Rice Farmers Still Struggling - AATF Study
A statement signed by Madam Nancy Muchiri, Communications and Partnerships Unit, of AATF copied to the Ghana News Agency said the study further showed that with climate change, there were many rice farms that were being abandoned in the respective countries due to high accumulation of salt, leading to salinity.
It said the results of the study confirmed the fact that as African farmers were beginning to innovate, increase productivity, and drive unprecedented progress across entire economies, climate change—as well as a surge of new pests and diseases—threatened the gains.
The said abiotic constraints associated with soil nutrient depletion and imbalances contributed significantly to low rice productivity in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and many more African countries.
It said only 9 per cent and 10 per cent of sampled rice producing communities in Nigeria and Uganda respectively, practised exclusive irrigated rice farming and that all the three countries were affected by droughts since most of the farmers practised rain fed agriculture leading to low yields.
It noted that more than half of the sampled farmers in Ghana (52 per cent), Nigeria (78 per cent) and 83 per cent in Uganda used farmer-saved seeds for subsequent production.
“The high use of saved seeds was linked to low yields in crops. Other reasons included; lack of money to procure other inputs (fertilisers, herbicides and insecticides) to guarantee yields,” it emphasized.
According to the statement, there was an emerging trend of youth increasingly taking up roles in rice farming in the three countries with Ghana recording 46 per cent, Nigeria 52 per cent, Uganda 47 per cent, which was an indication of labour availability and signals the sustained future of rice farming.
The statement quoted Dr Kayode Sanni, Rice Project Manager at AATF as saying, “For Africa to achieve desired growth in its agriculture sector and to create jobs for the youth and achieve food security, there is need to put in place reforms necessary to unlock agriculture's potential.
“These reforms include; access to land, improvement of infrastructure, enhancement of extension services and farmer education, access to markets, finance and good quality seeds and adoption of new technologies”.
He said rice was an important food staple and a major source of carbohydrates in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region, adding that in Nigeria and Ghana, it was the second most important cereal consumed and the third in Uganda.
Dr Sanni said rice was grown on a meagre 11 per cent and two per cent of Nigeria and Ghana's arable land respectively; while in Uganda, it was grown on a total land area of 95,277ha.
He said in all three countries, 80 per cent of the rice was produced by small scale farmers cultivating an area less than three hectares.
“Despite the high number of people engaged in rice production and the area of land allotted for rice farming, the average yield of 2.1 MT/ha during the period of 2012 – 2018 (USDA, 2018), is still extremely low compared to yields of 5.0 MT /ha in Asia,” he said.
“This low yield has led to the three countries being net importers of rice, especially from Asia. Further, this yield rate remains far below the potential productivity for rice in the region and this is attributable to abiotic and biotic stresses”.
According to Dr Sanni, there was potential for increasing the yields of rice in SSA through the development of improved rice varieties with the ability to do well and produce more grains per hectare under the different adverse environmental and soil conditions of SSA.
The report recommends the need to invest in new farming technology for Africa—from better seeds to digital tools to machinery—as the best opportunity for transforming African agriculture into an engine of economic growth that will have benefits far beyond the farm sector; and use of new rice varieties and other innovations to ensure farmers can adapt to climate change, address the challenges to help them improve productivity.
---GNA
Japan Violet’ to weed out wild rice menace
KASARAGOD,
July 02, 2020 23:44 IST
Updated: July 02, 2020 23:44 IST
The Regional Agricultural Research Station
(RARS), Pilicode, has implemented an innovative programme for eradicating the
wild rice menace in paddy fields using Japan Violet, a rice variety, in
Kasaragod district. T. Vanaja, Associate Director of Research, said because of the wild rice, a majority of farmers were reluctant to cultivate the first crop as the weed was a major problem during the season.
Dr. Vanaja said as part of the project, the research station had distributed 300 kg of Japan Violet seeds for cultivation on 10 acres at Thimiri Vayal Padasekharam.
Sixteen groups, consisting of farmers, students, members of youth clubs had joined the effort to remove the wild rice.
GIEWS Country Brief: China 30-June-2020
Source
Posted
30
Jun 2020
Originally
published
30
Jun 2020
Origin
Attachments
FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
·
Production of 2020
wheat crop forecast at near‑average level
·
Cereal import
requirements in 2019/20 forecast at below‑average level
·
Prices of rice and
wheat remained generally stable since beginning of 2020
·
African Swine Fever
outbreak severely affected pig industry in 2018 and 2019
Production of 2020 wheat crop forecast at near‑average level
Harvesting of the 2020 main winter wheat crop is ongoing and was completed
at the end of June, while harvesting of the spring wheat crop will take place
in July and August. Since the beginning of the cropping season in September,
precipitation amounts and irrigation water availability have been near the
average in most main producing areas. In the northern parts of the country,
snow coverage during the winter months has been adequate to protect crops from
winterkill and boosted soil moisture during the critical spring months.
Localized damages to standing wheat crops were reported in Henan and Hubei
provinces, due to below‑average rains in April and a cold spell in late spring.
The 2020 wheat production is preliminarily forecast at 134 million tonnes,
close to the average level.
Harvesting of the 2020 early double rice crop just started, while the
single and late double crops, for harvest between September and November, are
currently being planted. Overall, the area sown is forecast to stabilize, after
contractions registered in 2018 and 2019, as the Government approved, for the
first time in six years, an increase in Government purchase prices for Indica
paddy.
Planting of the 2020 maize crop was completed in April in the South and
will continue until the end of June in the North, where the bulk of the
production is concentrated. The planted area is estimated close to the five‑year
average, mainly driven by Government support measures. Overall, production prospects
are favourable as weather conditions were near the average and supported crop
development in the main producing areas. According to official information,
some concerns remain due to the potential widespread impact of Fall Armyworm
(FAW) infestations.
Cereal import requirements in 2019/20 forecast at below‑average level
Total cereal import requirements in the 2019/20 marketing year are forecast
at 18.8 million tonnes, about 20 percent below the five‑year average.
Imports of rice in 2020 calendar year are forecast at 2.6 million tonnes,
about 33 percent below the previous year’s level, on account of the ample
availabilities from the 2019 paddy harvest and large carryover stocks. Imports
of wheat in the 2019/20 marketing year (July/June) are forecast at 3.5 million
tonnes, close to the five‑year average, due to ample domestic availabilities
from large inventories. Among imports of coarse grains in the 2019/20 marketing
year (October/September), imports of maize are forecast at 3.5 million tonnes,
slightly above the five‑year average, reflecting strong demand from the feed
industry. By contrast, imports of barley and sorghum are forecast at 5.5 and
2.5 million tonnes, about 20 and 40 percent, respectively, below the five‑year
average. The expected sharp decline of barley and sorghum imports reflects
their substitution by maize for feed use.
Prices of rice and wheat remained generally stable since beginning of 2020
Prices of Indica and Japonica rice were generally stable from January to
April 2020 and decreased marginally in May, reflecting adequate market
availabilities. Overall, prices of rice in May were below their year earlier
levels.
Prices of wheat and wheat flour have been generally stable since the
beginning of the year, mainly due to large supplies from the 2019 bumper output
and favourable expectations of the 2020 wheat harvest.
African Swine Fever outbreak severely affected pig industry in 2018 and
2019
The country, which is the largest producer and consumer of pork meat in the
world, has been severely affected by several African Swine Fever (ASF)
outbreaks in 2018 and 2019. In an effort to contain the spread of the disease,
the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has reported that about 1.2
million pigs were culled since the outbreak started in August 2018. Animal
losses due to the ASF has caused substantial reduction of farmers’ income,
raising concerns over the livelihood activities and the food security situation
of millions of people dependent on pig farming. Small‑scale hog farmers, who rely
on the production of pig meat for their own consumption as well as for income
generation, are among the most affected as they usually lack the expertise
and/or the financial resources necessary to protect their herds from the
disease. In the country, about 130 million households are engaged in pig
farming and about 30 percent of the national pig output is produced by
small-scale producers.
COVID‑19 and measures adopted by the Government
In an attempt to prevent the spread of the COVID‑19 pandemic, the Government
adopted several measures, including large‑scale mobility restrictions at
national level, social distancing and closure of educational institutions.
Starting from mid‑February 2020, the Government has gradually removed mobility
and activity restrictions, prioritizing the essential sectors and industries
that are important for the national economy. As of late May 2020, social
distancing remains in place in parts of the country, micro‑level and
international travel remains restricted.
In May 2020, the Government announced the implementation of several
packages to support the national economy. These include a CNY 4.2 trillion (USD
594 billion) support package for:
·
Epidemic prevention
and control, including production of medical equipment.
·
Disbursement of
unemployed insurance, also to migrant workers.
·
Tax relief and waived
social security contributions.
The People’s Bank of China has been providing monetary support of CNY 1.8
trillion (USD 255 billion) at low interest rates to micro, small and medium enterprises
producing essential products and services for the daily necessities and to the
agricultural sector.
The Government has also taken measures to provide financial relief to the
affected households, businesses and regions facing difficulties to repay loans.
The main measures include:
·
Encouragement of
lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), including uncollateralized SME
loans from the local banks.
·
The delay of loan
repayments, with the deadline extended to the end of March 2021, and easing of
loan size restrictions for online loans and other credit support measures for
eligible SMEs and households.
·
The encouragement of
lending of higher Non‑Performing Loans (NPL) and reduced NPL provision coverage
requirements.
Vietnam exports huge rice haul over five-month period
·
01.07.2020,
13:19,
The opening four months
of the year saw the Philipppines take the lead as the largest importer of
Vietnamese rice, making up 40.5% of the overall market share with 902,100
tonnes valued at US$401.3 million, an increase of 11.4% in volume and 26% in
value.
Moreover, the value also went up
in other markets such as China and Indonesia, a 2.7-fold increase, Taiwan
(China), up 67.9%, and Ghana, with a rise of 39.3%.
Indeed, the average price of rice
during the first four months of the year increased on year by 10% to US$470.2
per tonne. The price of 5% broken rice hit yearly highs of between US$450 and
US$460 per tonne.
In terms of the global market,
the export price of Indian rice hit its highest level in recent years thanks to
strong demand from African and Asian countries. Elsewhere, the price of Thai
rice plunged due to drought and fierce competition from both Indian and
Vietnamese suppliers.
Within the domestic market, the
price of rice in the Mekong Delta underwent a slight increase, with the
Vietnamese Government allowing the export of rice through international border
gates, road, rail, sea, waterways, and air.
Meanwhile, the price of rice in
the Mekong Delta surged by VND200 to between VND5,500 and VND6,900 per kg,
depending on their type.
Palay output falls in January-March
July 1, 2020
The country’s production of
the seasonally adjusted palay (unmilled rice) reached 45.06
million metric tons (MT) in January-March this year, significantly lower that
its levels in the previous quarter and in the same period in 2019, the
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
In its report titled “Seasonally Adjusted Palay/Rice
Production and Prices,” the PSA said palay output for the first three months of
2020 was down by 7.36 percent from 48.64 million MT in October-December
last year and 3.18 percent lower from last year’s 46.54 million MT.
The deseasonalized farmgate price of palay during the period
slightly decreased by 0.18 percent to P16.24 per kilo as against its level in
the previous quarter. Likewise, it was down from last year’s P19.74 per kilo.
The wholesale price for rice contracted by 1.47 percent to
P37.48 per kilo year-on-year, PSA said. Year-on-year, it also fell by 9.71
percent from P41.51 per kilo.
On the other hand, its equivalent retail price at P41.30 per
kilo was 1.31 percent and 11.85-percent lower from its level in the previous
quarter and the same period in 2019, respectively.
For this year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is targeting
to increase the country’s rice self-sufficiency from the current 87
percent to 93 percent.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar had said the DA was mainly
banking on its P8.5-billion Rice Resiliency Program (RRP), a part of its
Plant, Plant Plant program, which will yield an extra 1 million MT of rice and
help improve the country’s self-sufficiency level.
He said the government was also expecting to boost local
farmers’ competitiveness through the various programs under the Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), a major component of the “Rice
Tariffication Law.” It includes distribituion of seeds, fertilizers, and farm
machineries to farmers nationwide, among others.
Cambodia's rice export up 41 per cent in first half of 2020
·
Wednesday, 01 Jul 2020
11:56 AM MYT
PHNOM PENH (Xinhua): Cambodia exported 397,660 tonnes of milled
rice in the first half of 2020, up 41 per cent over the same period last year,
according to an official report released on Tuesday (July 1).
China remained the largest buyer of Cambodian rice, said the
report from the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export.
Cambodia shipped 147,949 tonnes of milled rice to China during
the January-June period this year, up 25 per cent over the same period last
year, it said, adding that the Chinese market absorbed 37 per cent of
Cambodia's total rice export.
The report also showed that the kingdom exported 135,576 tonnes
to the European market during the period, up 45 per cent, and 52,987 tonnes to
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) market, up 47 per cent.
Ngin Chhay, director general of agriculture at the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said recently that the Covid-19 pandemic
had driven high demand for Cambodian rice.
He predicted that the country's rice export to the international
market is expected to reach at least 800,000 tonnes in 2020, an estimated rise
of 29 per cent from 620,106 tonnes last year.
The Southeast Asian country produced about 10 million tonnes of
paddy rice last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries. With this amount, the kingdom saw paddy rice surplus of about 5.6
million tonnes in equivalent to 3.5 million tonnes of milled rice. - Xinhua
Cambodia’s milled-rice exports up 32.5% amid COVID-19 pandemic
The Phnom Penh Post/Asia News Network / 03:23 PM
July 02, 2020
A Cambodian farmer transplants rice
seedlings in the paddy field. Cambodia’s milled-rice exports gained 32.51 per
cent to 410,563 tonnes in the first half of this year from the 310,366 tonnes
shipped in the same period last year. Post Staff
PHNOM PENH — Cambodia’s milled-rice exports
gained 32.51 percent to 410,563 tonnes in the first half of this year from the
310,366 tonnes shipped in the same period last year.
Their combined value was $264.5 million,
Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) secretary-general Lun Yeng told The Post on
Wednesday.
On a yearly basis, the Kingdom shipped
45.19 percent more milled rice to the EU market, 25.20 percent more to the
Chinese market, 47.69 percent more to the Asean market and 79.26 percent more
to other markets, said a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
report, citing data compiled from phytosanitary certificates.
General Directorate of Agriculture
director-general Ngin Chhay told The Post that paddy varieties bred from pure
line selection of traditional varieties led to the surge in exports to cater to
the rising international demand amid the Covid-19 epidemic.
The rise in exports extended to
newly-opened markets such as Hong Kong and Australia, cracking the 40,000 tonne
mark, he said.
“The rise in milled-rice exports can be
attributed to the purity and calibre of Cambodia’s fragrant rice varieties,
which dovetails with the markets’ needs.
“Of note is the new ‘01’ variety of paddy
grain which the ministry only recently released to farmers. Its quality is
recognized throughout the EU and Chinese markets, leading to a further boost in
exports there.
“We’ve observed that the number of orders
coming in from the European market is higher than in previous years, with
buyers stocking up [on milled rice] during the Covid-19 outbreak. The market
for Cambodian rice in Asean has also grown,” said Chhay.
The ministry report said the Kingdom now
ships milled rice to 56 countries, with the largest importers being China and
the EU nations.
It exports the grain to 24 EU countries,
six Asean members and 25 other destinations.
The Kingdom’s four largest milled-rice
exporters in the first half were City Rice Import Export Co Ltd (accounting for
50,199 tonnes; up 12.62 percent year-on-year), Baitang (Kampuchea) Pld (29,349
tonnes; up 7.38 percent), Primalis Corp Ltd (32,393 tonnes; up 8.15 percent)
and Amru Rice (Cambodia) Co Ltd (31,867 tonnes; up 8.01 percent).
CRF’s Yeng said rice exports are likely to
end the year at around 800,000 tonnes with demand remaining high during the
second half of this year.
“The fact of the matter is that the market
is growing as it always has, with no slowdown in sight. Our key markets, such
as Malaysia, are [importing milled rice] at a very good pace as they always
have,” he said.
Rice exports reached 620,106 tonnes last
year, a 0.97 percent drop from the 626,225 tonnes in 2018, a ministry report
said.
Their combined value was $501 million, down
4.3 percent from $524 million in 2018.
The Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement
(FTA), which is expected to be finalized by the end of the year will boost the
Kingdom’s export volume and also draw more investment in raw material supplies
and diversify the industrial sector, analysts said.
Ministry of Commerce secretary of state Sok
Sopheak on Tuesday said that once the Cambodia-China FTA comes into effect, it
will play a significant role in diversifying export markets and increasing
shipments of the Kingdom’s agro-industrial products to the world’s largest
market.
Sopheak, who is also the chairman of the
working group handling FTA talks between Cambodia and China, was speaking at an
Economic and Financial Policy Committee meeting concerning the negotiations.
The committee is under the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
He said: “This agreement will also
accelerate the process of regional and global economic integration, expanding
Cambodia’s involvement in the value chain as well as maximizing its potential
to draw in investors and serve as a production base for export to the Chinese
market.”
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Water from Cambodia’s irrigation canals accessible by 62% of total farm land
As of mid-2020, Cambodia’s
irrigation systems have been accessible by about 62 percent of the total
2,957,400 hectares of farm land throughout the country.
This was said by Lim Kean Hor,
Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology recently, who added that the
coverage is expected to further increase when 12 big irrigation development
projects are completed in 2023.
In 2019, irrigation water covered
1,835,422 hectares of farm land across Cambodia, including 537,077 hectares for
rice growing in the dry season, and 1,298,345 hectares for rice growing in the
rainy season, continued the minister.
If compared to irrigation
coverage between 1967 and 2019, the accessibility rose by 81 percent.
The minister also underlined the Royal Government of Cambodia’s
efforts in rehabilitating and developing Cambodia’s irrigation system to
support and expand the country’s agricultural development. Lim Nary
– AKP
Iran lowers import tariff for semi-milled rice as price soar
Tuesday, 30 June 2020 5:24 PM [
Last Update: Tuesday, 30 June 2020 5:40 PM ]
Iranian government cuts tariffs on imports of semi-milled rice
amid surge in prices in the local market.
The Iranian government has ordered a substantial reduction in
tariffs imposed on imports of rice amid price hikes in the local market that
came following a decision earlier this month to stop subsidizing rice imports.
Local media reports on Tuesday
said that the Iranian Cabinet had decided to lower tariff on imports of
semi-milled rice to 4 percent.
They said the Iranian customs
office (IRICA) would continue to maintain a tariff of 10 percent on imports of
wholly milled rice.
In early June, Iran lowered
tariffs on rice imports from 26 percent to 10 percent after it stopped
subsidizing rice imports.
However, the decision pushed the
prices up as traders were now forced to obtain foreign currency needed for
imports in a secondary exchange market where prices have soared to highs never
seen in decades.
That also caused concerns among
critics who said rice consumers would foot the bill for changing rules on
imports through rising prices in the local market.
Prices of rice, a staple of the
Iranian households, have soared in recent weeks as some varieties of the
premium-quality rice grown in northern Iran is being sold at a price of 350,000
rials ($1.75) per kilogram.
Iran has mainly imported rice
from India, a country where farmers and exporters have been normally content
with Iranian tariffs of up to 40 percent.
However, recent changes in
tariffs have come with other measures, including tougher checks and controls on
quality of rice imported from countries like India while the government has
encouraged importers to tap into markets in other rice producing nations.
Press TV’s website can also be
accessed at the following alternate addresses:
GIEWS Country Brief: Uzbekistan 30-June-2020
Source
Posted
30
Jun 2020
Originally
published
30
Jun 2020
Origin
Attachments
FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
·
Favourable production
prospects for 2020 wheat crop
·
Cereal production in
2019 estimated slightly above average
·
Slightly above‑average
wheat imports forecast in 2020/21 marketing year
Favourable production prospects for 2020 wheat crop
Harvesting of the 2020 winter cereals, mainly wheat, planted between
September and November 2019, is ongoing and is expected to be completed by mid‑August
2020. Weather conditions were overall favourable throughout the season and the
2020 wheat output is preliminarily forecast at a near-average level of 6.3
million tonnes.
Planting of the 2020 spring grains, mainly maize and rice, is nearing
completion and harvesting of early‑planted crops is expected to start in
August.
Cereal production in 2019 estimated slightly above average
Harvesting of the 2019 cereals finalized in September 2019 and the
aggregate output is estimated at an above‑average level of 8.2 million tonnes.
Wheat output in 2019 is set at 6.8 million tonnes, 5 percent above the five‑year
average, due to larger‑than‑average plantings and favourable weather conditions
during the season, which had a positive impact on yields.
Slightly above‑average wheat imports forecast in 2020/21 marketing year
In the 2020/21 marketing year (July/June), wheat import requirements are
forecast at 3 million tonnes, 7 percent above the five‑year average. Over the
last years, the country decreased its imports of wheat flour (which declined by
more than 70 percent between 2011/12 and 2019/20) and raised its purchases of
high quality wheat grain from Kazakhstan, due to increased local milling
capacities. This allows the country to satisfy its domestic needs of wheat
flour and to export the exceeding production of wheat flour to neighbouring
countries.
On 23 October 2019, the Government approved the Agriculture Development Strategy, valid for the
period 2020‑2030. The Strategy aims at the development and implementation of
national policies to ensure food security, food safety and healthy diets. It
also provides for the transition to market pricing for all agricultural
products, including grains, as well as for the abolition of State procurement
of cotton and wheat.
COVID-19 and measures adopted by the Government
In response to the COVID‑19 pandemic, the Government has taken a number of
measures, including restricting the entry and exit from the country, imposing
quarantine and self‑isolation measures, suspending international events and
conferences.
To facilitate imports and ensure an adequate availability of domestic
supplies, on 3 April 2020, the Government adopted the Decree 5978, which
eliminates the import tariffs on a number of food commodities, including wheat
flour, sugar, meat and dairy products, until 31 December 2020.
On 6 April 2020, the Ministry of Finance announced the adoption of tax
reduction measures to support small and medium size enterprises and
entrepreneurs that are facing the negative economic consequences of the COVID‑19
crisis.
On 30 April 2020, the
World Bank approved a USD 200 million financing programme to support the
implementation of economic development policies in response to the health,
social and economic crisis due to the COVID‑19 outbreak.
Mozambique Food Security Outlook, June 2020 to January 2021
Source
Posted
1
Jul 2020
Originally
published
30
Jun 2020
Origin
Attachments
Crisis (IPC Phase 3) likely to persist in Mozambique through early 2021
Key Messages
·
Crisis (IPC Phase 3)
outcomes persist in the semiarid areas of southern Mozambique following crop
failure and/or significantly below-average main season production. As the
conflict intensifies in Cabo Delgado, Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes also
persist in this area, as an increasing number of people are displaced and lose
access to their typical food and income sources. Stressed (IPC Phase 2)
outcomes are mostly present in areas where poor households are still recovering
from previous shocks (cyclones, floods, and drought). In all other areas of the
country, Minimal (IPC Phase 1) outcomes are expected due to favorable food
availability and access. Beginning in October 2020, food security is likely to
deteriorate across southern Tete and other southern and central areas as poor
households will have exhausted their below-average food stocks much earlier
than usual and be employing unsustainable coping strategies driving Crisis (IPC
Phase 3) outcomes.
·
As of June 29,
Mozambique has 883 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Measures to mitigate the spread
of COVID-19 have resulted in thousands of poor households in urban and
peri-urban areas losing sources of income. A recent IPC analysis carried out by
the Technical Secretariat for Food Security and Nutrition (SETSAN) and partners
estimated that approximately 15 percent of the population of Maputo and Matola
are facing Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes.
·
In May, the price of
maize grain in central and northern markets decreased or remained stable. In
the south, the price of maize grain has started to decrease due to increased
supply of maize grain from the central region. However, the price of maize
grain in these areas remains 20-60 percent above the five-year average. The
price of maize meal and rice remained stable in May, except in Maputo, where
the price of rice rose by 40 percent likely due to some temporary supply
constraints.
Govt to strengthen vigilance to keep rice market stable: Sadhan
Jago News Desk Published: 1 July
2020, 08:52 PM | Updated: 1 July 2020, 08:55 PM
Food
Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder Wednesday said government would strengthen
vigilance to keep rice market stable.
He made
the comments while speaking a meeting titled ‘Discussion on keeping rice prices
stable in the market’ this morning through video conference from his government
residence in Dhaka, reports BBC.
The food
minister said,this year bumper crop of paddy has been harvested in Boro season.
So there is no reason for the rice market to be unstable this season.
If
necessary, measures will be taken to import rice officially, he added.
Addressing
the rice mill owners at the meeting, the food minister said, keep the rice
market stable and supply rice to government warehouses as per the agreement
made with the government.
He also
said, always the profit is not same. Everyone is in danger during this
pandemic. Now there is an opportunity to serve the people , so come forward
with a service mentality.
The
Minister directed the divisional commissioners to take necessary steps to
monitor the price of any paddy being sold from Millgate.
Calling
for timely delivery of rice, the minister said, to set a weekly and fortnightly
ceiling- when and how much rice will be delivered to the government food
warehouse..
Mentioning
the government is giving incentives to all businessmen Sadhan said the mill
owners can also take the opportunity of this incentive but officially the price
of rice will not be increased.
The
minister thanked all the officers and employees of the Food Department for
their tireless work and said, no officer and employee should misbehave with any
farmer or miller while collecting paddy and rice and not to get involved in
corruption.
Among
others, Divisional Commissioners of eight divisions of the country, two
representatives each of the Divisional Rice Mill Owners’ Associations of eight
divisions, Director General of the Food Department, Regional Food Controllers,
senior officials of the Ministry Food and Food Department were present at the
meeting.
ARKANSAS FARMER SAYS RICE CROP IS
LOOKING GOOD
At midway through the growing season,
Arkansas farmer Dow Brantley says the rice crop is looking pretty good.
“We were off to a slow start with another wet spring,” he says. “But the
crop is clean and looks good. We’re back to what I’d call our normal
acres. We have 1.4 million acres in Arkansas and that’s a big increase
from last year.”
He also raises corn, soybeans,
and cotton. “Our corn is a couple of weeks away from terminating
irrigation and we’re about 5 weeks away from harvest,” he says. “Corn
looks great and cotton is just starting to bloom so there’s a long way to go
yet on our cotton crop.”
Brantley farms about 30 miles
southeast of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Strain: USMCA Major Victory for Agriculture
Baton Rouge, La. (July 1, 2020) – Today, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)
goes into effect. Louisiana Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain,
D.V.M., said it is also a major victory for Louisiana farmers and ranchers.
“USMCA modernizes the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) by increasing market access for American farmers and ranchers. It also
supports fair trade practices and includes key provisions increasing markets
for U.S. rice, wheat, dairy, poultry, eggs and many other agricultural
products,” said Strain. “Louisiana stands to benefit by increased trade in
grains, rice and textiles.”
Strain added, “As we cope with a global pandemic, the USMCA
provides food security by markedly increasing our capacity for trade with two
of our largest trading partners in the world. It also enhances rural economic
development as we are an export nation.”
Strain was instrumental in the Tri-National Agricultural Accord,
in Ontario, Canada in 2016 and Guadalajara, Mexico in 2017 where he led a
delegation of senior agricultural leaders and signed a memorandum of
understanding with Canada and Mexico which became a foundation for discussion
on USMCA. The Tri-National Agricultural Accord consists of senior state and
provincial agricultural officials from Canada, the United States, and Mexico
who meet annually to work collaboratively on agricultural trade and development
issues.
Canada and Mexico are the first and second largest export
markets for United States food and agricultural products, totaling more than
$39.7 billion food and agricultural exports in 2018. These exports support more
than 325,000 American jobs.
Strain said Louisiana exported goods valued at over $3.57
billion to Canada and $9.22 billion to Mexico in 2018. The top Louisiana export
products to Canada and Mexico include $ 4.9 in petroleum and coal products, $2
billion in chemicals, $1.2 billion in agricultural products and $720 million in
oil and gas.
Rice is one of Louisiana’s largest crops. More than one-third of
rice grown in the United States is exported to Mexico, accounting for over
900,000 metric tons. Additionally, Mexico imports significant amounts of
poultry and eggs, corn, soybeans and cotton from the United States including
Louisiana.
Agri department assures of enough rice supply after gov't halts importation
Arianne Merez, ABS-CBN News
Stall owners start to pack up their goods at the Trabajo market
in Sampaloc, Manila, a few hours before the “hard lockdown” on April 23,
2020. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA - The Philippines has
enough rice supply, the Department of Agriculture assured the public Thursday,
after Malacañang announced that it would no longer push through with its plan
to import 300,000 metric tons of rice under a government-to-government scheme.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar
said there are enough stocks for 82 days as he noted that the government would
have enough supply of the staple grain coming in for the whole year.
"As of this month, mayroon
pa tayong 82 days to last...Mayroon po tayong sapat na pagkain," he said
in a virtual press briefing.
(We have enough stocks for 82
days as of this month. We have enough food.)
The Palace earlier this week said
the country no longer needs to import 300,000 metric tons of rice since there
is enough supply to go around.
It can be recalled that the
government's pandemic task force approved the importation of rice in March as a
contingency.
The Philippine International
Trading Corp was supposed to arrange the purchase through
government-to-government arrangements.
Dar said the agriculture
department is working to increase the production of local farmers especially
during the coronavirus pandemic as food security remains a priority.
"We are going to work with
and assist the domestic producers, the farmers and fishers to level up their production,"
he said.
The agriculture department
earlier said that the country's total annual consumption of rice would amount
to 12.9 million tons, with the current population of 108.66 million Filipinos.
Indonesia expects to increase rice stockpile to 22 mln tons this year
Source:
Xinhua| 2020-07-03 00:14:27|Editor: huaxia
JAKARTA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia estimated that its rice
stockpile would be over 22 million tons by this year and would not import the
staple food, officials said on Thursday.
The upbeat expectation came amid a threat of global food
shortage caused by a long drought amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Indonesia has produced 16 million tons of rice during the first
grand harvest time which ended in June and expected to produce up to 15 million
tons of the staple during the second grand harvest season this year, Indonesian
Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo said.
In addition to the productions, there is also a total of 7.49
million tons of last year's rice stockpile which was expected to carry over
this year's stock.
The FAO has warned of a long drought which would be much longer
than that usually hitting countries. Enditem
Indonesia sees higher rice output in 2021, lower corn output
JUNE 22, 2020
JAKARTA, June 22 (Reuters) - Indonesia’s Agriculture Ministry
data presented at the parliament on Monday:
* Indonesia is targetting 63.5 million tonnes output of unhusked
rice in 2021, up from this year’s target of 59.15 million tonnes
* Indonesia is targetting 26 million tonnes output of corn next
year, down from a 2020 corn production target of 30.35 million tonnes.
Indonesia
July-Dec rice production targeted at 12.5-15 mln tonnes
1:41 PM / 11
JAKARTA, July 2 (Reuters) -
Indonesia’s rice production over July to December is targeted at 12.5-15
million tonnes, agriculture minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo told a virtual press
briefing on Thursday.
Limpo said Indonesia’s ending
stock in December is forecast to stand at 6.1 million tonnes. (Reporting by
Bernadette Christina Munthe; Writing by Fathin Ungku)
Careful planning needed for rice crop: expert
02/07/2020 08:35
GMT+7
Le Thanh Tung, deputy head of the Department of Plant
Cultivation, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, speaks on
the need to develop a long-term plan to cope with drought in the
south-central region.
 |
|
Illustrative image. – Photo moitruongvadothi.vn
|
Do you have any comments following your recent working visit to
some south-central provinces regarding summer-autumn rice production?
In these days, all coastal
provinces in the south-central region are being hit by a serious drought.
However, the level of seriousness varies from one province to another.
For example, rice production in
Binh Thuan Province totally depends on water coming from local rivers and
reservoirs. In a year, Binh Thuan farmers plant rice paddy in three crops.
That’s why the summer-autumn rice crop this year will have to delay a bit.
Right now, farmers in Binh Thuan have just started their summer-autumn crop and
the water shortage problem only occurs at the beginning of the crop. That’s why
it would present a bit problem for the farmers when they start to transplant
the rice crop.
For other provinces, the farmers
could delay the summer-autumn crop a little bit and wait for the rain to
come.
According to our experience, if
there is no rain in the coming days Binh Thuan should cut some 20,000ha of its
rice production plan.
However, for Ninh Thuan Province,
farmers should only conduct one crop in a year due to the serious drought which
has occurred there.
According to the weather forecast, the south-central region will
face a big problem of water shortages in the coming summer-autumn crop. Do you
have any recommendations for farmers there?
Regarding non-structure projects,
the Department of Crop Production has come up with four solutions.
First, farmers should only start
their crops in areas which are close to irrigation projects to make sure they
have enough water for their crops.
Second, farmers should plant only
short duration rice varieties. Instead of using the rice variety of 110 days,
farmers should use the rice variety of 90 days. This means farmers could reduce
one round of irrigation for the rice.
Third, to use more organic
fertiliser for the rice plants. As we all know, organic fertiliser not only
gives nutrients to the rice plants but also keeps moisture in the soil.
Fourth, last but not least,
it is important to apply a very important technique in irrigation for the rice
plants – one period with more water followed by a period of less water.
This way of watering will help keep the soil always damp.
However, these four ideas
must go with having a good water irrigation system to help farmers be proactive
in their irrigation mission for the rice plants to grow properly.
Will you please explain a little bit about the restructuring of
crop structures?
The restructuring of the crop
structure in the south-central coastal region is compulsory due to the
hydrometeorological conditions there.
However, in the restructuring of
any crops, we have to take into consideration to see whether the plants are
suitable for the soil conditions and also the market for the products.
For example, Khanh Hoa Province
is well known for its mangoes and their mangos already have geographic
indication. VNS
Drought poses threat to rice crop in Banteay Meanchey
Khouth Sophak Chakrya | Publication date 02 July
2020 | 21:41 ICT
Residents pump water for irrigation in Banteay Meanchey province.
faceboook
More than 1,300ha of paddy in Banteay Meanchey province’s
Mongkol Borei district has been damaged and another 13,000ha affected by a
shortage of irrigation water, district governor Roth Da Sinong said on
Wednesday.
Da Sinong told The Post that drought has caused some water
sources to dry up, leaving many families across the district facing a shortage
of clean water. Rice fields in Soeu, Chamnoam and Bot Trang communes, he said,
have been wiped out.
“I checked the situation on Tuesday and the 13,000ha of winter
rice could be destroyed in the next week if it does not rain,” he said.
He said Banteay Meanchey provincial authorities are
collaborating with the Battambang provincial authority to pump water from the
Bavel Dam in Battambang province to rice fields facing shortages.
Da Sinong said water pumped from other areas should go to the
people, not rice farmers.
“Pumping water from other areas at this time should support only
the daily life of the people. It’s not to irrigate rice fields because many of
our families are short of clean water,” he said.
Although some areas are facing water shortages for irrigation,
rainy season rice cultivation in the province has seen rapid growth.
Farmers have cultivated 252,320ha of rice, equal to 96 per cent
of the cultivation plan’s 270,000ha as of Thursday, said Banteay Meanchey
provincial Department of Agriculture director Pang Vannaseth.
In one Mongkol Borei district, he said, farmers have cultivated
more than 50,000ha of rice while the area faced water shortages.
The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology is forecasting
medium to strong rains in the country from July 4 to 7.
The national wet season rice crop reached almost 1.8 million
hectares, equivalent to 69.24 per cent of the 2.5 million hectare plan.
Export of agriculture products has increased more than four
million tonnes, according to a report on the cultivation of rainy season rice
obtained by The Post on Wednesday.
CRF requests year-long loans for rice millers
Thou Vireak | Publication date 02 July 2020 |
21:42 ICT
The Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) has asked the state-owned
Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (ARDB) to extend its loan repayment
period to 12 months to help rice millers buy paddy.
The request was made on Wednesday at a meeting with Cambodia
Chamber of Commerce (CCC) Kith Meng on the progress and impact of Covid-19 on
the private sector at the CCC.
CRF president Song Saran told The Post that the current ARDB
loan repayment period is too short and could hinder its members’ ability to
purchase paddy from farmers.
He said he stressed to the CCC that the upcoming harvest season
would be especially harsh, with members scrambling to buy a slow supply of
paddy.
“Most of our members say the repayment period goes by too
quickly and it is not effective in helping buy paddy,” he said. “We suggest
offering longer [repayment terms] on loans for stockpiling.”
Saran said the rice sector needs between $80 and $120 million in
capital investment to hit the big one-million-tonne milestone in milled-rice
exports.
Chan Pich, general manager of rice miller and exporter
Signatures of Asia Co Ltd, said approval of the CRF’s request would be a boon
for the private sector’s paddy purchase target.
He said his company plans to buy 200,000 tonnes of the new
fragrant variety of paddy Sen Kra’op during its harvest season, which begins
next month.
“We would like a longer [repayment] period to make the best use
of our loans. The time is too tight, leaving us in a precarious position.
Giving us as long as a year would be a real blessing,” he said.
ARDB CEO Kao Thach could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
However, the CRF’s Saran said ARDB had accepted the proposal and promised to
forward it to the government for review and approval.
In March, the ARDB released a $50 million fund to provide
low-interest loans to enterprises and entrepreneurs in the agricultural
industry ranging between $10,000 and $300,000.
The government in May decided to cut the annual interest rates
from six to five per cent for working capital and from 6.5 to 5.5 per cent for
capital investment, without service charges.
RPT-Asia Rice-Thai rates slip as demand drops, rains hamper Vietnamese harvest
·
JULY 3, 2020
(Repeats from Thursday July 2)
* Rains in Mekong Delta hamper Vietnamese harvest-trader
* India rates flat amid moderate demand, appreciating rupee
* Bangladesh could import rice as domestic prices soar
By Shreyansi Singh
BENGALURU, July 2 (Reuters) - Thai rice export prices fell to
the lowest in a month this week as demand sagged, while Vietnamese rates rose
as persistent rain continued to hamper the harvest.
Thailand’s benchmark 5-percent broken rice prices RI-THBKN5-P1
slipped to $480-$515 from $514-$520 last week.
Prices fell to the lowest level since late-May, with traders
also attributing the dip to a weaker baht.
“There is very little demand for Thai rice right now in the
overseas market,” a Bangkok-based trader said.
However, Thai rates were still higher than those of competitors
Vietnam and India after a drought hammered production earlier this year.
“The supply concern will continue until new supply enters the
market, most likely early next month, until then our rice prices (will) remain
higher than our competitors,” another rice trader said.
In Vietnam, rates for 5% broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 rose to
$415-$450 per tonne on Thursday from last week’s $405-$450 range.
The winter-spring rice prices were unchanged from last week at
$450 per tonne, while rates for the ongoing summer-autumn harvest rose to
$415-$420 per tonne, from $405-$410, traders said.
“Demand for Vietnamese rice remains weak, but prices of the
summer-autumn harvest have edged up because persistent rain in the Mekong Delta
has slowed down the harvest,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said, adding
rain is forecast to subside from mid-July which would lead to better rice
quality.
Prices for top exporter India’s 5 percent broken parboiled
variety RI-INBKN5-P1 were unchanged at $373-$378 per tonne.
“Demand is moderate. We could not lower prices due to
appreciating rupee,” said an exporter based at Kakinada in southern state of
Andhra Pradesh.
The Indian rupee on Thursday hit a two-month high, trimming
traders’ margin from overseas sales.
Bangladesh could import rice to rein in soaring domestic prices,
the country’s food minister Sadhan Chandra Majumdar said, while the government
struggled to secure supplies locally.
“We will be compelled to import rice if the millers don’t supply
at the rate fixed by the government,” he said.
The government is procuring rice at 36 taka ($0.43) a kg locally.
(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Khanh Vu in Hanoi
and Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok; editing by Arpbn Varghese and Jane Merriman)
Thai farmers are trying a new, climate-friendly way to grow rice
Photo: PxFuel
A new agricultural program in central Thailand is working with
farmers to change the way they grow rice, in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions from rice paddies while saving water, time and money.
The program, backed by the Thai government and German development
agency GIZ, aims to get 100,000 households in the plains
of Thailand to adopt a rice farming method called alternate wetting and drying,
in which paddies are only flooded intermittently, rather than for most of the
season.
Traditional lowland rice farming releases a significant amount of
greenhouse gases, as organic matter decomposes under the water of flooded
paddies and emits methane.
Alternating between wetting and drying means the rice farms emit
less methane and use less water—water that would often be piped in using diesel-powered
pumps. Though the emissions from rice farming are dwarfed by those from fossil
fuels or the livestock industry, farmers who change their practices can still
have an impact.
“Farmers are a small player, but we want to take part in the fight
against climate change,” said Sawanee Phorang, a farmer in Suphanburi
taking part in the project.
According to the groups behind the new program, changes to farming
practices could cut methane emissions from rice paddies by up to 70%. GIZ estimates the project will cut emissions
by the equivalent of 1.73 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide
over five years.
After a successful pilot last year, the new program is rolling out
across Chainat, Ang Thong, Pathumthani, Suphanburi, Ayutthaya and Singburi
provinces, with the help of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
“In other commodities like cocoa and coffee, there is a more
developed sustainability standard,” said GIZ’s Suriyan Vichitlekarn, a
Bangkok-based agriculture and food expert. “For the rice sector, until about 10
years ago, there wasn’t any clear standard.”
While addressing methane emissions is an important step,
sustainability standards for rice would also have to address the use of
synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and the fact that farming practices vary
widely between lowland and upland Southeast Asia.
New rice farming practices make better use of water and reduce the need for pesticides
The program, called Thai Rice NAMA (Nationally
Appropriate Mitigation Action), also includes water conservation and
biodiversity initiatives as well as other tools for farmers.
One key piece is the introduction of laser land levelling, in
which farmers use laser measurements to make their rice paddies flatter. The
process is normally expensive, but a Thai state-owned bank has pledged to grant farmers interest-free loans
for the program.
Level rice paddies are more efficient, allowing farmers to use far
less water, fertilizer and pesticides. This last benefit is especially
important given the high levels of synthetic pesticide and fertilizer use in
Thailand.
Thailand backed down late last year from its attempt to ban
pesticides that contain the cancer-causing chemical glyphosate. Glyphosate is the main ingredient in
the controversial herbicide Roundup, once sold by Monsanto and now owned by
Bayer.
The Thai government moved to ban the chemical because it endangers
both farmers and consumers, as the carcinogenic residue remains in fruits,
vegetables and grains even as they arrive at market.
But the campaign was met with strong opposition and intervention by the US
government, which promotes food policies primarily shaped by the lobbying and
interests of agrichemical firms.
Under the Thai government’s ban, nearly 70% of US agricultural exports to Thailand
would no longer comply with the country’s health requirements. The US
government’s opposition to the chemical ban was driven largely by this
potential loss of trade worth 51 billion baht (US$1.65 billion).
Reducing the need for pesticides, especially those that contain
carcinogenic chemicals, could prove crucial for Thai farmers and consumers.
According to the Thai government’s Rice Department, the country has 3.7 million
farming households, cultivating 10 million hectares of rice paddies.
Program part of broader push for sustainable rice
The initiative is backed by a 530 million baht (US$17.1 million)
budget as part of the broader Asia-wide Sustainable Rice Landscapes Initiative, which aims
to cut greenhouse gas emissions from rice cultivation, restore degraded land
and conserve biodiversity. Backed by IRRI and UN Environment, it focuses on
farming practices—like new paddy management techniques—alongside government
policy changes and private sector incentives.
In Thailand, the program also promotes locally-tailored nutrient
and pest management practices. “They allow the farmers to enjoy such benefits
as higher crop yields and reduced farming costs,” said Doojduan Sasanavin, Thailand’s deputy
permanent secretary of the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, at the
program’s launch last year.
Though the program asks farmers to change the way they’ve grown
rice for generations, some are drawn to the benefits from alternate wetting and
drying, as well as leveling.
“Although we have an adequate supply of water through the Chao
Phraya River, we don’t have enough during the dry season so we need to take
measures,” explained Winai Jaengan, head of Phraojen
village in Chainat.
Farmers use underground irrigation to make it through until the
next rainy season. “This is costly for us because it needs more fuel to pump
the water out. Additionally, the farmers use small walking tractors which takes
time and more cost to level the field,” he added.
As the program’s backers work to spread the climate-friendly
practices beyond the initial 100,000 households, this efficiency argument will
likely prove crucial in scaling up their impact.
Rice bowl of Sabah waterlogged
·
NATION
·
Thursday, 02 Jul 2020
Harvest destroyed: Makdin at his flooded padi field. — Bernama
KOTA BELUD: Kota Belud, the “rice bowl” of Sabah, is looking at
RM29mil in losses after nearly 7,000ha of padi fields were severely damaged by
floods that hit the district following heavy rainfall.
Kota Belud Integrated Agricultural Development Area director
Salmah Labulla said that the estimated losses were calculated based on the
potential yield, current market price and the costs involved in cultivation.
“Based on aerial view, we found the entire area of about
7,000ha of padi fields have been affected by the floods with losses estimated
at RM29mil, ” she said.
On Saturday, heavy rainfall left 11 districts and 152 villages
in Sabah flooded, including Kota Belud, Tenom, Beaufort, Papar, Tuaran and
Penampang.
Salmah said that almost half the padi fields in Kota Belud,
which were about to be harvested, were covered in mud.
She said that the 3,000 affected farmers would be given
assistance of between RM800 and RM1,000 per hectare each, based on the age of
their crops through the disaster relief programme.
In the meantime, several measures must be implemented to prevent
such problems from recurring, Salmah said.
They include looking at the need for a dam to control water
levels and deepening the rivers in Kota Belud.
Farmers expressed their sadness at seeing the damage to their
crop, which was mere days away from being harvested.
Perin Rahil said that 2ha of his padi fields were damaged and
his losses were estimated at about RM11,000.
For Amran Sibin, assistance from the government was very much
needed to ease his burden.
Another farmer, Makdin Umpong, who was set to harvest his crop
this week, was saddened by the calamity but he accepted it as something that
couldn’t have been predicted. — Bernama
Drones and helicopters are battling India's fast-spreading locust swarm
India is using a
helicopter and 12 drones to spray insecticides to protect crops from a swarm of
locusts.
India
- India has been using drones and helicopters to spray insecticides, in a bid to protect their crops from a swarm of locusts.
- The decision was made after swarms invaded Gurugram, a satellite city of the capital New Delhi.
- Farmers have also been warned of a new wave of locusts coming across the Indian Ocean from Somalia.
A desert locust
feeding on a plantation.
Image: REUTERS/Feisal
Omar
The move came after swarms
invaded Gurugram, a satellite city of the capital New Delhi, during the
weekend, prompting people to criticise authorities for not quickly containing
the outbreak.
·
India, battling its worst desert locust outbreak for decades, pressed into service 12 drones to track the movement of locusts and spray insecticides on the swarms.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has amended rules to allow state government officials to use drones at night, a step that experts have said may help neutralise the locusts.
The government had already been using specialist vehicles and fire engines for spraying operations in at least nine densely populated states in the north, centre and west.
The locust infestation has not caused significant damage so far because it has fallen in the lean season - the gap between the previous harvest and the next planting season. But some farmers have complained about crop losses in a few districts of the desert state of Rajasthan.
The federal government said it had provided financial assistance to the Rajasthan government against the locusts.
It said representatives from India, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan have had weekly talks to try to stem locust swarms across the wider region.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has warned of a new wave of locusts coming across the Indian Ocean from Somalia just as farmers are planting an array of summer crops.
Syrian government raises state-subsidized sugar, rice prices by more than double on July 1
The Syrian’ government’s Ministry
of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection issued a decision on July 1, 2020,
more than doubling the prices of sugar and rice, which have respectively
increased from 350 Syrian pounds per kilogram of sugar to 800 Syrian pounds
(approximately 0.32 dollars) and from 400 Syrian pounds for a kilogram of rice
to 900 Syrian pounds (approximately $ 0.36). These steep price rises were
introduced under the pretext of keeping pace with the Central Bank’s new
exchange rate for the US dollar, which has been set at 1,250 Syrian pounds.
The corporation earlier announced
rationing of foodstuffs, with each family to receive no more than four
kilograms of sugar and three kilograms of rice per month; these are distributed
via the electronic ‘smart cards’ launched by the Syrian government, under the
pretext of enabling citizens to purchase sugar, rice, heating material and
cooking fuel in an organized and planned manner at state-subsidized prices
This rise comes while the average
monthly income for a worker in Syria stands at 60,000 Syrian pounds
(approximately US $19), with no corresponding increase in salaries. These
unprecedented rises in the prices of basic foodstuffs leads the Syrian Network
for Human Rights to believe there are causes for concern over possible
widespread and deliberately engineered famine and malnutrition among Syrians.
We emphasize that while the
Syrian regime is increasing food prices and reducing availability of foodstuffs
for Syrian citizens in the areas under its control, it is still spending
millions of dollars every week on the expenses and salaries for its security
bodies, which continue to practice arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances,
and torture against citizens, along with additional expenditure, also totaling
millions of dollars, on the ongoing military build-up surrounding the
governorate of Idlib.
In reality, the ruling regime
will remain wholly indifferent to the suffering of the Syrian people, even if
obtaining staples such as rice and sugar become a dream for them. The
international community must act to reduce the duration of this suffering by
taking further effective political steps in order to help achieve an active
political transition implemented according to a strict timetable by all parties
toward democracy and human rights which can guarantee stability, the return of
IDPs and refugees, and the relaunching of the economy.
Despite COVID-19 outburst, agri sector expands by 2.67pc
-PR
LAHORE-Though the covid-19 pandemic struck a
devastating blow to a low economic base country like Pakistan, certain sectors
here survived while giving hopes of recovery to the national economy.
According to the Pakistan Economic Survey
2019-20, there was no significant impact of Covid-19 on the agriculture sector
as the sector grew by 2.67 per cent.Positive growth of 2.90 per cent in important crops was observed due to an increase in production of wheat, rice, and maize at 2.45 per cent, 2.89 per cent, and 6.01 per cent, respectively. Similarly, the increase has been witnessed in Fertilizer (5.81 per cent), Leather products (4.96 per cent), Rubber products (4.31 per cent), Paper & Board (4.23 per cent) and Non-metallic mineral products (1.82 per cent). Besides these sectors, the pharmaceuticals also remained functional during the pandemic and in fact registered growth.
The PES 2019-20 disclosed that the pace of contraction diminished in the pharmaceutical sector as it registered 5.38 per cent decline during July to March in FY-2020 as compared to 8.66 per cent decline in the corresponding period. Also, the pharmaceutical sector recorded the highest sales in March while it fetched $1.3 million Foreign Direct Investment in April 2020. Once the textile industry was leading exports of the country but now the pharmaceutical sector has been identified as the sector that could enhance the country’s exports to boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves. Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry is an essential, high technology and a strategically important industry and at the present growth rate the market size for pharmaceuticals will double in the next 10 years in Pakistan.
But the impact of the pandemic will be severe in the coming months as the IMF has revised down its world GDP projections and now expects a contraction of 4.9 per cent in 2020. “Apart from the last three months, the next twelve months will also be very tough for the Pakistan economy,” said Taha Khan Javed, Head of Equities at Al Meezan Investment. The outlook for Pakistan GDP is also precarious with growth for next fiscal year expected to be only 1-2 per cent, much below the normal growth 3-5 per cent we have seen in the past, he added. He said that because of slowdown in economic activity especially in the informal sector it is expected that millions of people will be unemployed, while exports will also remain under pressure.
Yet, he added, few industries including the pharmaceuticals of the country can play a vital role in their capacity to help the national economy. While suggesting a way forward in this regard, Taha said that the pharmaceutical industry should ramp up their production capacity.
RPT-Asia Rice-Thai
rates slip as demand drops, rains hamper Vietnamese harvest
7/2/2020
(Repeats from
Thursday July 2)
* Rains in
Mekong Delta hamper Vietnamese harvest-trader
* India rates
flat amid moderate demand, appreciating rupee
* Bangladesh
could import rice as domestic prices soar
By Shreyansi
Singh
BENGALURU, July
2 (Reuters) - Thai rice export prices fell to the lowest in a month this week
as demand sagged, while Vietnamese rates rose as persistent rain continued to
hamper the harvest.
Thailand's
benchmark 5-percent broken rice prices <RI-THBKN5-P1> slipped to
$480-$515 from $514-$520 last week.
Prices fell to
the lowest level since late-May, with traders also attributing the dip to a
weaker baht.
"There is
very little demand for Thai rice right now in the overseas market," a
Bangkok-based trader said.
However, Thai
rates were still higher than those of competitors Vietnam and India after a
drought hammered production earlier this year.
"The
supply concern will continue until new supply enters the market, most likely
early next month, until then our rice prices (will) remain higher than our
competitors,” another rice trader said.
In Vietnam,
rates for 5% broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1> rose to $415-$450 per tonne on
Thursday from last week's $405-$450 range.
The
winter-spring rice prices were unchanged from last week at $450 per tonne,
while rates for the ongoing summer-autumn harvest rose to $415-$420 per tonne,
from $405-$410, traders said.
"Demand
for Vietnamese rice remains weak, but prices of the summer-autumn harvest have
edged up because persistent rain in the Mekong Delta has slowed down the
harvest," a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said, adding rain is forecast
to subside from mid-July which would lead to better rice quality.
Prices for top
exporter India's 5 percent broken parboiled variety <RI-INBKN5-P1> were
unchanged at $373-$378 per tonne.
"Demand is
moderate. We could not lower prices due to appreciating rupee," said an
exporter based at Kakinada in southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
The Indian
rupee on Thursday hit a two-month high, trimming traders' margin from overseas
sales.
Bangladesh
could import rice to rein in soaring domestic prices, the country's food
minister Sadhan Chandra Majumdar said, while the government struggled to secure
supplies locally.
"We will
be compelled to import rice if the millers don't supply at the rate fixed by
the government," he said.
The government
is procuring rice at 36 taka ($0.43) a kg locally. (Reporting by Rajendra
Jadhav in Mumbai, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Panu Wongcha-um in
Bangkok; editing by Arpbn Varghese and Jane Merriman)
RPT-Asia Rice-Thai
rates slip as demand drops, rains hamper Vietnamese harvest
7/2/2020
(Repeats from
Thursday July 2)
* Rains in
Mekong Delta hamper Vietnamese harvest-trader
* India rates
flat amid moderate demand, appreciating rupee
* Bangladesh
could import rice as domestic prices soar
By Shreyansi
Singh
BENGALURU, July
2 (Reuters) - Thai rice export prices fell to the lowest in a month this week
as demand sagged, while Vietnamese rates rose as persistent rain continued to
hamper the harvest.
Thailand's
benchmark 5-percent broken rice prices <RI-THBKN5-P1> slipped to $480-$515
from $514-$520 last week.
Prices fell to
the lowest level since late-May, with traders also attributing the dip to a
weaker baht.
"There is
very little demand for Thai rice right now in the overseas market," a
Bangkok-based trader said.
However, Thai
rates were still higher than those of competitors Vietnam and India after a
drought hammered production earlier this year.
"The
supply concern will continue until new supply enters the market, most likely
early next month, until then our rice prices (will) remain higher than our
competitors,” another rice trader said.
In Vietnam,
rates for 5% broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1> rose to $415-$450 per tonne on
Thursday from last week's $405-$450 range.
The
winter-spring rice prices were unchanged from last week at $450 per tonne,
while rates for the ongoing summer-autumn harvest rose to $415-$420 per tonne,
from $405-$410, traders said.
"Demand
for Vietnamese rice remains weak, but prices of the summer-autumn harvest have
edged up because persistent rain in the Mekong Delta has slowed down the
harvest," a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said, adding rain is forecast
to subside from mid-July which would lead to better rice quality.
Prices for top
exporter India's 5 percent broken parboiled variety <RI-INBKN5-P1> were unchanged
at $373-$378 per tonne.
"Demand is
moderate. We could not lower prices due to appreciating rupee," said an
exporter based at Kakinada in southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
The Indian
rupee on Thursday hit a two-month high, trimming traders' margin from overseas
sales.
Bangladesh
could import rice to rein in soaring domestic prices, the country's food
minister Sadhan Chandra Majumdar said, while the government struggled to secure
supplies locally.
"We will
be compelled to import rice if the millers don't supply at the rate fixed by
the government," he said.
The government
is procuring rice at 36 taka ($0.43) a kg locally. (Reporting by Rajendra
Jadhav in Mumbai, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Panu Wongcha-um in
Bangkok; editing by Arpbn Varghese and Jane Merriman)
Virtual Rice Field Day
today
Don Groth
Wed, 07/01/2020
- 12:02pm
CROWLEY
Normally,
farmers from throughout the area are flocking to the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse
Caffey Rice Research Station today for the annual rice field day event.
Things are different under the “new normal.”
This year the field day activities will be held online only because of the challenges caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The internet presentations by Rice Research Station faculty will be available for viewing beginning today at www.LSUAgCenter.com/ricefieldday(link is external).
“This virtual field day will allow our scientists to make their presentations just like they have in the past,” said Don Groth, station resident coordinator. “We concluded this is the best option to keep our stakeholders and the public informed of the work we are doing at the Rice Research Station.”
Groth cited several advantages. Viewers can watch the presentations later on YouTube, and presenters will be able to include graphics in the talks that will add to the content.
The field tour will include talks on disease, insects, weeds, variety development, and an update on hybrid breeding and agronomics. For the first time, the field day will include a talk by Mark Shirley, LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant crawfish specialist, who is overseeing research at the station’s South Farm.
Also, poster presentations will be available in PowerPoint.
The event will wrap up with talks by Bill Richardson, LSU vice president for agriculture; Mike Salassi, AgCenter associate vice president for plant and animal sciences; Richard Fontenot, chairman of the Louisiana Rice Research Board; and Mike Strain, commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
Groth said he is hopeful the 2021 field day can return to a live event.
Things are different under the “new normal.”
This year the field day activities will be held online only because of the challenges caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The internet presentations by Rice Research Station faculty will be available for viewing beginning today at www.LSUAgCenter.com/ricefieldday(link is external).
“This virtual field day will allow our scientists to make their presentations just like they have in the past,” said Don Groth, station resident coordinator. “We concluded this is the best option to keep our stakeholders and the public informed of the work we are doing at the Rice Research Station.”
Groth cited several advantages. Viewers can watch the presentations later on YouTube, and presenters will be able to include graphics in the talks that will add to the content.
The field tour will include talks on disease, insects, weeds, variety development, and an update on hybrid breeding and agronomics. For the first time, the field day will include a talk by Mark Shirley, LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant crawfish specialist, who is overseeing research at the station’s South Farm.
Also, poster presentations will be available in PowerPoint.
The event will wrap up with talks by Bill Richardson, LSU vice president for agriculture; Mike Salassi, AgCenter associate vice president for plant and animal sciences; Richard Fontenot, chairman of the Louisiana Rice Research Board; and Mike Strain, commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
Groth said he is hopeful the 2021 field day can return to a live event.
Despite
Going Virtual, Rice Well Represented in Louisiana Farm Bureau Convention
Elections
By Kane Webb
LAKE CHARLES,
LA -- In a year of "firsts", here are a few more.
Last week would
have marked the 98th Annual Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation (LAFB)
Meeting, but safety and health concerns and restrictions on gatherings as a
result of the pandemic, sent this usually crowded New Orleans event into
cyberspace for the first time.
Also, for the
first time in more than three decades, the organization elected a new
president, behind Mr. Ronnie Anderson's retirement. Jim Harper, a rice,
grain, and sugar producer from Rapides Parish was elected as the
12th president of the storied organization.
"I'm
honored and humbled to begin this new chapter in Farm Bureau history,"
Harper said. "For nearly a century, Farm Bureau has been there for
Louisiana farmers and I only hope to live up to that legacy in the next 100
years."
Harper had served as First Vice President of the Farm Bureau and served on various committees within the organization. He also holds board positions in the American Sugarcane League, The Central Rice Growers Association, and the Rapides Parish Soil and Water District, where he is chair.
Harper had served as First Vice President of the Farm Bureau and served on various committees within the organization. He also holds board positions in the American Sugarcane League, The Central Rice Growers Association, and the Rapides Parish Soil and Water District, where he is chair.
Evangeline rice
and grain producer Richard Fontentot, was re-elected to his position as 3rd
Vice President. Fontentot serves on several USA Rice Boards and
committees, and is also the chair for the Louisiana Rice Research Board. 
Fontenot
said: "This year was different to say the least! COVID may
have cancelled a lot of things, but agriculture wasn't one of them. Adjusting
to attending meetings virtually has been tough, but we all still have jobs to
do: protecting the interests of our agriculture industries together as an
organization, especially in times like this."
Due to the
cancellation of the in-person meetings, the LAFB Commodity Groups were not able
to gather in New Orleans as they normally do, but Chairman Donald Berken of
Jeff Davis parish said, "the group will continue to keep our members
informed on important rice issues through email, calls, and virtual meetings,
until we get the chance to gather in-person again."
While
"firsts" are often a great and notable thing, let's hope we look back
on 2020 and the many conventions, conferences, and meetings that COVID
scuttled, preventing our chances to gather together and connect in person, and
say it was the "first and only!"
USA
Rice Daily
Asia Rice-Thai rates slip as demand drops, rains hamper Vietnamese harvest
7/2/2020
* Rains in Mekong Delta hamper Vietnamese
harvest-trader* India rates flat amid moderate demand, appreciating rupee
* Bangladesh could import rice as domestic prices soar
By Shreyansi Singh
BENGALURU, July 2 (Reuters) - Thai rice export prices fell to the lowest in a month this week as demand sagged, while Vietnamese rates rose as persistent rain continued to hamper the harvest.
Thailand's benchmark 5-percent broken rice prices <RI-THBKN5-P1> slipped to $480-$515 from $514-$520 last week.
Prices fell to the lowest level since late-May, with traders also attributing the dip to a weaker baht.
"There is very little demand for Thai rice right now in the overseas market," a Bangkok-based trader said.
However, Thai rates were still higher than those of competitors Vietnam and India after a drought hammered production earlier this year.
"The supply concern will continue until new supply enters the market, most likely early next month, until then our rice prices (will) remain higher than our competitors,” another rice trader said.
In Vietnam, rates for 5% broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1> rose to $415-$450 per tonne on Thursday from last week's $405-$450 range.
The winter-spring rice prices were unchanged from last week at $450 per tonne, while rates for the ongoing summer-autumn harvest rose to $415-$420 per tonne, from $405-$410, traders said.
"Demand for Vietnamese rice remains weak, but prices of the summer-autumn harvest have edged up because persistent rain in the Mekong Delta has slowed down the harvest," a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said, adding rain is forecast to subside from mid-July which would lead to better rice quality.
Prices for top exporter India's 5 percent broken parboiled variety <RI-INBKN5-P1> were unchanged at $373-$378 per tonne.
"Demand is moderate. We could not lower prices due to appreciating rupee," said an exporter based at Kakinada in southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
The Indian rupee on Thursday hit a two-month high, trimming traders' margin from overseas sales.
Bangladesh could import rice to rein in soaring domestic prices, the country's food minister Sadhan Chandra Majumdar said, while the government struggled to secure supplies locally.
"We will be compelled to import rice if the millers don't supply at the rate fixed by the government," he said.
The government is procuring rice at 36 taka ($0.43) a kg locally. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok; editing by Arpbn Varghese and Jane Merriman)
© Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Click For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
Toxic hand sanitizers: Why you should check for 'methanol' content in your hand rub
Substantial methanol exposure can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death.
Representational Image
What began as an infectious outbreak in China
in December 2019, soon covered the entire world. In the absence of any specific
cure for the COVID19, methods like washing hands frequently with soap and using
hand sanitizers are recommended by WHO along with social distancing.However, the selection of products that are both effective and safe for the skin is of the utmost importance. Recently, the US Food and Drugs Administration warned consumers about toxic hand sanitizers. FDA also came up with the list of 9 sanitizers and alerted consumers for not using them.
These 9 sanitizers according to the FDA have "potential presence of methanol (wood alcohol), a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested."
Ishtiaq Baig appointed Chairman Pak-Morocco BC
KARACHI: Leading businessman, philanthropist and Hon. Consul General of Kingdom of Morocco, Mirza Ishtiaq Baig, has been appointed Chairman Pak Morocco Business Council of FPCCI. A letter in this regard has been issued by President FPCCI Anjum Nisar. He had been appointed as Chairman Pak Morocco Business Council for the last many years. Ishtiaq Baig is also the Chairman of Pak Morocco joint business council and instrumental in enhancing bilateral trade between Morocco and Pakistan. He recently took a delegation of 20 Pakistani leading businessmen to visit Morocco to explore export opportunities. A biryani festival was recently organized in Morocco by him with the collaboration of Embassy to promote the Pakistani rice; the event was a great success. He is also the former Vice President of FPCCI. In recognition of his services to promote bilateral trade and relations between the two countries, the government of Kingdom of Morocco has conferred upon him the Moroccan Civil Award ‘Wissam Alawi’.Fact Check: Did Budweiser employee urinate in beer tank for 12 years?
A section of Twitter also fell for it and rolled out some hilarious memes.
According to the report, an employee named Walter Powell (alias) revealed that he has been peeing inside the beer tanks for the last 12 years.
It further mentioned that Powell worked Budweiser Brewery Experience (Fort Collins, CO), and maintained that the production at other facilities remains untouched and free of urine. "It is like a Russian roulette, sometimes when I am with my friends, and they ask for Budweiser, I blush and say to myself, poor guys".
While the brewery hasn’t clarified on their end, it can be assumed that the news is untrue and is blown out of proportion since a website didn’t bother to fact check.
In 1876, German-born Adolphus Busch and his friend Carl Conrad developed a "Bohemian-style" lager (Budweiser), inspired after a trip to Bohemia and produced it in their brewery in St. Louis, Missouri. Over the years, Budweiser has become one of the largest-selling beers in the United States.
It is produced using barley malt, rice, water, hops and yeast. Malt gives colour and the sugar that is needed for the beer to ferment. Yeast is a key in the flavour. The hops give the beer spice, aroma and bitterness. Another ingredient is rice, helping Budweiser achieve crispness in its flavour. Finally, there is the water, which is filtered to make sure it's pure.
Food and water security in Pakistan
Pakistan is one of the world’s largest
producers of wheat, rice, livestock and a number of other agricultural
products. It is a food surplus country with stable food availability. Food
security is poor, however, as access to food is limited by poverty and high levels
of inflation. As a result, Pakistan has alarmingly high rates of malnutrition,
particularly among women and children. Nearly half of the children living in
Pakistan experience stunted growth and most of them suffer from micronutrient
deficiencies. Although the Pakistani government has taken some steps to reduce
food insecurity, such efforts are subject to political whims, economic
realities or, in some cases, prove simply ineffective.
Pakistan’s water security is also under
considerable pressure. Most water sources are over-exploited, due to the
increasing population, a large number of agricultural practices and poor
management. Pakistan’s extensive irrigation system is also one of the least
efficient in the world and loses up to 60 percent of the water it transports.
Climate change is also predicted to put pressure on water supplies. Although it
is not projected to reduce inflow into water bodies, it is likely to increase
variability, leading to more severe floods and droughts. Water quality is also
poor and water supplies are often tainted with faecal contamination, pesticides
or industrial runoff. As a result, water-borne illnesses are common and a
leading cause of death.
PARC chief inaugurates mechanical transplanting of rice
By News desk
July
1, 2020
Islamabad
Chairman PARC Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan inaugurated mechanical transplanting of rice during his recent visit at Varpal Chatha District Gujranwala. The Chairman, PARC observed the functioning of mechanical Rice transplanter and counted number of seedlings/fingers cut of the seedlings mat.
On the occasion, Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan, Chairman, PARC discussed about the medium used in plastic trays for raising of rice seedlings. He emphasized on the improvement of composition of seedlings medium for providing good start to the rice plant.
He advised to use peat and organic material like farm compost in trays for raising sturdy seedlings. The Chairman also visited Galaxy Rice Mills and MESKAY & FEMTEE warehouse of Kubota mechanical transplanter. He also observed the functioning of Kubota machines and gave valuable suggestions for improvement of the technology.
Chinese agronomy expert dreams of return to Pakistan
| June 30, 2020
Dai Yingnan (2nd from right) with
local children sitting beside a paddy field. Photo: Courtesy of Dai Yingnan
Four months after Dai Yingnan returned to China
from Pakistan, he became so eager to go back to the paddy fields in Pakistan.
“I cannot live this way anymore as I‘ve had no field to plough since I came
back to China,” he cried out loud in a short video posted on his Douyin
account, China‘s hit short video platform.The post-1990s young man spends six to seven months a year in Pakistan to promote hybrid rice. Due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, he has been “stranded” in China since the Spring Festival.
Dai uploaded some 500 short videos on his Douyin account and the most common scenes are paddy fields, muddy feet and beaming local farmers sitting by paddy fields.
Feeding the world
“My job is to promote hybrid rice seeds to Pakistani farmers, and provide them follow-up consultation and training services,” Dai told the Global Times, adding that hybrid rice helps local farmers increase production 50 – 100 percent compared with traditional rice varieties.
After his graduation from Hunan Agriculture University in 2017, Dai was recruited to Yuan Longping High-tech Agriculture Co with Yuan Longping, China‘s “Father of Hybrid Rice” serving as its honorary chairperson, and was later dispatched to Pakistan.
Dai Yingnan observes hybrid rice
in a paddy field in Pakistan. Photo: Courtesy of Dai Yingnan
After spending three years in Pakistan, Dai has
travelled across the country, observing test fields, introducing hybrid rice
seeds to local farmers, and training them. “We don‘t have weekends, and I could
spend days on the road visiting farmers one by one in various counties,” said
Dai. He often ate one meal a day.His efforts paid off as farmers embraced planted hybrid rice seeing a better harvest. “Four months ago, it was a whole bunch of dry land here, now it has become an oasis,” Dai said in a short video.
After introducing rice seeds, Dai and his team members would rent land to act as an experimental field to collect data during the growth of hybrid rice under the local environment, and train local farmers on how to do it. “We would test hundreds and thousands of varieties of hybrid rice every year and promote those with better performance,” he said.
Local farmers were also employed to manage experimental fields. However, due to different working cultures and language barriers, the experiment didn‘t go smoothly in the beginning. “Sometimes they forgot to irrigate or fertilize, and when we required them to count the exact number of grains in a rice spike, they would give us an approximate number instead,” he said.
“For farmers, it is important to buy good seeds,” Dai said.
In the beginning, most farmers hesitated to choose hybrid rice as its cost is 100 to 300 yuan ($14-43) higher than regular rice per mu. After getting to know the yield of hybrid rice, they literally swarmed to the field to see the crop that would bring them more money.
“After knowing the estimated yield of hybrid rice, they were so thrilled and started dancing in the field,” Dai said on his social media.
When Pakistani farmers saw Dai‘s hybrid rice had such a high germination rate for the first time, they cried out, “Unbelievable! Chinese hybrid rice is really good, almost no dead seeds. We all love China‘s hybrid rice.”
After winning trust from local villagers, Dai and his team started to train them on how to plant hybrid rice.
Dai told the Global Times that planting hybrid rice even changed Pakistani farmers‘ working manner and philosophy.
“Hybrid rice requires excessive attention to yield highly such as irrigating and fertilizing on time, while most Pakistani farmers believe that a harvest depends on God‘s will. So they sowed the seeds and prayed to God for a good harvest, which resulted in poor management and low yield,” said Dai, adding that farmers didn‘t see any good harvest that year.
“So, farmers gradually realized that their corn yield increases as long as they put effort into it,” said Dai. They would treat us with their best tea after the harvest.
After hybrid rice becomes popular in Pakistan, farmers in more countries will love it.
Local farmers swarm to the paddy
field in Pakistan, yearning to know more about Chinese hybrid rice. Photo:
Courtesy of Dai Yingnan
Indissoluble bondBorn in a village in Northeast China‘s Liaoning Province, Dai has built a tight bond with paddy fields as he would work in them with his parents since he was a child, which made him develop natural feelings towards farming life and empathy for the hardship of farmers.
“Since I was a child, my father told me to study hard and never do farm work again,” he said. However, he chose to learn agronomy at Hunan Agriculture University as few students would compete for the major, which would allow him to attend the university.
The idea of becoming a farmer again after receiving an undergraduate degree bothered him shortly after entering the university. A conversation with Yuan Longping in an interview during his college studies dispersed his confusion. “The esteemed man told me that agriculture that sustains the life of the people is the foundation of a country, while it is also a slow-growing industry that requires time and devotion,” said Dai. “He encouraged me to seek truth in the fields.”
After the first novelty of life in a new country dissipated, and the hardship and boredom of life in rural Pakistan became prominent, he also felt lost and confused when he stood by the fields. “I will spend my most precious 20 years here, which means all the benefit, convenience, and life I could have enjoyed in China would be limited,” Dai told the Global Times.
Dai Yingnan (R) poses for a group
photo with a Pakistani farmer. Photo: Courtesy of Dai Yingnan
“Now that I have spent three years in Pakistan,
I realized that I am really doing a great job which not only benefits myself,
but also benefits the people of other countries,” he said.Dai never concealed his love and passion for the paddy fields and his job. “I have spent my most precious years in Pakistan, and sometimes I even forget my original aspiration of planting rice here,” he wrote on his social media.
Dai is still single since he spends most of his time in a year abroad. His girlfriend broke up with him because he chose Pakistan over her. In the following years, he had several dates, and all of them fell through because he had to return to Pakistan.
“Now I am back in China but missing the happy days in Pakistan, getting up, eating a meal and going to the paddy fields,” he said.
“If I were allowed to choose my path in life, I would choose the paddy fields once again,” said Dai.
Newspaper headline: Life away from the field
Playing And Planting: Nepal Celebrates Paddy Day
Splashing mud and drinking local rice beer, Nepali farmers this week celebrated National Paddy Day to mark the beginning of the rice-planting season, despite some coronavirus lockdown measures still in place
Tokha, Nepal, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Jun, 2020 ) :Splashing mud and drinking local rice beer, Nepali farmers this week celebrated National Paddy Day to mark the beginning of the rice-planting season, despite some coronavirus lockdown measures still in place.Traditional farming songs and laughter echoed in the air as farmers waded into waterlogged fields to sow green paddy.
"It is an important day for us. Our family and friends all came together in the fields to plant and have fun," farmer Ramesh Dongol, 35, told AFP.
Nepali farmers across the country mark the 15th of the Nepali month of Asar every year with celebrations.
Standing on fields flooded by the onset of monsoon, the farmers dance and sling mud on each other as they plant the seedlings.
Locals also feast on curd and beaten rice, traditionally eaten on the day.
A staple food, rice accounts for almost half of cereal production in Nepal.
The country produced over five million tonnes of paddy last year, according to the agriculture ministry.
Government data shows that early 70 percent of Nepal's population depends directly on agriculture, and the sector contributes to about a third of the country's GDP.
This year, lockdown measures against coronavirus have disrupted farm supplies, creating shortages of seeds and fertilisers, prompting worries for the country's agricultural production.
Keep rice market stable: Food Minister to mill owners
UNB News
- Dhaka
- Publish- July 01, 2020, 07:14 PM
- UNB NEWS - UNB NEWS
- 354 Views
- Update- July 01, 2020, 08:47 PM
Warning millers that the government will take tough action if there is any attempt to destabilise the rice market, the minister reiterated that if necessary, rice will be imported.
He said that bumper crop of paddy has been harvested this boro season. So, there is no reason for rice market destabilisation.
The minister made the remarks while addressing a meeting titled 'Discussion on Stabilising Rice Prices in the Market' via video conference from his official residence on Minto Road.
The meeting was also attended by the Divisional Commissioners of eight divisions, two representatives each from the Divisional Rice Mill Owners Association, the Director General of the Food Department, Regional Food Controllers, and senior officials of the Ministry of Food and Food Department.
Addressing the rice mill owners present at the meeting, the food minister asked them to keep rice market stable and to supply rice from government warehouses as per agreement with the government.
“If you do not follow these, the overnment will be forced to import rice. But the government does not want to import, if the government imports rice, the rice mills as well as farmers will suffer loss.”
The Director General of the Department of Food has already been instructed to mark mills into A, B, C categories to identify mills which will come forward at this time. Then, they will be evaluated as per the category, he added.
The Minister directed the Divisional Commissioners to take necessary steps to verify and monitor the price of any paddy being sold from millgat
http://www.unb.com.bd/category/Bangladesh/keep-rice-market-stable-food-minister-to-mill-owners/53950
Spurt in domestic, export demand pushes basmati price by 10% in a month
Demand shot up sharply since start of Unlock 1.0 as Stockists rushed to fill their pipelines amid uncertainty in market operations over exploding number of Covid-19 cases
Dilip Kumar Jha |
Mumbai Last Updated at July 1, 2020 18:57 IST
The aromatic
rice is currently quoted at $1,000-1,200 a tonne now from $900-1,100 a tonne
towards the end of May
Basmati rice has become costlier by
10 per cent in June due to sudden spurt in demand from both domestic households
and overseas markets post 70-day nationwide lockdown in India and and in other
major countries to control pandemic.
The aromatic rice is currently
quoted at $1,000-1,200 a tonne now from $900-1,100 a tonne towards the end of
May. The value differs based on quality and brand.
Supply to domestic consumers and
exports was interrupted due to transport disruptions during the nationwide
lockdown. While the disruption was gradually eased with policy clarity
emerging, the pipeline inventory exhausted during this period.
“Prices of basmati rice have gone up
by 10 per cent or almost $100 in June from sudden emergence in demand from
domestic as well as international markets. There has been a sharp jump in
overseas orders despite increasing cases of Covid-19 across the world,” said
Gurnam Arora, Joint Managing Director, Kohinoor Foods Ltd, the producer and
exporter of Kohinoor brand basmati rice.
The benchmark basmati paddy spot
price at Karnal compiled by the Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) jumped by 10
per cent to trade at Rs 3,623 a quintal on Wednesday from the level of Rs 3271
a quintal a month ago.
Interestingly, demand for basmati
shot up sharply since the beginning of Unlock 1.0 on June 8. Stockists rushed
to fill their pipelines amid uncertainty in market operations over exploding
number of Covid-19 cases. Export orders have also increased from all across the
world including Iran which faces United States-triggered economic sanctions and
contributes nearly 25 per cent of India’s overall aromatic rice shipment.
“A number of new markets in the Far
East and Latin American countries have evolved over the last couple of years to
compensate the trade disruptions in Iran. Dollar availability remained scarce
in Iran which affected India’s basmati rice to that country. But, we are
getting good orders from other countries which is sufficient to cover the decline
in exports to Iran,” said Arora.
Due to uncertainties in Iran over
trade and commerce with any country including India, order flow from Iran is
very low. Business with Iranian importers is risky, sources said.
Meanwhile, a number of importers in
Iran had defaulted millions of dollars in the last few years. Triggered by
massive defaults, Agricultural and Processed Food Product Export Development
Authority (Apeda) had blacklisted two private basmati rice brands - Mohsen and
Avazah - in February this year. These basmati rice brands were owned by traders
in Saudi Arabia.
However, some, payment has started
coming in of late from Iran. Also, the government of Iran has exempted basmati
rice from any import duty and also discount to encourage imports. These will
help exports to Iran to resume.
“There has been a sharp increase in
domestic demand after relaxation in lockdown. Consumption in hotel, restaurant
and catering (Horeca) segment was completely disrupted during the lockdown
period, has also recovered now. All these factors have contributed to 8-10 per
cent increase in the prices of basmati rice,” said Ashwini Arora, Director, L T
Foods, the producer of Daawat brand basmati rice.
Apeda reported India’s total export
of basmati rice at 3.8 million tonnes valued $3.8 billion for the financial
year 2019-20 (upto February 2020) versus 4.4 million tonnes worth $4.7 billion
reported for the previous full financial year (i.e. 2018-19)
Milled-rice exports up 41%
Thou Vireak | Publication date 01 July 2020 | 22:31 ICT
A Cambodian farmer transplants rice
seedlings in the paddy field. Cambodia's milled-rice exports gained 41 per cent
to 397,660 tonnes in the first half of this year from the 281,538 tonnes
shipped in the same period last year. Post Staff
Cambodia's milled-rice exports gained 41 per
cent to 397,660 tonnes in the first half of this year from the 281,538 tonnes
shipped in the same period last year.Their combined value was $264.5 million, Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) secretary-general Lun Yeng told The Post on Wednesday.
On a yearly basis, the Kingdom shipped 45.19 per cent more milled rice to the EU market, 25.20 per cent more to the Chinese market, 47.69 per cent more to the ASEAN market and 79.26 per cent more to other markets, said a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries report, citing data compiled from phytosanitary certificates.
General Directorate of Agriculture director-general Ngin Chhay told The Post that paddy varieties bred from pure line selection of traditional varieties led to the surge in exports to cater to the rising international demand amid the Covid-19 epidemic.
The rise in exports extended to newly-opened markets such as Hong Kong and Australia, cracking the 40,000 tonne mark, he said.
“The rise in milled-rice exports can be attributed to the purity and calibre of Cambodia’s fragrant rice varieties, which dovetails with the markets’ needs.
“Of note is the new ‘01’ variety of paddy grain which the ministry only recently released to farmers. Its quality is recognised throughout the EU and Chinese markets, leading to a further boost in exports there.
“We’ve observed that the number of orders coming in from the European market is higher than in previous years, with buyers stocking up [on milled rice] during the Covid-19 outbreak. The market for Cambodian rice in ASEAN has also grown,” said Chhay.
The ministry report said the Kingdom now ships milled rice to 56 countries, with the largest importers being China and the EU nations.
It exports the grain to 24 EU countries, six ASEAN members and 25 other destinations.
The Kingdom’s four largest milled-rice exporters in the first half were City Rice Import Export Co Ltd (accounting for 50,199 tonnes; up 12.62 per cent year-on-year), Baitang (Kampuchea) Pld (29,349 tonnes; up 7.38 per cent), Primalis Corp Ltd (32,393 tonnes; up 8.15 per cent) and Amru Rice (Cambodia) Co Ltd (31,867 tonnes; up 8.01 per cent).
CRF’s Yeng said rice exports are likely to end the year at around 800,000 tonnes with demand remaining high during the second half of this year.
“The fact of the matter is that the market is growing as it always has, with no slowdown in sight. Our key markets, such as Malaysia, are [importing milled rice] at a very good pace as they always have,” he said.
Rice exports reached 620,106 tonnes last year, a 0.97 per cent drop from the 626,225 tonnes in 2018, a ministry report said.
Their combined value was $501 million, down 4.3 per cent from $524 million in 2018.
The Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which is expected to be finalised by the end of the year will boost the Kingdom’s export volume and also draw more investment in raw material supplies and diversify the industrial sector, analysts said.
Ministry of Commerce secretary of state Sok Sopheak on Tuesday said that once the Cambodia-China FTA comes into effect, it will play a significant role in diversifying export markets and increasing shipments of the Kingdom’s agro-industrial products to the world’s largest market.
Sopheak, who is also the chairman of the working group handling FTA talks between Cambodia and China, was speaking at an Economic and Financial Policy Committee meeting concerning the negotiations. The committee is under the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
He said: “This agreement will also accelerate the process of regional and global economic integration, expanding Cambodia’s involvement in the value chain as well as maximising its potential to draw in investors and serve as a production base for export to the Chinese market.”
Agri protectionism in Covid times
July 2, 2020
The economic response of many
countries to the Covid-19 pandemic is to close their national borders. The idea
is not only to prevent the spread of the virus but also to preserve their
domestic markets, industries and jobs amid a global recession. In crisis times,
countries become protectionist. This was amply illustrated during the 2008-2010
global financial crisis, when governments of developed countries set aside a
large amount of their stimulus budgets to save industries deemed “too big to
fail” or too valuable to be taken over by outside barbarians.
How about agriculture in Covid times? The Third
World Network (TWN) of Penang, Malaysia reported on June 27, 2020 that the
developed countries continue to pour “billions of dollars in farm support” to
their domestic producers, “breaching their scheduled commitments” to the World
Trade Organization. As a backgrounder, the refusal of the United States (under
the US Farm Bill) and the EU (under the Common Agricultural Policy) to give up
huge domestic farm subsidies while pushing the developing countries to
liberalize agricultural markets is at the roots of the failure of the WTO to
conclude a Ministerial Agreement on the so-called Doha Development Agenda, a
comprehensive trade liberalization proposal launched in 2000 or two decades
ago.Per the TWN report, an unnamed trade ambassador summed up the trade talks in the WTO amid the pandemic as follows: “The stimulus packages being provided by the developed countries will have serious adverse effects on the productive capacities of developing countries” which “do not have the fiscal space to respond to these stimulus packages being offered by developed countries to their producers.” And yet, “at the same time, the developed countries are trying to push for less restrictions, new rules, new disciplines, including on export restrictions that can be used under specific conditions, to ensure that they have market access in developing countries.”
Examples of questionable subsidies during these Covid times were mentioned by TWN. The US has a food assistance program worth $19 billion, including $16 billion direct support to farmers and ranchers. Under this program, each producer can get as much as $250,000, per estimate by a Brazilian trade negotiator. Australia’s subsidy program comes in another form: “International Freight Assistance”, which means the airfreight costs of high-value agricultural and fishery products being exported by Australian producers is covered by their government. EU’s farm assistance program includes private storage aid and support to potato producers, on top of the usual EU subsidies.
Overall, instead of a coordinated global response to the Covid-19 crisis, member-countries of the WTO
continue to be divided on the offensive of agriculture-exporting countries to open up markets of developing countries while maintaining subsidies to their domestic producers. The plea of developing countries like South Africa and India for “policy space” such as the application of special safeguard measures during crisis periods to prevent an avalanche of imports has remained unheeded.
Now, what is the position of the Philippines today in the trade talks in the WTO and other trade forums? This is unclear and remains to be fleshed out under the new administration in the Department of Agriculture.
In the pre-Covid periods, the DA had officially aligned itself with Indonesia and other developing countries in the demand for more “policy space” and “trade flexibility,” for examples, use of special safeguard measures against unwanted imports and operationalization of the principle of “special and differential treatment” or SDT. The latter simply means recognition of the uneven development among countries and their differing capacities to nurture their agricultural sector; hence, a “one-size-fits-all” liberalization formula is one-sided and anti-development because the weaker members of the WTO cannot compete with the more developed members under so-called “equal” rules.
The problem is that there is a big disconnect between what the DA cites as the needed measures to protect Philippine agriculture and what the government actually does. For example, the former DA trade negotiators argued for more trade protection and flexibility; and yet, the national government, primarily through Neda, had been opening up the agricultural sector to global competition in a wholesale manner. Thus, when the Philippines joined the WTO in 1994-1995, its agricultural tariff commitments were way below those made by Thailand, a major agricultural exporting country in the world. This was so because earlier in the 1980s, the Philippines “unilaterally” reduced its industrial and agricultural tariffs under the “structural adjustment program” (SAP) imposed by the IMF-World Bank.
The neo-liberal argument for agricultural trade liberalization goes this way: market and competition help unleash agricultural productivity, paving the way for agricultural openness modernization. And yet, the reverse happened. Under the SAP’s agricultural deregulation and the country’s trade liberalization commitments to the WTO, the Philippines has become a major net agricultural importing country since 1994. We import virtually everything – fruits, milk, meat, legumes, vegetables, rice and numerous processed agricultural products. Our traditional export products (sugar, coco oil) and non-traditionals (pineapple, banana) cannot tilt the trade balance in our favor. This growing import dependence and the collapse of domestic agricultural production (mainly food crops and livestock) explain why the share of the agricultural sector in the GDP is a measly eight percent today.Andhra govt. to distribute seventh phase of free ration distribution from July 3 Pavan Kumar Bandari Hans News Service | 2 July 2020 10:25 AM IST AddThis Sharing Buttons Share to Facebook Share to TwitterShare to WhatsAppShare to TelegramShare to More Andhra govt. to distribute seventh phase of free ration distribution from July 3Free ration distribution in Andhra Pradesh Highlights The Andhra Pradesh government led by chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has given yet another good news for the people in the state. The Andhra Pradesh government led by chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has given yet another good news for the people in the state. In this backdrop, the government, which has been distributing free rice and other commodities ever since the lockdown is imposed. Meanwhile, the government has decided to give free goods to the poor for the seventh phase. However, beneficiaries have to pay for sugar. 1.48 crore rice cardholders in the state will benefit from this distribution. As part of the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana scheme, the state government has taken steps to distribute the ration for free in July. Also Read - No official info on takeover of land: Amara Raja Infratech Since the announcement of the lockdown, from March 29 till now, ration have been distributed for free of cost to the poor along with rice and dal. Distribution of the seventh installment will begin 3rd of this month with 5 kg of rice and 1 kg of dal for free of charge to everyone who has the names on the rice card. "We have written to the Center on Wednesday to allocate additional rice to the state in connection with the distribution of free rations," External Affairs Secretary Kona Shashidhar said. In addition to the rice, ration dealers have already informed civic authorities to deposit the amount already paid in the form of DDs to their bank account for subsidized goods.
https://www.thehansindia.com/andhra-pradesh/andhra-govt-to-distribute-seventh-phase-of-free-ration-distribution-from-july-3-631304
Corona Brought From Rice Miller's Birthday Party To Bareilly In Pilibhit
By Abigale Lormen on July 2, 2020
Updated Thu, 02 Jul 2020 02:47 AM IST
Crowds of individuals are not shrinking within the markets, regardless of Corona's quickly growing instances.
– Photo: Bureau, Bareilly
Bareilly / Pilibhit. The an infection is feared amongst all of the individuals who attended a Corona-infected Rice Miller's party in Pilibhit three days in the past. It can be discussed that many businessmen from Bareilly had additionally joined this social gathering and are actually quietly ready for his or her report to come back to the company lab.
A rice miller and bullion dealer Corona of Pilibhit was discovered contaminated. Even after this, Rice Miller didn’t quarantine and roamed everywhere in the metropolis and met some officers. Not solely this, at a widely known lodge in Pilibhit, Rice Miller additionally organized his party on 28 June, wherein outstanding businessmen, docs and rice millers from everywhere in the metropolis got here to hitch some entrepreneurs from Bareilly. Pilibhit has been stirred up after studies of Corona-infected Rice Miller's party changing into frequent. The administration has closed the lodge by sanitizing it. Sampling has additionally been achieved for 13 of its employees. The rice mill has additionally been sealed. The panic unfold to Bareilly of this birthday day social gathering in Pilibhit. It is being advised that the entrepreneurs of Bareilly who went to this social gathering have given their samples within the company lab and are ready for the report to come back.
Many folks Bareilly dialogue to hitch the social gathering
Bareilly / Pilibhit. The an infection is feared amongst all of the individuals who attended a Corona-infected Rice Miller's party in Pilibhit three days in the past. It can be discussed that many businessmen from Bareilly additionally went to hitch this social gathering and are actually quietly ready for his or her report back to be given to the company lab.A rice miller and bullion dealer Corona of Pilibhit was discovered contaminated. Even after this, Rice Miller didn’t quarantine and roamed everywhere in the metropolis and met some officers. Not solely this, at a widely known lodge in Pilibhit, Rice Miller additionally organized his party on 28 June, wherein outstanding businessmen, docs and rice millers from everywhere in the metropolis got here to hitch some entrepreneurs from Bareilly. Pilibhit has been stirred up after studies of Corona-infected Rice Miller's party changing into frequent. The administration has closed the lodge by sanitizing it. Sampling has additionally been achieved for 13 of its employees. Rice Mill additionally went froze. The panic unfold to Bareilly of this birthday day social gathering in Pilibhit. It is being advised that the entrepreneurs of Bareilly who went to this social gathering have given their samples within the company lab and are ready for the report to come back.
About Post Author
Abigale Lormen
Abigale is a Masters in Business Administration by education. After completing her post-graduation, Abigale jumped the journalism bandwagon as a freelance journalist. Soon after that she landed a job of reporter and has been climbing the news industry ladder ever since to reach the post of editor at Our Bitcoin News.Govt may go for rice import, says food minister in standoff with millers
Published: 01 Jul
2020 06:57 PM BdST Updated: 01 Jul 2020 06:57 PM BdST
The government will import rice to keep the market stable in case the mill owners refuse to supply the staple at the agreed price, the food minister has warned.
The market should never become volatile now that there has been a bumper harvest of Boro paddy, Sadhan Chandra Majumdar said during a virtual press meet on Wednesday.“Maintain a stable market for rice and supply it to the government at the price fixed in the contract. Otherwise, the government will be compelled to import rice,” the minister told the rice mill owners.
But he added that the government did not want to take such a measure.
“The millers will face financial losses while the farmers who harvested paddy will suffer losses as well,” he said.
The government will purchase 1.9 million tonnes of Boro rice this year. They will buy 1 million tonnes of boiled rice at Tk 36 per kg from the millers and 1.5 million tonnes of Atap rice or sundried rice at Tk 35 per kg. It plans to buy 800,000 tonnes of Boro rice directly from the farmers.
Refusing to sell the rice at a government quoted price of Tk 36 per kg, some mill owners want to hike the price, jeopardising the government goal to stockpile rice as part of its efforts to ensure food security during the coronavirus crisis.
“We‘re going through a troubled time due to the coronavirus epidemic. Why don’t you make a little less profit this time. You have an opportunity to serve the people. Please serve them,” the minister told the rice millers.
“You have to keep doing business with the Ministry of Food and the Directorate General of Food. Therefore, you can’t just trade with us only when it is profitable for you.”
The minister recounted that the government had exempted the tax on rice import when local collection was hampered during the floods in 2017, and 4 million tonnes of rice were imported. Both the mill owners and the farmers counted a severe financial loss at the time, he highlighted.
“We’ll have more rice production when the farmers are spared from losses and it will benefit the millers. The government decided to buy 800,000 tonnes of rice directly from the farmers to ensure that the marginal farmers get a fair price for their produce,” Sadhan said.
He ordered the deputy commissioners to monitor the sale of rice at the mills. The government has directed the directorate to categorise the rice mills based on their activities, and those will be evaluated later, he added.
“The government is providing incentive packages for the business owners and you can tap them. But the government will not raise the asking price to rice under any circumstances,” the food minister asserted.
Demand pushes basmati price by 10% in a month
Demand shot up sharply since start of Unlock 1.0 as Stockists rushed to fill their pipelines amid uncertainty in market operations over exploding number of Covid-19 cases
Dilip Kumar Jha |
Mumbai Last Updated at July 1, 2020 18:57 IST
The aromatic
rice is currently quoted at $1,000-1,200 a tonne now from $900-1,100 a tonne
towards the end of May
Basmati rice has become costlier by
10 per cent in June due to sudden spurt in demand from both domestic households
and overseas markets post 70-day nationwide lockdown in India and and in other
major countries to control pandemic.
The aromatic rice is currently
quoted at $1,000-1,200 a tonne now from $900-1,100 a tonne towards the end of
May. The value differs based on quality and brand.
Supply to domestic consumers and
exports was interrupted due to transport disruptions during the nationwide
lockdown. While the disruption was gradually eased with policy clarity
emerging, the pipeline inventory exhausted during this period.
“Prices of basmati rice have gone up
by 10 per cent or almost $100 in June from sudden emergence in demand from
domestic as well as international markets. There has been a sharp jump in
overseas orders despite increasing cases of Covid-19 across the world,” said
Gurnam Arora, Joint Managing Director, Kohinoor Foods Ltd, the producer and
exporter of Kohinoor brand basmati rice.
The benchmark basmati paddy spot
price at Karnal compiled by the Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) jumped by 10
per cent to trade at Rs 3,623 a quintal on Wednesday from the level of Rs 3271
a quintal a month ago.
Interestingly, demand for basmati
shot up sharply since the beginning of Unlock 1.0 on June 8. Stockists rushed
to fill their pipelines amid uncertainty in market operations over exploding
number of Covid-19 cases. Export orders have also increased from all across the
world including Iran which faces United States-triggered economic sanctions and
contributes nearly 25 per cent of India’s overall aromatic rice shipment.
“A number of new markets in the Far
East and Latin American countries have evolved over the last couple of years to
compensate the trade disruptions in Iran. Dollar availability remained scarce
in Iran which affected India’s basmati rice to that country. But, we are
getting good orders from other countries which is sufficient to cover the
decline in exports to Iran,” said Arora.
Due to uncertainties in Iran over
trade and commerce with any country including India, order flow from Iran is
very low. Business with Iranian importers is risky, sources said.
Meanwhile, a number of importers in
Iran had defaulted millions of dollars in the last few years. Triggered by
massive defaults, Agricultural and Processed Food Product Export Development
Authority (Apeda) had blacklisted two private basmati rice brands - Mohsen and
Avazah - in February this year. These basmati rice brands were owned by traders
in Saudi Arabia.
However, some, payment has started
coming in of late from Iran. Also, the government of Iran has exempted basmati
rice from any import duty and also discount to encourage imports. These will
help exports to Iran to resume.
“There has been a sharp increase in
domestic demand after relaxation in lockdown. Consumption in hotel, restaurant
and catering (Horeca) segment was completely disrupted during the lockdown
period, has also recovered now. All these factors have contributed to 8-10 per
cent increase in the prices of basmati rice,” said Ashwini Arora, Director, L T
Foods, the producer of Daawat brand basmati rice.
Apeda reported India’s total export
of basmati rice at 3.8 million tonnes valued $3.8 billion for the financial year
2019-20 (upto February 2020) versus 4.4 million tonnes worth $4.7 billion
reported for the previous full financial year (i.e. 2018-19).
Can Global Cuisine Go Local? It’s Complicated
Meeru Dhalwala, co-founder of famed Indian restaurant Vij’s, on the power of food to connect.
The key ingredient in sustainable food advocate Meeru Dhalwala’s
recipe for action? ‘Inclusiveness.’ Photo: SFU
via Wikimedia. 
Meeru Dhalwala doesn’t remember when she first
came across the 100-Mile Diet, but she does remember thinking that it was an idea
whose time had come. She resonated to the call for strengthening the local food
system, and for celebrating fresh ingredients grown and processed nearby. For
her, it wasn’t just a movement in the making, it reinforced what she was trying
to accomplish in her business and in her life.
Dhalwala has operated three successful
restaurants (Vij’s, Rangoli and Shanik in Seattle), written cookbooks,
created a line of frozen entrées, raised two daughters, and organized events
like the Joy of Feeding at the UBC Farm, as well as sitting on the board of the
Vancouver Farmers Market.But food is complicated stuff, and no one knows this better than Dhalwala. When she was younger, she worked on human rights and economic development projects with non-profits and earned a master’s degree in international development studies. Running a restaurant confirmed her perception that making food sustainable is rooted in practical things like the hard costs of operating a business — taking care of her staff, paying rent, taxes, etc.
To celebrate the 15-year anniversary of Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon launching the 100-Mile Diet on The Tyee, Penguin Random House Canada, publisher of the book that grew out of the series, is for this week only dropping the price of the e-book version from $13.99 to $4.99 on all platforms. The discount is available from Sunday, June 28 to Sunday, July 5. Click here to get it. Fill your plate!
In other words, for Dhalwala, the 100-Mile Diet is merely, as its authors intended, an ideal, not a prescription. Exhibit A: basmati rice, the core ingredient at the restaurants she helped found. The basmati rice she uses comes from one distinct area in India. As Dhalwala says, “It’s like champagne in France; if it’s not from that region, technically, it’s not champagne.”
In fact, every ingredient that goes into the food she serves has to be carefully considered. Most of the legumes and beans she uses are from Canada — chickpeas from Saskatchewan, for example. But is it better to use field-grown tomatoes from California as opposed to the hot house variety from B.C.? What about lamb for the restaurant’s famous lamb popsicles?
“I’ve done my research, and the carbon footprint of New Zealand lamb is still less than lamb from Canada,” says Dhalwala. That matters, because, as she admits, “Food is my big fat contribution to climate change.” Meaning that some of the far-flung ingredients she uses in her restaurant have created a significant carbon footprint in the way they are cultivated and transported.
Born in India and raised in the U.S., “I come from two different cultures,” says Dhalwala. When Vij’s opened with only 14 seats, she didn’t know that much about cooking. She’d never worked in a restaurant or even bussed tables. But more and more people came. When Vij’s moved to a location on Granville and 11th, the stage was set for massive success, as anyone who ever waited in line can attest. With an all-female kitchen staff, things operated very differently than more male-dominated restaurants — less Hell’s Kitchen Gordon Ramsay-type screaming and more quiet dignity and simply getting the job done without histrionics.
Much of this approach comes down to Dhalwala’s own clear and matter-of-fact communication. She speaks her mind forthrightly and is committed to radical transparency, a policy that extends to her thoughts on the vagaries of the restaurant and food industry.
“Food culture is largely about ambiance and design. Social media has contributed to this,” she says. “The advent of Food TV is also a big factor. Restaurants are renovating every few years. The razor-thin margins [in the industry] aren’t just about the food, they’re also about atmosphere.”
This emphasis on fashion sometimes has the effect of prioritizing cool experiences over the best ingredients, an inversion of values she finds confounding. “Someone can buy Jimmy Choo shoes, but they don’t want to spend money on food.”
On the flipside, there are foodie communities that go in entirely the opposite direction. Dhalwala talks about a seeing a vacation package in the Galapagos that offered an immersion in slow food eating, where a week’s stay cost upwards of $10,000.
“I was just shocked that ‘slow-food’ eating — the way we all should, could, would if all the food politics and economics were just — has now become a luxury tourist attraction. I’m not sure that was the mandate for the slow food movement. I get that there are luxury five-star food trips, but this was particularly marketing ‘slow food’ and eating local in Galapagos.”
What is elitist and exclusionary in both these models is fundamentally at odds with Dhalwala’s purpose with food. She prizes food for its power to build community through sharing.
Community is at the heart of the original 100-Mile Diet ethos. Creators Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon have said their idea was not to lash people into lonely adherence into an all-or-nothing way of eating, but to celebrate local food and how making it can bring people together.
As Smith says in an interview with her and MacKinnon that started this series, “I often think about how we got invited to speak a lot in the heartland states in America. We spoke to a lot of audiences who would probably be called Republican, and they were responding to different aspects of the book than Democrats were, but they were some of our most receptive fans in the U.S. It made me think that there are ways to overcome the political divide. And that’s an incredibly useful lesson for today.”
“I really appreciate the connection that I have with the people who produce my food,” adds MacKinnon, “some of whom I count as friends.”
Still, Dhalwala points out that if you’re poor and sharing a meal, buying local won’t be a top priority, saving money must be. “My basic, general view regarding the 100-Mile Diet is that while most movements that draw attention to healthy sustainable eating, foraging and purchasing are good and helpful to this cause of food-climate change, I don’t believe this kind of eating lifestyle is one that most people can adopt. Especially immigrants who bring their cuisines with them.”
Smith and MacKinnon might respond, as they have emphasized in the past, that they never set out to advocate for trendy or expensive cuisine. “There are other ways of saving money on local food that people haven’t fully delved into yet,” observed Smith, including “growing some food yourself, cooking with fewer ingredients, preserving foods in season, or just being selective in what you buy locally.”
“The 100-Mile Diet was an experiment,” noted MacKinnon. “It was something we did in an unusually strict manner in order to explore our local food system and how possible it was to live off of it. But we never said in the book or in our talks that people should only ever eat local food. But we really felt strongly that more of us should be able to eat more local food for so many reasons, first and foremost for the pleasure of it.”
At the heart of Dhalwala’s complicated relationship with the local food movement is her effort to connect cultural communities through sharing their distinctive cuisines. On her side is the fact that food is so personal and familiar, conveying comfort and a sense of belonging. But food is also political, sometimes in ways hard to directly address.
Serving across borders. One among many cooks Meeru Dhalwala helped
recruit from different immigrant communities for the Joy of Feeding fundraisers
for the UBC Farm, which is itself a local food production showcase. The people who attended the markets didn’t reflect the diversity of Vancouver’s population. Perhaps that was because some immigrants considered the offerings too expensive or they didn’t relate to the idea that shopping is an “event.” Maybe they picked up signals they didn’t belong. She admits that her experience of going to farmers markets in Vancouver is very different from other places. “My daughter says she hates the music.”
Still there is something about the act of cooking and eating together that bridges all kinds of cultural differences. A remarkable example of this was Joy of Feeding, an event that Dhalwala organized with Terra Bread’s Mary MacKay for five years. As a fundraiser for the UBC farm, the premise was to invite home cooks to make a favourite recipe and serve it up to more than 700 people.
“I wanted to hold this in a farm setting where sustainably farmed food is grown to make an emotional, triangular connection between whole foods, cultures and cooking. Unless we know what to do with local, unprocessed foods, we will never be able to support and appreciate local farming in any large scale, meaningful way,” said Dhalwala, by way of an earlier mission statement for the event. Basic to the experience: joy.
“Joy doesn’t necessarily have to come from the actual cooking, but it does come from feeding family and friends. The most affordable and healthy way to enjoy local and organic produce is to cook it at home. Feeding your family a home cooked, healthy meal and gathering in one place to eat together is the best way to nourish your loved ones’ bodies and emotional well-being.”
At one Joy of Feeding event, a sunny afternoon in June, Dan Mangan played the guitar and sang to clutches of people dotted about on the grass eating spot prawn ceviche, Vietnamese green papaya salad, sweet fry bread, and generally being blissed out. I was there and I recall a sense of everyone being involved and marvelling at the mixture of cultures, people and culinary traditions.
“There is no word for privacy in the Hindi language,” she explains, “nor is there really a word for loneliness.” Which is why Meeru Dhalwala uses a single word to sum up her approach to food, business, life: “inclusiveness.”
Inclusiveness in preparing food, she says, means not only getting various people involved but also guides how food is procured — ideally, from a local source, but not necessarily. When she looks for ingredients she starts by buying “as many as possible from B.C. But not 100 miles and not strictly.”
No budging, for sure, on the basmati rice.
The time
for bold ideas is now.
The world as we know it is in flux. All normal
systems of how we live our lives, get our food, work and socialize have been
interrupted because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. We need media that not only report on what’s happening today, but what could be possible for tomorrow.
Since 2003, The Tyee has been doing in-depth reporting, featuring voices that don’t frequently get featured in news media, and floating possible solutions to our most pressing problems.
Tyee reporting has sparked local food movements, changed laws, and started need conversations. As our society is rapidly changing due to COVID-19, the time for talking about bold solutions is now.
We’re able to do this kind of solutions-focused reporting and make it freely available for all to read because we are supported by a strong core of Tyee readers.
Best of Local: What it means to run a zero-waste shop and why they are on the rise
Zero-waste shops are popping up
across the country. Here's why we should look to reduce our own waste, and who
the business owners making change are.
The next time you pay a visit to the supermarket, glance down to your trolley full of goods and assess just how much plastic you are purchasing.
Quite a lot if my predictions are correct.
And although many of us are buying into government recycling schemes by dropping off waste at recycling centres, we’ve still not entirely bought into the “buy less plastic” mantra, and instead, continue to purchase plastic and recycle.
But what if we stopped buying products that come in plastic and opt for a different approach?
Continue Reading
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Lick the Plate: Luna Grill now offering Beyond Meat options
279
I’m not a chain restaurant kind of guy, but
when one comes along that does it right, I’m on board. A few years back I
described the perfect restaurant to have lunch at that combined fresh,
flavorful ingredients prepared and presented in a manner that does not induce a
mid-afternoon food coma, and that was Luna Grill. 
We’ve all have had that conundrum of having a huge appetite at lunch, then over-indulging in food that weighs us down and can be a detriment to afternoon productivity.
Luna Grill has a menu full of options that offer healthy yet satisfying options that solve that problem in a delicious way.
I’ve actually since expanded my Luna Grill love to dinner, which has proven to be equally rewarding. Their newish location in Encinitas is quite convenient as well.
Recently, continuing the latest evolution in its popular bowl line, Luna Grill announced the rollout of the new Beyond Meat Coastal Med Bowl across all locations.
Priced at a modest (considering the ingredients) $9.95, the bowl features a bounty of complementary ingredients, including Beyond Meat’s seasoned Beyond Beef, basmati rice, torshi, Greek cabbage, tomato and cucumber medley and pickled onions drizzled with tzatziki and Mediterranean pesto.
It’s definitely a unique flavor, and I’m still not clear what the seasoning is in the Beyond Beef, but it’s pretty darn good.
For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past couple of years, Beyond Beef is 100% plant-based ground meat designed to deliver the delicious taste and texture of beef, but made using simple plant-based ingredients without GMOs, soy, gluten or artificially produced ingredients. An easy substitution of tahini for the tzatziki creates a completely vegan dish that is sure to go over big in these parts.
The new Coastal Med Bowl is Luna Grill’s first bowl to feature Beyond Meat products, and it offers a whopping 24 grams of completely plant-based protein. This is their second menu item featuring a Beyond Meat protein — following the addition of the Beyond Burger in 2018.
Another newer addition to the already fabulous menu is the Santorini Bowl, filled with rice, kale, Greek cabbage, couscous, tzatziki, hummus, pickled onions and olives, drizzled with Mediterranean pesto and topped with either grilled chicken or falafel for a vegetarian option. Other bowl line items include a Better Beet Bowl and the El Greco Bowl. I could eat a different one of these bowls for lunch or dinner daily.
And let’s not forget their signature kabob plates, gourmet salads, appetizers (including organic hummus and falafel), wraps, desserts, craft beer and wine.
One of my favorites that goes back a few years and a great example of what I have described as the perfect lunch is their Mediterranean Chicken Salad. It combines chopped all-natural chicken, Israeli couscous, tomato, cucumber, red onion, fresh mint, Italian parsley, green onion and feta cheese tossed in a house vinaigrette and served on a bed of lettuce.
It’s such a flavorful combination of textures and it accomplishes that elusive appetite quelling yet not over-full feeling that I detailed. I could eat this salad several times a week and be perfectly content, but the beauty of Luna Grill is they have an entire menu full of similar dishes.
Another favorite is the sampler platter, which is a good way to get a few tastes and textures on one plate — including the falafel, grape leaves, couscous medley, hummus and pita bread. When doing dinner at Luna, this is consistently ordered to get things started.
Their signature plates include a selection of kabobs, gyros, and seafood options. They all come with a house salad, basmati rice, pita bread, cucumber-yogurt dip, and your choice of carrots or grilled tomato garnish.
Dessert options consist of mini baklava, an amazing carrot cake cookie sandwich, mini- cupcakes and more. Dessert should not be an afterthought here; I sampled one of everything and will be doing more of that as the cookie sandwiches are crazy good.
Luna Grill is really quite affordable given the quality of ingredients and the fast, casual service. They have a full catering menu available as well, which would be a perfect option for business lunches or other events.
Check out North County locations and the full menu at www.lunagrill.com.
More RCEF harvests to come
Rogel Comesario’s farm in Manaoag,
Pangasinan was the center of attention on March 5, 2020 as the first Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement (RCEF) produce was ceremonially harvested.
High-ranking national and regional
government personalities graced the ceremony, engendering a virtual barrio-fiesta
mood. The roaring combine harvester blended well with the output of the
drum-and-lyre corps, and the loud speakers further intensified the noisy but
pleasing rendition. It was musical democracy at its best.
It will be recalled that the
first-ever RCEF seed distribution was done in late October 2019 in Pangasinan.
The big province turned out to be the epicenter of the novel Seed Program,
which, as of March 15, 2020, has distributed over 1.36 million bags of seeds to
more than half million farmers nationwide. The appreciative Comesario, 38,
tells us how he treated his RCEF seeds and how these helped him limit his
production cost to the minimum.
NSIC Rc 222
The memories of the March 5 event
were still vivid in the corners of Rogel’s mind.
“Everything happened so fast. Still,
I was happy my farm was chosen as site of the ceremonial harvesting, and our
barangay was proud of us,” he recollects.
A little more than 4 months ago, the
college-educated farmer braved the long queue of seed distribution. Before this,
he enlisted himself to the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture
(RSBSA).
“The registration was a bit fast
since not all barangays had to go on the same day during the distribution,” he
appreciates the strategy.
When he reached the verification
area, he uttered “Rc 222” – the variety of his choice and one of three
nationally recommended varieties under the RCEF-Seed Program.
“I knew it yields high,” Rogel is
certain.
His first seed distribution
experience ended with him taking home two bags of high-quality seeds at 20kg
each and a folded leaflet titled Gabay sa makabagong pagpapalayan.
“The leaflet had everything we
needed from land preparation to harvesting. It served as our guide and I think
it’s a big help for farmers who are new to rice production,” he says.
When it comes to sowing seeds, water
is Rogel’s priority. It is a good thing that irrigation water is available for
free in his area. He then transplanted the seedlings after 21 days following
the recommendations he read from the leaflet. He admits that the way he managed
his farm was based on the PalayCheck System.
As the Rc 222 seedlings grew on his
1-ha farm, he noticed that they were unlike other varieties, describing them as
“pure” and “full”. The crop stand was also strong and sturdy and “not like the
others that looked soft”.
“Walang halo!” he exclaims. Rogel
also observed that they were slightly tolerant to rice bacterial blight.
Savings and profit
The free seeds helped Rogel save
P1,500 – the cost that he used to pay for a 40kg bag of seeds, and P2,000 for
the free irrigation.“I always follow the recommended seeding rate and I noticed
that it is more than enough because I would even collect excess seedlings after
planting,” the father of three shares.
He says other farmers would even use
three bags of seeds at 50kg each per hectare, thereby spending more than
necessary.
With Rc 222, Rogel harvested 145
bags at 55-60kg each (fresh palay) or 7.9t/ha. Before, he used to harvest
5-6t/ha. He then sold it at P18.50/kg – a much better price than the P12-14/kg
rate in 2019.
Second time’s a charm
After the ceremonial harvesting at
his farm, Rogel once again lined up during the seed distribution for 2020 wet
season planting and received two bags of Rc 222 anew.
He has yet to plant the seeds, but
he vows to share what he has learned to his fellow farmers.
“As an agriculture graduate and a
member of the agriculture committee in our barangay council, I want to convince
my fellow farmers to follow the recommended seeding rate,” the Kagawad asserts.
He sees this advice as crucial in
terms of lowering production cost while achieving higher yield.
The Pangasinan State University
alumnus also suggests to program implementers to make the seed distribution in
tune with the planting calendar of a certain area.
“Germination rate is important that
is why it would be good if the farmer-beneficiaries would get the free seeds at
the right time,” he recommends.
Frontliners
As he readies for the wet season
crop, the country joins the whole world in battling a global pandemic called
COVID-19. It has become more challenging for our farmers like Rogel to produce
food.
“We are lucky to have been given the
certificate allowing us to continue farm activities,” he says thankfully.
As a silver lining, calls for local
government units (LGU) to buy palay directly from farmers have resonated.
“It is a good idea so long as the
LGUs will buy our produce at a better price than the traders,” he rationalizes.
Despite the uncertain times, there
is no reason to doubt our farmers’ resiliency. As the seed program moves to its
second season of implementation, Rogel Comesario is hopeful that his first
harvest from RCEF seeds won’t be his last.
PhilRice-bred Cordillera varieties released
Photo by: Donna Cris P. Corpuz
Our breeders scored high in 2019 as
the National Seed Industry Council released 10 of their new varieties.
NSIC 2019 Rc 522H (Mestiso 103), is
a hybrid variety released on March 11, 2019 – a product of PhilRice-UP Los
Baños collaboration.
The other new varieties are four
rainfed (NSIC 2019 Rc 568, Rc 572, Rc 574, and Rc 578); one saline (Rc 558);
and 4 coldtolerant (Rc 560, Rc 563, Rc 564, Rc 566).
The cold-tolerant rices are also
known as Cordillera 1, 2, 3, and 4 bred by a team led by Thelma F. Padolina,
now our senior research fellow.
First of its kind
Padolina said these varieties were
bred specifically to suit growing conditions in high-elevated areas in the
Philippines. Varieties planted in fields 800 meters above sea level need to
have tolerance to cold temperatures to produce decent yields. The Cordillera
series can thrive in lower than 18.8 degrees Celsius, which is not a
comfortable temperature for ordinary rice.
The new varieties also have good
eating quality. Based on amylose content, they are comparable to NSIC Rc 160,
the now popular aromatic variety also bred by Padolina. The cold-tolerant
rices, however, mature longer at 142-145 days.
The Cordillera series have moderate
resistance to blast, which is widespread in highly elevated areas. “These are
of the indica-japonica cross, meaning they have semi-circular or bold grains.
This results in high milling recovery at 70%, compared with the national
average of 65%,” Padolina explained.
She also shared that their names were
decided by a technical working group. Varietal names should also depict the
ecosystem that they were made for: tubigan , sahod-ulan , salinas , and katihan
.
“Since Cordillera is a high-elevated
area, we figured out that this name would make it obvious that the varieties
are cold-tolerant. For the first time, ‘Cordillera’ was borrowed to popularly
identify rice varieties,” the principal breeder who compulsorily retired in
2015 said.
Worth waiting for Padolina recalled
that Cordillera 1, 2, 3, 4 already passed the standards of the National
Cooperative Tests in 2010. However, it took some 10 years before these were
finally released owing to a shift in research priority, where adverse
conditions became less priority.
“I understand that there’s
constraint when it comes to budget, so we had to prioritize the major
ecosystems in our country. Our cool-elevated areas are much smaller. Most of
them are in the Cordillera region in Luzon and in Bukidnon in Mindanao,”
Padolina pointed out.
But she did not abandon her research
on cold-tolerant varieties by holding on to her partners and other externally
funded projects.
Her Germplasm Utilization for Value
Added (GUVA) collaboration helped her to include materials in the project’s
testing site in Benguet, a cool-elevated area.
Padolina also joined the Temperate
Rice Research Consortium of the International Rice Research Institute, together
with temperate countries such as Turkey, Russia, Egypt, and USA. The germplasms
from 23 countries under the consortium, including the Cordillera series, were
tested in South Korea, where field screening has automated temperatures.
Under this consortium, our
Cordillera series showed comparable performance to materials from USA, with
each group scoring a 5 (moderate cold-tolerant) under the screening temperature
of 17 degrees Celsius.
The Cordillera materials then
underwent on-farm trials in PhilRice Isabela in 2015-2017, and in Benguet as
well.
Gearing for the next step
After their approval, the next step
is commercialization. Nucleus and basic seeds of these varieties are now housed
at PhilRice.
The varieties are to reckon with
Participatory Performance Testing and Validation (PPTV) in target sites by 2021
dry season to customize their adaptability. By that time, breeders would have
already ensured the authenticity of the seeds, including those for the PPTV.
Breeder and foundation seeds will also be propagated.
“In PPTV, released varieties are
tested in farmers’ fields depending upon the requests of the regions,” the
seasoned breeder added.
Padolina explained the need to
develop cold-tolerant varieties.
“Climate change makes the world a
little more challenging than it was before. Varieties no longer excel very long
in the field. Based on studies, they need to be replaced every 3-5 years.”
Until now, cool-elevated areas are
still not classified under adverse conditions. The focus is on areas with high
temperature.
“History has it that the last
cool-elevated variety released was NSIC Rc 104. It was made available under
JICA, and I was one of the breeders who worked on it,” she added.
Padolina cited pests mutation,
technology change, and diversity in environment as to why farmers need
location-specific varieties like the Cordillera series. “The thing is, no one
can really breed a perfect variety.”
RCEF seed deliveries reach 2M mark; farmers laud
program
A farmer from San Simon, Pampanga happily smiled in
front of the camera after receiving his share of high-quality certified inbred
seeds from RCEF.
The Rice Competitiveness Enhancement
Fund (RCEF)-Seed Program recently delivered 2 million bags of certified inbred
seeds in 950 municipalities in the country, hitting 85% of the program’s
target.
Dr. Flordeliza Bordey, deputy
executive director of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research
Institute (DA-PhilRice), said that as of June 21, PhilRice had turned over
2,125,952 bags of certified inbred seeds (20kg/bag) in 55 provinces.
“From this delivery, the local
government units have distributed almost 1.5 million bags to about 480,000
farmers. With the continued strong support of the local government units, we
have surpassed our total deliveries during the previous planting season,”
Bordey said.
Among regions, the economist said
RCEF-Seed Program finished its deliveries in Central Luzon and Zamboanga
Peninsula. Meanwhile, seed provision in Cagayan Valley and SOCCSKSARGEN is
nearly completed at 93-99%.
In Talavera, Nueva Ecija,
62-year-old farmer Jesse Isidro Cuaresma is leading the organization he formed
– Farmers’ Association of Bakal II – with more than a hundred members, in
response to the advice that rice growers can benefit more from the program if
they group together.
“We were told that if farmers are
organized into associations, we will have more opportunities in availing of
agricultural intervention from the government; and so we did. These RCEF seeds
are good news to us. Although they’re given free, these seeds are really
high-yielding and of high quality,” said Cuaresma, whose harvest in April spiked
to 180-200cav/ha from his usual 80cav/ha. He planted NSIC Rc 222 in his 2-ha
farm.
Crossing five rivers to reach the
distribution drop-off point together with fellow farmers, Resurreccion
Mansinaging said she is encouraged to continue farming with the program’s
support.
“I received NSIC Rc 216 and planted
it on my ¾ hectare. I’m thankful that [the program] reached us despite the
remoteness of our place,” Mansinaging, a Manobo rice tiller from Pigcawayan,
Cotabato, said.
Meanwhile, Charlou Anito of Tago,
Surigao del Sur said that in her more than a decade of farming, she received
for the first time, agricultural aid thru the RCEF Program.
“Thanks to the RCEF program for
giving us free and high-quality seeds. For 15 years of rice farming, I never
imagined to receive this kind of help. I got NSIC Rc 222 last planting season
and I was amazed because my yield was so good; it reached 144cav/ha! Farming is
now more convenient,” she said.
With the farmers’ good feedback,
program implementers expect that the seeds already distributed will be planted
in more than 500,000ha.
The RCEF-Seed Program, which is a
component of Republic Act 11203 or Rice Tariffication Law signed by Pres.
Rodrigo Duterte, allots P10 billion fund every year for the rice farmers.
Sponsored by Sen. Cynthia Villar, the program is a six-year government
initiative to help the farmers compete in the international rice market. The
local government units and lawmakers assist in its implementation.
PhilRice leads the RCEF-Seed Program
and is the government’s lead agency on rice research and development mandated
to help ensure a rice-secure Philippines. With eight stations across the
country, its programs and projects are in line with the DA’s “Masaganang Ani,
Mataas na Kita” battlecry. For more information about the Institute’s program,
queries can be sent thru PhilRice Text Center (0917 111 7423) or email
prri.mail@philrice.gov.ph.
RCEF training programs for farmers to continue
Photo by: Jayson C. Berto
Training programs for farmers
covered by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) under the Rice
Tariffication Law will continue while ensuring healthy and safety practices in
its activities to minimize COVID-19 risk.
“There will be modifications in
learning approach and delivery to optimize learning under the new normal. It is
going to be different and difficult for the implementing agencies and the
trainees but we need to fulfill our mission,” said Dr. Rosana Mula, chair of
RCEF-Rice Extension Services Program (RESP) Technical Working Group (TWG) and
Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Training
Institute (DA-ATI).
Mula said the Farmers’ Field School
(FFS) on the production of high-quality inbred rice and seeds, and farm
mechanization conducted by farm schools was redesigned to minimize number of
contact days while ensuring that rice production principles and practices at
critical growth stages are taught, including financial literacy.
Mula added that the FFS is
complemented with radio-based education, technical briefings during seed
distribution, and information materials in various formats.
Within six years, some 2 million
farmers are expected to be reached on modern rice production using various
learning platforms, while a critical mass of 300,000 farmers are expected to
enroll as scholars of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA) in the season-long FFS.
More specialists and trainers will
also be guided to help farmers address their field problems and mechanize their
operations.
Dr. Karen Eloisa T. Barroga, vice
chair of RESP TWG and deputy executive director for development at
DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), said the Rice Specialists
Training Course (RSTC) will soon pilot-test combined online lectures with
hands-on, face-to-face learning.
“The course aims to develop high
level of technical skills such as field problems diagnostic skills to be able
to help farmers. However, given our situation, we will now require trainees to
establish techno demos right at their areas and come to PhilRice for only a
week for their field practicum. The
trainees will also attend online lectures and exercises, analyze case studies,
and collect pest specimens,” Barroga explained.
PhilRice, which leads the RSTC, had
already produced 30 graduates with 112 farmer-graduates from Llanera and Rizal
in Nueva Ecija, whom they trained on rice and seed production using the
PalayCheck System. Graduates were mostly
from the regional offices of DA and ATI.
Before the Luzon-wide lockdown, two
batches of RSTC were on-going, which comprised the regional staff from ATI and
DA in Visayas and Mindanao and from TESDA. Arrangements are being made for
course completion.
For trainers, about 40 training of
trainers courses are scheduled to be conducted, while some 200-300 graduates of
previous rice production season-long training courses will be provided with an
online refresher course developed by PhilRice and ATI. The refresher course is
offered via ATI’s eLearning site at
www.e-extension.gov.ph/elearning.
Philippine Center for Postharvest
Development and Mechanization (DA-PHilMech) will also ensure training of
specialists and trainers on rice machine operation and maintenance, and
management of farmers’ coops and associations that received machines from RCEF.
TESDA Sec. Isidro S. Lapeña
emphasized the need for more trainers under the RCEF-RESP, “… when we extend
the knowledge we learned from training, we are basically lifting farmers from
poverty. If we are able to do that, everything else will follow”.
Aside from training programs,
RCEF-RESP also distributed production guides to farmer-beneficiaries. As of
this writing, about 400,000 farmers had received the guide on modern rice
farming during seed distribution.
RESP is a component of Republic Act
11203 or Rice Tariffication Law, which allots P1 billion every year to enhance
capacities of rice farmers to become competitive in rice production. Sponsored
by Sen. Cynthia Villar, the program is a six-year government initiative to help
the farmers compete in the international rice market. For more information
about the program, queries can be sent thru ATI (0920 946 2474).
Phil Rice News
