.
“To the extent possible in good manufacturing practice, the product shall be free from objectionable matter,” the draft MC read. “[It should not contain] a hard or sharp foreign object that measures greater than or equal to 7 millimeters in length.”
Rice sold in the Philippines would also be subjected to microbiological parameters to ensure that it is free from microorganism “which may represent a hazard to health,”
according to the draft MC.
The draft MC was presented earlier this month to the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries. However, PCAF stakeholders convinced the DA to defer the approval of the draft MC so it could be subjected to further scrutiny.
The DA, according to sources, initially wanted to approve it right away to limit the entry of rice imports especially since farmers are now harvesting rice.

BPI requirement

The four food safety measures in the draft MC shall be part of the requirements for rice importers who will apply for sanitary and phytosanitary import-clearance (SPS-IC) from the Bureau of Plant Industry.
Interested importers shall secure a Certificate of Analysis (COA) containing compliance with the four requirements from a “competent” authority or accredited laboratory from the country of origin of the rice.
“The COA is in addition to the existing quarantine pre-shipment and post-shipment SPS requirements for milled rice,” the draft circular read.
“Importers shall ensure that the pesticides found in the shipment are contained in the list of registered pesticides for rice in the Philippines,” it added.
Further, the draft MC would require a mandatory audit of the food control measures undertaken by existing countries exporting rice to the Philippines.
“For existing country sources for milled rice identified in Annex 1, the BPI will conduct an audit of the food control measures in the country of origin to evaluate food safety from the stage of production until the export of the commodity and/or into Philippine port of entry,” it read.
The draft MC would also empower the BPI to inspect “at any time” rice conveyances, storage, transport and other handling facilities. This, according to the document, will be done to “ensure that food hygiene and food safety measures are sufficient to prevent the contamination of milled rice.”
As early as last month, DA officials including Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar announced that the government is looking at imposing more stringent food safety measures to limit the entry of imports.
In a news briefing last Tuesday, Dar disclosed that the BPI will inspect rice shipments bound to the Philippines prior to loading to ensure that pertinent food safety guidelines are followed before local importers are given SPS-ICs.
“The issuing institution or agency would like to require that before they issue clearance, they want to see the imported items from the port of origin. They can do that, which one of the measures the BPI will do,” he said. “So that the rice entering the country are really clean and free from foreign materials.”

RPT-ASIA RICE-VIETNAM RATES HIT MULTI-MONTH PEAK ON ROBUST DEMAND FROM AFRICA, CUBA

10/24/2019
* Vietnamese rates rise to $350-$355/tonne from $350
* Indian rupee hits highest in over one-week
* Demand muted for Thai variety- traders
* Philippines may ease rice import restriction -Vietnamese trader
By Sumita Layek
BENGALURU, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Vietnamese rice export prices rose to a four-and-a-half-month high this week on healthy demand from Africa and Cuba as supply remained scant, while a stronger rupee helped rates for Indian variety recover from a four-month low.
Rates for Vietnam's benchmark 5% broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1> rose to $350-$355 a tonne — a four-and-a-half month high — from $350 a tonne a week earlier due to limited stockpiles.
"Supplies are running low while demand remains steady, especially from Africa and also Cuba," a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.
The Vietnamese market could get a further fillip as the Philippines, which accounts for 36% of total shipments from Vietnam, might be considering easing its restrictions on rice imports soon, another trader said.
In September, prices for the Vietnamese variety had touched their lowest in nearly 12 years at $325 per tonne.
In top exporter India, prices for the 5% broken parboiled variety <RI-INBKN5-P1> rose to $368-$372 per tonne from $365-$370 a week ago.
The Indian rupee on Thursday hit its highest in more than a week, reducing exporters' margins.
President of the Rice Exporters Association B. V. Krishna Rao, however, said, "demand from African countries is still weak".
India's rice exports in August fell 29% year-on-year to 644,249 tonnes due to weak demand from African countries for non-basmati rice, among other factors.
Neighbouring Bangladesh, meanwhile, has failed to secure any overseas deals since a long-standing export ban was lifted in May, due to cheaper rice from competitors.
"We are still looking for a market to export rice. India can export rice at $370-390 per tonne while we are asking for at least $500," said Shah Alam Babu, president of Rice Exporters Association.
Prices in second biggest exporter Thailand's benchmark 5-percent broken rice <RI-THBKN5-P1> rose to $396-$410 a tonne on Thursday from $395-$400 last week.
Traders attributed the slight rise in prices to the changes in the currency exchange rate.
"There has been very little change in demand and supply and the strengthening of the baht has moved the price up slightly," a Bangkok-based trader said.
A stronger baht has marred demand for the Thai variety for many months now.
"If the baht weakens a little, we may be able to sell some rice, but at the moment, Thai rice is just too expensive compared with competitors," another rice trader said. (Reporting by Khanh Vu in Hanoi, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Ruma Paul in Dhaka and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; editing by Arpan Varghese and Shinjini Ganguli)
Unconditional cash aid for rice farmers to go to worst-affected areas, Finance department says
October 24, 2019 | 10:16 pm
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THE government’s unconditional cash transfer program for farmers will focus on those “most affected” by the Rice Tariffication Law, with the assistance funded by excess collection from rice tariffs, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters late Wednesday that the Department of Agriculture (DA) will compile a list of areas where farmers have been hardest-hit by tariffication, which has liberalized rice imports and weakened the prices they can obtain for their crops.
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said that the program Mr. Dominguez is referring to is the P5,000 one-time cash assistance program announced last week.
Mr. Dar has said that the cash assistance will require P3 billion. The Rice Tariffication Law imposes tariffs on imported rice — typically 35% for Southeast Asian grain — and the collections support the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund for six years at P10 billion a year. The cash transfer funds will be taken from excess over P10 billion, or after the government meets its RCEF funding obligations.
Mr. Dominguez said that the DA will determine the “most affected farmers” as “not all farmers in the Philippines were affected in the same way.”
“They’re still determining who are the most affected farmers and determining how much they will provide assistance to them. And quite frankly, not all farmers in the Philippines were affected in the same way… The idea is to have those most affected farmers and we will have the budget for it because we are going to be collecting more (from rice tariffs),” he told reporters after the members of the Cabinet’s economic development cluster met Wednesday.
He said that a governor from Central Visayas “assured” him that farmgate palay prices there “have not dropped,” while prices in Mindanao “seem to be holding up.”
The presence of large volumes of rice imports has rendered traders reluctant to offer competitive prices to domestic farmers, with the farmgate price for palay, or unmilled rice, reportedly in the single digits in some provinces, well below the P19 per kilo support price offered by the National Food Authority.
The government has collected P15 billion since March from rice tariffs, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Monetary Board Member Bruce J. Tolentino said at a briefing on Monday.
Asked about the aborted investigation into possible safeguard duties to protect farmers from imports, Mr. Dominguez said Mr. Dar did not bring up the issue during the cluster meeting.
“Apparently they don’t have confidence in pushing this idea and maybe they don’t have all the numbers to their satisfaction. So, we didn’t discuss it today,” he said.
“Decision-making has to be data-driven. I’m sure the DA is looking at the data so we’ll certainly listen to them, if and when they bring it back,” he added. — Beatrice M. Laforga

https://www.bworldonline.com/unconditional-cash-aid-for-rice-farmers-to-go-to-worst-affected-areas-finance-department-says/

Economic managers thumb down safeguard duty on rice

By: Ben O. de Vera - Reporter / @bendeveraINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:28 AM October 25, 2019
The country’s chief economist on Thursday said the plan by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to impose special safeguard duties or additional tariffs on rice—aimed at helping suffering palay farmers from the influx of imports—would never happen.
Further rubbing salt to the wound, the head of the Duterte administration’s economic team said only “most affected” farmers would receive unconditional cash grants as palay prices were relatively stable in some provinces.
“We in the economic team objected to it [rice safeguard duty] already. That’s not going to happen,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia told the Inquirer on the sidelines of the high-level meeting between the Philippine and Chinese governments in Manila.
Pernia said: “I actually told [Agriculture Secretary William] Dar it’s uncalled for, especially this soon.”
For his part, Monetary Board member V. Bruce J. Tolentino told reporters on Tuesday that “any kind of additional tariff will kick prices up and add to inflation.”
On Wednesday night, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters after their Economic Development Cluster meeting that while the DA brought up the plan to further hike rice import tariffs, the managers present did not move to discuss it.
“Apparently, they [the DA] don’t have the confidence in pushing this idea, and maybe they don’t have all the numbers to their satisfaction so we didn’t discuss it today,” Dominguez said.
“All of this decision-making [on rice safeguard duty] has to be data-driven. I’m sure the DA is looking at the data, so we’ll certainly listen to them if and when they bring it [the proposal] back,” Dominguez added.
During Wednesday’s EDC meeting, however, economic managers discussed how to provide assistance to the domestic rice sector.
Dominguez said the DA was “still determining who are the most affected farmers and determining how much they will provide assistance to them.”
“Quite frankly, not everybody, not all farmers in the Philippines were affected in the same way. For instance, there’s a province in Central Visayas where the governor assured me that prices haven’t dropped in that area. Also, the statistics that we see in Mindanao showed that prices seem to be holding up there,” he said.
If the numbers would add up, the government would be ready to pump more into the Rice Competitiveness Fund, beyond the P10 billion pool mandated by law to assist farmers affected by the rice tariffication.
“It seems that maybe some traders have taken advantage of the supply situation—maybe that’s why palay prices are down. That’s why we have to see how we can assist those farmers and, definitely, we are open to that idea,” the finance chief said.

Crop diversification strategy eyed

October 24, 2019

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is crafting a national crop diversification program to support rice farmers who face stiff competition from rice imports.
In a press conference for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Program (RCEP) in Quezon City, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said his department is working on the creation of this program for rice farmers who could not cope with competition from rice exports, particularly those who farm in lands not suitable for the crop’s production.
Although RCEP will get P10 billion in funding in the next six years to make the country’s rice farmers more competitive, it may not be able to cover all of cultivators of the crop.
“There are ecosystems now being utilized for rice production today na hindi talaga akma (that are not really appropriate) for rice production, and these are the areas that crop diversification program will be supporting,” he said.
“Presently, we are now crafting the crop diversification program that will help present rice farmers who will not continue planting rice in ecosystems that are not really suitable for rice production to go into other crop production like vegetable crops,” Dar added.

Also, crop diversification refers to the addition of new crops or cropping systems to agricultural production on a particular farm, taking into account the different returns from value-added crops with complementary marketing opportunities.
Some of the benefits of crop diversification include increased revenue, creation of new markets and improved rural communities.
According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, crop diversification could also produce agronomic benefits in terms of better pest management and soil quality, among other things. Thus, diversified cropping systems contribute to climate smart agriculture, which countries may adopt as part of their strategies for adaptation against extreme weather events.

Buhari and the Kenke War, By Azu Ishiekwene

  Buhari and the Kenke War, By Azu Ishiekwene2019-10-24T11:52:15+00:00

We’re hurting, too; but to continue to abandon our borders to criminal gangs and sub-regional opportunism is not only hurting us; it is also threatening to kill us. Yet, every Charley knows that kenke, however desirable, is only for the living.

Ghanaian traders appear to have reached their wit’s end. Two months after Abuja ordered the closure of Nigeria’s western land border, traders in Accra are calling for a boycott of Nigerian products and also, asking their government to retaliate.
Ghanaians may find it difficult to believe that this is not a war on kenke, shito or banku. But it’s not. When the Nigerian government announced temporary closure of parts of its land border in August, it was a desperate act of survival and self-preservation that was long overdue.
Nigeria had been hemorrhaging for years, troubled both by its own insatiable appetite for what it does not produce and also by the complicity of some of its Customs officials who collude with smugglers to exploit the situation. Our self-inflicted misery was coming in a handcart and it was just a matter of time before the toll would become unbearable.
By the time President Muhammadu Buhari gave the hint of the border closure at the sidelines of a meeting in Japan with Benin president, Patrice Talon, the gains of the government’s agricultural self-sufficiency programme in the last five years were leaking so profusely through the borders that Nigeria was at the risk of becoming the biggest importer of rice by the end of 2019, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
The Ghanaian protesters and banner-mongers across the border may not have been looking but our immediate neighbours, the Beninoise, know what this is all about. Benin Republic is a country with roughly five per cent of Nigeria’s population, which has grown from nearly zero to the world’s largest importer of rice in the last few years.
According to figures by the Thailand Rice Exporters Association, Benin has been importing between 1.4 million and 1.8 million metric tons (MT) of rice in the last five years, topping China and India. If wealth was measured in per capita import of rice, Benin would be the gold standard.
Yet, the bulk of the rice imported by the government in Cotonou is not for the domestic population of about 12 million people. Over the years, the government has weaponised the staple by exploiting our insatiable taste for foreign goods, especially rice and poultry, with help from corrupt border agencies. Killing Nigeria with rice and poultry has become the official policy of our ECOWAS neighbours.
Talon and his predecessors in Cotonou cannot claim that they don’t know what is happening at the Seme border because they have built an economy that thrives on smuggling at Nigeria’s expense.
While rice smuggling is perhaps the biggest business in the sub-region, other products from petrol to cars and other consumer goods are also smuggled in and out of Nigeria through the Seme/Idi Iroko border. The porous borders have also become conduits for illegal arms.
Should temporary closure become a substitute for policy then? No. But the closure should not be lifted before we have in place a system that will drastically reduce smuggling across our western border and potentially see how the benefits can be replicated on other land border fronts. And that shouldn’t take too long.

I’ve heard the argument that border closure is crude, old-fashioned and futile. What is the point in closing your borders when you cannot produce the goods you’re shutting out or when you do not have plans to encourage local substitutes? Why shutter when you have signed up to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement or the ECOWAS protocol on the free movement of goods and persons?
Well, maybe this adversity will help us look inwards more seriously. As for the second part, I’m not sure Nigeria or any of the signatories signed up for neighbours to swamp them with rice or tokunbo vehicles or to have their essential products smuggled by organised criminal gangs, sometimes with the backing of neighbouring countries.
Free trade ought to mean fair trade, too. For all his shenanigans – and God knows they are legion – I sometimes sympathise with U.S. President Donald Trump when he takes a tough position on trade against Mexico and China on the grounds that some World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules are rigged against his country. If Americans, the high priests of free trade, look out for their own country’s interest, we can and should do no less.
Should temporary closure become a substitute for policy then? No. But the closure should not be lifted before we have in place a system that will drastically reduce smuggling across our western border and potentially see how the benefits can be replicated on other land border fronts. And that shouldn’t take too long.
It’s not unlikely that with inflation up by 1.3 per cent from its September level of 11.2 per cent, and with Christmas not too far away, the government will be under pressure to re-open the border. It should resist the temptation. If the price of a more secure land border is closure beyond one Christmas season, it’s well worth it.
If neighbouring countries are really interested in solving the problem, this is time to do so – while the border is closed. And by neighbouring countries I’m not talking about Benin alone – which appears to be the worst affected. It’s also time for an ECOWAS-wide review of smuggling in the sub-region.
It’s not a coincidence that two ECOWAS countries – Benin and Cote d’Ivoire – are among the top five importers of rice in the world from Thailand. They have profited from our misery for too long and we can’t pretend that it doesn’t matter anymore.
There’s the danger that Customs boss, Hameed Ali, might get so used to the windfall from the closure that he would be tempted to delay the reopening indefinitely, without planning to find a permanent solution to the problem as quickly as possible.
Since he has acknowledged that bad eggs in the Service have made matters worse, he must root them out and optimise the use of technology. The more prolonged the delay without plans for a more permanent solution, the greater the tendency that those managing the temporary success would subvert it for their personal gains.
Any government seriously interested in steering genuine importers away from the porous and ungoverned land borders must tackle the situation at the ports head-on.

The situation at the nation’s major sea ports – especially the Lagos port, which handles about 70 per cent of the seaport traffic – is a disgrace. Any government seriously interested in steering genuine importers away from the porous and ungoverned land borders must tackle the situation at the ports head-on.
From the time cargo arrives at the Tin Can Island port, assessment to terminal delivery order takes about eight stages, sometimes fraught with uncertainty, frustrating delays and red tape that often requires bribes to cut through. The scanners that could have made things faster, cheaper and more transparent have all broken down and those profiting from the breakdown appear not to be in any hurry to fix them.
To make matters worse, the nightmare that awaits the importer or businessman along the Apapa/Oshodi expressway will make him think that smugglers are doing the country a favour.
Smugglers thrive because there is a market that sustains them. And that market has grown and flourished because unnecessary bottlenecks and corruption at our ports have transformed Cotonou from a transit to final destination port where duties are, at best, optional or at worst, completely evaded.
It’s the government’s business to fix the system and to create policies and incentives that would substantially reduce smuggling.
Anyone who has been following the Ghanaian or Nigerien protesters in the last week or so, would be forgiven to think that Nigeria was enforcing autarky.
We’re hurting, too; but to continue to abandon our borders to criminal gangs and sub-regional opportunism is not only hurting us; it is also threatening to kill us. Yet, every Charley knows that kenke, however desirable, is only for the living.
Musa Adede @ 65
He was one of the few truly distinguished men and women who inspired serious debate at the Senate between 1999 and 2003. Here is an early goodwill message for Senator Musa Adede as he turns 65 on Sunday, October 27.
Azu Ishiekwene is the managing director/editor-in-chief of The Interview and member of the Board of the Paris-based Global Editors Network.

Buhari and the Kenke War

Description: Buhari and the Kenke War
October 24
Description: Azu Ishiekwene
Ghanaian traders appear to have reached their wit’s end. Two months after Abuja ordered the closure of Nigeria’s western land border, traders in Accra are calling for a boycott of Nigerian products and also, asking their government to retaliate.
Ghanaians may find it difficult to believe that this is not a war on kenke, shito or banku. But it’s not. When the Nigerian government announced temporary closure of parts of its land border in August, it was a desperate act of survival and self-preservation that was long overdue.
Nigeria had been hemorrhaging for years, troubled both by its own insatiable appetite for what it does not produce and also by the complicity of some of its Customs officials who collude with smugglers to exploit the situation. Our self-inflicted misery was coming in a handcart and it was just a matter of time before the toll would become unbearable.
By the time President Muhammadu Buhari gave the hint of the border closure at the sidelines of a meeting in Japan with Benin President Patrice Talon, the gains of the government’s agricultural self-sufficiency programme in the last five years were leaking so profusely through the borders that Nigeria was at the risk of becoming the biggest importer of rice by the end of 2019, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
The Ghanaian protesters and banner-mongers across the border may not have been looking but our immediate neighbors, the Beninoise, know what this is all about. Benin Republic is a country with roughly five percent of Nigeria’s population which has grown from nearly zero to the world’s largest importer of rice in the last few years.
According to figures by the Thailand Rice Exporters Association, Benin has been importing between 1.4m and 1.8m MT of rice in the last five years, topping China and India. If wealth was measured in per capita import of rice, Benin would be the gold standard.
Yet, the bulk of the rice imported by the government in Cotonou is not for the domestic population of about 12million. Over the years, the government has weaponised the staple by exploiting our insatiable taste for foreign goods, especially rice and poultry, with help from corrupt border agencies. Killing Nigeria with rice and poultry has become the official policy of our Ecowas neighbours.
Talon and his predecessors in Cotonou cannot claim that they don’t know what is happening at the Seme border because they have built an economy that thrives on smuggling at Nigeria’s expense.
While rice smuggling is perhaps the biggest business in the sub-region, other products from petrol to cars and other consumer goods are also smuggled in and out of Nigeria through the Seme/Idiroko border. The porous borders have also become conduits for illegal arms.
I’ve heard the argument that border closure is crude, old-fashioned and futile. What is the point in closing your borders when you cannot produce the goods you’re shutting out or when you do not have plans to encourage local substitutes? Why shutter when you have signed up to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement or the Ecowas protocol on free movement of goods and persons?
Well, maybe this adversity will help us look inwards more seriously. As for the second part, I’m not sure Nigeria or any of the signatories signed up for neighbors to swamp them with rice or tokunbo vehicles or to have their essential products smuggled by organised criminal gangs, sometimes with the backing of neighbouring countries.
Free trade ought to mean fair trade, too. For all his shenanigans – and God knows they are legion – I sometimes sympathise with US President Donald Trump when he takes a tough position on trade against Mexico and China on the grounds that some WTO rules are rigged against his country. If Americans, the high priests of free trade, look out for their own country’s interest, we can and should do no less.
Should temporary closure become a substitute for policy then? No. But the closure should not be lifted before we have in place a system that will drastically reduce smuggling across our western border and potentially see how the benefits can be replicated on other land border fronts. And that shouldn’t take too long.
It’s not unlikely that with inflation up by 1.3 percent from its September level of 11.2 percent, and with Christmas not too far away, the government will be under pressure to re-open the border. It should resist the temptation. If the price of a more secure land border is closure beyond one Christmas season, it’s well worth it.
If neighbouring countries are really interested in solving the problem this is time to do so – while the border is closed. And by neighbouring countries I’m not talking about Benin alone – which appears to be the worst affected. It’s also time for an Ecowas-wide review of smuggling in the sub-region.
It’s not a coincidence that two Ecowas countries – Benin and Cote d’Ivoire – are among the top five importers of rice in the world from Thailand. They have profited from our misery for too long and we can’t pretend that it doesn’t matter anymore.
There’s the danger that Customs boss, Hameed Ali, might get so used to the windfall from the closure that he would be tempted to delay the reopening indefinitely without planning to find a permanent solution to the problem as quickly as possible.
Since he has acknowledged that bad eggs in the Service have made matters worse, he must root them out and optimise the use of technology. The more prolonged the delay without plans for a more permanent solution, the greater the tendency that those managing the temporary success would subvert it for their personal gains.
The situation at the nation’s major sea ports – especially the Lagos port, which handles about 70 percent of the seaport traffic – is a disgrace. Any government seriously interested in steering genuine importers away from the porous and ungoverned land borders must tackle the situation at the ports head-on.
From the time cargo arrives at the Tin Can Island port, assessment to terminal delivery order takes about eight stages, sometimes fraught with uncertainty, frustrating delays and red tape that often requires bribes to cut through. The scanners that could have made things faster, cheaper and more transparent have all broken down and those profiting from the breakdown appear not to be in any hurry to fix them.
To make matters worse, the nightmare that awaits the importer or businessman along the Apapa/Oshodi expressway will make him think that smugglers are doing the country a favour.
Smugglers thrive because there is a market that sustains them. And that market has grown and flourished because unnecessary bottlenecks and corruption at our ports have transformed Cotonou from transit to final destination port where duties are, at best, optional or at worst, completely evaded.
It’s the government’s business to fix the system and to create policies and incentives that would substantially reduce smuggling.
Anyone who has been following the Ghanaian or Nigerien protesters in the last week or so, would be forgiven to think that Nigeria was enforcing autarky.
We’re hurting, too; but to continue to abandon our borders to criminal gangs and sub-regional opportunism is not only hurting us; it is also threatening to kill us. Yet, every Charley knows that kenke, however desirable, is only for the living.
Musa Adede @ 65
He was one of the few truly distinguished men and women who inspired serious debate at the senate between 1999 and 2003. Here is an early goodwill message for Senator Musa Adede as he turns 65 on Sunday, October 27.
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Anuga 2019:  A Century Old and Still "Tasting the Future"  


COLOGNE, GERMANY -- Earlier this month, USA Rice exhibited at 2019 Anuga, the largest bi-annual foodshow in the world.  This year marked the 100-year anniversary of the tradeshow that attracts more than 170,000 attendees and 7,590 exhibitors from 106 countries.  

Located in the USA National Pavilion, the USA Rice booth was a focal point for visitors from Europe, as well as the Middle East, Africa, and other parts of the world.  USA Rice members joined USA Rice staff collecting trade leads and touching base with existing trade contacts.  

"Anuga is an important meeting place for rice traders not only from the EU, but also from the Middle East area," said Derek Alarcon, Farmers' Rice Cooperative director of export sales, who attended the show.  "It provides a great opportunity to generate new contacts, as well as meet with existing clients and collect valuable market intelligence."

A welcome visitor to the USA Rice booth was USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Ken Isley, who stopped by to talk with members and learn about the promotion work USA Rice conducts throughout the region.

"A big draw enticing visitors to our booth were the graphics highlighting the U.S. industry's sustainability efforts," said Eszter Somogyi, USA Rice marketing program director.  "Thanks to all the important work our farmers do across the three pillars of sustainability - environmental, economic, and social - we had a good story to tell here."

After the successful conclusion of Anuga, USA Rice has already started prepping for the next big tradeshow in the region, the Gulfood show that takes place in Dubai, February 16-20, 2020.
USA RICE

Ancient Chinese Buildings Are Held Together With Rice, Sugar, and Blood

Edible additives in mortar served both practical and philosophical purposes.

BY CLAIRE VOONMAY 6, 2019
  
Ancient Chinese Buildings Are Held Together With Rice, Sugar, and Blood
In This Story

China


A section of the Great Wall, in Yanqing County, contains mortar made with blood. OLEKSANDR RUPETA/NURPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES
THE CITY WALL OF NANJING, built 600 years ago, was the first line of defense for the founding capital of the Ming dynasty. Originally 22 miles long, it was built with 350 million bricks, most of which have survived centuries of weathering. In 2010, intrigued by the wall’s sturdy composition, a team of Chinese researchers analyzed mortar samples from one section. The secret ingredient turned out to be humble sticky rice, a staple of Chinese cuisine.
This use of gummy grains as an adhesive is not entirely surprising. For thousands of years, Chinese builders mixed sticky rice, or glutinous rice, with lime mortar to assemble structures across the country, including city walls, pagodas, bridges, and tombs. Cooked rice was first boiled into a paste, then blended with sand and lime, a substance produced by heating limestone. According to researchers Yan-Bing Luo and Yu-Jie Zhang of Sichuan University, this starchy concoction “holds important status and value in Chinese architectural history.” Because of its strength and low porosity, they refer to it as “Chinese concrete.”
Scientists have long been fascinated with this unusual formula, and in recent years, different teams have conducted studies to better understand it. Researchers Jiajia Li and Bingjian Zhang spent six years collecting 378 samples of ancient mortar from 159 sites throughout China, dating from the Taosi phase (2300-1900 BC) all the way to the late Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Their numerous chemical tests found that 219 mortars from 96 locations had “organic components”—that is, small traces of starch, protein, brown sugar, blood, and oil. These mixtures have helped preserve much of China’s built landscape. As the researchers write, “the quality of mortar used in construction has played an important role in determining monument durability.”
Parts of Nanjing’s city wall are held together with sticky rice mortar. ZHANG PENG/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES

A New Cookbook Traces the Surprising Histories of Famous Dishes


One notable sample, from a 2000-year-old tomb in Jiangsu province, turned up what the researchers say is the oldest known trace of sticky rice mortar. (A separate study identified an earlier use, dating to three thousand years ago.) While the researchers don’t know the recipe’s origin story, they determined that by the Tang dynasty (816-907), rice was often used to improve construction. By the Song and Ming dynasties, both periods of extensive architectural activity, this unique mortar was prevalent, especially in the foundations of important buildings.
Sticky rice is sweet, and augments savory dishes such as zongzi, pyramids of rice and fillings neatly wrapped in leaves, or tang yuan, a sweet soup with rice dumplings. It is also waxy—a texture that comes from the polysaccharide amylopectin, which gives the rice a denser microstructure. Mixed with lime mortar, the grains boost compressive strength, helping walls bear loads without fracturing. They are also highly water resistant, which protects buildings against erosion.
Mortar samples from halls and the garden of the famed Forbidden City, built in the 15th century, tested positive for the starch. So did sections of the Great Wall of China, which was largely restored during the Ming dynasty. But one sample from the Wall, where it runs through Yanqing County, contained a less common ingredient: animal blood, which showed up in just five sites.
Researchers found sugar in the mortar of Suzhou’s Tiger Hill Pagoda. SIYUWJ/CC BY-SA 4.0
Animal blood might sound like a grisly substance for building walls, but it was a perfectly normal additive used by several cultures. Historical recipes written in French, Italian, and English have detailed ways to mix oxblood and lime mortars. In China, builders used pig blood to improve the consistency of their mortar, according to a 2014 study. It is also easily available, resulting in diverse regional dishes such as pork blood soup and pig blood curd.
Many other organic additives favored by the Chinese helped repel water. Li and Zhang found oil samples from 87 sites, which they believe to be tung oil, a common waterproof seal for wooden ships. Another, egg white, is not only water resistant but also improves the viscosity of mortar. (Eggs whites were also used as a paint binder to color the famous Terracotta Army.) Researchers have found that brown sugar, too, reduces water content in mortars, enhancing their strength. According to ancient literature, sucrose was often used to build forts and homes in eastern and southeastern China.
These mortars were also likely invented out of necessity. In distant Rome, the secret ingredient of concrete was volcanic ash, which improved the durability of lime mortar and enabled it to set underwater. Similar mortars made with volcanic ash were adopted throughout Europe and western Asia; however, volcanic ash was not available in ancient China. Instead, engineers would have used their own regional ingredients to create distinctive building materials. Other innovative mortars have similarly developed out of convenience, from a church in the Philippines made of egg whites to a Brazilian chapel held together by wine.
Whether used for pyramid-shaped zongzi or rice mortar, glutinous rice serves many purposes. NATASHA BREEN/REDA&CO/UIG/GETTY IMAGES
Great design is often the result of thinking beyond form and function. Philosophy, the researchers posit, might be one poetic inspiration for these fusion pastes. “Ancient Chinese people advocated a view of nature often termed ‘heaven-and-human oneness,’” Li and Zhang write. “The use of agricultural, forestry, and animal products in building materials reflected architectural aesthetics that sought to integrate architecture and nature.”
Incredibly, structures built with sticky rice mortar have survived more than natural erosion. A Ming tomb, of the minister Xu Pu and his wife, was nearly damaged by a bulldozer when found in 1978, but it was “so firm [the vehicle] could do nothing about it,” according to a 2009 paper. Its three authors describe another near-miracle: in 1604, when a 7.5-magnitude earthquake shook the port city of Quanzhou, many temples, stupas, and bridges were not destroyed. Instead, sticky rice mortar kept their foundations firmly secured.
Although clearly effective, these revolutionary adhesives fell out of fashion in the late Qing dynasty. Li and Zhang note that China’s first cement factory opened in 1889 in Hebei province, and this inorganic binder gradually filled the role of composite mortars.
Samples of mortar from the Forbidden City also contained starch. PETERFUCHS/CC BY-SA 2.0
But researchers still see potential in these ancient formulas, especially to stabilize historical sites. Cement is detrimental to conservation work, writes Dr. Gaetano Palumbo, an archaeologist with the University College London. It “contains high quantities of salts and is incompatible (being too strong and rigid) with traditional lime-based mortars.” In China, restorers successfully used sticky rice-lime mortars to mend ancient structures, such as the single-arch Shouchang Bridge from the Song dynasty.
One group of conservationists is combining the timeworn technology of sticky rice with relatively new nanotechnology to develop an innovative treatment for historical sites. “This is an original and ecologic application that can be used to repair any lime-based structure, such as limestone or a lime mortar,” says Jorge Otero, a researcher with the Getty Conservation Institute. His team is still testing the durability of their materials, but the capabilities of the ancient grain are evident. Soon, glutinous rice may glue together historical buildings around the world.
Gastro Obscura covers the world’s most wondrous food and drink.


Customs seize 3,529 bags of rice in Niger

Some seized bags of rice and other items
Enyioha Opara,Minna
The Niger State Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has seized 3,529 bags of smuggled rice into the country, with duty of N62,159,700 paid.
The Area Controller in charge of the command, Abba-Kassin Yusuf, stated this in an interview with journalists in Minna on Thursday.
He said at the command office in Minna that a diesel tanker with number plate, RBC 05ZS, suspected to be concealing imported foreign rice yet to be examined, was seized.
He said, “The command initiated new anti-smuggling strategies which led to remarkable exploits evidenced in the seizures of various items.
“We apprehended one DAF truck diesel tanker with number plate, RBC 05ZS, concealing imported rice; a DAF truck diesel tanker with number plate, MNA 893 XV, loaded with 950 bags of imported rice.”
“We seized nine bales of used clothes, four Toyota Corolla conveying cumulatively a total of 135 bags of 50kg imported rice. Another 397 50kg imported bags of rice hidden within the forests were also seized.”
The controller stated that the seizures were made at different locations within the command’s area of coverage this month.
He, however, noted that some Nigerians still remain unrepentant in the illegal business of smuggling
“The seizure of the diesel tanker should send a serious signal to these recalcitrant saboteurs of the Nigerian economy that there is no hiding place. We are determined to beat all their concealment patterns with our superior intelligence network,” he added.
Yusuf explained that the strategies put in place to free the command of illegal goods, were yielding good result.
He said, “We are more determined than ever to make the command uncomfortable for the economic saboteurs, as the command will henceforth beam its searchlights on the trucks plying Niger and Kogi area commands.
“We are keen on implementing the federal government policy of encouraging home-grown rice farmers, as it will not only create jobs for our teeming unemployed youths, but will also improve the nation’s economy.”
The controller gave assurance that his men would remain committed to ending the scourge of smuggling.

Customs seizes 3,529 bags of foreign rice worth N62m in Niger


 
By

The Controller of the Nigeria Customs Service, Niger/Kogi Area Command, Yusuf Abba-Kassim on Thursday said the command has apprehended and seized 3,529 bags of rice with duty paid value of N62,159,700.
He said also while addressing journalists at the Command office in Minna that, a diesel tanker with registration Number RBC 05ZS suspected to be concealing imported foreign rice yet to be examined was seized.
According to him: “In keeping to the promise of the command initiated new anti-smuggling strategies which led to remarkable exploits evidenced in the seizures various items.
“We apprehended one DAF truck diesel tanker (six tyres) with registration number RBC 05ZS concealing imported rice yet to be examined. DAF truck diesel tanker (ten tyres) with registration number MNA 893 XV loaded with nine hundred and fifty (950) bags of imported rice.”
He added that “We seized nine bales of used clothes, four Toyota Corolla conveying cumulatively a total of 135 bags of 50kg imported rice. Another 397 50kg imported bags of rice hidden within the forests by smugglers.”
The Controller stated that the seizures were made at different locations within the Command’s area of coverage all in the month of October, 2019.

Climate change forces drastic lifestyle changes

THURSDAY OCTOBER 24 2019
    
Description: 

Karoli Ssemogerere
Karoli Ssemogerere 

In Summary

·       Food regulators must think of preserving prime food for their local populations. In 2019, it came off as a big embarrassment that the Kenyans were exporting Grade A fish from their overfished tiny portion of Lake Victoria to China and importing pond fed fish from China.
·       Struck down abuses. The Pakistanis are fleeing to vegetables, for example, as they can no longer afford meat.
By Karoli Ssemogerere
The last instalment of rain for 2019/2020 have arrived nearly on time, throwing the farming communities in a frenzy. Rain is the lifeline of most perennial crops, sugarcane, coffee and cocoa. Efficient annuals, maize, legumes and lastly vegetables - all thrive in high rainfall. If the rain holds up, it will end the dry spell that has bedevilled southwest Uganda for more than a year now.
The rest of the news from the farming world is mixed. Rainfall totals are dropping in most parts of the country affecting yields. The government has proposed irrigation as the panacea to water shortages, a risky if not death sentence to farming communities.
Drilling for water targets the water table, the water bank that nourishes springs, brooks. Drilling for water also thins surface water sources. It is possible that communities that are dammed extensively and are implementing irrigation are the same ones experiencing scorched earth conditions.
In the Caribbean, desert-like conditions emerged from nowhere, turning once rich dark soils into granules of sand in a short time. The Caribbean famously grows fresh vegetables for the United States, especially asparagus, broccoli and cucumber.
It is doubtful very few farmers can afford to go through the rigorous procedure of applying for a surface water extraction permit managed by the Directorate of Water Development. As 2020 beckons, the world is waking up to serious substantial nutrition problems. First is lower disease resistance due to poor feeding habits. Many countries trapped in an inflationary spiral, low growth, flat incomes are seeing a collapse in meat consumption.
The Pakistanis are fleeing to vegetables, for example, as they can no longer afford meat. Grade A beef in Uganda jumped from up from Shs11,000 to Shs16,000 per kg in 2018/2019. Chicken whose demand is partly seasonal rose from Shs11,000 to Shs15,000 to Shs17,000 for a broiler.
Now the shocker even before talking about pork, peas are right where beef was at Shs11,000 per kilo and fresh beans not far behind atShs7,000 per kilo. Dry beans have risen sharply from Shs2,500 a kilo to Shs4,000 a kilo.
The African farmer, long a beneficiary of EU largesse, is seeing a lot of stress from cheap imports. Local supermarkets in Kampala are importing fruits from South Africa, oranges from Swaziland, chicken and onions from the EU. A feature in Cameroon estimates that landed cost for some of these items are 30 per cent less than domestically produced food. African countries in exchange for access to EU and SADCC markets have been forced to open up their domestic markets starting in 2019 in order to retain low tariff access to these markets.
Nigeria is importing more cut flowers, pizza from the UK while exporting its last trees as charcoal. Apparently its native trees flavour the meet differently compared to cheaper charcoal from countries like Poland, which are earning a fortune from planted timber. Flowers far from being a symbol of affluence communicate the opposite. People like to feel good about themselves. Unless government does something to protect shea butter trees in northern Uganda, it will lose some of the feel good income from shea butter whose quality is much better than that from West Africa.
Food regulators must think of preserving prime food for their local populations. In 2019, it came off as a big embarrassment that the Kenyans were exporting Grade A fish from their overfished tiny portion of Lake Victoria to China and importing pond fed fish from China.
Travellers to Masaka cross Lukaya (Kalungu), the parliamentary seat of the Minister of Agriculture in the middle of the Katonga estuary. In 2019, Parliament tried and failed to protect “Lwera” from an attack of rice production. You would think you are in the Chinese villages, Zhiyang Rice Millers, even a famous pastor Kakande is in on the game. This false economy on the environment is a hazard.
Mr Ssemogerere is an Attorney-at-Law
and an Advocate. kssemoge@gmail.com

The economics of the rice conversation: Between a rock and a hard place

Description: The economics of the rice conversation: Between a rock and a hard place
Following the closure of the Nigerian land borders by the Federal Government in a bid to curb excessive smuggling into the country, its apex bank; the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a recent statement urged the Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RIPAN) and other players in the rice value chain to refrain from ‘inordinate’ hiking of rice price.
Since the shutdown of the border in August, the cost of a 50kg bag of rice in the retail consumer segment has skyrocketed by over 40%, from N15,000 to N22,000. A key component of the bank’s statement as rendered by its governor; Godwin Emefiele was that the border closure policy was implemented to enhance the developmental process of the Nigerian economy – a critical piece being Nigeria’s self-sufficiency in rice production.
The aforementioned signifies that Nigeria would be able to cater for current rice demands by bridging production deficits and improving the overall growth trajectory of the sector. It is pertinent to note that rice is the most consumed food staple in the country and is somewhat a ‘political crop.
Though rice consumers remain skeptical at the level of supply from Nigerian Rice millers, the RIPAN chairman, Hon. Abubakar Maifata has assured the stakeholders of the Industry that all members of the association are doing their absolute best to make sure production of rice is maximized and supply to the various markets of the country is maintained to the best of their abilities.
Beaming a searchlight on the practicality of accession, the realities of the sector are such that rice producers and processors will keep falling short should they attempt to rein in their cost of production for ‘affordable’ pricing.
For one, the current ban on NPK 15-15-15 is impacting not only farm yields but also costs. Blended fertilizers are more costly and those that use DAP/MAP increase the iron content in the already high iron toxic soils, a development that adversely impacts farm performance and yields over a long period. As things stand, NPK prices have increased from N6000 per bag to N8500 per bag.
The CEO of Fullmark Group, Mr. Sriram Venkateswaran while speaking at the recently concluded Feed Nigeria Summit also revealed that Nigeria’s paddy (unprocessed rice) is the most expensive in the world, another indication that without a level playing field, price equity is at best an illusion.
The current price of Paddy that a Nigerian Rice Miller has to buy is  at best between N 135-140k which is about 70% higher than the major rice producing countries in the world. In order to be competitive with the top rice producing countries, our Millers need to be able to buy paddy in the range of N 100 – 105k maximum and have same delivered to their Mills.
An often ignored fact and one that barely gets put in the paddy and rice conversation is as follows. One ton of paddy gives you the following-Packed rice 60%,mix brokens,6.5%,Rejects 2.5%,Bran 7% and Husk 24%..The paddy comes with 6-8% impurities like chaff, stones, sands and other particles and what this means invariably is that paddy  you buy from the market is always 6-8% more costly than the price quoted as you buy these impurities as well. Every sector has its economics be it Aviation, Telecoms, Power and as such those realities must be factored in to get the appropriate pricing.
Another area of concern is the production capacity of the sector. Between 2015 and 2019, Nigeria’s rice production increased from 3.9million metric tonnes to 4.9million. Demand however still outweighs supply as Nigeria currently consumes almost 7 million metric tonnes of rice per year.If the law of demand and supply which is a fundamental economic principle holds any water, it then becomes natural to expect an increase in price, where demand exceeds supply. While it is tempting to view re-opening of the borders as a viable means of escaping this quagmire, we would only have succeeded in trading more holistic solutions for temporary succour, particularly now that alternative smuggling routes are being discovered.
As a result of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration’s 70% tariffs and levies on rice importation also aimed at boosting production and consumption of local rice, would-be importers with access to cheap paddy have taken to massive smuggling of rice into the country -all thanks to our porous borders. Nigeria’s rice deficit of about 2.1million MT up until the border closure directive was steadily augmented by smuggling, translating again to the fact that local producers can simply not compete with their foreign counterparts.
Data out recently revealed that the Republic of Benin, Nigeria’s closest neighbor with a population of 11 million, barely 5% of Nigeria’s is the biggest buyer of the grain from Thailand; the world’s second-largest exporter. Yet, official shipments from Thailand to Nigeria have dwindled to almost nothing from more than 1.2 million tons in 2014 and ‘incidentally’, the largest tonnes of smuggled price in Nigeria are illegally transferred through the porous Nigeria-Benin border – indeed the facts speak for themselves.
WAY FORWARD
According to the National President, Rice Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Aminu Goronyo, the rice industry has gained over N52.21bn since the border closure as recently disclosed by the CBN Governor, the onslaught is total and his statement is re-echoed by the Customs head honcho Rtd Col Hameed Ali
Evidently, enforcing a steep drop in rice price will not augur well for operators in the value chain.As things stand, rice milling is already very expensive and further reduction in sales prices will impact negatively on cash flows and Return on Investments (ROI).A recent released report by  a big time player in Nigeria and unarguably the largest player in the rice value chain-(they should know with a 160 million dollar investment in the sector) indicated a strong improvement in Nigeria’s domestic rice milling capacity which further proves that the sector needs protection from cheap smuggled rice. The fact is that the domestic Rice Industry has bridged the consumption gap in the country at a rate of about 0.2 million metric tonnes per year for the last 3 years and will likely do so at about 0.4 million metric tonnes per year over the next 3 years if investments in the industry grow at the current rate
This will in turn reduce the rice consumption gap in the country to a minimum. Hence, it is imperative that the rice policy in the country supports the investors in this domestic value chain to maximize their investments in this crucial three year period till the end of 2022.
Most importantly, as Dr Debisi Araba, Regional Director at the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) posited that the Nigerian rice ecosystem needs to expand beyond more than what is currently obtainable. “Agriculture is really sophisticated, and you can’t reduce it to distributing blended fertilizers to farmers alone. It has to be an all-inclusive rounded approach that addresses concerns of all critical stakeholders in the value chain”, he said.
Another convener of Rice Conversations in the last four years Richard Mbaram of Agro -Nigeria believes this is the time to convene another dialogue of sorts for Grains, Cereals, Tubers and other commodities that examines the inherent weaknesses and the apparent lack of linkages in the entire ecosystem and I couldn’t agree more.
Corroborating the statement of the CIAT researcher,independent studies conducted have shown that a turnaround in Nigeria’s rice production landscape without improved infrastructure, production and milling activities self-sufficiency will remain a mirage and as I am wont to say , you can only be competitive where you have comparative advantage.Let the conversations continue as I rest my case for now.

India Grain: Spot wheat dn on weak demand, maize up on low arrivals

Thursday, Oct 24

By Sampad Nandy 

NEW DELHI – Prices of mill-quality wheat fell today across key spot markets due to a decline in demand from flour mills and stockists, traders said. A sharp fall in prices was restricted today due to low arrivals, they said. 

In Kota, arrivals were pegged at 25 tn compared with 70 tn on Wednesday, Kota-based trader Aniket Mehta said. In Indore, arrivals were pegged at 500 bags (1 bag = 100 kg), down by 500 bags from Wednesday, traders said.

Prices of the grain are seen falling near term as they have crossed the base price in the government's weekly auction scheme–open market sale scheme–at most mandis, traders said.

For Oct-Dec, the government has set a base price for wheat at 2,190 rupees per 100 kg in non-wheat producing states under its open market sale scheme. The price will be hiked by 55 rupees every quarter in the current financial year.

Futures contracts of wheat fell today on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange tracking spot markets, traders said. The November contract ended at 2,131 rupees per 100 kg, down 1.5%.

Prices of maize across key spot markets rose today due to a decline in arrivals, traders said. However, weak demand from the poultry feed industry and starch makers capped gains in prices, they said. 

In Nizamabad, maize arrivals were down due to Diwali, traders said. Arrivals in Nizamabad were pegged at 300 bags (1 bag = 100 kg), down 700 bags from Wednesday. 

Demand for the new crop is seen weak in the coming days as fresh arrivals are of poor quality due to high moisture content of 25-30%, against the acceptable limit of 13-14%, traders said. 

Prices of Pusa 1121 basmati paddy were unchanged today due to low demand from rice millers and weak arrivals, traders said. Millers are not picking up stocks as they are awaiting arrivals of the new crop to start in full swing, Amritsar-based trader Ashok Sethi said. 


The November 1121 basmati paddy futures contract on the Indian Commodity Exchange fell 0.6% to 3,395 rupees per 100 kg. Futures contracts fell today tailing spot cues, traders said. 

Following are today's prices of wheat, maize, and paddy, in rupees per 100 kg, in key wholesale markets, and the change from the previous day: 

Commodity
Market
Price
Change
Wheat
Indore
2,200
   (-)20-30
Wheat
Kota
2,050
   (-)20-30
Maize
Sangli
2,250
  20-30
Maize
Nizamabad
2,050
   30-40
Pusa 1121 basmati paddy
Amritsar
2,800-2,850
   Unch

End

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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This copy was first published on the Cogencis WorkStation

IFAD-VCDP plans to introduce usage of standard weight measurement in Ebonyi markets
By . . | Published Date Oct 25, 2019 1:13 AM
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD-VCDP) says it is working hard to ensure the usage of standard weight measurement on food items in all markets in Ebonyi. Mr Sunday Ituma, IFAD-VCDP State Programme Coordinator, disclosed this on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakiliki. ADVERTISEMENT He said that the essence was to build on the success recorded in such usage for the sale of rice in the state. ADVERTISEMENT OVER 5,000 NIGERIAN MEN HAVE OVERCOME POOR BEDROOM PERFORMANCE SYNDROME DUE TO THIS BRILLIANT DISCOVERY Ituma said that with the adoption of the standard weight measurement by rice millers, the organisation would intensify efforts to replicate such usage on other food items, such as beans and garri, among others, in all the markets in Ebonyi. “We will also sustain such success on rice in Abakaliki by shifting attention to rice millers at Onueke and Afikpo towns, among other towns. “Nigeria’s neighbours adopt the standard weight measurement in the sale of food items, including ‘suya’ meat, so there is no reason it should not be adopted in Nigeria. “The practice will enable buyers to determine the exact quantity of what they are buying and this will be beneficial to both the buyer and seller,” Ituma said. He said that the introduction of standard weight measurement and successes recorded did not come easy because traders were used to bushels as standard scale of measurement. “A standard bushel is supposed to contain 100 milk cups of measurement but overtime, dishonest people started to alter the bushels to shortchange buyers,” he said. Ituma said that IFAD-VCDP met with resistance while consulting with the rice millers on the usage of the standard measurement. “In 2017, we donated 15 standard measurement scales to the millers as a demonstration with the understanding that they will adopt its usage. “Also, in collaboration with the state Ministry of Agriculture and Matural Resources, we scheduled that the implementation of the measure would commence in March 2017 but this failed due to change in the ministry’s leadership,” Ituma said. He said that they were left with no option than to commence the implementation of the law Description: https://cdn.dailytrust.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/IFAD-VCDP.jpg
on the usage of standard weight measurement. “We informed the rice millers of the law which stipulates fines and terms of imprisonment for people who fail to adopt the standard weight measurement in selling rice. “We discovered that most of them were not aware of the law but with effective collaboration with all the relevant stakeholders, the measure was finally implemented by the rice millers,’’ he said. (NAN)

Customs Nabs 15 Suspects For  Re-Bagging Foreign Rice

 
By  The Tide
Description: http://www.thetidenewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/FREDO-21062019-MAR-18N.jpg
Barely few weeks to Christmas, the Nigeria Customs Service, Adamawa/Taraba Command, has arrested 15 persons including a manager for re-bagging foreign rice to sell as local rice.
The command, in a statement, yesterday, said the suspects were arrested in a warehouse in Yola, Adamawa State.
The comptroller in charge of Adamawa/Taraba Command, Kamardeen Olumoh, said that the suspects were found with 900 bags of rice with duty paid valued at N14.5 million.
“We have 15 suspects including the manager of the warehouse and some labourers. We can assure you that they will be prosecuted according to the law,” he said.
The suspects, he said, were arrested on Tuesday in Yola by the gallant officers of the command.
The comptroller warned smugglers in the area to desist from such negative act, saying the command was committed to checking their activities.
Olumoh said that the command would soon embark on raiding of markets and sale points for foreign rice.
“In fact, we had a meeting with Yola market officials and cautioned them on selling foreign rice. We need to assist our local farmers who I am pretty sure can feed the nation,” Olumoh said.
Similarly, Olumoh  said a truck carrying foreign rice was intercepted with three people along Mubi-Yola road.
According to him, the rice was hidden under bags of beans and other grains, and has a duty paid value of N10.3 million.
The Tide reports that the Federal Government has banned the importation of foreign rice into the country with a view to encouraging local food of the item.

Diet high in trans fats may increase dementia risk, study says

 

OCT. 24, 2019 / 9:15 AM

Most trans fats were banned in the U.S. last year. But foods with less than a half-gram of trans fats can be labeled as containing zero -- so some still contain them.

By
HealthDay News
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Description: https://cdnph.upi.com/svc/sv/upi_com/3451571920550/2019/1/67530f4ee8e6e689f84f9a1b608033e9/Diet-high-in-trans-fats-may-increase-dementia-risk-study-says.jpg
Foods that contributed the most to high blood levels of trans fats included sweet pastries, margarine, and candies and caramels, among others. Photo by cegoh/Pixabay
Oct. 24 -- A diet high in trans fats could put you at increased risk for dementia, a new study suggests.
Most trans fats were banned in the United States last year. But foods with less than a half-gram of trans fats can be labeled as containing zero, so some foods still contain them.
The new study included over 1,600 people in Japan without dementia. Their average age was 70, and they were followed for an average of 10 years. During that time, 377 of them developed dementia.
Of the 407 who started the study with the highest levels of trans fats in their blood, 104 developed dementia, a rate of 29.8 per 1,000 person-years. (A "person-year" is a formula that accounts for the number of people in a study and how long they were followed.)
Among those with the second-highest level of trans fats, the rate was 27.6 per 1,000 person-years. The rate was 21.3 among those with the lowest trans fat levels in their blood.
After adjusting for other dementia risk factors -- such as high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking -- the researchers concluded that compared to study participants with the lowest levels of trans fats, dementia risk was 52 percent more likely among those with the highest levels.
Foods that contributed the most to high blood levels of trans fats included sweet pastries, margarine, candies and caramels, croissants, non-dairy creamers, ice cream and rice crackers, according to the study published online Oct. 23 in the journal Neurology.
"These results give us even more reason to avoid trans fats," said lead author Toshiharu Ninomiya, a professor of epidemiology and public health at Kyushu University in Japan. "In the United States, the small amounts still allowed in foods can really add up if people eat multiple servings of these foods, and trans fats are still allowed in many other countries."
Ninomiya noted in a journal news release that the World Health Organization has called for trans fats to be eliminated worldwide by 2023. "These public health efforts have the potential to help prevent dementia cases around the world, not to mention the decrease in heart disease and other conditions related to trans fats," Ninomiya said.
Half of Mekong Delta to be lost under sea level: research
 25 OCTOBER 2019
 HANOI (Viet Nam News/ANN) - More than half of the Mekong Delta will disappear under sea level in the next two generations if no action is taken now, research has found.
The results of the five-year-long 'Rise and Fall' research project funded by the Netherlands government were announced to the press on Thursday.
The findings shed light on the linkages between land subsidence, groundwater extraction and saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta, locally known as the Cuu Long Delta, while giving out a red alert over the future of Vietnam’s largest rice production area.
The delta is home to more than 17 million people, most of whom are farmers who grow nearly 60 per cent of the country's rice and 40 per cent of the country’s aquaculture products.
Rapid economic development in the region since the 1990s led to a drastic increase of groundwater extraction for agriculture, aquaculture and living activities, researchers from Utrecht University and Deltares Institute found.
The over-extraction of groundwater reserves, estimated at about 2.5 million cubic metres a day in 2015, triggered and accelerated mass land subsidence in the delta with some areas sinking at rate up to 6 cm a year.
It ultimately left the Mekong Delta, which saw almost no subsidence in the 1990s, merely 80 cm above the current sea level.
“I come from the Netherlands which is a flat land but I have seen some parts in the Mekong Delta even flatter than the Netherlands during my field trips to the region,” said Dr Philip Minderhoud, leader of the research group.
“Groundwater extraction is not free. We pay for it by elevation and once below sea level the costs of protecting the land rapidly increase.”
The researchers also made projections of the sinking rate of the delta taking into account subsidence induced by groundwater extraction and rising sea levels due to climate change.
If groundwater usage keeps growing at 2 per cent per year, the outlook will be at the bleakest as a number of areas will stay under sea level by less than 10 years from now while the southern half and beyond will be engulfed by seawater by 2080.
In other scenarios which see no increase in the groundwater extraction, the percentage of land falling under sea level will subsequently decrease. Nearly 50 per cent of the delta will sink below sea level in case of stable extraction and only a third if the water use was reduced by 75 per cent.
While the irreversible sinking already set in motion and accelerated quickly, river sediment which was supposed to compensate land subsidence became insufficient. It was either blocked upstream due to a series of dam construction on the Mekong River or destroyed by sand miners, according to the research findings.
The sand starvation made the tide intrude deeper with greater volume, resulting in exacerbating salinisation that would seriously damage the region’s crops and aquaculture industry.
“It is recommended that the Government of Vietnam tackles the root causes related to the mining of groundwater and sand,” Dr Minderhoud said.
“The research is not to scare people but to prepare them. Vietnam has to take action now. That’s the crucial part.”

Smugglers conceal N62m rice in diesel tanker

 

Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Niger/Kogi Area Command, said yesterday that it had apprehended and seized 3,529 bags of rice with duty paid value (DPV) of N62,159,700 in Niger State.
The Controller, Niger/Kogi Area Command, Yusuf Abba-Kassim, disclosed this yesterday while addressing journalists at the command office in Minna.
Abba-Kassim said a diesel tanker with registration number RBC 05ZS, suspected to be concealing imported foreign rice yet to be examined, was seized.
He said: “In keeping to the promise of the command, we initiated new anti-smuggling strategies which led to remarkable exploits evidenced in the seizure of various items.
“We apprehended one DAF truck diesel tanker (six tyres) with registration number RBC 05ZS concealing imported rice yet to be examined. DAF truck diesel tanker (10 tyres) with registration number MNA 893 XV loaded with 950 bags of imported rice.
“We seized nine bales of used clothes, four Toyota Corolla conveying cumulatively a total of 135 bags of 50kg imported rice. Another 397 50kg imported bags of rice hidden within the forests by smugglers.”
The controller added that the seizures were made at different locations within the command’s area of coverage all in this month.
Abba-Kassim, however, regretted that some Nigerians still remained unrepentant even as the smugglers continue to lose.
He said: “The arrest of the diesel tanker should send a serious signal to these recalcitrant saboteurs of the Nigerian economy that there is no hiding place. We are determined to beat all their concealment patterns with our superior intelligence network.”
The commander disclosed that among the seized items were 29 used vehicles (Tokunbo) with DPV of N32,333,500 and 1,018 bales of second hand clothes with N48,912,000 DPV.