Rift between Sindh Balochistan Rice
Millers
LARKANA:
February 18, 2015. (nazir Siyal) A rift between Sindh Balochistan Rice Millers
and Traders Association (SBRMTA) representatives of 1500 Rice millers in Sindh
after rift and allegations of removal of three REAP-Rice Export Association of
Pakistan members in SBRMTA told President Mr. Abro.Whereas, the removed members
among Haji Ismail Shaikh, Zubari Memon and angry office bearers have decided to
removal of President SBRMTA Abdul Aziz Abro by legally way presenting no
confidence vote in upcoming CEC meeting to be held on 22 February
2015.President SBRMTA Abdul Aziz Abro told this scribe that over hundreds
members and general body called on the issue and decided to removal of these
three members and further told that they have misused of export the Sindh Rice
in spite Punjab Rice and billions of rice could not be exported of Sindh he
alleged.
While addressing the press conference Senior
Vice President Haji Qamaruddin Gopang, General Secretary Assad Ali Tunio
revealed that the SBRMTA President Abdul Aziz Abro has violated bylaws of
organization and take extra constitutional steps by sacking three office
bearers without seeking approval from executive committee and general body, he
imposing his favorite which is violation of rules and organization
constitution. They said that President Abdul Aziz Abro had no power to
personally set-aside any office bearer it was delegated powers to executive
committee and general body to decide and remove legal way, alleged him that due
to his poor policies, rice mill owners and traders have faced loss of millions
of rupees, President was unable to address the issues of rice millers, they
said.
They
alleged Mr Abro wanted to shift the head office to Karachi from Larkana to
facilitate himself and his favorites without consent of members and legal way,
any dictatorial steps will be dealt with stiff resistance.Leaders told that 11
office bearers out of 15 are against the policies of President and supporting
to convene the executive committee to table no confidence requisition against
the President Abdul Aziz Abro on 22 February 2015.Former President Gada Hussain
Mahessar told media men that Mr Abro has imposed martial law in Sindh
Balochistan Rice Millers and Traders Association and inflicted the loss to
organization by introducing dictatorial decisions.
It
is pertinent to mention here that President SBRMTA Abdul Aziz Abro had removed
three members of Rice Exporters Pakistan including General Secretary Asad Ali
Tunio, Ismail Shaikh and one other.On the occasion Vice President Amanullah
Shaikh, Treasurer Ramesh Lal and others were present.
Source with thanks: http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/headlinenewsd.php?hnewsid=5190
Aerobic cropping a good fit
ANDREW MARSHALL
23 Feb, 2015 03:00 AM
THE southern NSW rice industry is hoping to lift its water use
efficiency by tapping into achievements being made by the fledgling North
Queensland sector where it grows as a row crop.Unlike the traditional paddy
rice crop, the current 350 hectares planted in raised bed rows in the
sub-tropical north represent a groundbreaking shift into commercial
"aerobic" rice cropping.About 12 farms, mostly in the Burdekin
Valley, now grow rice as a break crop on sugar cane country, supplementing the
region's 900-plus millimetre annual rainfall with irrigation waterings in much
the same way cotton, maize or soybeans are grown.
While weed management is still being refined and
yields vary widely from five tonnes to 10t/ha, more farmers are keen get
involved. Some as far north as Tully or in Central Queensland at Emerald have
already given it a try.National rice marketer SunRice is encouraging research
efforts which could use northern crop experience, combined with breeding for
better plant root development and cold tolerance traits, to make Australia's
800,000t-plus rice industry more water efficient.
Via its subsidiary Rice Research Australia, SunRice
also hopes to enhance characteristics found in temperate climate varieties
grown in NSW Murrumbidgee and Murray valley's to lift Queensland
yields.Researchers are also working hard to breed for improved resistance to
the internationally prevalent tropical fungus, rice blast.Rice blast has been a
major impediment to expanding the crop into northern Australia, particularly in
the Ord irrigation areas.For the time being, however, SunRice chief executive
officer Rob Gordon regarded the Burdekin Valley as opening up an exciting new
chapter for his industry.He said the Burdekin region, which previously grew
ponded rice in the 1980s and '90s, had potential to expand the 80-year-old
industry's production footprint and help boost rice exports at a time when
Australian production was lagging well behind export needs.
Andrew
Marshallis the
national agribusiness writer for Fairfax Agricultural Media
Muse rice traders hoping New Years brings better luck
By Zaw
Htike | Sunday, 22 February 2015
Muse-based rice traders are hopeful that the
Year of the Sheep will improve their fortunes. Rice exports to China have
plummeted to almost nothing from peaks of 2000 tonnes a day following a series
of raids conducted by Chinese customs on allegedly illegal rice importers on
the Chinese side of the border.
The
Muse commodity exchange centre is closed for Chinese New Year from February 18
to 25. said Muse-base rice trader U Min Thein. “We hope trade will improve
after the festival. We’re optimistic.”The customs raids carried out between
September and November were followed by a respite. But since the end of
January, the raids have resumed with particular severity, traders say. One of
the country’s leading rice exporters, who asked not to be named, said, “This
time, the customs went looking for imported Myanmar rice in the rice mills and
warehouses in Ruili.
They arrested some Chinese traders who had
imported rice from Myanmar. This is worse than before.” He added that the
crackdown had blocked exports of rice from Ayeyarwady, Bago, Sagaing, Yangon
and Mandalay regions. “Over a 10-day period, about 1 million rice bags were
blocked in Muse. We have no idea what will happen next,” he said.On the other
hand, the Myanmar and Chinese governments have been working since the middle of
last year to formalise the rice trade between them.
The two sides signed a Memorandum of
Understanding last September, and the Myanmar Rice Federation has designated
nine companies that will register to export high-quality rice officially to
China, perhaps as early as the end of April or early May.The federation says it
expects to export at least 1 million tonnes of rice to China officially in 2015.In
2013-2014, Myanmar exported 800,000 tonnes of rice to China through Muse.Image: Exports prepare
cargo at 105 Mile export zone near Muse. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing
Food segment outperforms peers in
manufacturing
Mohiuddin Aazim
GROWING domestic and foreign demand, coupled with efficient
e-marketing and backed by bank lending, are fueling the growth of the lucrative
food business.In FY12, when overall growth in large-scale manufacturing was just 1.2pc, food sector’s output grew by 6.4pc.
In FY13, the food sector’s growth of 9.4pc beat overall LSM growth of 4.3pc and
in FY14 production of food, beverages and tobacco companies expanded 7.16pc
against aggregate LSM output increase of 3.95pc, official statistics show.The
changes in output of food sector is computed on the basis of variations in
production of around 1900 companies of which the number of tobacco companies is
no more than a dozen or so.
________________________________________
Some success stories, particularly
those of big food companies, get public attention while a vast majority of
smaller food firms do not come under spotlight
________________________________________
The
stats, therefore, reflect more or less a true picture of what’s happening in
the food sector.Wheat, sugar and rice milling make up the core of food business
with rice millers regularly catering to foreign buyers as well, and wheat and
sugar millers tapping foreign markets off and on.Maize being the country’s
fourth major food crop has huge export potential and in recent years Pakistan
has been exporting more of value-added corn products than the mere maize
grains.
Moreover,
dairy, meat and seafood sectors’ output has been growing on the back of higher
domestic demand due to growth of population, urbanisation and income levels,
annual economic surveys of the last few years reveal. Exports of dairy, meat
and fish and fish products, too, have recorded a modest to high growth.Also,
business groups with focus elsewhere have realised how profitable it is to be in
food sector and have accordingly ventured into it or, if they were already in
this business, expanded their production capacity.That is why, in recent years
food companies, including multinationals, have witnessed robust growth in sales
and profits.Half yearly sales of Nestle Pakistan, for example, rose to Rs50.3bn
between January-June 2014 from Rs42.4bn a year-ago and its net profit swelled
to Rs4.6bn from Rs3.5bn.The company’s full year sales had increased two and
half times within five years, from Rs34.2bn in 2008 to Rs86.2bn in 2013.
And,
its net profit had surged from Rs1.55bn to Rs5.86bn.Engro Foods’ net sales also
increased to Rs12.4bn in the fourth quarter of 2014 from Rs9.9bn a year ago. In
full year 2014, too, the company reported sales of Rs43bn against that of
Rs37.9bn in 2013 which quadrupled its net profits to Rs889m from
Rs210m.Similarly, Unilever Pakistan Foods’ sales grew to Rs4.105bn in the first
half of 2014 from Rs3.465bn a year-ago and its net profit increased to Rs619m
from Rs 469m. Earlier the company’s sales had surged to about Rs6.96bn in FY13
from around Rs5.86bn in 2012 and its net profit had reached Rs1bn, up from
about Rs729m.These are just glimpses of how food is performing but reflects a
trend not setting in, but taking roots.Most of the non-listed companies are
also doing good business taking advantage of low cost of production and highly
diversified market in terms of purchasing power of the middle class
end-consumers.
The
food companies’ successes are attributed to growing demand of processed and
value-added items on the back of a growing trend of processed food
consumption.Fusing foreign demand for Pakistani food items has increased
exports of fruits and vegetables, pulses, spices, nuts, meat, fish and other
seafood, dairy products and hundreds of other items. Dollar earnings of all
food items, (minus rice, wheat and sugar), increased from $1.762bn in FY11 to
$2.023bn in FY12 to $2.256bn in FY13 before slipping to $2.167bn in the last
fiscal year. Behind the increasing trend in these food items are success
stories of dozens of large and thousands of small food companies engaged in
production or value-addition of food products.
Whereas
some success stories particularly those of big food companies get public
attention, a vast majority of smaller food sector companies do not come under
spotlight.The strong performance of food business has attracted bank lending,
making it possible for producers and exporters of various sub-sectors to build
capacity and improve quality of their products. In FY14, banks net loans to
food sector rose to Rs26bn from Rs16bn in FY13. And in the first half of this
fiscal year banks’ have so far lent Rs15bn to this sector, SBP stats reveal.As
more and more food companies continue to obtain international standardisation
certificates, bankers say they find it easier to lend to them. The
certification enables the industry to sell more to high-end local markets and
boost exports with better returns required to repay bank loans.
Published
in Dawn, Economic & Business, February 23rd, 2015
Green Revolutions 2.0 & 3.0: No farmer left behind
Written
by Gene Hettel.
Several
million of the world's poorest farmers are already adopting one of the first
new technologies of the second Green Revolution (GR2.0)—flood-tolerant rice!
This was the optimistic pronouncement of
Robert Zeigler,
director general of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), during
his keynote address to kick off the
4th International Rice Congress(IRC2014)
in Bangkok on 28 October 2014. More than 1,500 delegates from 69 countries
attended the week-long IRC, touted as the Olympics of Rice Science.
Start of GR2.0 pinpointed
It is
thanks to one farmer, Mr. Asha Ram Pal from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,
that Dr. Zeigler pinpoints, at least in his opinion, the exact start of GR2.0.
It was 31.07.2008 13:17 (1:17 in the afternoon of 31 July 2008)—the exact
moment in time when, ignoring the advice of his neighbors by showing faith in
the science, Mr. Pal decided not to plow under his severely flood-ravaged and
sick-looking rice crop on his 1-hectare field that had been submerged for
around 17 days across two floods.
Well,
those rice plants with the
SUB1 flood-tolerance
gene recovered to yield 4.5 tons, a good yield for
any rainfed paddy in the world!
"This
was—unambiguously— the start of GR2.0," Dr. Zeigler said, "because
for any agricultural revolution to be successful, farmers must adopt the
product of the science. Since then, Sub1 rice varieties have spread like
wildfire in eastern India and other regions where flooding is a perennial
problem for farmers growing their crop in such marginal environments."
According
to the internationally respected plant pathologist who has led IRRI for the
last 9 years, the new technology can be attributed primarily to high-level and
high-quality science—science publishable in the top scientific journals in the
world—brought to bear on the problems in farmers' fields.
Indeed,
one
scientific study indicated
that "the scheduled castes are likely to be a major beneficiary from the
spread of Swarna-Sub1 in India. "When I read this last paragraph of the
study, I literally got goose bumps," he told the delegates. "The
scheduled castes are the lowest of the low. So, this technology—the most exquisite
research from some of the finest laboratories in the world—is significantly
benefiting the poorest of the poor. Now if that is not scientific revolution, I
don’t know what is. It gives me great pride to be a scientist and to be
associated with the people who have done this work."
GR3.0 will stagger the imagination
"GR2.0's
run will be fruitful—and quicker than GR1.0—particularly for farmers in
marginal weather- sets the stage for GR1.0 stressed environments," Dr.
Zeigler predicted. He said there is a very wide array of problems, previously
thought to be absolutely insurmountable, that researchers can now address more
rapidly using the scientific tools coming out of parallel high-science
revolutions in genetics, molecular biology, and plant physiology.
According
to Dr. Zeigler, GR2.0 is allowing researchers to successfully meet great
challenges with unprecedented research efforts that will result in unparalleled
impact—ranging from mining the rice genomes and wild relatives of rice for
needed traits to developing climateready rice and from fighting human
malnutrition with more nutritious rice to better management of water and
nutrient resources in farmers' rice fields.
"Over
the next 10 to 20 years, during which GR2.0 will phase into GR3.0, we will
seize opportunities for sustainable rice production in ways that will stagger
our imagination," he confidently forecasted. In another bold prediction,
he envisions the start of GR3.0 sometime around 2030 when farmers start
planting yield
plateau-busting C4 and nitrogen-fixing rice varieties and
consumers begin finding broad-based
nutritious rice in the marketplace.
Summarizing the GR series
Dr.
Zeigler summarized for the delegates what he calls the ongoing Green Revolution
Series. "GR1.0, which basically built a high-yield plant architecture
adapted to the low-stress environments, is justly criticized for benefitting
only farmers in those relatively stress-free areas," he said. "GR2.0
is incorporating tolerance to severe stresses and additional nutritional value
and ultimately, as already mentioned, is leaving no farmer behind. GR3.0 will
accelerate the evolution of the rice plant itself. It will effectively produce
designer rice by leaving no Oryzaspecies
untapped."
Young scientists will lead the charge
During a
media briefing following his keynote, Dr. Zeigler told reporters that leading
the charge of the sciencebased GR2.0 and 3.0 is the next crop of vibrant,
intelligent, and caring young scientists. They are in league with IRRI through
the
Global Rice Science Partnership and its five rice-breeding hubs in Asia,
Africa, and Latin America. Many attended their first-ever International Rice
Congress in Bangkok. Twentynine of these young rice scientists were chosen to
present their research during the science sessions and they were formally
recognized for this notable achievement during the IRC gala dinner (photo
above)."The future of rice science is at stake because without new blood
in the experiment plots and laboratories, the outlook for a continuing GR2.0
would be grim and there wouldn’t even be a GR3.0," he warned reporters.
Source with thanks:IRRI
A passion for growing rice in Venezuela
Written
by Adriana Varón Molina.
Finding a way to increase rice production in
the country with the largest petroleum reserves in the world—and thus ample
means to pay for imports—has posed a colossal challenge for Venezuela’s farmers
over the last 4 decades. Today, they produce about 1 million tons of paddy rice
annually—down 300,000 tons from 8 years ago. But the country’s rice sector is
working hard to regain its strength of an earlier 20-year period, when it not
only met local demand but also exported its surplus to its neighboring countries.
For now,
though, Venezuelan growers can supply only 65% of the rice consumed
domestically— about 1.2 million tons. According to Pedro Luis Cordero,
president of the
National
Rice Foundation (Fundarroz), the breaking point for the country's rice
growers came in 2006, when the government changed the rules of the game,
pushing production in both the public and private sector to the edge of the
abyss.Since then, growers have been hard pressed to obtain inputs, such as
seed, fertilizer, and replacement parts for agricultural machinery, and have
met with logistical obstacles in transporting harvested grain. Against this
background, a resurgence of rice in Venezuela has just one thing going for it:
an expanding culture of innovation.
Six steps to success
Farmer
Rafael Urdaneta, though originally from the city of San Cristóbal, began
growing rice 23 years ago near Calabozo in the state of Guárico, one of
Venezuela's main rice-growing areas. He has decided to give new crop management
practices a try on his 600 hectares, following to the letter the six key steps
that Fundarroz and the
Latin American Fund for Irrigated Rice (FLAR) are promoting to boost productivity. His
reward is rice yields of 8–11 tons per hectare, well above the national average
of 4.27 tons.
Adjusting
the planting date and density, using treated seed to ward off disease
pathogens, ensuring proper weed control and fertilization, and managing water
adequately are the practices that have made the difference for Mr.
Urdaneta."The key is using exactly the right amount of inputs and planting
at the optimum time to realize the full genetic potential of the improved
varieties," says Mr. Urdaneta, a beneficiary of the Guárico River
Irrigation System. He cites two other factors that also help account for the
unprecedented rice productivity in his fields: direct seeding and his passion
for what he does.
Crazy neighbors
About
500 kilometers away, near Majaguas in the state of Portuguesa, other passionate
farmers are following the six points to success as well, in addition to using
direct seeding in their rice fields. Eubencio Terán, Óscar Álvarez, Venturino
Cicconetti, and Nicola Campo have all exchanged conventional production
practices for the new approach. After several years of trial and error, they
now serve as models for other farmers who visit their fields to see their
secret formula.
"We started rotating rice with other crops
such as maize, sugarcane, and soybean, and we’ve also adopted direct seeding
and now plant in straight lines rather than in contour lines," says Mr.
Cicconetti, who boosted his average rice yield from 5 tons per hectare to 9–11
tons. "We’ve gone from three rice harvests annually to two or just one,
and we’re using newer machinery.
"Mr.
Terán is following Mr. Cicconetti's footsteps. Four years ago, he began
rotating crops on his farm, La Celinera: irrigated rice in the dry season and
rainfed maize in the rainy season. Mr. Terán now harvests 8 tons of rice and 5
tons of maize per hectare. But still, he has set his sights on the goal of
raising the yield of both crops by 2 tons per hectare."Before, people
called me the 'crazy neighbor.' They were convinced that the new technologies
would fail," says Mr. Terán, who has been farming for 25 years.
"There are still some small-scale farmers in this area who are reluctant
to change, but there are also a lot more crazy neighbors like me."
Racing to close yield gaps
In
Venezuela's race to raise rice productivity and close yield gaps, various
organizations deserve recognition for their efforts in support of this work.
FLAR, the
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), and several national
organizations—including Fundarroz, the Western Plains Association of Certified
Seed Producers (Aproscello), the Venezuelan Federation of Rice Producers’
Associations (Fevearroz), the Danac Foundation, and other public and private
sector actors—have joined forces, using their respective experiences with
innovation in technology development, genetic improvement, and marketing to
restore the country’s self-sufficiency in rice.Daniel Brito, a Fundarroz
agronomist and extension officer, is in charge of the program for technology
transfer in the state of Portuguesa.
Every
week, he visits farmers in the region who are following the six steps as well
as those who haven’t yet decided to take the technological leap. "The idea
is to increase the number of rice growers to learn about successful experiences
and to adopt innovative practices on their farms," says Mr.
Brito.According to Fuaz Kassen, the president of Fevearroz, Venezuela's rice
growers can satisfy local demand and cater to Central America and the Caribbean
markets. "The future of rice in Venezuela lies outside the country,"
he says. "We need more capital investment to expand production into new
areas and the adoption of new technologies with state support."Apart from
giving Venezuela plenty of "black gold," nature has provided it with
other riches as well, including fertile land, abundant water, and an ideal
climate. These, together with new technologies, should suffice to allow
innovative rice growers to regain control of the nation’s food security, win
back former clients, and open new pathways toward rice exports.
_____________________________________________
Ms.
Varón Molina is communications coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean
at CIAT.
Source with
thanks:Phil Rice
Amay’s House: A fragrant and rare Myanmarese find
ALEXANDRA GILL
VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Feb. 20 2015, 11:34 PM EST
Last
updated Saturday, Feb. 21 2015, 3:42 PM EST
Aung San
Suu Kyi stares down serenely from a framed portrait hung on a neon-tangerine
wall. Her placid image, a cherished fixture in most Myanmarese homes and
restaurants, doesn’t help calm our mounting impatience.Myanmar’s First Lady of
Freedom may have sustained millions of impoverished followers and their thirst
for democracy during her 15 years of house arrest. But we unworthy gluttons are
obviously impervious to the charms of her Buddhist grace. As fragrant fried
rice, fishy noodle soups and oily curries pile up on nearby tables, we
anxiously drum our fingers, gulp our water and eventually stand up, waving to
the sole server for attention.Oh, for the shame of first-world hunger pains.
The
military junta that controlled Myanmar (formerly Burma) from 1962 to 2011 may
have failed to crush Ms. Suu Kyi’s non-violent resistance. But it did largely
succeed in controlling the migration of the nation’s cuisine with sealed
borders and restrictions on travel.Myanmarese restaurants are relatively rare
in North America.In Vancouver, there are three: Amay’s House, Wahh Tee Burmese
and Laska King (Rangoon closed last month).All have their virtues, but Amay’s
House, open now for almost two years, offers the most extensive menu and
traditional dishes. A modest mom-and-pop eatery, it is owned by Hihaa Kyaw and
his wife, Mya Nyunt.Before they came to Canada in 1996, Mr. Kyaw worked as a
cook at the Inya Lake Hotel, a four-star, colonial-style resort in Yangon
(formerly Rangoon).
He also
trained as a pastry chef, which explains why his prata, a flat-grilled bread
made from layers and layers of oiled dough, is so light and airy – almost like
a thin, crispy croissant. Do try it folded inside a creamy egg omelet that you
can dress with a clear fish sauce with lime juice called ngapi (similar to Thai
nam pla) -- if your ravenous friends don’t beat you to the side bowl and drain
it first. Grrr.Myanmarese cuisine – it still sounds strange not to call it
Burmese – is strongly influenced by the cooking styles of India, Thailand, Cambodia
and China.The first Indian settlers arrived in 250 B.C. – long before the
Tibetans (ninth century A.D.) and the Chinese conquest (1272). Deep, dark
curries – built on a basic paste made from onion, garlic, chili, ginger and
turmeric – are common.
The
paste is heated in a smoking wok, like Chinese cooking, and reduced until the
oil floats to the top. But the flavour isn’t greasy, probably because lighter
peanut and sesame oils are used.Amay’s House makes a fantastic chicken biryani,
slow roasted and richly redolent of cardamom. It’s served on the bone, in a bed
of pale yellow and bright orange saffron-scented basmati rice. The rice was
silky and buttery. Mr. Kyaw wouldn’t reveal his secrets, but we think it was
finished with ghee.Myanmarese cuisine also offers many cold salads, including a
distinctively funky fermented tea leaf salad. The fishy ferment gives the tea a
pungent, murky flavour and its caffeine will leave diners with a jolty buzz.
But when mixed with fresh citrus, red onion, chunky peanuts and crispy lentils,
the salad is actually quite lively and refreshing. (Wahh Tee Burmese actually
makes the brightest version of this ubiquitous dish; Laska King’s was a bit
dark and dreary.)
Even
better, is the ginger salad at Amay’s House. It’s tossed with the same choppy
mix of peanuts, yellow peas, broad beans and sesame seeds. But instead of tea
leaves, slivered ginger root pickled in vinegar is the main ingredient.Royal
noodle salad is one of my new favourite comfort foods. At Amay’s House, the
thick udon noodles (another Chinese influence) are prettily topped with chicken
curry, dried bean powder, fried noodles, fresh cilantro, raw onion and boiled
egg, all separated into their own sections. You pour a bowl of fish soup over
the noodles and mix it yourself.
It’s
hearty and rich, yet again bright and herbaceous. At Wahh Tee Burmese, they add
shrimp powder, which it gives it even more sticky heft.Last but not least on
the must-try list is mohinga. The lightly flavoured catfish chowder, bobbing
with rice noodles and crispy lentil cakes, widely considered Myanmar’s national
dish. All three restaurants make it slightly different. Laska King’s is the
heaviest, almost a stew, laden with extra lentils and a slightly gelled broth.
Wahh Tee has the boldest chili heat, which sneaks up the back of the throat and
slowly seduces.
Amay’s
House is the lightest because, as Mr. Kyaw explained, he uses semolina flour
instead rice flour.Although Amay’s House is the best of the bunch, adventurous
eaters will want to try all three restaurants. Just be patient with poor Ms.
Nyunt, who serves the dishes (alone) as fast as her husband can cook them.
Great food, like freedom, comes to those who wait.
Source with thanks:The Globe and Mail Inc
Saturday, 21 February 2015
13:14
Posted by Parvez Jabri
WASHINGTON:
The United States has pledged continued support for Pakistan's fight against
terror, as Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and White House National
Security Advisor discussed bilateral relations, efforts for regional stability
and the need to align support for Afghan reconciliation.
"They
agreed to continue working together as partners against the threat of terrorism,"
the White House said in a statement, after the meeting."They also
discussed ways to mutually support regional stability in the near term,
highlighting the need to align support for Afghan-led reconciliation efforts
and continue regular US-Pakistani engagement," the statement
added.Ambassador Rice commended the role played by Pakistan's delegation, which
Minister Khan led, at the White House-hosted Summit on Countering Violent
Extremism.President Obama's Special Assistant on Afghanistan and Pakistan Jeff Eggers
joined NSA Rice in the meeting, the Pakistani embassy said.
"The
two leaders exchanged views on matters of mutual interest in both bilateral and
regional context. Expressing satisfaction on the state of play in the bilateral
relationship, both sides agreed to continue the momentum of cooperation
generated in the wake of last Ministerial session of the strategic dialogue
process held in Islamabad."Rice "commended the resolve of the
leadership and people of Pakistan to deal with terrorism in a comprehensive
manner. NSA Rice assured the Interior Minister of the continued US support for
Pakistan's efforts to eliminate terrorism."Noting the timely US initiative
to convene the Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, the Interior Minister
apprised NSA Rice about the ongoing military operations and steps being taken
in follow up to the National Action Plan to eliminate terrorism.Rice
appreciated the sacrifices and commitment of Pakistan in the fight against
terrorism and extremism.
Quota restricting rice
export to Malaysia
February
22, 2015
Despite having potential of over 0.2 to 0.3
million tons annually, Pakistan could export just 119,358 tons rice to Malaysia
during last fiscal year due to quota restrictions by the Malaysian government.
The exporters have laid emphasis on more export
of rice from Pakistan to Malaysia and requested the Malaysian Consul General
and Trade Consul to assist them in this respect.
They noted that the balance of trade between
Pakistan and Malaysia is tilted in favour of Malaysia for a long time and in
order to narrow down the trade deficit, there is dire need for increasing
export of non-traditional items as well as the existing items being exported to
Malaysia.
The rice
exporters invited the attention of the government to focus on the international
markets of China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Bahrain for strengthening the rice
export trade, which is ultimately beneficial for all the stakeholders,
particularly the growers of rice. He added that depressed prices in
international rice markets are affecting overall agricultural sectors of all
rice exporting countries of the world.Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan
(REAP) chairman Rafique Suleman also highlighted the trade between Pakistan and
Malaysia and said that the trade balance is in the favour of Malaysia, as a
huge quantity of palm oil is imported from Malaysia, whereas our exports are
negligible.
He emphasized that Government of Pakistan must
take measures to balance the trade and talks must be held with Malaysian
government to discuss the possibilities to export 200,000 Metric Ton of
Pakistani rice to Malaysia.Discussing rice export to Bahrain, he said that
Pakistan has exported 27,805 tons of rice worth $26,213,194 during July 2013 to
June 2014.He said that Bahrain is also a high potential market for Pakistani
rice and we request government to further improve mutual economic relations
which will be beneficial in bilateral trade between the two countries.
“There
is immense scope for expanding the existing volume of bilateral trade between
the two countries which currently stands at $200 million. Currently there are
approximately 100,000 Pakistanis living in Bahrain and it was one of the
favourite destinations for Pakistanis working abroad and we welcomed the
decision of the Bahrain government to award dual nationality to some of
them.Discussing rice export to China, he said that Pakistan has exported
353,675 tons rice worth $128,068,072 during July 2013 to June 2014.“REAP
noticed that China has made several G-2-G deals with other neighboring
countries, e.g. the contract with Thailand, MoU with Cambodia. Since the total
rice import quota of China is limited, we’ve afraid that the market share of
Pakistani rice in China will decline.
In order to further strengthen the bilateral
rice trade relations, we request Government of Pakistan to arrange similar
mechanism, like China done with Thailand and Cambodia, in order to stabilize
the rice trade between China and Pakistan. We hope we could export additional
200,000 M/Tons good quality Pakistani rice every year, starting from Year
2015.”
US, Pakistan discuss methods to mutually support regional stability
PTI
WASHINGTON, FEB 21:
Top
officials of US and Pakistan have discussed methods to work together as
partners and mutually support regional stability in the near term to fight
against terrorism, the White House has said.National Security Advisor Susan
Rice had met with the Pakistan Minister of Interior, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan,
at the White House yesterday.During the meeting, Rice commended the role played
by Pakistan’s delegation led by Minister Khan at the Summit on Countering
Violent Extremism.
“They
agreed to continue working together as partners against the threat of
terrorism,” said Bernadette Meehan, Spokesperson of the National Security
Council.“They also discussed ways to mutually support regional stability in the
near term, highlighting the need to align support for Afghan-led reconciliation
efforts and continue regular US-Pakistani engagement,” Meehan said.Rice had
earlier called for a renewed commitment to building a world unmarred by
terrorism and ideologies of violence.
(This
article was published on February 21, 2015)
Bringing new technologies in the uplands
APRIL M.
JOSE
Every
day, Margie Baclay, 21, hopes to have a bountiful harvest as this means more
money to buy rice and send her two children to school.The young farmer and
single parent belongs to the Aeta community that lives in the mountains of
Brgy. Sta. Rosa, Bamban, Tarlac.Struggling to make both ends meet, Margie had
to stop her elementary education and resorted to what most people in the rural
areas cling on – farming.
For
almost a decade now, she has been planting banana, gabi, papaya, sugar cane,
and other crops without applying fertilizers and pesticides. She relies on the
richness of the soil. She believes that the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991
left their mountains with volcanic ashes that made the soil fertile.Farming in
the uplands is challenging, according to Margie. No questions asked.“I dig the
soil of a steep mountainside and pull the weeds one by one while sitting on a
heap,” she says.From the mountain down to the river, she fetches water for her
plants. She descends from the mountain for an hour to sell her produce and
accompany her children to school.
During the rainy season, the mountain trail
gets slippery and dangerous. Hence, she waits for good weather to bring her
produce to the market while her children stay at home. She recalls that after
the eruption of the volcano, they have not cultivated upland rice due to the
unavailability of seeds.In 2013, the DA’s Upland Rice Development Program
reached the Aeta community and re-introduced upland rice farming.
Margie’s family did not hesitate on trying the
new technology and started planting a 2-kg traditional rice variety known as
“Pinilisa” in May 2014 and harvested 25 kg of seeds in October.“I learned the
science behind upland rice farming and how to make our own organic fertilizer,”
shares Margie. She decided to keep the seeds for mass production and share them
later to their fellow farmers. Margie reports they are eager to try new
agricultural technologies and revive upland rice farming in their community.
Culture
and identity
According to upland rice technologist Julian Macadamia of PhilRice, the Aetas
are receptive to new technologies.“Margie and her community were able to
balance new and old practices. The Aetas have a way of adopting new
technologies while keeping their identity intact,” he says.“The Aetas are not
afraid of change because they know how to be a conduit of the old and the new.
They become better through knowledge acquisition but still remain who they are
– that for me is a good example of an unconventional farmer,” he adds.
Rice cultivation in general is highly valued by
Aetas. They acquire rice through barter or with the money they make from
selling vegetables, root crops, wild fruits, or tubers to the lowlanders.“As
long as my family doesn’t sleep with an empty stomach, I will be happy with
what I do every day despite the challenges that we face in farming,” Margie
reassures herself.The sight of her crops growing assures her that her family
will have something to eat. She’s surely adept in survival matters.
For her, she can’t think of any way of making a
living apart from tilling the land. If by chance there will be additional jobs
available, she would not totally abandon the land that provides them
food.“Indeed, this land on top of the mountain is a gift to our ancestors and
to us,” Margie becomes emphatic and emotional.And as the day ends, Margie
sleeps with her dreams. She believes that through farming, her children will,
unlike her, remain in school.
Strings of Young Ideas
JOHN
GLEN S. SAROL and JAYSON C. BERTO
The
infomediary campaign made its first step two years ago. Now, it’s taking huge
strides.With its initiative to mobilize high school students to serve as
information providers in their rice-farming communities—it treks on as it
continues to involve over a hundred schools nationwide.Certainly, the campaign
has gone a long way.Eventful enough, in fact, that several practices can now be
emulated toward engaging young people in agriculture.Best-fit practices
The
campaign team draws added inspiration from strings of innovative ideas growing
from teachers among participating schools.For certain teachers in Davao
Oriental, Kalinga, Albay, and Negros Oriental, the best way to re-echo the
campaign is through the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) meetings.
The
info-drive on Climate Change and Rice Production module was performed in
Occidental Mindoro and Negros Oriental where students relayed to farmers modern
technologies in rice farming such as the Minus-One-Element Technique (MOET),
Leaf Color Chart (LCC), and controlled irrigation, among others.Elizabeth
Pajarillo, a crop production teacher in Mindoro Occidental, said that exposing
students in community-based activities is a good opportunity for farmers to
appreciate tips on rice production coming from them.
In some
cases, teachers were clever enough to maximize the use of ICTs in promoting the
campaign’s components.This is evident in Samar and Bulacan where students
promoted the PhilRice Text Center by posting bond paper-sized campaign
materials in public places inside and outside their campuses.The campaign also
relies upon good collaboration among Internet and Computer Fundamentals (ICF)
and other instructors.
In
Claveria Rural Vocational School in Cagayan, for instance, the crop protection
teacher and the ICF instructor developed a computer-based quiz on infomediary
campaign-related topics.“We thought of a way to make the campaign much more
challenging and exciting. We’ve developed the Nutri E-Quiz featuring PhilRice’s
Infomediary Campaign and the Pinoy Rice Knowledge Bank. Right now, it’s the
second year of E-quiz implementation,” Allan Tomas, the quiz developer
said.While innovative campaign methods are being executed in most schools,
ripples of information are equally helpful.
In
Sarangani, for instance, Malalag National High School (MNHS) disseminated the
campaign by sharing the learning modules as well as some seeds to its
neighboring schools.“We still plan to reach out to other schools and share
modules on rice production. This is our way of contributing to the campaign
since it has been helpful for us. This would also address the lack of textbooks
on rice production,” Onofre Labrador, MNHS instructor said.
MNHS has thus far reached out to Maguiling NHS, Wali Integrated School, and
Salakit NHS.In Bulacan, Balagtas Agricultural High School integrates rice
production through essays in English and Filipino subjects.
The key
school officials are also supportive of the campaign.To encourage other schools
to replicate these practices, the campaign team has created a Facebook group
where representatives of Infomediary campaign-participating schools can post
all activities they are doing.“Technically, however, it is not much about
replicating the best-fit practices. Such practices require that we work hard to
determine which strategies will work best given specific development contexts.
Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all
approach in implementing development initiatives. It is all about asking and
seeing from there which strategies will work best,” Jaime Manalo IV, the
campaign lead clarified.
Outcomes
From the evaluation, 94% of the students performed their role as infomediaries,
either by sending text messages to PTC, searching information from the PRKB, or
reading publications on rice from their school libraries.Meanwhile, 41% of them
reported their parents and other farmers believed in their recommendations.
Collaboration
with local government units also exists, as reports in Albay show local
officials and farmers attending the PTA meetings. In Cagayan, a local executive
lent land for the rice garden in Claveria.The doubts on whether farmers would believe
students who have inadequate experience on rice farming are now being slowly
erased.Across sites, the students reported their parents believed them. An
infomediary in Bulacan, for instance, managed to convince her father and uncle
to minimize the use of pesticides in their fields after she shared with them
the concept of harmful and helpful organisms.
“Before,
I just sprayed on every insect I saw in the farm. Now, I try to avoid spraying
on helpful organisms,” Marcelo Hernandez, farmer-parent, said in
Filipino.Farmers from nearby areas have asked for seeds from the participating
schools. This has been the case in Cagayan, Davao Oriental, and Sarangani.
Certified seeds have 10% yield advantage over home-saved seeds being used by
some farmers.
Through
field days, farmers are introduced to the PhilRice-produced seeds. They then
see the schools as sources not only of information but also of seeds.By the end
of the day, so to speak, the infomediary campaign is still young and is equally
innovative as the young generation.With the strings of ideas from its partners,
active involvement of the youth, plus the heart that beats for farming, the
campaign is just waiting to take its next big leap.
Source with thanks: Phil Rice
Modern agriculturists
ASHLEE P. CANILANG and ANDREI B. LANUZA
“Ayaw ko
kumuha ng agriculture [course]. Ano makukuha kong trabaho dyan?” (I don’t want
to take up Agriculture. What job can I possibly get with it?).Admit it, many of
us must have heard or read about this statement or its variant somewhere in
time. The thought of working in agriculture or on a farm could be alien to
young urban and rural Filipinos.Dr. Eduardo Bagtang, president of the
Kalinga-Apayao State College, stated in an interview with the Manila Times that
the main reason why the children of farmers do not want to take on
agriculture-related professions is that they’ve seen how their parents toil in
the field day after day but barely able to make ends meet. Even our college
education system is primarily focused on preparing the youth for employment,
not entrepreneurship.Fortunately, not all Filipino youngsters have lost faith
in agriculture.
Changing the game
Friends Ryan Aguas, Enzo Pinga, and Illian Pascual, while studying abroad, met
in New York City to discuss plans of starting an agriculture-related business
in the Philippines when they return. They wanted to create an impact by helping
Filipino farmers and believed agriculture is the best way to go about it.
Illian, a mechanical engineer, introduced them to vertical farming
(aquaponics), since sustainability and green agriculture were among his
interests.
The trio realized that aquaponics may just be
the technology they needed to pursue agriculture given that it requires no soil
and is modular; the perfect setup in an urban environment where land for
farming use is limited. Thus was the beginning of the Bahay Kubo Organics
(BKO), based in Muntinlupa City.BKO is a young social enterprise that vows to
help address food security in the Philippines. They grow crops, and help
communities in rural areas through capacity- building via training and
education. Currently, these three guys are mostly supplying produce to friends
and relatives but someday wish to expand to more clients.
“We established partnerships with many
different organizations in all of our community builds, including the Fairplay
for All Foundation, Mu Sigma Phi, GK Sta. Rita, Dream Project PH, Rotary Club
of Bacolod South, ASSIST, and Kawil Tours. The projects we do with these
organizations mainly focus on engaging communities interested in learning about
the technology and applying it in their own areas”, says Ryan.
All in the family
Passing-the-baton best defines the Gapuz Grape Farm in Bauang, La Union. The
farm started with 50 prunes of grapes through the passion and efforts of
Cirillo & Roger Gapuz, father and son, during the late 1980s. During those
times, grape vineyard was unpopular in the area, and a number of tourists and
customers doubted the quality of the local harvest. Through the years,
father-and-son tandem strove until they were able to expand their vineyard and
market reach. Thus, the beginning of the Farm, now among the local tourist
attractions in the municipality.The passion and dedication to grape farming
have lingered within the present generation.
The
baton was passed on to Danica, the eldest daughter of Roger, a human resource
course graduate and currently a consultant in Makati City. Doubling as sales
and marketing manager of the Gapuz Grape Farm, she also operates the vineyard’s
social media site.It wasn’t hard for Danica to engage in grapes despite having
a stable job, as she grew up exposed to farm work. And she was not
sour-graping. Through her efforts, the farm expanded and gained new clients.
Thanks to social media, they now have customers in Visayas and Mindanao;
clients who are not only purchasing the fruits but also the cuttings that they
grow in their own backyards.“The demand for grapes outside our locale is huge.
This is
why we decided to make our own social media account to help in promotion.
Through it, our network stretched, and we now have customers as far as Davao
City,” said Danica.Her active marketing drives paid off when the Farm was
featured on national TV. As a result, Danica became one member of the Go
Negosyo Young Agriprenuers, and is occasionally invited to deliver talks on
radio about grape farming. The increased sales and income due to more media
exposure helped the Gapuz family to purchase another piece of land in their
area. According to Danica, part of the new farm will grow dragon fruit and
local vegetables.
A goldmine in plain sight
Ryan of BKO sees Philippine agriculture as rich with potential. All people need
to do is tap on the right resources. “Although we currently are not meeting the
agricultural needs in our country, we believe that if we continue on this path
and improve our agriculture by providing more support, then we aren’t too far
away from being self-sustaining,” he added.Danica is of the same opinion.
“Farming and agriculture as a whole has a huge potential for generating income.
Youth today should be educated that agriculture is not just having your sweat,
blood, and tears flow to sustain your crops. Agriculture can be rewarding when
treated as a business” she reflected.
Fresh Forces in Farming
MYRIAM
G. LAYAOEN
Ana
Sibayan uses a pen and some sheets of paper to prepare for her presentation.
She is about to face more than 300 scientists, extension workers, policy
makers, academicians, among other participants in a prestigious international
conference on agriculture and rural development. Her topic – attracting the
youth to engage in agriculture.
At 25,
Ana is one of the youngest farmer-leaders in the country. In her hometown
Victoria in Mindoro Oriental, she juggles her time between farming and school
as she devotes most of it to encouraging young individuals to cultivate
lands.Deciding to farm, Sibayan’s choices in life are rather rare compared to
most of the youth her age.“I see how we survive in our town and farming is
definitely something we can’t live without. I want the younger generation to
realize their worth in feeding us. We, the youth, have a crucial role to play,”
Sibayan said.
Numbers
speak
Looking
at global figures on youth engagement in agriculture, Ana is indeed one in a
million. Although a lot of young people aged 15-40 have shown interest in
farming, they are just a small portion of the population.The International
Labor Organization (ILO) reported in 2014 that agriculture accounts for more
than 32% of the world’s employment, and 39% in Asia and the Pacific’s
developing countries. Yet, agriculture remains at the bottom of the youth’s
most preferred job list.
They
look at agriculture as the “past and antithesis of progress,” the ILO
contends.African countries carry a major burden in handling more than 60% of their
unemployed people – the youth. A burgeoning 72% of their youth live on barely
US$2 or P90 a day even as their agriculture sector offers vast job
opportunities for them.The Food and Agriculture Organization saw the need for
investment planning to “adequately reflect youth employment issues and consider
explicit youth employment promotion programs” including adoption of postharvest
value addition and innovation on labor-saving technologies.
Official
Philippine statistics reported in 2012 more than 34% of the population aged 15
and above were thriving on agriculture. The youth comprises 45% of the
country’s workforce in 2013. Of the nearly 20 million youth, 16% are still
unemployed.The irony of youth unemployment is magnified by the fact that most
of them live in agricultural countries. However, farming is always associated
with poverty and ancientness. Instead of staying in rural agricultural
communities, the young people tend to migrate to cities.
The
education sector is not spared. In UP Los Baños alone, enrolment in
agriculture-related courses has sharply declined to 4.7% compared with 51% in
the 1980s. Most schools that offer agriculture courses suffer from the same
malady.With the farmers who produce food all over the world aging every second,
this situation seriously rings an alarm.
Push and pull
The
Asian Farmers’ Association (AFA) believes that the youth in the region find
farming as the sure way to get their hands rough and dirty.“For the youth,
there is no pride and dignity in farming. It is an unstable work, with low
income and high risk. For the young people, rural life is also boring,” the AFA
report said.AFA also named access to land, capital, credit, and support
services as the key element that convinces the youth to farm. Children are
affected by the hardships their farmer-parents go through to sustain a
living.While youth migration to the cities increasingly threatens food
production, some scholars are exploring ways to encourage and maintain youth
involvement in agriculture.
In a
study on youth outmigration, Jaime Manalo of PhilRice and Elske van de Fliert
of the University of Queensland in Australia identified the factors that
trigger and sustain youth exodus from rural to urban areas. Their paper
detailed how involvement in actual crop production, personal perception on
farming, parents’ dream job for their children, and education can help shape
the youth’s decision to move to the cities. Curiously, many of the youth are
inclined to go back to the farm when they retire.
“While
intentions to migrate were high, young individuals had a strong desire to
remain connected to their family’s farms. Hence, policy makers would do well to
assist those who leave the rural areas and return after some time,” Manalo
said.Policies are set to attract the youth to agriculture. Aside from RA 8044
known as the Youth in Nation-Building Act that serves as pillar of support for
the youth, the Philippine government has been devising incentives for smallholder
farmers, including the women and the youth.
The
Agricultural Training Institute resorts to the 4-H Club as an informal teaching
modality for the youth in agriculture. PhilRice wages the Infomediary campaign
that mobilizes high school students as information catalysts. The Departments
of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, and Trade and Industry also rear incentive
schemes to further draw the youth to farm.
Multiplied potentials
Various organizations recognize the role of the
youth in development advocacies.Youngsters are prime information movers in the
community and are the future hands of food production.“Equal attention should
also be given to urban migrants who may not return to rural areas but are
willing to invest in farming to employ their poor relatives. Migrants can often
raise the resources needed to finance the input-intensive rice farming
operations.” Manalo and de Fliert said.
Careers in agriculture abound from the farm
itself to research and development, education and extension, and agricultural
entrepreneurship. Agriculture professionals can attest to the many options the
field can offer. To encourage strong youth participation in agriculture,
AFA-Philippines pushes for the Magna Carta of Young Farmers. The advocacy
promotes and protects the rights of young farmers, establishes sound programs
for them, institutionalizes their representation in agricultural policy-making
bodies, and defines discrimination against them.Despite the complications in
the higher level of decision-making on interventions, Ana Sibayan would still
want the youth to return to farming.
“My hands-on experience in the farm and
exposure to youth activities open my eyes on the real issues concerning the
youth. We need training, and be provided with basic resources to farm. There’s
nothing wrong in getting dirty hands when you feed the world using the same
hands,” Sibayan said.The current status of the youth in agriculture challenges
us to build a new wave of farmers who are empowered, productive, resilient, and
prosperous. How then can it be addressed?
Income, meaning, sense of pride – that’s how
Ana Sibayan reflects on the matter.
Source with thanks: Phil Rice
PhilRice Agusan is best branch station again
MARY GRACE M. NIDOY
PhilRice
Agusan received the top prize in the 2014 Best Station contest – an annual
internal competition organized by the Institute to elevate and improve the
modalities in promoting new technologies in rice production. It also aims to
highlight the best-fit practices of the stations in rice R&D.Agusan was
also recognized for successfully and creatively executing the Intensified
Rice-Based Agri-bio Systems (IRBAS) program in support of PhilRice’s major
advocacy, the Rural Transformation Movement (RTM).
RTM aims to reduce help poverty by promoting
diversified farming and agri-business ventures. Nucleus estates will be put up
to give farmers access to support services including training, inputs, custom
services, technologies, product development and packaging, and marketing.
“I thank the PhilRice management for organizing this contest and all my
colleagues for keeping our station beautiful and world-class,” said Abner T.
Montecalvo, station manager.PhilRice Midsayap and Batac placed 2nd and 3rd, and
were cited for creating a strategic research direction and for continually
improving their internal systems and processes in accordance with Integrated
Management Systems standards.
PhilRice has three ISO certifications.The
following awards were also given: Most Improved Field Day to Los Baños; Most
Interactive Field Day to Negros; and Most Innovative External Linkage to
Bicol.The judges traveled across the country to evaluate each station based on
the following: IRBAS (Rural Transformation Campaign Execution); level of
mechanization; organization of field day; varietal demo; client satisfaction;
innovations; internal processes and financial reports; housekeeping and safety;
state of infrastructure; income generation; and station management.
The judges were Dr. Rex Navarro, former director
for communications of the International Crops Research Institute for the
Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT); Dr. Genaro San Valentin and Thelma Padolina,
PhilRice consultants; Charlene Tan, founder of Good Food Community; and Donald
Mateo, from the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization
(PHilMech).PhilRice Agusan had earlier received the Best Field Day (2011) and
Best Station awards (2013).
Testing rice for processing tech
SHEREEN
P. RAZON
PhilRice
will test local rice varieties for a food processing application that produces
low-protein rice, a healthier alternative for people suffering from kidney
disease and diabetes.
The
tests will use propriety technology of Biotech Japan Corporation, an exclusive
manufacturer of plant-origin lactic acid bacteria, a naturally occurring
element found in grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans that can be used to
reduce protein content in milled rice and cooked rice.In a meeting with
officials from the Niigata-based corporation, PhilRice executive director
Eufemio T. Rasco Jr said that the partnership is vital as production of
low-protein rice is limited only to Japanese rice for now.
The
Philippine Renal Disease Registry reported in 2008 that more than 1.2 million
Filipinos suffer from chronic kidney disease in which 41% of the cases resulted
from diabetes.The Japanese corporation, established in 1994, said that it is
necessary to reduce ingestion of protein in kidney patients to lessen the
burden on the kidneys.“By helping reduce the amount of protein in rice and
bread, which are common staple foods, kidney patients will be able to have
better qualities of life,” the company stated.
An
experimental facility at PhilRice in Nueva Ecija was also proposed to
pilot-test the technology through the Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA).“This groundbreaking facility will enable us to learn about the
technology and conduct our own researches later on if we want to create similar
products,” Rasco said.“An additional advantage of this partnership would be our
people`s exposure to Japanese work values in terms of quality control and
assurance, plant operation, marketing strategies—the culture of continuing
improvement,” he added.A follow-up meeting is scheduled on February 2015 to
secure the Memorandum of Agreement among PhilRice, Biotech Japan Corporation,
and JICA with a target kick-off in April.
Program launching highlight ARMM
Rice Farmers’ Field Day in Maguindanao, Lanao Sur
February 23, 2015
COTABATO
CITY, Feb. 23, (PIA)—Some 500 farmers, out-of-school youth and students from
the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur participated in the celebration
of ARMM’s Regional Rice Farmers’ Field Day held on Saturday under the auspices
of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF).DAF-ARMM Regional
Secretary Makmod Mending, Jr., led the celebration held at barangay Tapayan, in Sultan Mastura, Maguindanao the site of the
2-hectare demo farm for the new rice variety Green Super Rice (GSR).Mending
said, while the government intensifies its efforts to achieve increased
agricultural productivity for the country’s sustainable food sufficiency, there
is a serious concern over the noted decreasing number of farmers engage in
agricultural production and the trend of preference among the young generation
to reside and seek employment in urban centers.
“We
are here to launch several programs to address a very alarming situation. Based
on statistics, the average age of a farmer is 52 years old so if the average
life of a person is 60 to 65 years old, in 8 years time no more
farmers will be tilling the lands
here if our youth decides to seek employment in cities. The implication
is, in 8 to 10 years time there will be no food in our table if this trend
continues,” Mending said.Consistent with the mandate geared towards the
attainment of increased agricultural productivity and food sufficiency, the
agriculture department and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
launched collaborative programs – the Rice Crop Manager (RCM), Philippine Rice
Information SysteM (PRISM), and the Next Generation (Next Gen).With this year’s
theme “Pushing the adoption of new technologies for increased productivity and
income” poses the challenge to create awareness on the advantages of such
modern technologies to farmers seen to increase farm productivity and
profitability through the use of high yielding rice varieties, climate
resilient and more adaptive to different types of weather condition.
RCM
program through modern IT gadgets and equipment provides appropriate
recommendations on rice/crop production management practices to address problem
on seed use (low yielding), nutrient deficiency, water (flood and drought)
pests and disease control with the expected
1 ton increase in production per hectare, while PRISM supports
decision-making and activity planning for increased rice production and serves
as a platform to develop consistent and regular assessments of rice crop
production, crop health, and crop losses brought about by natural calamities
and outbreaks of pests and diseases.Next Generation is designed to accelerate
the introduction and adoption of higher-yielding rice varieties and hybrids
such as the inbred and Green Super Rice (GSR
proven to be climate resilient
and tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses (alkalinity, salinity, iron toxity, etc)for
increased production and higher income. Pilot areas identified under PRISM include
Ampatuan and Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao, and for Rice Crop Manager –Sultan
Mastura, Pagalungan, Datu Paglas also of Maguindanao and Taraka, Lanao del Sur
with total target of 10,500 farmer-beneficiaries.
Pushing
for the commercialization of the Green Super Rice proven to be climate
resilient and adaptive to all types of weather condition and resistant to pests
and diseases and high yield to farmers, each of the farmer-participants were
given a kilo of GSR seed and a bamboo seedling as part of the campaign to
mitigate and address the issue and concern on climate change.“Based on our
tests, Green Super Rice yield per hectare is 7 metric tons. The average yield
in ARMM is 3.1 metric tons per hectare. If the ARMM has a total production of
600,000 metric tons, with GSR the production yield would be 1.2 million metric
tons which is more than double our production, more than enough to feed all the
people in the autonomous region,” Mending said.
As part of the aggressive efforts
toward increased agricultural production for food sufficiency, the agency
likewise purchased six units of Combined Harvester that has the capacity to
reap/ harvest and thresh 2 hectares rice field in one hour for use with 15%
counterpart by partners Irrigators Associations (IAs), Farmers Associations
(FA), Cooperatives and LGUs
particularly during extreme weather conditions such as flooding to
prevent crop damage and losses. (PBChangco/PIA Cotabato City)
$10m investment for rice industry
Ropate
Valemei
Monday, February 23, 2015
A KOREAN rice company in Navua is looking at investing
$10million in the revitalisation of the rice industry in the country.For Grace
Road Company Ltd, this means more land to be acquired to employ more local
people for their rice farm.Company managing director Daniel Kim said local
people needed to be educated on why we should eat rice.From root crops to the
rice, we want the Government to educate the local people on the importance of
rice," Mr Kim said.
He said a firm, stable production and supply of food was of most
important requisite that influenced a country's economy.And when considering
the poor production of rice in Fiji, the gravity of this requisite cannot be
emphasised enough.With the investment, he said they would provide all the
affordable and suitable machines which were on their way from Thailand.He said
these included 20 units of machines with 16 units of tractor."Think about
it, it's huge. We will be the main distribution for the rest of the Pacific
Islands.
"He said they would also provide the market for Fijians who
utilised their land for rice farming."Fiji has a big land which can be
utilised for farming. After they farm, we will buy their rice at a reasonable
price so all Fijian can continue planting rice."With four varieties of
rice seeds in the country, he said they were looking at introducing more
variety of rice seeds.
The company is also looking at building a rice research centre
and an agricultural training institute in the country to train local people and
Government officials on rice farming.For the research centre, he said they were
looking to spend about $0.5m and $0.5m for the training institute which they
hoped to complete by October this year.
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According to a Senior Associate
Scientist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), to know the
actual performance of these varieties, they have to tested in different
locations rather than testing in only one location. This is because different
varieties are suitable to specific locations.The MET addresses this issue and
allows farmers to observe varietal traits that are suitable to their location
and choose those varieties under a process called Participatory Varietal
Selection (PVS). The IRRI rice breeders will guide farmers in choosing
varieties appropriate for their locations. The process also helps farmers to
evaluate rice varieties from vegetative to ripening stage under conditions
specific to their locations. They can test varieties for their tolerance to
pests, texture, aroma, grain length as well as yield.
