Rice
crops shrink in face of tight water allocations
IN A SEASON marred by drought and
tight water allocations, Australian rice growers are facing possibly the second
smallest rice crop in 50 years.That’s according to SunRice chairman Laurie
Arthur. Despite this, Mr Arthur said growers were still determined to grow rice
this season in a bid to keep up with demand from key international markets. Mr
Arthur, who himself is growing about 100ha of rice near Moulamein, said
“there’s a strong demand for Australian produce … obviously there’s a strong
desire by our growers to grow rice”. “One of the things about (rice), we can
actually have a year off growing rice, and not suffer capital damage,” Mr
Arthur said. “We’re developing high value markets all over the world, for
example we have rice going into Syria, into the Western Bank, and Palestine.
“We export into over 50 different countries. But there are a lot of issues. For
example, in Japan we pay a huge tariff. We face a lot of tariff barriers. Into
Indonesia, we’ve been barred from Indonesia. For some reason we’ve been dealt
out of that. Those are just some of the headwinds we face. “The high value
markets we do have, it’s very difficult when some of our growers — and we
respect this — choose not to plant rice in a season. It makes it difficult to
develop those high value markets.” Mr Arthur said Australia was facing
potentially the “second smallest rice crop in about 50 years”.
“It’s quite dramatic,” Mr Arthur
said. “Particularly the general security of water, that’s had its issues this
year. Certainly (SunRice) offered good pricing,” he said.
“Often it’s not really the case if
water is available, but the price the water is available at. Water sat in the
south around $400-500 a megalitre, but in the north it was up to $700 a
megalitre. It comes down to our access to water. It’s an issue that’s occupying
the minds of many.” Mr Arthur said in the face of tough conditions last year,
many growers had moved away from rice and into cotton. “Some have done that
exclusively, but some have done a rice and cotton mix,” Mr Arthur said. SunRice
have increased rice research levies in a bid to release more water-savvy rice
varieties for Australian growers.
“We have a number of short term and
long term objectives, such as new rice variety released called Viand. It’s a
short season variety, about a month shorter, which means it’s using less
water,” Mr Arthur said. “All our varieties now are targeting water use per
tonne. We’ve made quite considerable gains in the past 10 years. “We’re looking
at permanent water, and have made some significant reductions in water use. In
the long term, we’re doing some genetic work, to make sure we can have a dry
rice, where we can row crop the rice. Quite a bit of work is being done on
that, and so there’s been a significant increase in our rice research levy.
Those are the positives (this season).”
PM aide lauds growth in
rice exports
By APP
Published: March 19, 2019
Rice exports have increased over
the last 10-12 years. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: The present government is making efforts to
extend all-out support to the business community for stabilising the country’s
economy, said Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood.
Addressing a seminar on Monday titled ‘Trade
Opportunities in USA, China and Indonesia’ he appreciated the growth of rice
industry in the country, saying that rice exports surpassed $2 billion in
financial year 2018. He further remarked that rice industry was prioritised to
achieve the exports target of $5 billion. “Rice industry is at the top in the
country and it has produced excellent results,” he cherished. He promised
complete support to all traders and businessmen especially in the rice industry
to help achieve their set targets.
Published in The Express
Tribune, March 19th, 2019.
Unfair
Harvest: The state of rice in Asia
Small-scale producers grow most of
the rice in Asia, playing a significant role in providing food security, jobs
and income across the region. However, a combination of worsening inequality in
food value chains and the crippling impacts of climate change is leaving rice
farming systems at a critical juncture. These challenges threaten the future
viability of rice production that underpins the livelihoods and primary food
source for millions of people. New research commissioned by Oxfam shows that
rice farmers in some countries can receive as little as 4% of the price paid by
consumers. This has implications for poverty: in Nepal, farmers’ income from
rice farming is estimated at just 13% of the amount needed for a basic but
decent income. The burden is particularly bad for women farming and working in
the Asian rice sector: they receive lower wages and often suffer
discrimination. There are opportunities for change. For example, smarter
government regulation to protect workers’ rights and empower small-scale
producers can support better returns for farmers; and responsible private
sector investment can support small-scale producers to benefit from rapidly
modernizing rice markets. This paper puts forward a vision for a more
equitable, sustainable and climate-resilient rice sector; and provides
recommendations for governments and the private sector to help achieve that
vision.
Colombia’s corn
production stalls, imports grow
03.1.2019
By Susan Reidy
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — Colombia
is expected to import a historically high level of corn from the United States
as its production stagnates due to lack of incentives to increase acreage.
Total corn imports are estimated at
5.7 million tonnes for 2019-20, with 5.6 million tonnes coming from the United
States, according to a March 15 report from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). U.S. corn is price
competitive due to trade preferences under the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion
Agreement (CTPA) and geographical advantages compared to South American
competitors, the FAS said.
“Corn imports have shown an upward
trend as feed demand continues to grow while domestic corn production remains
flat,” the FAS said.
Colombian corn production is
forecast to remain unchanged at 1.6 million tonnes in 2019-20 as weather
conditions are expected to be favorable for crop development, but area planted
continues to marginally decrease.
Consumption, however, is forecast
to increase to 7.4 million tonnes with increasing demand from the animal feed
industry. The FAS said 95% of corn imports are destined for animal feed while
the remaining 5% is for human consumption.
Rice production is estimated to be
stagnant at 2.4 million tonnes. Since 2017, the National Federation of
Colombian Rice Producers (Fedearroz) has been actively conducting campaigns
among producers to decrease area planted to maintain profitable producer prices
and reduce large stocks after record production seasons, the FAS said.
Consumption in 2019-20 is estimated
at 1.85 million tonnes. Rice is a basic staple food in Colombia and has a high
per capita consumption compared to neighboring countries.
Rice imports are forecast at
160,000 tonnes with the United States remaining the primary supplier.
Egypt set to
harvest, import more wheat
03.19.2019
By Arvin Donley
CAIRO, EGYPT — Egyptian wheat
production and imports are forecast higher in 2019-20 as demand continues to
increase, according to a March 18 Global Agricultural Information Network
(GAIN) report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The USDA projects Egypt’s wheat
production in 2019-20 to rise 4% from 8.45 million tonnes to 8.77 million
tonnes. The agency forecasts a 1% increase in wheat imports to 12.6 million
tonnes.
In 2018-19, the General Authority
for Supply Commodities, Egypt’s largest wheat purchaser, issued 24 tenders
through Feb. 20, 2019, importing 6.13 million tonnes of milling wheat, the USDA
said.
“This represents a nearly 8%
increase from the GASC’s purchases during the same period in marketing year
2017-18,” the USDA said. “The largest foreign suppliers in 2018-19 included
Russia (3.9 million tonnes), Romania (960,000 tonnes), Ukraine (480,000
tonnes), France (480,000 tonnes) and the United States (300,000 tonnes).”
The USDA forecasts Egypt’s corn
imports in 2019-20 at 9.5 million tonnes, up 1% from the previous year.
“Egypt’s yellow corn production
covers less than 20% of its feed demands,” the USDA said. “Imports are
supplementing the feed manufacturing industry’s expanded production.”
Rice imports are projected at
500,000 tonnes in 2019-20, the same as the previous year, according to the
USDA.
Ghana to reduce rice import by 50% in 2019 - Ministry of
Agriculture
20 March 2019
The reduction
of rice importation the growth and consumption of local rice
The Ministry of Agriculture says plans are in place to reduce
the importation of rice by at least 50 percent this year.This is to enhance the
growth and consumption of local rice in Ghana.
Currently, Ghana imports 331 million dollars of rice annually, a
development stakeholders have described as worrying.Speaking to Citi Business
News Deputy Minister of Agriculture, George Oduro said measures such as the
‘planting for food and jobs’ as well as the newly introduced Irrigation land
facility system should help reduce the importation of rice by half.“This year
alone, our target to stop the importation of rice by 50 percent, maybe we can
achieve that or more.” He said.
He also added that the importation of tomatoes is equally being looked at to reduce it soon.
“Then tomatoes too, we are trying by the end of this year to stop the importation of tomatoes and if possible export.”He, however called for a collaborative effort to achieve this feat.
“We are putting measures to stop these importation of these food items because the possibility of us producing them here is there, we can. But only if we come together to show the interest. That is the only way we can solve this problem.” He added.
Currently, Ghana imports 331 million dollars of rice annually, a
development stakeholders have described as worrying.Speaking to Citi Business
News Deputy Minister of Agriculture, George Oduro said measures such as the
‘planting for food and jobs’ as well as the newly introduced Irrigation land
facility system should help reduce the importation of rice by half.“This year
alone, our target to stop the importation of rice by 50 percent, maybe we can
achieve that or more.” He said.He also added that the importation of tomatoes is equally being looked at to reduce it soon.
“Then tomatoes too, we are trying by the end of this year to stop the importation of tomatoes and if possible export.”He, however called for a collaborative effort to achieve this feat.
“We are putting measures to stop these importation of these food items because the possibility of us producing them here is there, we can. But only if we come together to show the interest. That is the only way we can solve this problem.” He added.
Bengal famine of 1943 caused by British policy
failure, not drought: IIT-Gn study
Press Trust of India
| Gandhinagar Last Updated at March 20, 2019 13:11 IST
The 1943 Bengal famine, which is
estimated to have caused over three million deaths, resulted not from a drought as
is widely thought but from the British government's policy failures, say IIT
Gandhinagar scientists who have analysed 150 years of drought data.
Policy lapses such as prioritising
distribution of vital supplies to the military, civil services and
others as well as stopping rice imports and not declaring Bengal famine hit
were among the factors that led to the magnitude of the tragedy, historians
have maintained.
Now, for the first time,
researchers have analysed soil moisture database from 1870 to 2016 to
reconstruct agricultural droughts.
Between 1935-45, the
famine-affected region, which was Bengal, had no drought, the team from
the Indian Institute of
Technology here found.
"We are trying to understand
the entire history of droughts in India and
what is the likelihood they will occur in future," said Vimal
Mishra, assistant professor at
the institute.
"Famines that
occurred during the British period caused the deaths of millions. We
investigated the factors behind the causes of these deaths -- droughts or
policy failures," he told PTI.
The Bengal famine of
1943 was completely because of policy failure", he said.
Aside from the 1943 Bengal famine,
all other famines during
1870 and 2016, appear to be related, at least in part, to widespread soil
moisture droughts, Mishra said.
While historians have documented
policy failures that led to the Bengal famine, this is the first time
scientists have used soil moisture data to show there was no drought in
Bengal during the period preceding the famine.
After analysing over 150 years of
data for the study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters,
researchers identified seven major droughts and six major famines in India.
"Out of six major famines
(187374, 1876, 1877, 189697, 1899, and 1943) that occurred during 18702016,
five are linked to soil moisture drought, and one (1943) was not,"
researchers wrote in the study.
"At the time, there was not
much irrigation, groundwater pumping was not happening because electricity or
mechanical pumps were not available," Mishra said.
The last major famine in the
British era occurred in 1943, which is also known as the Bengal famine. The
famine resulted in two-three million deaths.
"We identified 1935-45 as a
period under drought, but the famine-affected region, which was Bengal, had no
drought during this period," said Mishra.
"We find that the Bengal famine was
likely caused by other factors related at least in part to the ongoing threat
of World War II -- including malaria, starvation and malnutrition," he
added.
Previous research has shown that in
early 1943, military and other political events adversely affected Bengal
economy.
"We did a very solid diagnosis
for each famine that happened in Bengal and Bihar --
which was part of the northeastern province of Awadh in
the British period," Mishra said.
"What was unique in the
1873-74 famine was that there were 25 million people affected but low mortality
due to famine," he added.
According to Mishra, this low
mortality was due to food imports
from Burma, and timely relief aid provided by the British government. Then
Bengal lieutenant governor Richard Temple imported,
distributed food and
relief money and that saved a lot of lives, he said.
"The famine was over in 1874,
with 17 per cent surplus monsoon rainfall and good food production. But Temple was
heavily criticised by the British for over expenditure," said Mishra.
In the 1876-77 famine, which
affected south India in
1876 and north India in
1877, over 30 million people were impacted. The study suggests that at least
six-10 million people died, because measures to provide relief and employment
were not taken at the time.
According to the study, the
expansion of irrigation, better public distribution system, rural employment,
and transportation reduced
the impact of drought on the lives of people after Independence.
Mishra expressed the hope that a
comprehensive analysis of the history of droughts and famines in the country
can help prepare for such disasters in the future.
According to experts, following the
Japanese occupation of Burma in 1942, rice imports stopped, and Bengal's market
supplies and transport systems were
disrupted. The British government also
prioritised distribution of vital supplies to the military, civil servants and
other "priority classes".
The policy failures began with the
provincial government's denial that a famine existed. Humanitarian aid was
ineffective through the worst months of the food crisis, and the government
never formally declared a state of famine.
It first attempted to influence the
price of rice, but these measures created a black market and encouraged sellers
to withhold stocks.
(This story has not been edited by
Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Drought, Diokno and deregulation
·
DROUGHT, DIOKNO AND DEREGULATION
MARLEN V. RONQUILLO
DROUGHT has been society’s
scourge from biblical times. The land is parched. Standing crops wilt. The
bright sun, for once, is not a blessing but a curse. Across the farming areas,
desperate farmers preside over the detritus of the failed season: young yellow
corn shrunk to a wasted pale brown, month-old rice plantings that even famished
carabaos won’t touch, lifeless vegetable crops hanging limp on their improvised
trellises.
Farm families, when they gather
for meals, move in the robotic gestures of pain and hopelessness. No words are
spoken. Attempts at normal conversation during times of drought usually end up
with the father, the farmer and breadwinner, choking up on his grief. He can’t
even say the next cropping season will be better.
I had been through these bouts of
unspoken pain in my youth, as my farmer-father, at a loss for words to tell us
there would be nothing for the next six months because of the drought, would
often choke on his misery. Later in life, I would read Sonnet 29 , and realized
that the Shakespearean loser was my farmer-father in times of drought.
Ok, there is always the town’s
rich usurer. In times of drought, farmers cling to the town’s rich usurer as
some heroic savior of lives.
Then and now, the official
response to droughts is standard, as if carved in stone and impervious to
change. It has always been a combination of PR and big words and bigger
promises. The government will deliver help. Financial assistance will come. The
drought-stricken farmers will be compensated one way or another. Two percent
will get help, and the propagandists will make sure that help will get media
coverage. Then the 98 percent of the sufferers will be forgotten. Farmers in
this sad country have no one to turn to after calamities and disasters.
This is also carved in stone.
Farmers and farming areas suffering from the current drought will have to fend
for themselves.
Yet, to most farmers across the
country, the drought will be a temporary thing. It is a horror show that will
soon come to pass. Been there, overcame that. We overcame one in 2008, when
there was a nightmarish confluence of a drought and a regional financial
crisis. The bigger worry of real farmers — as opposed to the politicians who
assume agriculture oversight posts to cover up for their real estate empires —
is the ascendancy of a certified grifter, former Budget Secretary Benjamin
Diokno, into the powerful post of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor,
the main steward of monetary policy.
Diokno, while Budget secretary,
was the spokesman of the cabinet who scolds that regularly belittled
agriculture sector. Members of the House of Representatives who pleaded for
more funds for agriculture were lectured by Diokno on the hopeless state of
agriculture and its diminished contribution to the GDP. It (agriculture) is a
sunset sector, Diokno would lecture the representatives pleading for more
agricultural support. It was later found that Diokno was the alleged architect
of a P75 billion insertion into the national budget. And that billions of
infrastructure funds had been allegedly diverted into the political bailiwick
of his in-laws in Sorsogon province, a fund diversion as garapal as the Napoles
scam.
It was the economic team of
Diokno, Dominguez and Pernia that allowed the Land Bank of the Philippines to
extend an unsecured loan of $85 million to bankrupt Hanjin and at the same time
starve the small farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries of the loans due
them. The Land Bank was created to specifically serve the needs of two sectors
— agrarian reform beneficiaries and small farmers. Yet, it violated its mandate
with impunity, with the economic policymakers as abettors, and the unsecured
loan to the bankrupt Hanjin was Exhibit A of the anti-farm bias of its lending.
The anti-farm bias of Diokno,
this is the fear of farmers, will be the hallmark of his BSP stewardship.
One of Diokno’s major statements
before leaving the budget post angered the sugar farmers and planters. He
announced the government’s plan for unlimited sugar importation. Why was the
Budget secretary the spokesman of key agricultural policies, which are 100
percent anti-farmers and anti-agriculture?
Diokno is expected to carry over
his policy biases as main steward of the country’s monetary policies.
Deregulation of the rice trade is
now a done deal, the gift of a pliant Congress to an administration which is as
obsessed with GDP figures as the government of Mr. Aquino 3rd. Never mind that
the end of the quantity restrictions on rice imports will kill the three
million neglected small rice farmers. The process of dying has started.
Farmgate prices for palay has dropped to P14 per kilo and this is just the
first month of the deregulated regime.
Were the Filipino farmers just
lazy and noncompetitive, they deserved what they got from Congress and the
Duterte administration. But across Asia, the Filipino farmer is not only a
literal beast of burden but he is also the farmer who has to labor under the
most hostile of agricultural policies. Farmers in Vietnam and Thailand do not
only get support, they get official pampering from their governments.
Here, they have to contend with
droughts, Diokno and deregulation and many other pains inflicted on them by the
anti-farm policies of the state.
Ministry of Agric reveals 50% cut down in Ghana's rice
importation
Date: 20 March 2019
By Justice Kofi Bimpeh
The Ministry of Agriculture says
plans are underway to reduce Ghana's rice import by at least 50 per cent this
year.
This according to the Ministry will enhance the growth and
consumption of local rice in the country.
Currently, Ghana imports 331
million dollars of rice annually, development stakeholders have described as
worrying.
In an interview Citi FM, Deputy
Minister of Agriculture, George Oduro said measures such as the ‘planting for
food and jobs’ as well as the newly introduced Irrigation land facility system
should help reduce the importation of rice by half.
“This year alone, our target to
stop the importation of rice by 50 per cent, maybe we can achieve that or
more.” He said.
He also added that the importation
of tomatoes is equally being looked at to reduce it soon.
“Then tomatoes too, we are trying
by the end of this year to stop the importation of tomatoes and if possible
export.” He, however, called for a collaborative effort to achieve this feat.
“We are putting measures to stop
the importation of these food items because the possibility of us producing
them here is there, we can. But only if we come together to show the interest.
That is the only way we can solve this problem.” He added.
‘Rice farmers remain poor due to government’s
bad policies’
March 20, 2019
In
Photo: Corazon, a farmworker in Laguna, winnows freshly harvested palay.
The country’s rice farmers will
not become poorer because of the implementation of the rice trade
liberalization law, or Republic Act 11203, which converted caps on imports into
tariffs, according to the Kapisanan ng Magsasaka, Mangingisda at Manggagawa ng
Pilipinas.
V.L. Sonny Domingo, the group’s
chairman, said many rice farmers remain poor because of the bad policies
implemented by the government after 1986.
“Rice farmers have always been
poor and the real issue is not the rice tariffication. The issue is, why
continue with the status quo for the last 32 years after the supposed Edsa
Revolution, when they have become poorer than ever,” Domingo said in a
statement sent to the BusinessMirror.
He noted that the government had
failed to capitalize on the chance to prepare farmers for competition with
other foreign producers when it imposed the quantitative restriction (QR) on
rice after the Philippines joined the World Trade Organization
in 1995.
in 1995.
“The QR with NFA was imposed to
get the farmers ready for the rice liberalization by way of doubling their
production and teaching them how to be cost effective and be competitive,”
Domingo said.
“But how can they be competitive
when they were only given dole outs, such as fertilizers and tractors, instead
of capital to put up their own agri corporations and go into large-scale
farming as a business?” he added.
What the Departments of
Agriculture and Agrarian Reform should do, he said, is cluster farms to help
farmers venture into commercial farming which can afford them economies of
scale. Through block farming, farmers can eventually raise the funds they need to
farm equipment such as tractors, transplanters and harvesters and postharvest
facilities.
“Instead of organizing block
farms, farmers were given huge candies in the form of tractors which were
allowed to rot when these broke down. Also, many have incurred huge debts
because they could not access farm credit,” he said in Filipino.
Domingo said the “vicious cycle
of mendicancy” continues with their use of old technology in planting and
harvesting rice.
He said the government should
cluster farms and help planters form agri corporations that can employ
technical and professional managers who can run their farming venture. Domingo
also said the National Food Authority should be tapped to purchase rice from
these cluster farms.
The rice trade liberalization law
took effect on March 5. Farmers’ groups had opposed the measure, saying
planters could lose their livelihood due to the influx of cheap rice imports.
Capitol allots P22-M worth of assistance for
farmers
PAMPANGA. Third District Congressman Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales,
Jr. discusses his assistance program for farmers during Monday’s rehabilitation
and recovery program for affected farmers by typhoons and habagat initiated by
the Provincial Government of Pampanga in cooperation with the solon’s office.
(Chris Navarro)
March 19, 2019
THE Provincial Government of Pampanga has allotted P22 million
for the rehabilitation and recovery program of 10,375 farmers who were affected
by the typhoon and southwest monsoon last 2018.
According to Governor Lilia “Nanay” Pineda, the Capitol is recognizing their efforts to produce rice for Kapampangans. May it be day or night, their intensive efforts to provide food for the province is so much to thank for, she said.
“Dahil sa inyo kaya ang bawat pamilyang Kapampangan ay may nahahapag na pagkain sa kanilang mga tahanan. Ang Kapitolyo ay palaging naka-antabay sa inyo upang kayo ay tulungan sa inyong mga pangangailangan (It is because of you that each Kapampangan family has food on the table. The Capitol is always ready to assist you in your needs),” she said.
For his part, Vice Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda assured the farmers that the provincial government would strengthen support for them and prioritize machineries, equipment and seed development for them.
Meanwhile, Third District Board Member Anianas Canlas, Jr., chairman of the committee on agriculture and agrarian reform, lauded the farmers for being resilient, especially that today’s biggest competitor is climate change.
The lady governor also invited Dr. Frisco Malabanan, senior technical promotion consultant, to discuss to the farmers the one-million hectare hybrid rice intensification project.
Malabanan explained to the attendees the performance of paddies in the country from 2015-2018.
In 2018, palay production decreased by 1.14 percent as compared to 2017.
The area harvested for palay decreased from 4.81 million hectares to 4.80 million hectares from 2017 to 2018. Also, the recorded highest average yield was 4.01 metric tons per hectare last 2017.
He also shared that Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol is campaigning to address the fear and concerns of the rice industry on the Rice Tariffication Act in the Philippines.
Governor Pineda also reiterated the advantages of tariffication for the agriculture industry.
For Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food Chairperson Cynthia Villar, this would help local farmers to be more competitive.
“Because in the recent lifting of quantity restriction, one of its impact is the lack of competitiveness in the market that would eventually discourage the farmer to produce rice,” she said.
The law, according to her, provided for a competitive enhancement fund.
The fund would allot half to rice farm machinery and equipment for eligible farmer groups, rice cooperatives and local government units, while 30 percent will go to rice seed development, propagation and promotion, and 10 percent each to rice credit assistance and rice extension services.
This will also be a source of direct financial assistance to farmers cultivating two hectares and below in the form of compensation for projected losses.
Third District Representative Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, Jr. for his part, said that he will allot P80 million this year for the agricultural industry of the province.
According to provincial agriculturist Edilberto Salenga, each farmer received P1,300 multiplied by the measure of hectares they owned.
Also present in the event were provincial board members, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management officer Angie Blanco, Provincial Social Welfare and Development officer Elizabeth Baybayan, DA regional director Crispulo Baustita, Jr. and Mitigations Program of National Irrigation Administration head Engr. Isabelito Bitangol. (PR)
According to Governor Lilia “Nanay” Pineda, the Capitol is recognizing their efforts to produce rice for Kapampangans. May it be day or night, their intensive efforts to provide food for the province is so much to thank for, she said.
“Dahil sa inyo kaya ang bawat pamilyang Kapampangan ay may nahahapag na pagkain sa kanilang mga tahanan. Ang Kapitolyo ay palaging naka-antabay sa inyo upang kayo ay tulungan sa inyong mga pangangailangan (It is because of you that each Kapampangan family has food on the table. The Capitol is always ready to assist you in your needs),” she said.
For his part, Vice Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda assured the farmers that the provincial government would strengthen support for them and prioritize machineries, equipment and seed development for them.
Meanwhile, Third District Board Member Anianas Canlas, Jr., chairman of the committee on agriculture and agrarian reform, lauded the farmers for being resilient, especially that today’s biggest competitor is climate change.
The lady governor also invited Dr. Frisco Malabanan, senior technical promotion consultant, to discuss to the farmers the one-million hectare hybrid rice intensification project.
Malabanan explained to the attendees the performance of paddies in the country from 2015-2018.
In 2018, palay production decreased by 1.14 percent as compared to 2017.
The area harvested for palay decreased from 4.81 million hectares to 4.80 million hectares from 2017 to 2018. Also, the recorded highest average yield was 4.01 metric tons per hectare last 2017.
He also shared that Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol is campaigning to address the fear and concerns of the rice industry on the Rice Tariffication Act in the Philippines.
Governor Pineda also reiterated the advantages of tariffication for the agriculture industry.
For Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food Chairperson Cynthia Villar, this would help local farmers to be more competitive.
“Because in the recent lifting of quantity restriction, one of its impact is the lack of competitiveness in the market that would eventually discourage the farmer to produce rice,” she said.
The law, according to her, provided for a competitive enhancement fund.
The fund would allot half to rice farm machinery and equipment for eligible farmer groups, rice cooperatives and local government units, while 30 percent will go to rice seed development, propagation and promotion, and 10 percent each to rice credit assistance and rice extension services.
This will also be a source of direct financial assistance to farmers cultivating two hectares and below in the form of compensation for projected losses.
Third District Representative Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, Jr. for his part, said that he will allot P80 million this year for the agricultural industry of the province.
According to provincial agriculturist Edilberto Salenga, each farmer received P1,300 multiplied by the measure of hectares they owned.
Also present in the event were provincial board members, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management officer Angie Blanco, Provincial Social Welfare and Development officer Elizabeth Baybayan, DA regional director Crispulo Baustita, Jr. and Mitigations Program of National Irrigation Administration head Engr. Isabelito Bitangol. (PR)
Why Alzheimer’s
scientists are looking at green tea and carrots
By Najja ParkerThe Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Tues., March 19, 2019
While scientists have not found a
cure for Alzheimer’s disease, they may be able to reverse the symptoms with
some key compounds, according to a new report.
Researchers from the University
of Southern California recently conducted a study, published in the Journal of
Biological Chemistry, to determine how diet can impact the brain disorder. They
specifically examined two compounds: epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a key
ingredient in green tea, and ferulic acid (FA), which is found in carrots,
tomatoes, rice, wheat and oats.
Researchers
have discovered that ferulic acid (FA), which is found in carrots, tomatoes,
rice, wheat and oats, reverses the symptoms of Alzheimer’s in mice. Toronto
Star (STEVE
RUSSELL / TORONTO STAR)
For their assessment, they
observed mice in good health and with Alzheimer’s-like symptoms. They ran them
through tests that assessed their memory and thinking skills.
One was a Y-shaped maze that
tested the rodents’ spatial working memory — “a skill that humans use to find
their way out of a building,” the team explained in a statement. While healthy
mice were able to enter and exit the maze several times, impaired mice could
not.
The analysts then randomly
grouped the mice into four different categories. The first group consumed a
combination of EGCG and FA, the second had only EGCG, the third ate only FA and
the fourth had a placebo.
“After three months, combination
treatment completely restored spatial working memory and the Alzheimer’s mice
performed just as well as the healthy comparison mice,” senior author Terrence
Town said.
Despite the results, the
researchers noted “many mouse discoveries never translate into human
treatments.”
However, they believe their
findings are promising, because they think their data proves certain
plant-based supplements may help protect against Alzheimer’s disease.
“You don’t have to wait 10 to 12
years for a designer drug to make it to market; you can make these dietary
changes today,” Town said. “I find that very encouraging.”
Science:
Metabolite stimulates a crop whereas suppressing a weed [Report]
A newly discovered, naturally occurring metabolite that promotes
growth in rice plants and thwarts infestation by a common parasitic plant could
help improve global food security, say KAUST researchers. Plant scientists are
working on methods for generating healthy, nutritious crops to feed the world’s
growing population. However, breeding strong plants that provide reliable,
sustainable yields is beset with challenges, including battling parasitic
infestations and plant infections.
Apocarotenoids are organic compounds found in the tissues of
most living things; they can act as hormones and signaling molecules which,
among other functions, stimulate metabolic processes. Scientists are just
beginning to untangle the complex networks of these compounds in plants, with
surprising results.
Under the guidance of KAUST faculty Salim Al-Babili, Takashi
Gojobori and Ikram Blilou, the KAUST team, together with scientists in Italy,
have identified a novel apocarotenoid metabolite called zaxinone that is
synthesized by a previously overlooked group of enzymes, carotenoid cleavage
dioxygenases (CCDs), found in most plants. As well as promoting plant growth,
zaxinone reduces infestation by the root parasite,Striga,also known as
witchweed.
The first author of the paper Jian You Wang explains, “Strigais
a parasitic plant that infests cereals. Plant hormones called strigolactones
are released by host plants into soil, and Striga seeds use this to germinate
and build a structure that connects them to the host roots, where they siphon
off nutrients, minerals and water. This strips the host of resources needed for
its own growth, drastically reducing yields. Striga now affects more than 60
percent of farmland in sub-Saharan Africa and is spreading quickly; it is one
of the seven major biotic threats to global food security.”
The team used sequence databases to analyze the distribution and
activity of CCD genes across 69 different plant species, including rice. They
identified a gene and its associated enzyme in one CCD subfamily that produces
zaxinone. They investigated mutant rice plants with reduced zaxinone content to
find that they had poor growth and elevated levels of strigolactones.
“Next, we exposed mutant and wild-type plants to increased
zaxinone levels,” says Wang. “This treatment rescued the mutant plants and
promoted the growth of wild-type plants. We were surprised to find that this
metabolite regulates strigolactone levels with the knock-on effect of tackling
Striga infestation.”
“We are very excited about zaxinone—it could be used to
alleviate Striga infestation or as a bio-stimulant to accelerate plant growth,”
Al-Babili adds. “We’re currently performing metabolomics and transcriptomics
studies to fully understand this growth regulator and how it functions.”
More information:
Jian You Wang et al. The apocarotenoid metabolite zaxinone regulates growth and strigolactone biosynthesis in rice, Nature Communications (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08461-1
Jian You Wang et al. The apocarotenoid metabolite zaxinone regulates growth and strigolactone biosynthesis in rice, Nature Communications (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08461-1
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A newly discovered, naturally occurring metabolite that promotes
growth in rice plants and thwarts infestation by a common parasitic plant could
help improve global food security, say KAUST researchers. Plant scientists are
working on methods for generating healthy, nutritious crops to feed the world’s
growing population. However, breeding strong plants that provide reliable,
sustainable yields is beset with challenges, including battling parasitic
infestations and plant infections.
Apocarotenoids are organic compounds found in the tissues of
most living things; they can act as hormones and signaling molecules which,
among other functions, stimulate metabolic processes. Scientists are just
beginning to untangle the complex networks of these compounds in plants, with
surprising results.
Under the guidance of KAUST faculty Salim Al-Babili, Takashi
Gojobori and Ikram Blilou, the KAUST team, together with scientists in Italy,
have identified a novel apocarotenoid metabolite called zaxinone that is
synthesized by a previously overlooked group of enzymes, carotenoid cleavage
dioxygenases (CCDs), found in most plants. As well as promoting plant growth,
zaxinone reduces infestation by the root parasite,Striga,also known as
witchweed.
The first author of the paper Jian You Wang explains, “Strigais
a parasitic plant that infests cereals. Plant hormones called strigolactones
are released by host plants into soil, and Striga seeds use this to germinate
and build a structure that connects them to the host roots, where they siphon off
nutrients, minerals and water. This strips the host of resources needed for its
own growth, drastically reducing yields. Striga now affects more than 60
percent of farmland in sub-Saharan Africa and is spreading quickly; it is one
of the seven major biotic threats to global food security.”
The team used sequence databases to analyze the distribution and
activity of CCD genes across 69 different plant species, including rice. They
identified a gene and its associated enzyme in one CCD subfamily that produces
zaxinone. They investigated mutant rice plants with reduced zaxinone content to
find that they had poor growth and elevated levels of strigolactones.
“Next, we exposed mutant and wild-type plants to increased
zaxinone levels,” says Wang. “This treatment rescued the mutant plants and
promoted the growth of wild-type plants. We were surprised to find that this
metabolite regulates strigolactone levels with the knock-on effect of tackling
Striga infestation.”
“We are very excited about zaxinone—it could be used to
alleviate Striga infestation or as a bio-stimulant to accelerate plant growth,”
Al-Babili adds. “We’re currently performing metabolomics and transcriptomics
studies to fully understand this growth regulator and how it functions.”
More information:
Jian You Wang et al. The apocarotenoid metabolite zaxinone regulates growth and strigolactone biosynthesis in rice, Nature Communications (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08461-1
Jian You Wang et al. The apocarotenoid metabolite zaxinone regulates growth and strigolactone biosynthesis in rice, Nature Communications (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08461-1
TNAU, Queen’s varsity networks on Food Security,
Biodiversity, Climate Change
March 19, 2019
Coimbatore: A three day Networking workshop on
“Balancing Climate, Bio-diversity & Food security – Towards a Global
Alliance” is in progress at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) in
association with Queen’s university, England and Global Challenges Research
Fund (GCRF).
Speaking at
the inaugural yesterday, Dr. Deepak Kumaresan of Queen’s University,
highlighted the importance of Network workshop and emphasized that addressing
such key environmental issues is necessary as around 40 million migration is
expected in the near future due to these issues.
In his
presidential address, TNAU Vice chancellor Dr N Kumar stressed that food and
nutritional security, impacts on biodiversity and climate are crucial
interlinked platforms that need a strong network between countries and
Institutions, a TNAU release said Tuesday.
While
expressing satisfaction over achievements in food grain production and
increasing nutritional security by way of increased horticultural production,
he said that the other two areas need more attention.
TNAU has
initiated studies on the physiological changes occurring in crop plants due to
increase in temperature up to 4 to 5 degree, he said and recalled that
technologies evolved by the Environmental Sciences Department of TNAU helped
combat straw burning issues in Punjab and Haryana.
Former TNAU
Vice chancellor and environmental scientist, K Ramasamy highlighted the
transformation of India’s ancient pollution management wisdom into novel
technologies. With 40-75 liters of wastewater generated for every kg of
industrial products, nano-filtration remained a viable technology for reuse of
such waters, he said.
The
workshop, to be concluded tomorrow, is attended by 80 delegates from Ireland,
Bangladesh, England, Guyana, Brazil, District environmental engineers,
Scientists from Indian Rice Research Institute, Central Leather Research
Institute, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Salim Ali Centre of
Ornithology, entrepreneurs from industries and Scientists from TNAU, it said.
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