Pakistan to export 500,000 MT additional rice to China
09 January,2020 11:24 am
Pakistan to export 500,000 MT additional rice to China.
ISLAMABAD (APP) – After
successfully completing the export quota of 250,000 MT of rice to China,
Pakistan will now export additional 500,000 MT of rice to the country, Advisor
to Prime Minister on Commerce, Investment and Industries Abdul Razak Dawood said.
The Advisor said that after
completing the export quota, the government of Pakistan approached government
of China for an additional 500,000 MT of rice which was accepted by the Chinese
government.He also requested all members of Rice Exports Association of
Pakistan (REAP) to take advantage of this golden opportunity.
Viewpoint:
At least 200,000 people die every year GMO Golden Rice is kept off the market
Matt Ridley | January 9, 2020
Any day now, the government
of Bangladesh may become the second
country to approve the growing of a variety of yellow rice by farmers known as
Golden Rice. If so, this would be a momentous victory in a long and exhausting
battle fought by scientists and humanitarians to tackle a huge human health
problem—a group that’s faced a great deal of opposition by misguided critics of
genetically modified foods.
[Editor’s
note: Bangladesh has delayed a decision on Golden Rice
until 2020. On December 18, 2019, the Philippines approved Golden Rice for human consumption,
finding it “to be as safe as conventional rice.”]
Compare
two plants. Golden Rice and Golden Promise barley are two varieties of crop.
The barley was produced in the 1960s by bombarding seeds with gamma rays in a
nuclear facility to scramble their genes at random with the aim of producing
genetic mutations that might prove to be what geneticists used to call “hopeful
monsters.” It is golden only in name, as a marketing gimmick, with sepia-tinged
adverts helping to sell its appeal to organic growers and brewers. Despite the
involvement of atomic radiation in its creation, it required no special
regulatory approval or red tape before being released to be grown by farmers in
Britain and elsewhere. It went almost straight from laboratory to field and
proved popular and profitable.
Golden
Rice, by contrast, was produced in the 1990s by carefully inserting just two
naturally occurring genes known to be safe—from maize and from a common soil
bacterium—into a rice 
plant, disturbing no other genes.
It is quite literally golden: its yellow color indicates that it has beta
carotene in it, the precursor of vitamin A. It was developed as a humanitarian,
non-profit project in an attempt to prevent somewhere between 200,000 and
700,000 people, many of them children, dying prematurely every year in poor
countries because of vitamin A deficiency. (Vitamin A deficiency causes
children to go blind and lose immune function.) Yet the rice has been
ferociously opposed by opponents of GM foods and, partly as a result, has been
tied up in red tape for 20 years, preventing it from being grown. One study in
2008 calculated that in India alone 1.38 million person-years of healthy life
had been lost for every year the crop has been delayed.
plant, disturbing no other genes.
It is quite literally golden: its yellow color indicates that it has beta
carotene in it, the precursor of vitamin A. It was developed as a humanitarian,
non-profit project in an attempt to prevent somewhere between 200,000 and
700,000 people, many of them children, dying prematurely every year in poor
countries because of vitamin A deficiency. (Vitamin A deficiency causes
children to go blind and lose immune function.) Yet the rice has been
ferociously opposed by opponents of GM foods and, partly as a result, has been
tied up in red tape for 20 years, preventing it from being grown. One study in
2008 calculated that in India alone 1.38 million person-years of healthy life
had been lost for every year the crop has been delayed.
Golden
Rice was the brainchild of two scientists, Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer, aimed
at helping the 250 million children—predominantly in Asia—who subsist mainly on
rice and suffer from vitamin A deficiency. Telling the parents of these
children to grow vegetables (most don’t have land), or distributing vitamin capsules—the preferred alternative of
some environmental activists—has not proved remotely practical.
Potrykus
hit upon the idea of awakening the molecular machinery in the seed of a rice
plant—it is active in the leaves—to make vitamin A while casting around for
something he could do to help the world towards the end of his career. Within a
few years, and with Beyer’s help, he had succeeded. With additional assistance
from scientists at the agricultural company Syngenta, organized by Adrian
Dubock, they eventually produced a version of Golden Rice that was sufficiently
rich in beta carotene to supply all the vitamin A a person needs. (Dubock wrote
about the development of Golden Rice here.) With some difficulty, they
cleared the many intellectual property hurdles, getting firms to waive their
patents so that the rice could be sold or given away. Potrykus and Beyer insisted
that the technology be donated free to benefit children suffering from vitamin
A deficiency and Syngenta gave up its right to commercialize the product even
in rich countries.
Given
the scale of human suffering Golden Rice could address, there may be no better
example of a purely philanthropic project in the whole of human history. Yet
some misguided environmental activists still oppose Golden Rice to this day.
Prominent
among these is Greenpeace, the environmental lobby group which now has annual
revenues of nearly $300m and a highly-paid chief executive overseeing a
sophisticated fund-raising operation. Greenpeace lobbied to set very strict
rules on the use of genetically-engineered crops which had the effect, whether
intended or not, of making life difficult for Potrykus and Beyer.
In
January 2000, the same month that the development of Golden Rice was announced to the world in Science magazine, there was a meeting in Montreal of delegates
from 170 countries working to come up with an international protocol on the
regulation of biotechnology. This process had been started the year before in
Cartagena, Colombia. Greenpeace was there, both protesting in the streets
(“Life before profits!”) and working behind the scenes to draft rules for the
delegates.
It
was here in Montreal on 29th January 2000 that the “precautionary
principle”—one of the lodestars of the environmental movement—was incorporated
into an international treaty after days of intensive lobbying by Greenpeace.
“We won almost all the points we were pushing for,” boasted a spokesman. The
environmental group believed it to be a ‘victory’ that would save lives, but
the effect was to hobble the development of Golden Rice for many years. As
Potrykus said ruefully: “Once Greenpeace had fixed the regulations to be
extremely precautionary, they didn’t have to do much more.”
Most
people think the precautionary principle simply says “better safe than sorry”
and helps to prevent disasters like the release of Thalidomide for pregnant
women. In fact, it goes much further and is often a barrier to innovation. As
applied in practice, especially in the European Union, it requires regulators
to take into account all possible hazards of a new technology, however
implausible, to discount all possible benefits, however plausible, and to ignore
all the hazards of existing technologies that might be replaced by the
innovation. As Ed Regis puts it in his new book Golden
Rice: The Imperiled Birth of a GMO Superfood: “The principle focuses on theoretical
or potential risks, those that are only possible or hypothetical, while
ignoring the specific and actual harms that restrictions or prohibitions are
likely to produce.” In this way, it creates obstacles to anything new.
Bizarrely,
the Cartagena Protocol applied this principle to
crops bred by the precise insertion of specific genes from other plants but not
to the older technique of random genetic scrambling with gamma rays, like
Golden Promise barley, even though the potential unknown risk of the latter is
clearly greater. The effect on Golden Rice was twofold. First, the requirement
for greater regulation tarnished all biotech crops as risky (if they’re safe,
how come they have to go through so much regulation?). Second, it made the
testing of different varieties impossibly expensive and time-consuming, killing
a key part of the innovation process: the trial and error that is always
necessary to turn a good idea into a practical product. Thomas Edison tried
6,000 different materials for the filament of a light bulb. Imagine if he had
had to get separate regulatory approval for each one.
The European Union’s
directive on
the deliberate release of genetically modified crops includes the statement
that “the precautionary principle has been taken into account in the drafting
of this Directive and must be taken into account when implementing it.” This
effectively killed off biotechnology on the continent, though Europe happily
imports huge quantities of GM soybeans from the Americas today. Since 2005,
Canada (which did not sign the Cartagena Protocol) has approved 70 different
biotech crops, while the European Union has approved just one—and that took 13
years, by which time the crop was outdated.
To
illustrate just how impenetrable the EU’s regulatory thicket is, take the biotech potato developed by the German
company BASF in 2005. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) initially
approved it, but the European Commission then blocked it, citing the
precautionary principle. BASF took the Commission to the European Court of
Justice, which ordered another evaluation from the EFSA. This confirmed that
the crop was safe and the EU was instructed by the Court to approve its use,
which it did. But Hungary’s government then intervened on behalf of green
pressure groups, pointing out (Kafka-like) that the EU had based its approval
on the first EFSA ruling instead of the second one, even though the two rulings
were practically identical. In 2013, eight years after the first approval, the
EU General Court upheld Hungary’s complaint. By then BASF had lost interest in
banging its head against this precautionary wall, so it withdrew the
application, packed up its entire research into biotechnology and moved it to
the U.S., which has never signed the Cartagena Protocol. Syngenta did the same.
After
a quarter of a century of growing biotech crops in North and South America,
Asia and parts of Africa, the evidence is now clear: they have caused no human
or animal illness, and have huge environmental benefit, such as greatly reduced
pesticide use, less ploughing, lower greenhouse gas emissions, less land
required to grow a given quantity of crop, lower costs and higher yields. This
is the environmental bounty Europe has missed out on thanks to its over-zealous
regulation of GM crops.
Greenpeace,
having helped to create the red tape that held up Golden Rice, has campaigned
against the crop more or less continuously for two decades. At first it argued
that Golden Rice was useless because the very earliest prototype, which
contained a daffodil gene, had too little beta carotene to be of any use. It
then switched to arguing that a later version, with a maize gene, had too much
beta carotene and could be toxic.
Despite
these difficulties—including constant verbal attacks on themselves, and
physical attacks on their field trials—Potrykus, Beyer, Dubock and their allies
refused to give up. By 2012, it was clear from studies in China that the latest
version of Golden Rice, grown in secure greenhouses, gave children sufficient
beta carotene to make them healthy but could not harm them, and did so far more
effectively than feeding them spinach. However, the research caused a fuss. The
US-based, Chinese-born researcher followed precisely the approved protocols for
the research, which did not describe Golden Rice as a GMO-crop.
Nevertheless,
the same university which had approved the protocols, then found that not
describing Golden Rice as a GMO-crop was an ethical omission. Overall, and
without any credible analysis, the university found insufficient evidence that
the principle of ‘prior informed consent’ from the subjects of the research had
been properly applied, handing the opponents of GM foods a huge propaganda
victory at a crucial time. Yet by this date, billions of meals of biotech crops
had been eaten all around the world, and three independent reviews of the
Chinese research concluded that the trial had been safe and effective.
Nevertheless, the reputational harm lingered.
The
International Rice Research Institute developed numerous different Golden Rice
strains back-crossed into commonly grown varieties, behind tough security
barriers because of constant threats from activists encouraged by Greenpeace.
Eventually, the Golden Rice Humanitarian Board chose one of the varieties for
field testing. They would have liked to have chosen lots of different
varieties, because in plant breeding it is always necessary to weed out sports
that have for some reason acquired undesirable traits along the way. But the
precautionary principle made this impossibly expensive and laborious since it
required evaluation in advance of the potential risks of each separate variety.
So they had to pick one.
Disastrously,
that one variety turned out to have a genetic flaw that made it poor at
yielding grain outside the greenhouse. Once again, the environmentalists crowed
that the project was doomed.
Former anti-GMO activist Mark
Lynas changed his mind about crop biotechnology in 2013. Image: Mhairi Edwards,
Courier
But
the anti-GMO activists didn’t always enjoy universal support within the broader
environmentalist movement. One of the founders of Greenpeace, Patrick Moore,
became so infuriated by the organization’s opposition to Golden Rice that he
launched a campaign called Allow Golden Rice Now! on the very day that
left-wing activists vandalized a Golden Rice field trial. Moore’s group went on
to organize protests at Greenpeace’s offices in Hamburg, Amsterdam, Brussels,
Rome and London. In 2015, the White House Office of Science and Technology
Policy and the US Patents and Trademark Office rewarded Golden Rice with
their Patents For Humanity
Award.
In 2017, a group of 134 Nobel-prize winners (now expanded to 150)
called on Greenpeace and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Program to
“cease and desist in its campaign against Golden Rice specifically, and crops
and foods improved through biotechnology in general.” They concluded: “How many
poor people in the world must die before we consider this a ‘crime against
humanity’?”
In
2018, Mark Lynas, a prominent campaigner against biotechnology, switched sides
and wrote a book in
which he said: “We permanently stirred public hostility to GMO foods throughout
pretty much the entire world, and—incredibly—held up the previously unstoppable
march of a whole technology. There was only one problem with our stunningly
successful worldwide campaign. It wasn’t true.”
By
2017, a new variety of Golden Rice,
GR2E, had been tested in the field in the Philippines and shown to be robust,
true-breeding, high-yielding and strong in its expression of beta carotene. The
IRRI submitted an application to release it to farmers, in the form of eight
hefty documents, one more than 800 pages long and detailing the many tests of
the physical, nutritional, allergenic, and toxicity done on the plant to show
that it could not conceivably be anything other than safe to grow and eat.
Probably no crop has ever been so exhaustively evaluated.
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Thankfully,
2017 was the year the dam began to break. Australia, New Zealand, Canada and
the US approved Golden Rice as a safe food, though none of them planned to grow
it (vitamin A deficiency is rare in these countries). But this only stirred up
more ferocious opposition among the usual anti-GMO suspects, who frantically
lobbied the governments of India, Bangladesh and the Philippines not to approve
the crop.
As
Regis summarizes the sorry tale in his book:
The rice had to overcome numerous
scientific challenges and extremely burdensome regulatory obstacles. It had to
withstand years of constant abuse, opposition, factual distortions,
disinformation, and ridicule by anti-GMO individuals and groups. It had to
survive the destruction of field test specimens by cyclones, hurricanes, and
paid vandals. It had to survive its one major scandal and one major mistake.
More
than 13,000 supportive citizens (including Jeff Bezos) have now appealed to the
governments of the world, the United Nations and Greenpeace to stop vilifying
genetically-modified crops in general and Golden Rice in particular. Yet the United Nations remains in thrall to
the opponents. Shockingly, UNICEF’s hefty recent report State of the World’s
Children 2019: Children, food and nutrition does not even mention
Golden Rice. The World Health Organization continues to ignore the product. In
effect, a GMO superfood has been developed that could save the lives of
hundreds of thousands of children every year, it’s been proved to be both safe
and effective, and yet the world’s leading global health organization has
decided to turn a blind eye.
The
story of Golden Rice is deeply, deeply shocking. This is not a story of
incompetence and ignorance, but of an antediluvian hostility to science and
technology. In the end, though, the evidence in favor of Golden Rice proved
absolutely overwhelming.
Matt
Ridley is a British journalist and businessman. He is the author of several
books, including The Red Queen (1994), Genome (1999), The
Rational Optimist (2010) and The
Evolution of Everything (2015). Follow him
on Twitter @mattwridley
This article originally ran at
Quillette as GM Crops Like Golden Rice
Will Save the Lives of Hundreds of Thousands of Children and has been republished
here with permission.
The GLP featured this article
to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. The viewpoint is the
author’s own. The GLP’s goal is to stimulate constructive discourse on
challenging science issues.
CRISPR-edited crops reveal gene
responsible for salt tolerance in rice
ISAAA | January 9, 2020
Scientists
from China National Rice Research Institute reported that FLN2, a gene that encodes
fructokinase-like protein2, influences sugar metabolism as well as rice plant’s
response to salinity stress. The results of
their study are published in Biomolecules.
Several
mutagenized rice lines were grown under high
salinity conditions to pinpoint the genes needed for the expression of salinity
tolerance. Some rice lines with mutation in FLN2 showed
susceptibility to salinity stress. Wild-type rice lines exposed to salinity
stress showed up-regulated FLN2, while CRISPR-Cas9-generated lines
with dysfunctional FLN2 exhibited hypersensitivity to salinity
stress. Furthermore, sugar metabolism was reduced in the knockout line than in
wild-type plants. This may imply that the compromised salinity tolerance
in FLN2 knockout plants was caused by the shortage in
assimilate needed for growth.
The
researchers concluded that FLN2 is vital in seedling growth as
well as in tolerance to salinity stress.
Arkansas
Extension entomologists improve rice defoliation thresholds
·
Extension entomologist Nick Bateman, at right during a field day
at Pine Tree Research Station, and other Division of Agriculture researchers
investigated new thresholds for control of fall armyworms in rice. (UA
System Division of Agriculture photo by Ryan McGeeney.)
Extension entomologists are
developing a new percentage-based threshold for insect defoliation of rice that
can help eliminate unnecessary applications of pesticides.
Severe defoliation in rice from a large flight of fall armyworms
in 2016 led researchers with the University of Arkansas System Division of
Agriculture to develop a new defoliation threshold, said Nick Bateman,
assistant professor and crop entomologist.
It is common to see fall armyworms, a defoliating caterpillar
pest, in pastures and fields, Bateman said.
Defoliation is the removal of leaves caused by insects feeding
on them. it can cause both yield loss and heading delays, Bateman said.
The defoliation threshold that triggered pesticide application
in 2016 was adopted from wheat in the mid-1990s and was based on the number of
larvae per square foot.
After seeing the defoliation of rice that year, Bateman said,
“We knew we needed to go to work.”
Researchers manually defoliated test plots of rice plants to
determine at what level of defoliation and during which stage of plant growth
significant yield reduction results, Bateman said.
The research determines the economic threshold—the point where a
consultant or grower decides they are going to make an application of a
pesticide to halt defoliation before significant yield loss occurs, Bateman
said.
If a producer is going to make an application for fall
armyworms, researchers recommend spraying a lambda-cyhalothrin. But pesticide
applications come at the risk of removing beneficial insects, Bateman said.
The threshold indicates whether growers need to spray, and helps
eliminate unnecessary applications, Bateman said.
If the defoliation is over that threshold there can be an almost
two-week delay in heading.
This delay can push producers out of their optimal heading
window and lead to some quality issues as well as drag out the harvest, Bateman
said.
The new threshold recommendations have been established for
conventional rice varieties, Bateman said. They are also investigating how
thresholds may need to be adjusted for hybrid rice.
They are currently working on fact sheets and will be presenting
the new thresholds at grower meetings this winter, Bateman said.
China Focus:
Chinese living longer, healthier thanks to sci-tech achievements
Source:
Xinhua| 2020-01-09 18:30:31|Editor: Lu Hui
BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese people are enjoying better
and healthier lives thanks to the country's sci-tech achievements, studies
highlighted at China's annual research awards show.
FEEDING THE NATION
In China, where less than 8 percent of the world's arable land
feeds one fifth of the world's people, food security is a priority for many
researchers. Three research achievements on rice were recognized in the 2017
National Science and Technology Awards.
Li Jiayang and his researchers - one of the three teams - found
the balance of yield and quality in new hybrid rice varieties.
The cultivation of hybrid rice has spread across China for more
than four decades. But while yields have increased, many varieties have failed
the taste and cooking tests until recently.
Li's team identified the major gene that regulates yield and
quality and used molecular breeding technologies to combine high yield and good
taste in a new rice variety.
"Good characteristics can be identified in molecular
breeding," Li said. They plan to work on "tailored" hybrid rice
varieties in future.
Huang Sanwen, of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,
won last year's State Natural Science Award for breeding high-yield cucumbers.
With advanced genome sequencing technology, Huang's team mapped
the genetic code of cucumbers, shedding light on their origin and evolution.
HEALTHIER LIVES
Professor Li Luming, of Tsinghua University, won first prize in
the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award of 2018, for his research
on brain pacemakers.
His team made brain pacemakers cheaper, smaller, lighter and
more durable, benefiting China's 2 million Parkinson's disease sufferers.
Lung cancer is China's leading deadly cancer. Surgical resection
is the key to treat lung cancer in the early and middle stages.
He Jianxing, head of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou
Medical University, created a minimally invasive lung cancer treatment system
through technological innovation. Patients can usually get out of bed within
hours of the surgery and leave hospital after three days.
Progress in medical science has greatly improved the health
level of Chinese people, with average life expectancy rising from 35 in 1949 to
77 in 2018.
CLEANER AIR
In the global drive to curb climate change, China has been
consistently delivering on its environmental pledges.
From 2015 to 2017, the government highlighted in its work
reports ultra-low emissions from coal-burning power plants.
Gao Xiang and his team developed an ultra-low emissions system
to filter pollutants from coal-fired flue gas quickly and cheaply, resulting in
cleaner air. It has been successfully trialed in a power plant in Jiaxing,
Zhejiang Province.
The system can simultaneously remove multi-pollutants, reducing
emissions from a coal-fired power plant to a level even lower than that of a
natural-gas-burning power plant.
In January 2018, Gao and his team were awarded first prize in
the National Technology Invention Award. The Ministry of Science and Technology
said the system had drastically reduced pollutants emitted by coal-fired power
plants nationwide.
Haryana detects
Rs 90-cr scam in paddy purchase, initiates checks
The Indian Express9 January 2020
Paddy field, Haryana, haryana Government, scam in haryana, rice
mills in haryana, CBI, latest updates, Indian Express
Paddy field. (Express photo by
Yamini Nair)
The Haryana government has
detected Rs 90-crore scam in the procurement of paddy and its transportation
from mandis to the rice mills, following which it has initiated some measures.
The government has decided that
from now onwards the transportation of paddy from mandis to rice mills will be
done by the state Food and Civil Supplies Department and other procurement
agencies instead of by the millers. The trucks deployed for transportation will
be GPS-fitted so that their movement can be monitored.
The decision has been taken after
the government detected a shortfall of 42,589 metric tonnes (MT) paddy in its
stock at rice mills, establishing bogus procurement. The involvement of rice
millers, procurement agencies, arhtiyas (commission agents) and marketing board
officials is being suspected in the scam.
Haryana Additional Chief
Secretary (food, civil supplies and consumer affairs) PK Das said that
showcause notices will be issued to the rice millers, whose mills have reported
shortage in stock. He said that after receiving the replies, strict action will
be taken against the wrongdoers.
Sharing the details about the
data complied after the latest physical verification, he said that to check the
stock availability and bogus paddy procurement, verification of 1,304 rice
mills in the state was done. The verification process, which was videographed,
showed a shortfall of 42,589 MT paddy at 1,207 rice mills.
On the other hand, Indian
National Lok Dal leader Abhay Chautala claimed that the state government was
unnecessarily harassing the rice millers. He alleged that the officials
committed scam in connivance with the procurement agencies. Earlier, Abhay
Chautala had sought a CBI probe into the matter.
Government provides solar-powered
rice mills for farming areas
Date: Jan 09 , 2020 , 08:27
BY: Severious Kale-Dery
The government has dispatched solar-powered rice mills to four
strategic rice farming areas to address the problem of inadequate capacity for
milling paddy rice.
The mills, which have been
dispatched to New Edubiase and Ejura, both in the Ashanti Region, Yamoransa in
the Central Region and Fumbisi in the Upper East Region, are part of efforts by
the government to boost the cultivation and consumption of rice locally.
Rice mills
Speaking with the Daily Graphic,
the Technical Advisor to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Mr Emmanuel
Asante-Krobea, explained that the mills were currently being installed in the
areas where the production of rice was high.
The inability of rice farmers to
mill their paddy rice, especially those in the Fumbisi Valley came up strongly
late last year when the farmers appealed to the government to intervene by
buying their rice for the School Feeding Programme to prevent losses.
Currently, there is no rice milling
facility in the Upper East Region and the farmers believe that with the
increased interest in rice farming in the region, there is the need to get a
mill in the region.
More milling machineries
Mr Asante-Krobea gave an assurance
that “come next season, this problem the farmers faced this year will be a
thing of the past because we are increasing the national milling capacity”.
Tk 3 per kg!
Govt rice depot in-charge caught red-handed while taking bribe
Staff Correspondent
No matter what the quality of rice
was, millers had to pay Tk 3 for per kilogramme as bribe to Ilias Hossain,
in-charge of the Local Supply Depot in Khulna.The matter came to light after
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) caught Ilias red-handed while taking Tk 1 lakh
bribe from one Kamruzzaman yesterday.
“Millers were upset. They could not
make any profit due to the bribe,” said Kamruzzaman, proprietor of MA Zaman
Auto Rice and Processing Mills in Dumuria.
ACC Assistant Director Shawon Miah
later filed a case against Ilias.
Kamruzzaman said he collected 900
tonnes of Boro paddy last year and supplied it to the Dumuria depot after
processing.
But till date, he did not receive
any money against his supply. “To approve the bill, Ilias demanded Tk 7.5 lakh
and asked for Tk 1 lakh in advance on Thursday,” he said.
The miller informed the ACC
integrated district office in Khulna about the matter.
An ACC team took position near the
depot, and one of them accompanied Kamruzzaman inside the office and witnessed
the transaction. As soon as the money changed hands, the team detained Ilias
and seized Tk 1 lakh.
Ilias was produced before a
district judge’s court that sent him to jail, said the assistant director.
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Asia Rice-Drought threatens Thai crop, Bangladesh
braces for cold wave
Karthika
Suresh Namboothiri
JANUARY
9, 2020 / 5:43 PM
*
Thailand’s drought could extend into June- authorities
* Vietnam
rice rates dip to $355/oz
*
India prices steady, demand from African countries weak
By
Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
BENGALURU,
Jan 9 (Reuters) - Rice export prices in major Asian hubs held steady this week
but a multi-month drought drove expectations of a rise in Thai rates, while a
cold snap threatened crops in Bangladesh.
Thailand’s
benchmark 5 percent broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1 prices were quoted at $425-$435 on
Thursday, largely unchanged from two weeks earlier, but was still the highest
level since June 2018.
Although
demand was flat, prices for the Thai grade, which were consistently trading
higher than the Vietnamese variety throughout 2019, remained high well into
2020 due to the drought threatening supply and the continuous appreciation of
the baht, traders said.
Thailand’s
dry season started in November and usually lasts through April, although
authorities said it could go on through June this year. A drought has been
declared in 14 provinces in the central, northern and northeastern farming
regions.
In
top producer India, rice export prices remained steady due to weak demand from
African countries.
Prices
of the 5 percent broken parboiled variety RI-INBKN5-P1 were unchanged from last
week, around $362-$366 per tonne.
“Exports
demand is subdued. Supplies are rising from the summer-sown crop,” said an
exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Neighbouring
Bangladesh braced for a cold wave, which could have an impact on crops,
including rice, said Mizanur Rahman, a senior official at the agricultural
ministry.
“The
seedbeds of rice have dried out due to extreme cold,” Rahman said, adding a
prolonged cold spell would have devastating effects on the crop.
The
weather office said the cold snap, accompanied by chilly winds and drizzling,
was likely to continue for a few more days.
In
Vietnam, rates for 5% broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 eased to $355 a tonne on
Thursday, from $360 a week earlier.
“Demand
remains weak this week and trade has been very slow,” a trader based in Ho Chi
Minh City said.
Preliminary
shipping data showed 138,650 tonnes of rice is to be loaded at Ho Chi Minh City
port between Jan. 1 and Jan. 23, with most of the grain bound for Iraq and West
Africa.
The
Ministry of Industry and Trade this week added 47 companies to a list of
eligible rice exporters, raising the number of licensed Vietnamese exporters to
182, a government statement said.
The
move is aimed at “facilitating rice exports, promoting rice production in a
sustainable manner and enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese rice,” the
statement added. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Ruma Paul in Dhaka,
Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Patpicha Tanakasempipat in Bangkok; Editing by Maju
Samuel)
Our
Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Amidst
uncertainty, value of checkoff is certain
The 2019 rice harvest faced many challenges and
obstacles. Arkansas farmers were unable to plant 26% of their expected crop —
the second highest in the nation — due to adverse weather, either rain or
standing water. More than 1.3 million acres of farmland went unplanted this
year, over 510,000 of which was rice.
Despite the fact that planting
progress was the slowest in 25 years, conditions improved after planting,
resulting in average yield and quality.
Although the official state
average yield remains to be seen until January, we can likely expect that
number to be around 165 bushels per acre. In true Arkansas fashion, farmers
were able to salvage a successful harvest.
It’s no secret that the trade war
has only added to the severe uncertainty and risk that we as growers accept to
put a crop in the ground. Farmers absolutely welcomed the administration’s
market facilitation program (MFP), which was designed to account for a portion
of the effects caused by the trade war. However, those unplanted acres do not
qualify for MFP, so many growers had a significant amount of idle land not
eligible for the very program that was intended to provide relief.
Although prevented plant acres
didn’t qualify for MFP, farmers who carry crop insurance were able to recognize
another avenue of support. Without crop insurance, many farmers would not have
been able to continue based on this season’s conditions. Crop insurance is a
valuable tool that protects farmers in critical situations like this year’s wet
planting season.
Farmers, merchants, and millers
invest in the continued development and success of our industry by contributing
to the checkoff program each year. Then, the Rice Research and Promotion Board,
appointed by the Governor, allocates this money to maximize our return on that
investment.
Checkoff dollars fund promotion
and research efforts, which in turn support farming successes. Although
Arkansas is the top rice producing state in the nation, we have the second
lowest checkoff investment in the country.
One tangible result of the
checkoff is the Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center (NERREC). The
Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center (NERREC) is located in Greenfield
in Poinsett County. The 600-acre farm represents the only University of
Arkansas Division of Agriculture Experiment Station located in this rice
production area of the Arkansas Delta. As such, it will provide rice producers
on these unique soils with much needed research-based information.
The NERREC will conduct research
on rice production practices that maximize farm income while conserving natural
resources. In particular, maximizing water use efficiency will be a priority.
Within the NERREC, the Rice
Discovery Experience (RDE) will provide a unique opportunity to educate
regional youth on rice production. The RDE provides an Imagination Workspace
for grade-school children to complete fun and educational activities associated
with rice. The demonstration kitchen will allow these grade-school guests to
experience rice from Arkansas and around the world, thus it provides an
outstanding opportunity for global awareness with regard to rice production.
The NERREC will also utilize
digital technologies to disseminate research-based information in formats that
are widely accessible for Arkansans and provide a state-of-the-art meeting
space for agricultural-related educational and corporate events. These are just
a few examples of the value added to our industry that helps us maintain a
competitive advantage, all enabled by the checkoff program.
Like the crops we grow, Arkansas
farmers are resilient. The checkoff program is an investment in keeping
Arkansas agriculture competitive. Similar to the safety net we are afforded
through crop insurance, the checkoff provides a guarantee for our industry that
ultimately enhances our viability and benefits every single farmer. Just as we
will leave our farmland to future generations, we can also leave the legacy of
success.
Editor’s note: Jennifer James farms rice,
soybeans and corn in Newport and is the first woman elected to the Riceland Foods
Board of directors. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Domestic paddy
prices hold firm over damage to crop last year
Iran is the largest buyer of Indian basmati and
shipments had stood at nearly $1.5 billion in 2018-19
Virendra Singh Rawat | Lucknow Last Updated at January 10,
2020 00:07 IST
Iran
is the largest buyer of Indian basmati and shipments had stood at nearly $1.5
billion in 2018-19.
Amid the setback faced by the
Indian basmati exporters over stalled shipments due to the ongoing US-Iran standoff, the
prices of non-basmati paddy are holding firm
and rising in some local markets after reports
of crop damage following last year’s heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding in
major growing areas have surfaced.
After the advisory by All India
Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) to suspend basmati shipments to Iran for the
time being, the prospects of basmati trade had come under the cloud which
reflected in the fall in its prices on the Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX).
Iran is the largest buyer of Indian
basmati and shipments had stood at nearly $1.5 billion in 2018-19.
However, non-basmati paddy (grade III) was
trading at Rs 2,440 per quintal today, up 5.62 per cent compared to Rs 2,310
per quintal a month back on December 9, 2019, at the Choubepur mandi.
Similarly, the paddy was trading at
Rs 2,350 per quintal at the Kanpur grain market today vis-Ã -vis Rs 2,150 per
quintal on December 9, 2019, thus up 9.30 per cent over the past month.
Other markets have also
reflected similar trends indicating that the prospects of crop damage to paddy
have supported the domestic prices of the non-basmati variety.
Mumbai-based rice trader and
exporter Devendra Vora told Business Standard that the domestic paddy prices
had already bottomed out and were expected to rise further from these levels.
Source: Agmark Compiled by BS Research Bureau
According to National Rice Research
Institute (NRRI) principal scientist Dr Biswajit Mondal, parts of India had
witnessed abnormal rainfall during Kharif season 2019-20 and consequently, the
rice production was expected at 90 million tonnes (MT), 12 per cent down from
last year’s production estimate of 102 MT.
Besides, heavy flooding due to
consistent rains during November 2019 resulted into extensive damage to the
Kharif cropped area, including paddy, in 15 States, including major
rice-producing states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh etc.
Meanwhile, there were also reports
of the recent spells of untimely rainfall in some states, including the coastal
areas of Odisha impacting paddy procurement in the ongoing Kharif marketing
season (KMS) 2019-20.
The local reports had claimed
custom millers in a few Odisha districts were not lifting the harvested paddy
from the ‘mandis’ citing lack of properly covered storage capacity due to
rainfall. In the current season, Odisha is targetting paddy procurement of 6
MT, of which only 1.2 MT could be procured till January 1, 2020, compared to
more than 10 MT and 2.7 MT in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh respectively.
However, a senior Food Corporation
of India (FCI) official said the bulk of paddy had been procured, especially in
the Northern states, and that there were no reports of the fresh rainfall
affecting the process in the remaining states, including Odisha, where
procurement is primarily conducted by the state government agencies.
Meanwhile, according to trade
analyst Ajay Kedia, the basmati paddy prices have also risen by 2 per cent
following reconciliatory tone on the Gulf crisis by the US president, Donald Trump,
yesterday.
China Focus:
Chinese living longer, healthier thanks to sci-tech achievements
Source:
Xinhua| 2020-01-09 18:30:31|Editor: Lu Hui
BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese people are enjoying better
and healthier lives thanks to the country's sci-tech achievements, studies
highlighted at China's annual research awards show.
FEEDING THE NATION
In China, where less than 8 percent of the world's arable land
feeds one fifth of the world's people, food security is a priority for many
researchers. Three research achievements on rice were recognized in the 2017
National Science and Technology Awards.
Li Jiayang and his researchers - one of the three teams - found
the balance of yield and quality in new hybrid rice varieties.
The cultivation of hybrid rice has spread across China for more
than four decades. But while yields have increased, many varieties have failed
the taste and cooking tests until recently.
Li's team identified the major gene that regulates yield and
quality and used molecular breeding technologies to combine high yield and good
taste in a new rice variety.
"Good characteristics can be identified in molecular
breeding," Li said. They plan to work on "tailored" hybrid rice
varieties in future.
Huang Sanwen, of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,
won last year's State Natural Science Award for breeding high-yield cucumbers.
With advanced genome sequencing technology, Huang's team mapped
the genetic code of cucumbers, shedding light on their origin and evolution.
HEALTHIER LIVES
Professor Li Luming, of Tsinghua University, won first prize in
the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award of 2018, for his research
on brain pacemakers.
His team made brain pacemakers cheaper, smaller, lighter and
more durable, benefiting China's 2 million Parkinson's disease sufferers.
Lung cancer is China's leading deadly cancer. Surgical resection
is the key to treat lung cancer in the early and middle stages.
He Jianxing, head of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou
Medical University, created a minimally invasive lung cancer treatment system
through technological innovation. Patients can usually get out of bed within
hours of the surgery and leave hospital after three days.
Progress in medical science has greatly improved the health
level of Chinese people, with average life expectancy rising from 35 in 1949 to
77 in 2018.
CLEANER AIR
In the global drive to curb climate change, China has been
consistently delivering on its environmental pledges.
From 2015 to 2017, the government highlighted in its work
reports ultra-low emissions from coal-burning power plants.
Gao Xiang and his team developed an ultra-low emissions system
to filter pollutants from coal-fired flue gas quickly and cheaply, resulting in
cleaner air. It has been successfully trialed in a power plant in Jiaxing,
Zhejiang Province.
The system can simultaneously remove multi-pollutants, reducing
emissions from a coal-fired power plant to a level even lower than that of a
natural-gas-burning power plant.
In January 2018, Gao and his team were awarded first prize in
the National Technology Invention Award. The Ministry of Science and Technology
said the system had drastically reduced pollutants emitted by coal-fired power
plants nationwide.
China Focus: Chinese living longer, healthier thanks to sci-tech
achievements
Source:
Xinhua| 2020-01-09 18:30:31|Editor: Lu Hui
BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese people are enjoying better
and healthier lives thanks to the country's sci-tech achievements, studies
highlighted at China's annual research awards show.
FEEDING THE NATION
In China, where less than 8 percent of the world's arable land
feeds one fifth of the world's people, food security is a priority for many
researchers. Three research achievements on rice were recognized in the 2017
National Science and Technology Awards.
Li Jiayang and his researchers - one of the three teams - found
the balance of yield and quality in new hybrid rice varieties.
The cultivation of hybrid rice has spread across China for more
than four decades. But while yields have increased, many varieties have failed
the taste and cooking tests until recently.
Li's team identified the major gene that regulates yield and
quality and used molecular breeding technologies to combine high yield and good
taste in a new rice variety.
"Good characteristics can be identified in molecular
breeding," Li said. They plan to work on "tailored" hybrid rice
varieties in future.
Huang Sanwen, of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,
won last year's State Natural Science Award for breeding high-yield cucumbers.
With advanced genome sequencing technology, Huang's team mapped
the genetic code of cucumbers, shedding light on their origin and evolution.
HEALTHIER LIVES
Professor Li Luming, of Tsinghua University, won first prize in
the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award of 2018, for his research
on brain pacemakers.
His team made brain pacemakers cheaper, smaller, lighter and
more durable, benefiting China's 2 million Parkinson's disease sufferers.
Lung cancer is China's leading deadly cancer. Surgical resection
is the key to treat lung cancer in the early and middle stages.
He Jianxing, head of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou
Medical University, created a minimally invasive lung cancer treatment system
through technological innovation. Patients can usually get out of bed within
hours of the surgery and leave hospital after three days.
Progress in medical science has greatly improved the health
level of Chinese people, with average life expectancy rising from 35 in 1949 to
77 in 2018.
CLEANER AIR
In the global drive to curb climate change, China has been
consistently delivering on its environmental pledges.
From 2015 to 2017, the government highlighted in its work
reports ultra-low emissions from coal-burning power plants.
Gao Xiang and his team developed an ultra-low emissions system
to filter pollutants from coal-fired flue gas quickly and cheaply, resulting in
cleaner air. It has been successfully trialed in a power plant in Jiaxing,
Zhejiang Province.
The system can simultaneously remove multi-pollutants, reducing
emissions from a coal-fired power plant to a level even lower than that of a
natural-gas-burning power plant.
In January 2018, Gao and his team were awarded first prize in
the National Technology Invention Award. The Ministry of Science and Technology
said the system had drastically reduced pollutants emitted by coal-fired power
plants nationwide.
China Focus: Chinese
living longer, healthier thanks to sci-tech achievements
Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-09 18:30:31|
Editor: Lu Hui BEIJING, Jan. 9
(Xinhua)
Chinese people are enjoying better
and healthier lives thanks to the country's sci-tech achievements, studies
highlighted at China's annual research awards show. FEEDING THE NATION In
China, where less than 8 percent of the world's arable land feeds one fifth of
the world's people, food security is a priority for many researchers. Three
research achievements on rice were recognized in the 2017 National Science and
Technology Awards. Li Jiayang and his researchers - one of the three teams -
found the balance of yield and quality in new hybrid rice varieties. The
cultivation of hybrid rice has spread across China for more than four decades.
But while yields have increased, many varieties have failed the taste and
cooking tests until recently. Li's team identified the major gene that
regulates yield and quality and used molecular breeding technologies to combine
high yield and good taste in a new rice variety. "Good characteristics can
be identified in molecular breeding," Li said. They plan to work on
"tailored" hybrid rice varieties in future. Huang Sanwen, of the
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, won last year's State Natural Science
Award for breeding high-yield cucumbers. With advanced genome sequencing technology,
Huang's team mapped the genetic code of cucumbers, shedding light on their
origin and evolution. HEALTHIER LIVES Professor Li Luming, of Tsinghua
University, won first prize in the State Scientific and Technological Progress
Award of 2018, for his research on brain pacemakers. His team made brain
pacemakers cheaper, smaller, lighter and more durable, benefiting China's 2
million Parkinson's disease sufferers. Lung cancer is China's leading deadly
cancer. Surgical resection is the key to treat lung cancer in the early and
middle stages. He Jianxing, head of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou
Medical University, created a minimally invasive lung cancer treatment system
through technological innovation. Patients can usually get out of bed within
hours of the surgery and leave hospital after three days. Progress in medical
science has greatly improved the health level of Chinese people, with average
life expectancy rising from 35 in 1949 to 77 in 2018. CLEANER AIR In the global
drive to curb climate change, China has been consistently delivering on its
environmental pledges. From 2015 to 2017, the government highlighted in its
work reports ultra-low emissions from coal-burning power plants. Gao Xiang and
his team developed an ultra-low emissions system to filter pollutants from
coal-fired flue gas quickly and cheaply, resulting in cleaner air. It has been
successfully trialed in a power plant in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. The system
can simultaneously remove multi-pollutants, reducing emissions from a coal-fired
power plant to a level even lower than that of a natural-gas-burning power
plant. In January 2018, Gao and his team were awarded first prize in the
National Technology Invention Award. The Ministry of Science and Technology
said the system had drastically reduced pollutants emitted by coal-fired power
plants nationwide. YOU MAY LIKE China's "longevity city" records 500
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Better rice
varieties to help Central Luzon farmers vs climate change
January 9, 2020
THE effects of climate change have become hurdles in the regular
farm cycles of our farmers, as unprecedented amounts of rainfall and severe dry
weather conditions seem to become the norms rather than the exceptions.
Every year, rice farmers in Central Luzon, the country's rice granary region, experience heavy damage to their crops and with typhoons getting stronger each year, the damage to rice and other agricultural crops have reached unbelievable numbers.
In 2015 alone, Typhoon Lando damaged at least P5 billion worth of crops in Central Luzon. The Department of Agriculture (DA) data showed that some P4.8 billion of the damage was on the region's rice crops and just before 2015 ended, some P438 million was recorded as damage to rice crops due to the flooding brought by Typhoon Nona.
In 2016, Typhoon Nina damaged some P4 billion of agricultural crops in the whole region with Nueva Ecija, the number one rice-producing province in the country, being the hardest hit.
But what makes these figures more alarming is the fact that Central Luzon accounts for 14 to 15 percent of the country's total rice production. In the first cropping season of 2015, Central Luzon's share is 67.31 percent or 355,682 metric tons and 19.85 percent overall contribution to the national production. But all these are threatened by the continuing negative effects of climate change.
According to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), the Philippines ranks third among the most vulnerable countries set to experience weather-related extreme events. And each year, adverse weather conditions have been observed not just in Central Luzon but all over the country, posing further challenge to farmers to try technologies to adapt to, as well as fight, the effects of climate change.
In 2015, the DA, PhilRice and the International Rice Research Institute (Irri) announced that they are working on varieties that can withstand adverse conditions, as well as pests and diseases. The project aims to reduce the 12 years of breeding work for the development, production and commercial distribution of such seeds.
Included in the project are 766 entries for multi-location environment testing (MET) and these included 206 PhilRice-bred lines, 488 Irri lines and 72 GSR lines to address the need for seeds in frequently flooded rice fields and rice fields that regularly experience lack of irrigation and dry conditions.
Rising ocean and sea levels are also among the consequences of climate change, rendering freshwater irrigation difficult because of salt water intrusion into the ground water sources of coastal communities.
To address this, the Irri had successfully released nine salt-tolerant varieties in country to address concerns on adverse soil conditions and help reclaim lands lost to saltwater intrusion and revive rice farming in coastal communities.
Two of these salt-tolerant rice varieties are Salinas 1 and Salinas 9 and these rice types can survive in saline-prone soil with salt levels of at least 0.3 percent.
Also, two varieties have been identified by PhilRice "as climate change-resilient rice varieties with superior performance in irrigated lowland ecosystems." These were identified as NSIC Rc308 (Tubigan 26) and NSIC Rc358 (Tubigan 30) which are both 2013 PhilRice-bred varieties.
"Under favorable irrigated lowland ecosystems, NSIC Rc308 has a maximum average yield of 10.9 t/ha and matures in 11 days if transplanted. When direct-seeded, it matures in 105 days and has a maximum yield of 8.0 t/ha. Under the same farming condition, NSIC Rc358 can also attain a maximum average yield of 5.4 t/ha to 9.1 t/ha if transplanted," the DA said in a statement.
NSIC Rc308, for one, was seen to demonstrate resilience against pests like stemborer, brown planthopper, and bacterial leaf light.
However, despite these varieties, farmers would still need to have access to such seeds on a more regular level.
Hipolito Mangiliman, 75, said that while their local cooperative in Santa Rita town has access to stronger seed varieties, supply is not enough to maintain the demand of local farmers especially during the aftermath of a calamity.
There is also the growing need to get farmers acquainted with changing weather conditions to level up their preparations.
"The dry seasons are getting hotter and we also need seeds that are able to withstand such conditions," Mangiliman said.
In fact, the Asian Development Bank, in 2013, said the recent climate change estimates predict the intensity and frequency of water shortage to deteriorate further.
This problem has a huge impact on the production of rice, a water-adapted plant grown in flooded fields.
Mangiliman said that with the developments in climate change-resilient rice varieties, farmers have a better chance of coping with climate change. The real challenge, he said, is making these varieties more accessible and readily available to meet local demands.
He also hopes that farmers would be given enough orientation on how to use these varieties and other climate change adaptive technologies to cushion the impacts of climate change on the agriculture sector which, undoubtedly, is among the most vulnerable sectors
Every year, rice farmers in Central Luzon, the country's rice granary region, experience heavy damage to their crops and with typhoons getting stronger each year, the damage to rice and other agricultural crops have reached unbelievable numbers.
In 2015 alone, Typhoon Lando damaged at least P5 billion worth of crops in Central Luzon. The Department of Agriculture (DA) data showed that some P4.8 billion of the damage was on the region's rice crops and just before 2015 ended, some P438 million was recorded as damage to rice crops due to the flooding brought by Typhoon Nona.
In 2016, Typhoon Nina damaged some P4 billion of agricultural crops in the whole region with Nueva Ecija, the number one rice-producing province in the country, being the hardest hit.
But what makes these figures more alarming is the fact that Central Luzon accounts for 14 to 15 percent of the country's total rice production. In the first cropping season of 2015, Central Luzon's share is 67.31 percent or 355,682 metric tons and 19.85 percent overall contribution to the national production. But all these are threatened by the continuing negative effects of climate change.
According to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), the Philippines ranks third among the most vulnerable countries set to experience weather-related extreme events. And each year, adverse weather conditions have been observed not just in Central Luzon but all over the country, posing further challenge to farmers to try technologies to adapt to, as well as fight, the effects of climate change.
In 2015, the DA, PhilRice and the International Rice Research Institute (Irri) announced that they are working on varieties that can withstand adverse conditions, as well as pests and diseases. The project aims to reduce the 12 years of breeding work for the development, production and commercial distribution of such seeds.
Included in the project are 766 entries for multi-location environment testing (MET) and these included 206 PhilRice-bred lines, 488 Irri lines and 72 GSR lines to address the need for seeds in frequently flooded rice fields and rice fields that regularly experience lack of irrigation and dry conditions.
Rising ocean and sea levels are also among the consequences of climate change, rendering freshwater irrigation difficult because of salt water intrusion into the ground water sources of coastal communities.
To address this, the Irri had successfully released nine salt-tolerant varieties in country to address concerns on adverse soil conditions and help reclaim lands lost to saltwater intrusion and revive rice farming in coastal communities.
Two of these salt-tolerant rice varieties are Salinas 1 and Salinas 9 and these rice types can survive in saline-prone soil with salt levels of at least 0.3 percent.
Also, two varieties have been identified by PhilRice "as climate change-resilient rice varieties with superior performance in irrigated lowland ecosystems." These were identified as NSIC Rc308 (Tubigan 26) and NSIC Rc358 (Tubigan 30) which are both 2013 PhilRice-bred varieties.
"Under favorable irrigated lowland ecosystems, NSIC Rc308 has a maximum average yield of 10.9 t/ha and matures in 11 days if transplanted. When direct-seeded, it matures in 105 days and has a maximum yield of 8.0 t/ha. Under the same farming condition, NSIC Rc358 can also attain a maximum average yield of 5.4 t/ha to 9.1 t/ha if transplanted," the DA said in a statement.
NSIC Rc308, for one, was seen to demonstrate resilience against pests like stemborer, brown planthopper, and bacterial leaf light.
However, despite these varieties, farmers would still need to have access to such seeds on a more regular level.
Hipolito Mangiliman, 75, said that while their local cooperative in Santa Rita town has access to stronger seed varieties, supply is not enough to maintain the demand of local farmers especially during the aftermath of a calamity.
There is also the growing need to get farmers acquainted with changing weather conditions to level up their preparations.
"The dry seasons are getting hotter and we also need seeds that are able to withstand such conditions," Mangiliman said.
In fact, the Asian Development Bank, in 2013, said the recent climate change estimates predict the intensity and frequency of water shortage to deteriorate further.
This problem has a huge impact on the production of rice, a water-adapted plant grown in flooded fields.
Mangiliman said that with the developments in climate change-resilient rice varieties, farmers have a better chance of coping with climate change. The real challenge, he said, is making these varieties more accessible and readily available to meet local demands.
He also hopes that farmers would be given enough orientation on how to use these varieties and other climate change adaptive technologies to cushion the impacts of climate change on the agriculture sector which, undoubtedly, is among the most vulnerable sectors
RICE: CHINA'S HISTORICAL U.S. AGRICULTURAL PURCHASES
1/9/2020
Jan 9
(Reuters) - The United States and China are due to sign a Phase 1 trade deal on
Jan. 15 that U.S. officials have said will include a vow by China to buy an
additional $32 billion in U.S. farm goods over the next two years.
China
has not confirmed Trump's goal of $40 billion to $50 billion of annual sales,
which represents a near doubling of its purchases before the trade war began in
2018. Recent large Chinese purchases of Brazilian soybeans and a pair of
unexpected policy moves by Beijing have dimmed U.S. hopes of reaching the lofty
imports figure.
Soybeans
made up more than half of China's agriculture purchases from the United States
in 2017, at about $12.2 billion.
Below
are agricultural goods China has bought from the United States in the past:
SOYBEANS
China bought about 60% of all exports of U.S. soybeans, the main U.S. export
crop by value, before the trade war. Since the current marketing year started
on Sept. 1, China has purchased about 11.1 million tonnes of soybeans worth
some $4 billion, according to government data.
SORGHUM
China began buying U.S. sorghum, which it uses for production of baiju liquor
and animal feed, in 2008. Its purchases peaked at $2.115 billion in 2015, but
fell by more than half to $1.030 billion in 2016. From January to November
2019, it bought $139.094 million worth.
PORK
China has increased pork imports to record levels after a fatal pig disease,
African swine fever, devastated its herd. U.S. pork exports to China and Hong
Kong were up 49% in value at $1.18 billion from January to November 2019. The
shipments were above full-year 2018 exports of $852.5 million and topped a
prior full-year record of $1.08 billion in 2017.
BEEF
China officially resumed U.S. beef imports in 2017 after a 14-year ban but
maintains restrictions on shipments. Exports of U.S. beef to China and Hong
Kong from January to November 2019 were down 19% from a year earlier at $746.4
million. China and Hong Kong imported a record $1 billion in U.S. beef in 2018.
CORN
China was a top-five buyer of U.S. corn from 2011 to 2013 but has not been a
major buyer since as domestic production increased. In 2017, it bought $142.036
million worth, and from January to November 2019 it bought $52.857 million.
RICE
China, the world's largest rice producer, typically buys small amounts of U.S.
rice. Purchases peaked at $5.311 million in 2010. In 2017, they totaled
$759,000 from January to November 2019, U.S. rice exports to China have been
worth just $165,000.
POULTRY
China in November lifted a nearly five-year ban on U.S. poultry that had been
imposed in January 2015 because of a U.S. outbreak of avian flu. The market
bought $500 million worth of American poultry products in 2013.
WHEAT
China is the world's No. 2 wheat producer after the European Union and holds
roughly half of all global wheat inventories. In recent years it has been the
No. 3 or 4 buyer of U.S. hard red spring wheat, a high-protein variety used to
blend and improve the quality of lesser grades of wheat.
EQUIPMENT
Some analysts had speculated that equipment might be counted in an agriculture
component of an eventual trade deal. Farm machinery exports last year through
October were a little over $200 million, according to data from U.S. Census
Bureau. Beijing's biggest purchase in the past two decades was in 2015 when it
imported about $430 million of machines.
(Reporting
by Tom Polansek, Julie Ingwersen, Rajesh Kumar; Singh, Mark Weinraub and Karl
Plume; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
How the rice
blast fungus 'eats' its own cell wall to launch an attack
IMAGE: During infection in
rice blast fungus, chitin from its cell wall breaks down into chitosan and
acetic acid. This process stimulates cell differentiation in the host plant,
leading to appressorium...
Image:
Dr. Takashi Kamakura
All living organisms respond and adapt to changes in their
environment. These responses are sometimes so significant that they cause
alterations in the internal metabolic cycles of the organism--a process called
"metabolic switching." For example, rice blast fungus--a pathogenic
fungal species that causes the "rice blast" infection in rice
crops--switches to the "glyoxylate cycle" when the nutrient source
starts to deplete. Another response to environmental change is called
"cell differentiation", where cells switch to another type
altogether. In rice blast fungus, for example, the fungal cells differentiate
and generate a large amount of pressure on the cell wall, causing the fungus to
develop a specialized structure called "appressorium," which
ultimately facilitates the infection. Such methods of adaptation have been seen
across various organisms, but exactly how they occur is not very clear yet.
In a recent study published in iScience,
a team of researchers at Tokyo University of Science, led by Prof Takashi
Kamakura, found for the first time that extremely low concentrations of acetic
acid alter cellular processes in rice blast fungus. Their research was based on
the fact that Cbp1--a protein that can remove acetyl groups from chitin (the
main component of the cell wall of fungi)--plays a huge role in appressorium
formation by converting chitin into chitosan and releasing acetic acid.
Explaining the objective of the study, Prof Kamakura says, "Metabolic
switching in nutrient-deficient environments depends on changes in the nutrient
source, but its mechanism has remained poorly understood until now. Since
chitin was known to induce a subsequent resistance response (immune response),
we speculated that Cbp1 functions to escape recognition from plants. Also,
because the enzymatic activity of Cbp1 affects cell differentiation, we
hypothesized that the reaction product of chitin deacetylation by Cbp1 may be a
signal for cell differentiation."
For their study, the scientists used a mutant form of the fungus
that did not produce Cbp1 and thus could not form appressorium as it was unable
to produce acetic acid from chitin. The scientists observed that when minuscule
concentrations of acetic acid, even as low as a hundred molecules per fungal
spore, were added, appressorium formation was restored in the mutants. This
implied that acetic acid could act as a chemical signal to trigger cell
differentiation. Then, to better understand the role of acetic acid in the glyoxylate
cycle, the researchers focused on an enzyme unique to this metabolic pathway:
isocitrate lyase. They found that the mutant forms of the fungus had much lower
levels of this enzyme, meaning that they could not switch to the glyoxylate
cycle. But, as seen before, the addition of acetic acid at an extremely low
concentration was enough to restore normal levels of the enzyme and thus induce
appressorium formation. "Our study is the first to reveal the novel role
of acetic acid in metabolic switching and cell differentiation in eukaryotic
cells," remarks Prof Kamakura.
Interestingly, these findings indicate that using chitin
molecules from their own cell wall could be a survival strategy used by several
types of bacteria and fungi. This would allow them to thrive in environments
deprived of nutrients--such as on the surface of a host leaf--and avoid host
defense/immune mechanisms. Acetic acid could then be used both as a carbon
source and as a signal to trigger metabolic switching and cell differentiation.
Prof Kamakura explains, "The use of acetic acid obtained from a pathogen's
own cell wall for the activation of the glyoxylate cycle is perhaps a general
mechanism in various infection processes."
The finding that extremely low
concentrations of a small, simple molecule like acetic acid could induce
significant changes in cellular processes is unprecedented and was only known
before for certain hormones in animals. Understanding this type of
inter-species chemical interactions could prove to be immensely valuable in
agriculture, bioengineering, and medicine, to name a few areas. Prof Kamakura
concludes, "It is yet to be found whether this phenomenon is common to
other organisms. But, since metabolites such as butyric acid derived from human
intestinal bacteria are involved in immune cell activation and cancer
progression, our findings have implications in a wide variety of fields,
including medicine and agriculture."
Credit: Tokyo University of Science
How the rice blast fungus “eats” its own cell wall to launch an attack
January 9, 2020
Cells of rice blast fungus
undergo major changes when it infects its host plant, which includes using the
components of its own cell wall
In response to environmental
changes and nutrient starvation, cells are known to undergo extreme
alterations. This includes switching from one type to another
(“differentiation”) and changes in metabolic pathways (“metabolic switching”).
In a new study, a research team from Tokyo University of Science showed for the
first time how rice blast fungus uses its own cell wall to survive in response
to certain stimuli.
All living organisms respond and
adapt to changes in their environment. These responses are sometimes so
significant that they cause alterations in the internal metabolic cycles of the
organism—a process called “metabolic switching.” For example, rice blast
fungus—a pathogenic fungal species that causes the “rice blast” infection in
rice crops—switches to the “glyoxylate cycle” when the nutrient source starts
to deplete. Another response to environmental change is called “cell
differentiation”, where cells switch to another type altogether. In rice blast
fungus, for example, the fungal cells differentiate and generate a large amount
of pressure on the cell wall, causing the fungus to develop a specialized
structure called “appressorium,” which ultimately facilitates the infection.
Such methods of adaptation have been seen across various organisms, but exactly
how they occur is not very clear yet.
In a recent study published
in iScience, a
team of researchers at Tokyo University of Science, led by Prof Takashi
Kamakura, found for the first time that extremely low concentrations of acetic
acid alter cellular processes in rice blast fungus. Their research was based on
the fact that Cbp1—a protein that can remove acetyl groups from chitin (the
main component of the cell wall of fungi)—plays a huge role in appressorium
formation by converting chitin into chitosan and releasing acetic acid.
Explaining the objective of the study, Prof Kamakura says, “Metabolic switching
in nutrient-deficient environments depends on changes in the nutrient source,
but its mechanism has remained poorly understood until now. Since chitin was
known to induce a subsequent resistance response (immune response), we
speculated that Cbp1 functions to escape recognition from plants. Also, because
the enzymatic activity of Cbp1 affects cell differentiation, we hypothesized
that the reaction product of chitin deacetylation by Cbp1 may be a signal for
cell differentiation.”
For their study, the scientists
used a mutant form of the fungus that did not produce Cbp1 and thus could not
form appressorium as it was unable to produce acetic acid from chitin. The
scientists observed that when minuscule concentrations of acetic acid, even as
low as a hundred molecules per fungal spore, were added, appressorium formation
was restored in the mutants. This implied that acetic acid could act as a
chemical signal to trigger cell differentiation. Then, to better understand the
role of acetic acid in the glyoxylate cycle, the researchers focused on an
enzyme unique to this metabolic pathway: isocitrate lyase. They found that the
mutant forms of the fungus had much lower levels of this enzyme, meaning that
they could not switch to the glyoxylate cycle. But, as seen before, the
addition of acetic acid at an extremely low concentration was enough to restore
normal levels of the enzyme and thus induce appressorium formation. “Our study
is the first to reveal the novel role of acetic acid in metabolic switching and
cell differentiation in eukaryotic cells,” remarks Prof Kamakura.
Interestingly, these findings
indicate that using chitin molecules from their own cell wall could be a
survival strategy used by several types of bacteria and fungi. This would allow
them to thrive in environments deprived of nutrients—such as on the surface of
a host leaf—and avoid host defense/immune mechanisms. Acetic acid could then be
used both as a carbon source and as a signal to trigger metabolic switching and
cell differentiation. Prof Kamakura explains, “The use of acetic acid obtained from
a pathogen’s own cell wall for the activation of the glyoxylate cycle is
perhaps a general mechanism in various infection processes.”
The finding that extremely low
concentrations of a small, simple molecule like acetic acid could induce
significant changes in cellular processes is unprecedented and was only known
before for certain hormones in animals. Understanding this type of
inter-species chemical interactions could prove to be immensely valuable in
agriculture, bioengineering, and medicine, to name a few areas. Prof Kamakura
concludes, “It is yet to be found whether this phenomenon is common to other
organisms. But, since metabolites such as butyric acid derived from human
intestinal bacteria are involved in immune cell activation and cancer progression,
our findings have implications in a wide variety of fields, including medicine
and agriculture.”
###
Reference
|
Title of original paper:
|
Extremely low concentrations of
acetic acid stimulate cell differentiation in rice blast fungus
|
|
Journal:
|
iScience (Cell Press)
|
|
DOI:
|
Rice Truck Road Trip Provides Realtime Consumer Insight
ARLINGTON, VA -- The Rice Truck road trip may have ended but
the journey isn't over as USA Rice continues to reap real rewards from the
consumer market data garnered with each rice cooker giveaway event. Every
person who interacted with the truck was required to complete a database card
with a series of questions about both demographics and rice usage/consumption.
In total, nearly 3,000 database cards were collected throughout the 2019 tour
which, combined with the batch from last year's tour, swells the consumer
sample size to more than 6,000.
The database cards asked consumers for their name, email address, and age group. They were also asked about how often they ate rice and where, either at home or dining out, and what would it take to make them consume more rice.
"The immediacy and accuracy of this data collection method is valuable to USA Rice in understanding the mindset of the average consumer," said Cameron Jacobs, USA Rice director of domestic promotion. "This insight pointed up barriers to access as well as consumption figures, and also allowed us to drill down on the data by region, age, and sex, all crucial information to help shape our promotional efforts in the future."
In analyzing the data, Jacobs said, "The input we received was well distributed across age groups and provided significant takeaways. For instance, more than half of all those polled said they ate rice two to three times a week, with less than 5 percent admitting to rarely/never consuming rice. There is a direct link between those who eat rice only while dining out and those that indicated cooking was a barrier to consumption. This gives real credence to the theory behind the Rice Truck program's original argument that if you make rice easier to cook, people will eat more."
The final question on the survey was "What would make you eat more rice?" Given a choice of answers from "recipes, easier prep, healthier, and other," the second least chosen response was "healthier," indicating that people are moving beyond food fads and toward more flavorful, accessible, affordable alternatives.
"While people were filling out the surveys, the Rice Truck team kept up a running dialog filled with great information about U.S.-grown rice, from sustainable growing practices and food safety standards to nutrition facts and cooking qualities and tips, but the one thing that resonated above all others this year was simply that we grow rice in the U.S.," said Jacobs. "That is a message they won't forget."
In addition to the market data, USA Rice also used email addresses collected to communicate directly with consumers through the Domestic Promotion consumer newsletter that is distributed on a quarterly basis.
The database cards asked consumers for their name, email address, and age group. They were also asked about how often they ate rice and where, either at home or dining out, and what would it take to make them consume more rice.
"The immediacy and accuracy of this data collection method is valuable to USA Rice in understanding the mindset of the average consumer," said Cameron Jacobs, USA Rice director of domestic promotion. "This insight pointed up barriers to access as well as consumption figures, and also allowed us to drill down on the data by region, age, and sex, all crucial information to help shape our promotional efforts in the future."
In analyzing the data, Jacobs said, "The input we received was well distributed across age groups and provided significant takeaways. For instance, more than half of all those polled said they ate rice two to three times a week, with less than 5 percent admitting to rarely/never consuming rice. There is a direct link between those who eat rice only while dining out and those that indicated cooking was a barrier to consumption. This gives real credence to the theory behind the Rice Truck program's original argument that if you make rice easier to cook, people will eat more."
The final question on the survey was "What would make you eat more rice?" Given a choice of answers from "recipes, easier prep, healthier, and other," the second least chosen response was "healthier," indicating that people are moving beyond food fads and toward more flavorful, accessible, affordable alternatives.
"While people were filling out the surveys, the Rice Truck team kept up a running dialog filled with great information about U.S.-grown rice, from sustainable growing practices and food safety standards to nutrition facts and cooking qualities and tips, but the one thing that resonated above all others this year was simply that we grow rice in the U.S.," said Jacobs. "That is a message they won't forget."
In addition to the market data, USA Rice also used email addresses collected to communicate directly with consumers through the Domestic Promotion consumer newsletter that is distributed on a quarterly basis.
USA RICE DAILY
How a Japanese Family Jumpstarted Rice Farming, Deep in the Heart of
Texas
It was eventually stifled by nativism and border anxiety.
ISAAC SCHULTZJANUARY 8, 2020
The Japanese presence near Houston was commemorated in
postcards. COURTESY MEGAN WHITE
In This Story
Texas
HALF A CENTURY BEFORE THEY were home to the Johnson Space Center, the low-lying gulf
prairies southeast of Houston, Texas, were fertile with opportunity.
Specifically, it was wide open country for Japanese migrants, invited by the
Houston Chamber of Commerce, who brought their ingenuity and effort to boost
the American rice crop. And the state might have become America’s rice bowl (an
honor that now belongs to Arkansas), if not for waves of nativism—full of
sentiments that echo in today’s border politics.
In 1900, there were only 13
Japanese citizens living in the entire state of Texas. That number grew rapidly
in the first decade of the new century, as immigration increased. Few states
could offer as much space to grow as Texas. “Like other immigrant groups,
Japanese migrants wanted to better their economic situation,” according to
Scott Pett, a PhD candidate at Rice University and author of “Japanese Texas:
On The Border of Belonging,” published in the interdisciplinary journal Transnational Asia. “Texas represented a chance for them to own and work
land in a part of the country that was more welcoming toward them.” At least
for a while.
The 3,500-acre Kishi farm, was among the Japanese
farms in Texas at the turn of the 20th century. THE
PORTAL TO TEXAS HISTORY
One of the arrivals was Seito
Saibara, who first came to Texas in 1904. Saibara, a former university
president and the first Christian member of Japanese parliament, had been
invited specifically by the city of Houston to improve the state’s rice
industry. He immediately sent word to his wife, Taiko, and oldest son, Kiyoaki,
and asked them to bring from Japan 300 pounds of shinriki rice,
a strain never before seen in the United States.
“For the early rice colonies in
Texas, this was a strategic migration on the part of the Japanese government
and in collaboration with very prominent white rice farmers and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture,” says Megan White, a PhD candidate at the University
of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who is an expert on rice cultivation in Texas at
the turn of the 20th century. “These first farmers aren’t
farmers at all in their background.”
The
Conservationist Saving India's Heirloom Rice Varieties
Japanese enclaves began springing
up all over the state, Pett writes, some with the support of the United States
government. In December 1905, a “Mr. Akioki” visited the Department of
Agriculture in Washington, D.C., for information in advance of launching a tea
and silk farm on a 10,000-acre tract outside of San Antonio. In 1906, a man
named Takayama or Tayayama began a rice colony in Deepwater. Saibara’s support
from Houston was offered in the hopes that he could show them how to rear rice
in a region with a hurricane season—an analog to the Japanese typhoon season.
It was hoped that the new arrivals from Japan could
change Gulf Coast agriculture. COURTESY MEGAN WHITE
“The Great Galveston hurricane of
1900 had just destroyed one of the busiest ports in the U.S., and the
Spindletop oil field began gushing in 1901,” Pett writes in an email. “So the
Gulf Coast needed help rebuilding and Texan officials saw Japanese
horticultural knowledge, practices, and capital as a way to improve their rice
production, especially.”
The Gulf Coast rice industry had
a unique situation, White writes in her dissertation, “Rice Empires: Japan, the
USDA, and the Inter-Imperial Development of the Gulf Coast Rice Industry
1890–1924.” It was mechanized, the first in the world, but the rice that Texan
farmers were growing wasn’t robust enough for the technology built to refine
it. “They noticed the rice was crumbling in the milling process,” White says.
“They were losing half their crop. But Japanese rice was proven to be much more
resilient.”
Saibara’s precise intention
wasn’t just to help the people of Texas. In an oral history documented as part
of Rice University’s Houston Asian American Archive in 2012, Nancy
Saibara-Naritomi, Seito Saibara’s great-granddaughter, says that her ancestor
had another motive.
“The reason why he came to Texas
was because he believed there was going to be a population explosion in Japan
and there would be no food to eat,” she says. “And so he decided to come, with
his family, and help protect the Texas rice industry while at the same time
making surplus food for Japan in case they were going to be starving.”
Seito Saibara, shown here at different stages of
life, left his post as a university president to cultivate rice in Texas. COURTESY
MEGAN WHITE/“SEITO SAIBARA,” UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON-CLEAR LAKE ARCHIVES EXHIBITS
Saibara delivered. According to
Houston’s chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, rice yields jumped
from about 19 barrels an acre using Honduran or American seed to 34 barrels per
acre over the three years since the first harvest. Despite this success—or
perhaps in part because of it—nationwide nativist sentiment was gaining
traction. Two years after the Saibaras arrived, the Naturalization Act of 1906
greatly curtailed immigration. Later, frustrated by the lack of a path to
citizenship, Saibara left the country to begin a rice colony in Brazil. His
son, Kiyoaki, wouldn’t become an American citizen until 1953, after the
Immigration and Nationality Act abolished racial restrictions on
naturalization.
Other factors undermined Japanese
rice cultivation in Texas as well. The rice market crashed following World War
I, leading other Japanese growers to abandon the crop in favor of growing
cotton or dealing in silk. The Saibaras, however, stuck with it.
Saibara-Naritomi recalls eating Blue Rose rice, and the family business
continuing throughout her upbringing. Blue Rose rice was a genetic riff on
several successful Japanese rice strains, developed by Sol Wright, a white rice
farmer. It was branded as the first American rice, despite its East Asian
origins.
“Blue Rose was what I was raised
on,” she says. “Blue Rose was rice that was stronger against disease and harsh
conditions. I don’t think I learned any other kind of rice but Blue Rose.”
The Saibara farm in 1927. “SAIBARA FARM,” 1927. BOX 2, FOLDER 6, CLEAR
LAKE HERITAGE SOCIETY BOOK RECORDS, (#2011-0003), UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON-CLEAR
LAKE ARCHIVES.
The Saibara farm continued while other Japanese farms in the
area petered out, but what might have developed into a larger agricultural
project across the state was cut short by fear-mongering, some of which
actually came from the southern border. Japanese immigrants had arrived as
labor in Mexico, and even then “border crossings from Mexico hit a nerve in the
public imagination of the time,” says Pett. A 1907 article in Cleveland’s Plain
Dealer was titled “Japs Gather in Border States / Thousands of
War Veterans Are Rapidly Coming Into Mexico / Could Quickly Seize Texas and
California in Event of War.”
“The parallels between 20th- and 21st-century U.S. nativisms are
astounding,” says Pett. “In the 1940s, we reused fencing from Japanese internment
camps to enhance barriers at the Mexico-U.S. border. In 2019, the current [U.S.
President] made plans to reuse former internment camps to detain migrants from
Central and South America. There’s something about the border—a desire to
militarize it—that allows the same discriminatory panics to reinvent themselves
over and over again in American culture.”
A plaque now marks the spot where Saibara’s rice
fields once almost changed Texas agriculture. “SAIBARA HOMESTEAD AND RICE FARM HISTORICAL MARKER,” UNIVERSITY OF
HOUSTON-CLEAR LAKE ARCHIVES EXHIBITS
A possible agricultural revolution in Texas was cut short, and
rice didn’t regain its footing in the country until after the Great Depression.
Today, the Gulf Coast rice industry jumpstarted by Saibara spans Texas,
Louisiana, and Mississippi, but is relatively modest in scale. The Saibara
legacy continued in other ways as well. During the 1904 World’s Fair in St.
Louis, Masanoho Matsudaira, vice president of the Japanese Commission, traveled
all the way to the Saibara farm in Webster to promote its success to the world.
Half a century later, the family’s close proximity to the Johnson Space Center
presented Kiyoaki Saibara with an opportunity to meet John Glenn before the
astronaut (and later senator) visited Japan in 1963. Saibara asked Glenn to
give the emperor his regards, if he had the chance.
As the story goes, according to the Houston chapter of the
Japanese American Citizens League, Glenn chanced it, and passed the message
along to Hirohito. The emperor is said to have replied, “How is my dear friend,
Mr. Saibara?”
Gastro Obscura covers the world’s most wondrous food and drink.
RPT-Asia
Rice-Drought threatens Thai crop, Bangladesh braces for cold wave
·
·
(Repeats Thursday’s story with no
changes to the text)
* Thailand’s drought could extend
into June- authorities
* Vietnam rice rates dip to
$355/oz
* India prices steady, demand
from African countries weak
By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
BENGALURU, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Rice
export prices in major Asian hubs held steady this week but a multi-month
drought drove expectations of a rise in Thai rates, while a cold snap
threatened crops in Bangladesh.
Thailand’s benchmark 5 percent
broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1 prices were quoted at $425-$435 on Thursday, largely
unchanged from two weeks earlier, but was still the highest level since June
2018.
Although demand was flat, prices
for the Thai grade, which were consistently trading higher than the Vietnamese
variety throughout 2019, remained high well into 2020 due to the drought
threatening supply and the continuous appreciation of the baht, traders said.
Thailand’s dry season started in
November and usually lasts through April, although authorities said it could go
on through June this year. A drought has been declared in 14 provinces in the
central, northern and northeastern farming regions.
In top producer India, rice
export prices remained steady due to weak demand from African countries.
Prices of the 5 percent broken
parboiled variety RI-INBKN5-P1 were unchanged from last week, around $362-$366
per tonne.
“Exports demand is subdued.
Supplies are rising from the summer-sown crop,” said an exporter based in
Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Neighbouring Bangladesh braced
for a cold wave, which could have an impact on crops, including rice, said
Mizanur Rahman, a senior official at the agricultural ministry.
“The seedbeds of rice have dried
out due to extreme cold,” Rahman said, adding a prolonged cold spell would have
devastating effects on the crop.
The weather office said the cold
snap, accompanied by chilly winds and drizzling, was likely to continue for a
few more days.
In Vietnam, rates for 5% broken
rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 eased to $355 a tonne on Thursday, from $360 a week earlier.
“Demand remains weak this week
and trade has been very slow,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.
Preliminary shipping data showed
138,650 tonnes of rice is to be loaded at Ho Chi Minh City port between Jan. 1
and Jan. 23, with most of the grain bound for Iraq and West Africa.
The Ministry of Industry and
Trade this week added 47 companies to a list of eligible rice exporters,
raising the number of licensed Vietnamese exporters to 182, a government
statement said.
The move is aimed at
“facilitating rice exports, promoting rice production in a sustainable manner
and enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese rice,” the statement added.
(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Khanh Vu in Hanoi
and Patpicha Tanakasempipat in Bangkok; Editing by Maju Samuel)
World food prices
surge for third month to 5-year high in December: U.N. FAO
JANUARY 9, 2020
FILE PHOTO: A farmer winnows paddy
crops at a field on the outskirts of Agartala, India, November 12, 2015.
REUTERS/Jayanta Dey
ROME (Reuters) - World food prices
surged for the third consecutive month to reach a five-year high in December, lifted
by strong rises in vegetable oils, sugar and dairy as well as rebounding cereal
prices, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.
The Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a
basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar jumped to its
highest point since Dec. 2014, averaging 181.7 points, up 2.5% on the previous
month.
For the year as a whole, the index
averaged 171.5 points, 1.8% higher than in 2018 but below the peak of 230
points reached in 2011.
The cereal price index rose 1.4% to
average 164.3 points, led by higher prices for wheat with stronger demand from
China and logistics problems following strikes in France. Rice prices were
little changed.
Vegetable oil prices were up
strongly, with the index rising 9.4% to 164.7 points in December. Palm oil
prices rose for the fifth month in a row, lifted by biodiesel demand, while
soy, sunflower and rapeseed oil values also increased.
The dairy price index averaged 198.9
points in December, up 3.3% with higher cheese and skim milk powder prices that
outweighed lower butter and whole milk powder values.
The sugar price index was up 4.8% to
190.3 points, lifted by surging demand for ethanol caused by rising crude oil
prices.
By contrast meat prices were almost
unchanged from November with the meat price index at 191.6 points with higher
pig and sheep meat prices balanced by falling beef prices.
Reporting by James Mackenzie
DA’s 2020 target: Less
rice imports, more palay harvest
January 09, 2020
By
More palay (unhusked) produced is
being targeted this year as well as less importation of rice.
This was disclosed by Agriculture
Secretary William Dar as he expressed optimism that these targets will be
achieved since farmers begin to reap the initial benefits of the government’s
Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) program.
“We aim to harvest 19.6 million
metric tons (MMT) of palay, net of damage due to adverse weather conditions,”
Dar said.
“Our 2020 palay yield forecast
would be three percent more than the estimated 2019 palay output of 19 MMT,”
Dar added.
He also said they expect that the
initial benefits of interventions under the P10-billion RCEF program,
particularly on inbred rice seeds given free to farmers, will be realized
during the dry and main season crops starting this year.
Inbred certified palay seeds produce an average of 4.54 MT/ha as
compared to farmer home-saved seeds’ yield of 3.50 MT/ha and traditional seeds’
yield of 2.13 MT/ha, according to the DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute
(DA-PhilRice).
http://island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=216759
IRAN WILL NOT BE SHOPPING FOR BASMATI RICE FROM INDIA,
PURPOSE TO KNOW
The deepening navy tensions
within the Gulf area has elevated the priority of exporters in Hindustan
(India), as Iran is the most important importer of basmati rice and the latest
occasion might have an effect on Iran's purchases.
Iran has not been shopping for
basmati rice from Hindustan for the previous few months, however Indian
businessmen hoped that Iran may open imports by the tip of January. <! –
->
Now, it’s prone to be delayed in
case of navy stress. At the identical time, Indian businessmen can even be
afraid to ship their items to Iran in such a state of affairs.
Ashish Kathuria, General
Secretary of Punjab Basmati Rice Mills Association, informed IANS on the newest
developments that the state of affairs created by the dispute between Iran and
the US, Indian business can be afraid to do business with Iran as a result of
in such a state of affairs many occasions it might occur Is that tens of
millions of tonnes of products are left mendacity and no matter cash goes, its
cash turns into troublesome to return.
However, he mentioned that in
such a state of affairs it’s potential that the products don’t go on to Iran
however extra exports to Dubai from the place Iran can elevate rice as per the
requirement.
Basmati paddy and rice costs have
come down within the nation after rising navy pressure within the Gulf area.
Last week, the place the value of 1121 basmati paddy was Rs 3,150 per quintal,
this week has come right down to Rs 2,800-2,900 per quintal. At the identical
time, the value of 1121 basmati rice has additionally come down between Rs
5,000-5,500 per quintal.
Kathuria mentioned that the
manufacturing of basmati within the nation has elevated by about 28 % this yr
in comparison with the earlier yr and the export is sluggish on account of
which the value of basmati has decreased by about 25 % over the earlier yr.
Uttarakhand's rice business goal
Agarwal mentioned that rice exports had already come down this yr and that home
costs of rice have been softening on account of fears that basmati rice exports
might decline following the newest developments within the Gulf area.
Although Basmati Export
Development Foundation Director A. Ok. Gupta says that solely within the
occasion of warfare, the import and export of meals merchandise are hindered.
Such a state of affairs has not arisen but, so there won’t be a big impact on
basmati rice exports. He knowledgeable that additional elections are to be held
in Iran, on account of which imports could also be delayed.
Iran stops importing basmati rice
from India for a couple of months on the finish of the yr to encourage its home
producers of rice, however removes the ban on imports within the new yr. Iran
has not lifted the ban on basmati rice imports thus far this yr. Kathuria
estimates that basmati rice exports might decline by about 10 % this yr in
comparison with the earlier yr.
If we take a look at the figures
of Commerce and Ministry, the overall export of basmati rice in rupee worth has
decreased by virtually 4 % from the primary eight months of the present
monetary yr 2019-20 ie from April to November. Hindustan exported basmati rice
value Rs 18,439.77 crore throughout April-November final yr which has come down
by 3.89 % to Rs 17,723.19 crore this yr.
Basmati rice merchants estimate
that the manufacturing of Basmati rice within the nation can be round 8–82 lakh
tonnes this yr.
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JEREMY SPIROGIS
Jeremy is an engineer and journalist, he loves his entertainment
gossip. He has a keen interest in Bollywood and loves how Hollywood, Tollywood
and other genres of entertainment from around the world merge in India to
create a beautiful fusion. Jeremy currently works for four other news agencies
and contributes content related to entertainment, politics, sports, weather,
business, finance, technology and blockchain.
Brazilian crop grows more than 6% and hits record in 2019, says IBGE |
Agribusiness
January 8, 2020
The Brazilian agricultural crop hit a record in 2019 and reached
241.5 million tons, an increase of 6.6% compared to 2018, reported the
Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) on Wednesday (8).
According to IBGE, the previous
record was in 2017, when 238.4 million tons were produced.
The estimated harvested area for
2019 was 63.2 million hectares, up 3.7% from the harvested area in 2018 (+ 2.3
million hectares). Rice, corn and soy represented 92.8% of the estimated
production and accounted for 87.0% of the harvested area.
Brazilian agricultural production
– Photo: G1 Agro
Compared to 2018, there was an increase
of 7.0% in the corn area, 2.6% in the soybean area and 41.9% in the herbaceous
cotton area and a reduction of 9.3% in the rice area.
As for production, there were
decreases of 3.7% for soybeans and 12.6% for rice and increases of 23.6% for
corn and 39.8% for herbaceous cotton.
Regionally, the production volume
of cereals, legumes and oilseeds was distributed as follows:
· Midwest, 111.5 million tons (46.2%);
· South, 77.2 million tons (32.0%);
· Southeast, 23.7 million tons (9.8%);
· Northeast, 19.2 million tons (7.9%)
· North, 9.8 million tons (4.1%).
All regions showed increase in
production, according to institute.
Mato Grosso leads as the largest
national grain producer, with a 28.0% share, followed by Paraná (14.9%), Rio
Grande do Sul (14.3%), Goiás (10.0%), Mato Grosso South (7.9%) and Minas Gerais
(6.0%), which together accounted for 81.1% of the national total.
IBGE takes into account what was
produced during the 12 months of the year. Unlike the National Supply Company,
which considers the harvest calendar, which begins in July and ends June of the
following year.
Forecast is
again record in 2020
For the 2020 harvest, the
production of cereals, legumes and oilseeds points to a new record of 243.2
million tons, 0.7% above the 2019 harvest.
Initial estimates point to a 7.2%
reduction in corn production and a 7.8% growth in soybean production.
Taking into account the five most
important products for the next crop, only corn 2nd crop had an estimated
production lower than in 2019, 10.4%.
Herbaceous cotton (2.7%), beans
1st crop (3.3%), rice (0.9%), corn 1st crop (1.8%) and soybeans (7.8) presented
positive variation. %).
Estimates of soybean (122.4
million tons) and cotton (7.1 million tons) yields are record in the IBGE
historical series.
Haryana agencies to transport
paddy to check pilferage in procurement
To check the stock availability and bogus paddy
procurement, verification of 1304 rice mills in the State was done. The
verification process, which was videographed, showed a shortfall of 42,589
metric tonnes (MT) in 1207 Rice Mills.
ET Bureau|
Jan 08, 2020, 05.00 PM IST
CHANDIGARH: The
additional chief secretary, Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs
Department Haryana, PK Das said that in a bid to further strengthen the
procurement mechanism and ensuing transparency and to avoid diversion or ghost
purchase of paddy, from now onwards the transportation of the paddy from Mandis to
rice mills will be done
by the Haryana Food and Civil Supplies Department and other procurement
agencies instead of leaving it to the Millers. The trucks deployed for
transportation of paddy will be GPS-fitted so that their movement can be
monitored. The additional chief secretary shared this while addressing a press
conference here today. Sharing the details about the data complied after the
latest physical verification, he said that to check the stock availability and
bogus paddy procurement, verification of 1304 rice mills in the State was done.
The verification process, which was videographed, showed a shortfall of 42,589
metric tonnes (MT) in 1207 Rice Mills. He said that the physical verification
was done for checking stock of 6440180.54 MT. However, after the verification,
6400400.28 MT was found in the Rice Mills. The Additional Chief Secretary further shared that show-cause notices will be issued to the rice millers having a shortage in stock and they will be asked to explain the shortage. He said that after receiving the replies, strict action will be taken against the wrongdoers.
He said that an expenditure of around Rs 90 crores spent on the paddy procurement will be recovered along with interest. The other option like blacklisting and registration of FIR will also be started on the basis of sensitivity of irregularity.
He said that the department will also recover the spent expenditure along with the interest from the rice millers or arhtiyas (commission agents) involved in the bogus purchases.
While sharing the data regarding the shortfall, the Additional Chief Secretary said that during the verification, it was found that 205 mills had the shortfall of below 5 tonnes, 134 mills had a shortfall of 5 to 10 tonnes, 248 mills had a shortfall of 10-25 tonnes, in 325 mills a shortage of 25-50 tonnes and 295 mills had a shortage of more than 50 tonnes. He said that the highest mismatch in 284 Mills has been recorded in the Karnal district, followed by Kurukshetra where the shortfall has been found in 236 Mills. However, in Ambala a shortfall in 185 Mills has been detected. Likewise, the shortfall in 168, 150 and 115 mills was found in Fatehabad, Yamunanagar and Kaithal respectively.
The Additional Chief Secretary shared that about 300 teams were deputed for physical verification. He further informed that during the physical verification of rice mills, the department took into account factors of total paddy allotted, milling capacity of rice mills, custom milled rice available and delivered to FCI and paddy stock left with the Mills.
Scientists
to find new methods of making farming more practical
Published On
09 Jan 2020 12:00 PM
Agriculture
is Indian basic culture, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said at the 107th Indian
Science Congress in Tuesday's validation ceremony in Bengaluru. The theme of
the meeting this year was rural science and a separate Farmers Science Congress
section existed. He talked about making agriculture more practical and tells
the scientists to make innovative ways and methods for this process.
In spite of
the migration, Naidu noted that 60% of Indians still live and rely on
agriculture in villages. In addition to the new challenges of modern
life–pollution, climate change, urban stress, and emerging diseases, he urged
the scientific community to concentrate on solutions and new technology to make
agriculture more viable. He told that these problems need attention, especially
for the people living in urban areas.
At the
Congress, Naidu argued with the congress and his pursued farmers, who he called
a temporary solution by means of loan waivers. He said no bank in the world
will give money without expecting the payment back.
Naidu noted
that in India agriculture faces a number of challenges–market supply, climate
change, technology shortage, etc. –and urged the scientists to seek solutions
in order to help the farmers ease their lives and overcome these problems.
Naidu said
India has good food safety, but it is not sure of its sustainability and that
must be ensured. He pointed out that Vietnam, with the Swaminathan Institute's
rice farming technology, now produces more rice per acre compared with India.
He also
stressed that the country should work constructively to advance. The vice
president, in his typical style, says that “we need the development, not
disruption and devastation.” He said that the country needs to develop at this
point in time.
,
Ministry wants update on grain procurement
The food ministry has directed the states to
regularly update data on the purchase of foodgrains and money disbursement to
farmers along with their names for better transparency and record maintenance
at micro level. The aim is to benefit all the farmers mainly belonging to
scheduled caste or tribe.
By
, ET Bureau|
Updated: Jan 09, 2020, 09.06 AM
IST
0Comments
ThinkStock Photos
New Delhi: The food ministry has asked states to regularly update data on
the amount of foodgrains purchased and
the money disbursed to farmers along with their names to help it monitor and
plan food procurement, and identify beneficiaries across the country.
“We have 14 states on board covering 361 districts across the country. They are sending us regular updates on procurement. Ten states have joined only a month ago. Among big states, West Bengal will join soon,” said a senior food ministry official.
According to the latest report, 5 million rice farmers have benefited in the kharif season in which the government disbursed over Rs 80,000 crore for purchasing rice at the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,815 a quintal. So far, the government has purchased around 38 million tonnes of rice.
“We want to make this exercise transparent. We have details at micro level, like how many small and marginal farmers benefited and how many of them belonged to scheduled caste or tribe. These data may be useful in designing any farmers’ welfare scheme,” the official said.
In kharif 2019, the government has the maximum procurement from Punjab, where more than 14 million tonnes of rice has been purchased so far, benefiting 1.2 million farmers.
“We have distributed over Rs 41,000 crore in the state. This time, most of the money has been transferred directly to farmers’ accounts bypassing the arhthiyas or brokers,” the official said.
Under the arthiya system, farmers in Punjab and Haryana unload their produce at a market yard licensed to an agent by the local mandi committee. The arthiya gets the grain cleaned, organises auctions, packs the produce into 50-kg bags and dispatches them to the buyers. The agents get commission and receive money on behalf of the farmers. They then distribute the money to farmers.
“We have 14 states on board covering 361 districts across the country. They are sending us regular updates on procurement. Ten states have joined only a month ago. Among big states, West Bengal will join soon,” said a senior food ministry official.
According to the latest report, 5 million rice farmers have benefited in the kharif season in which the government disbursed over Rs 80,000 crore for purchasing rice at the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,815 a quintal. So far, the government has purchased around 38 million tonnes of rice.
“We want to make this exercise transparent. We have details at micro level, like how many small and marginal farmers benefited and how many of them belonged to scheduled caste or tribe. These data may be useful in designing any farmers’ welfare scheme,” the official said.
In kharif 2019, the government has the maximum procurement from Punjab, where more than 14 million tonnes of rice has been purchased so far, benefiting 1.2 million farmers.
“We have distributed over Rs 41,000 crore in the state. This time, most of the money has been transferred directly to farmers’ accounts bypassing the arhthiyas or brokers,” the official said.
Under the arthiya system, farmers in Punjab and Haryana unload their produce at a market yard licensed to an agent by the local mandi committee. The arthiya gets the grain cleaned, organises auctions, packs the produce into 50-kg bags and dispatches them to the buyers. The agents get commission and receive money on behalf of the farmers. They then distribute the money to farmers.
Imran vows to ‘further improve utility stores’ for middle class
BY APP ,
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday vowed to “further
improve utility stores” for the middle class during a visit to one in the
federal capital.
Addressing the media outside the
utility store, the PM said his government had made quality items at affordable
rates available for the lower middle class and the salaried people. The
leadership’s “top priority is to provide these items at cheap rates”, he added.
“Everything is computerised here.
Flour is being sold for Rs800 a kilogramme and we will try to reduce the price
further but I can assure you that it won’t rise above Rs800.
“There’s nutrition added to the
flour,” PM Imran said, referring to the wheat quality. “The rice that I have
seen and the edible oil is locally manufactured — including sunflower and
canola — so we do not have to import it.
“The rupee can fluctuate but it
won’t affect the common person.”
The premier noted that pulses
worth Rs1.5 billion were being imported but the agricultural department was
making full effort to grow them here in Pakistan. “We will further improve
these utility stores in the future.”
The Insaf Ration Card would be
introduced very soon, allowing the country’s underprivileged people to get food
items worth Rs3,000 every month, he said, adding that one of his government’s
goals was to reduce the role of middlepersons, who “earn too much profit” and
engage in “hoarding and profiteering”.
“The farmer sells for too low a
price and the people have to pay a huge price” as the chain from the farmer to
the customer was too long, PM Imran added.
Noting that 2019 was the year of
stabilisation and 2020 would be that of growth and employment opportunities, he
said more big projects were coming soon as well as industrialisation and
housing plans.
“We are injecting a lot of money
into [utility] stores,” he said.
