Threat to PHL food security
-
March 27, 2019
Nothing has changed nearly seven
years after the government sounded the alarm that Filipino farmers are aging
and the youth are not interested to go into agriculture. The current average
age of Filipino farmers is 57 years old, prompting some lawmakers to call
farming a “dying profession.” Who can blame those who are not keen on tilling
the land? Farming in the Philippines is usually a backbreaking work that offers
little reward.
Data from the Philippine
Statistics Authority will attest to the difficulties faced by farmers. In a
report released in June 2017, the PSA disclosed that the farming sector
consistently topped the list with the highest poverty incidence. The poverty
incidence among farmers in 2015 was at 34.3 percent. Prior to the release of
the 2017 data, agriculture (next to fisheries) also posted the highest poverty
incidence in 2006, 2009 and 2012.
Apart from the unwillingness of
the young generation to go into farming, those who stayed are now being driven
away from the sector by inadequate or bad government policies. Take the case of
the tobacco farmers in the Ilocos region. While there is evidence that the increase
in excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol (or “sin” taxes) slashed the cigarette
consumption of Filipinos, it also caused 12,000 farmers to stop planting the
crop (See, “‘Sin’ tax forces farmers to give up tobacco,” in the
BusinessMirror, March 25, 2019).
Of the 12,000 farmers who stopped
planting tobacco, industry data indicated that 2,300 planters left the
agriculture sector for good. The data, however, did not indicate the
alternative livelihood of these farmers. Some of those who stopped planting
tobacco shifted to corn, which is more suitable for the Ilocos region. How long
will they plant corn is anybody’s guess because the crop is not as profitable
as tobacco.
This could also happen to sugar
farmers if the government succeeds in further opening up the sector in its bid
to rein in inflation. Thousands of small planters would stop planting sugarcane
once the government allows the unimpeded entry of imported sugar (via tariff
reduction or removal of nontariff barriers). Farm workers or sacadas are
already leaving the sector in droves and are taking on construction jobs that
pay higher. Unfortunately for sugarcane farmers, funds allocated by the government
to improve their competitiveness are much smaller than those given to the
tobacco sector.
If the government is not careful
in implementing the rice trade liberalization law, planters may follow the lead
of those who have left the tobacco sector. Republic Act 11203 calls for the
establishment of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which consist of
tariffs collected from imports. The P10-billion RCEF would bankroll programs
aimed at cushioning the impact of more rice imports. But the fund is an initiative
that should have been put in place while Congress worked on amending RA 8148,
or the Agricultural Tarrification Act.
The same goes for the rice
industry road map, which details the strategies that would help ensure the
sector’s survival in light of the expected influx of cheap imports. The
rationale for the crafting of the road map only after the rice trade
liberalization measure has been enacted remains unclear. It is akin to letting
soldiers go to battle sans the necessary artillery and equipment.
Let’s hope that these lapses will
not cause significant harm to the country’s food production. Even then, unless
the government can find a way to produce crops and other foodstuff without
human labor, the exodus of Filipino planters will remain a big threat to the
country’s food security.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/03/27/threat-to-phl-food-security/
Malaysia grain imports seen on upswing
03.26.2019
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — Malaysia
is forecast to import more corn, wheat and rice in the 2019-20 marketing year,
according to a March 20 Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report
from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA).
According to the USDA, Malaysia is
forecast to import 4.15 million tonnes of corn in 2019-20, up from 4 million
tonnes in 2018-19 and compared with 3.645 million tonnes in 2017-18. The USDA
said the increase primarily reflects steadily growing demand for poultry feed.
Malaysia imports most of its corn
from South America, with approximately 80% originating from Brazil and
Argentina during the 2017-18 marketing year. But the USDA said that
increasingly competitive U.S. Gulf prices in the first quarter of 2019 may
boost interest for imports from the United States.
Wheat imports in Malaysia are
forecast at 1.78 million tonnes in 2019-20, up from 1.75 million tonnes in 2018-19
and compared with 1.612 million tonnes in 2017-18. The USDA said the small
increase reflects expectations that consumption will remain relatively flat
during the year. Most of Malaysia’s wheat imports come from Australia, followed
by Canada and the United States.
Rice imports also are forecast to
increase in 2019-20, the USDA said, moving to 1.12 million tonnes from 1.05
million tonnes in 2018-19. The USDA attributed the projected increase in
imports to rising consumption demands of the growing population. Thailand and
Vietnam currently supply more than 80% of rice imported into Malaysia, the USDA
noted.
Rice prices to fall as low as P30/kg —
DTI
d to import the staple from various sources without permit from
the National Food Authority provided they secure a sanitary and phytosanitary
import clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of
Agriculture and pay the appropriate tariff. Under the Rice Tariffication Law
which took effect last March 5, rice traders would be allowe
Louella Desiderio (The Philippine Star) -
March 27, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Rice prices
could go as low as P30 per kilo with the implementation of the rice
tariffication law, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
“I am not making any promises,
but with more imports, we can see the price go down to P30 to P32 (per kilo),”
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.
He said the lower price could be
seen in three weeks.
Under the Rice Tariffication Law
which took effect last March 5, rice traders would be allowed to import the
staple from various sources without permit from the National Food Authority
provided they secure a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance from the
Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture and pay the appropriate
tariff.
The law is intended to help
ensure stable supply and address high rice prices seen last year.
Lopez said it takes about two
weeks for imports to arrive in the country.
Consumers can already see the
rice being sold for as low as P34 per kilo when they go to supermarkets.
He said the Presyong Risonable
Dapat (PRD) program launched by the DTI last year to allow retailers to
directly import rice and sell it at a fixed price of P38 per kilo and below,
has also helped make the staple available at a more affordable cost.
To participate in the PRD,
retailers need to file applications with the DTI, and inform the agency
of the volume of rice they want to import, as well as where the imports would
be sold and where they would pay the tariff.
Apart from more imports, Lopez
said the support being provided to local farmers should help bring down prices.
He said around P5 billion has
been allocated this year to support rice farmers.
“So, we will see more of cheaper
rice. That is what we are after,” he said.
Meanwhile, the United States
Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS) thinks
the rice liberalization law will not have an immediate impact as earlier
projected.
“Its effects are expected to be
more pronounced in the next two to three years, and will largely depend on how
the interventions are implemented and how efficiently the bureaucracy
transitions to liberalized rice trade,” USDA said.
The Rice Tariffication Law
includes a P10 billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund to make the local
industry more competitive.
The RCEF is on top of the initial
P5 billion budget already released and another P7 billion of the regular
funding programmed by the Department of Agriculture for the rice program.
“Actual rice consumption is
expected to increase modestly in two to three years as effects of the
liberalization of rice imports (increased imports resulting in falling rice
prices) become more apparent,” it said.
Rice is a staple food in the
country and the law is intended, in part, to spur imports to quell domestic
unrest caused by inflation.
Economic managers earlier claimed
that rice prices would start going down just a few months after the law’s
signing.
USDA earlier reported that the
Philippines was already sourcing some 2.6 million metric tons of rice as
additional imports are anticipated amid policy change removing quantitative
restrictions on Filipinos’ basic commodity.
This makes the country the
second-largest rice importer for 2019, next to China with an estimated 4.5
million MT of rice imports.
USDA said rice imports from ASEAN
member countries would increase as a result of rice tariffication, benefiting
from geographic proximity and lower tariffs.
Rice production for the year is
forecast to rise to 19.4 MT or two percent higher than the previous year,
boosted by government investments to make the local industry more
competitive. – With Louise Maureen Simeon
Funds for
drought-resistant palay seeds eyed
A lawmaker on Tuesday said the release of P5 billion to farmers
late last year will help them brace for an extended dry spell in at least 19
provinces this year.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said the funds were
released ahead of the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 11203 or the rice
tariffication law that mandates the government to provide a specific fund for
agriculture development.
Under the rice tariffication law, the importation of rice was
liberalized but the law mandates a creation of a fund to help farmers who will
be adversely affected by the liberalization of rice importation.
He said the provincial government of CamSur declared a state of
calamity as the latest dry spell has affected a critical portion of the
province.
Villafuerte suggested that P1 billion to P2 billion of the
P5-billion fund released by the DBM—ahead of the establishment of the
P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund under RA 11203—be used for
the procurement of drought-tolerant rice seeds to help farmers tide over the
projected El Niño spell in 2019.
“The DA can procure the drought-tolerant rice seed varieties in
time for the succeeding cropping seasons to mitigate the effects of the dry
spell on the farm sector,” Villafuerte, who is a co-author of RA 11203, said.
According to the International Rice Research Institute, there
are eight drought-tolerant rice seed varieties available to farmers for
highland and lowland planting.
Villafuerte, vice chairman of the House committee on
appropriations, recalled that Budget department said it had released a Special
Allotment Release Order to the DA amounting to P5 billion last December for the
National Rice Program, which will complement the would-be RCEF, the funds of
which are to be come from the upcoming rice import tariff collections. Maricel
V. Cruz
On top of adjusting to a rice-tariffied regime, farmers also
have to cope with this year’s El Nino phenomenon, with the Philippine
Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa)
forecasting that drought to likely hit Metro Manila, Pangasinan, Bataan,
Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Occidental Mindoro,
Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Masbate, Rizal, Antique, Iloilo, Bataan, Northern
and Western Samar and Dinagat Islands.
Earlier, Villafuerte said the RCEF’s allocation of P10 billion
will help the agriculture sector modernize and gain access to lending
facilities.
As provided under the bill, the RCEF will have a minimum annual
allocation of P10 billion for six years, and tariff revenues from rice imports
in excess of P10 billion shall be appropriated by the Congress for this sector,
based on a menu of programs in the rice tariffication law.
Under the bill, the proposed fund will be allocated as follows:
50% for grants to farmers’ associations, registered rice cooperatives, and
local government units in the form of rice equipment, to be implemented by the
Philippine Center for Post-Harvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech);
and 30% for the development, propagation and promotion of inbred rice seeds to
rice farmers and organizations, to be implemented by the Philippine Rice
Research Institution (PhilRice).
The 10 percent will be in the form of credit at preferential
rates to rice farmers and cooperatives to be managed by the Land Bank
(Landbank) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP); and the remaining
10% for extension services to teach rice farmers modern methods of farming,
seed production, and farm mechanization, to be administered by PhilMech,
PhilRice, the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) and the Technical Education
and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
Importers are
Nigeria’s biggest enemies - Minister Audu Ogbeh reveals 3 hours ago 1200 views
by Eromosele Ebhomele - Minister Audu
Ogbeh says importers are the real enemies of Nigeria as they wreck efforts to
boost local production of goods - Ogbeh says toothpicks and tomato pastes are
still being imported into Nigeria and costing the country huge sums - The
minister explains how government is doing its best concerning the agricultural
sector Nigeria’s agriculture minister, Audu Ogbeh, has accused importers of
being the country’s biggest enemies as he says they are the ‘greatest wreckers’
of the economy and effort at locally produced goods. Ogbeh, according to
Leadership, said this in Abuja when he appeared before the National Assembly
joint committee on agriculture to defend the ministry’s budget. The minister
argued that international merchants including importers of products like
toothpick, sugar, vegetables, and pencils had frustrated the government’s
efforts at ensuring the citizens bought made in Nigeria goods. READ ALSO:
NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo
Olupohunda “We are a nation of importers. Toothpick every year costs us 18
million dollars, tomato paste costs us 400 million dollars. “Meanwhile, a
basket of tomatoes is less than N2,000. The farmers are losing money because
the processors do not have enough funds to set up factories. “Two factories
have started off. I am sure by the end of next year we can comfortably tell the
importers of tomato paste to stop. “Unfortunately, when you do you make
enemies; even the importation of rice that we are trying to reduce is creating
for us enemies, heavy enemies, people, who can kill if they have the
opportunity because you are spoiling their business. “Nobody should take this
lightly. These guys have hijacked the economy of this country. “They have taken
it hostage and they have no intention of giving up. This regime is unpopular in
part because it is trying to cut down imports and transfer the wealth to
another thing. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best
news on Nigeria’s #1 news app “I know what I am saying because I have been in
this business for 41 years. We import sugar, handkerchief, toothpaste, even
pencils. “I read in the newspapers recently that the Champagne Ambassador in
Nigeria said Nigerians love life. We are the biggest consumers of champagne on
planet earth,” he said. Legit.ng earlier reported that Audu Ogbeh said good
access roads in the country can boost agricultural production, open up business
opportunities and further unite the country. Ogbeh said this when he was
addressing newsmen in Otukpo, Benue, after an inspection of federal roads.
NAIJ.com (naija.ng).
Woman Wary of Prescription Drugs Gets
Liver Damage From Supplement
Doctors determined red yeast rice supplement likely to blame
|
By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff
Posted Mar 26, 2019 2:00 PM CDT
|
(NEWSER) – A woman who was wary of taking prescription statins to lower her
cholesterol took red yeast rice supplements instead—and ended up with acute
liver damage. After six weeks of using the over-the-counter supplements, which
contain the same chemical that statins use to reduce cholesterol (monacolin K),
the 64-year-old Michigan woman ended up in the hospital after developing a
number of symptoms including fatigue, bloating, dark urine, light-colored
stool, and jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin). Tests showed a
drug-induced liver injury, which doctors determined was likely caused by the
supplements. The problem? Supplements aren't regulated by the FDA. "Often
taking a supplement means taking an unknown dose of the active component,"
the lead researcher on the case says, per HealthDay News.
As researchers explain, it doesn't
matter whether monacolin K is derived synthetically (as it is for statins) or
naturally (as it is for red yeast rice supplements, which contain a mix of
fermented steamed rice and food fungus), but too much of it can hurt the liver,
and the concentration used in supplements "is not measured or regulated,
and can vary widely," as tests have shown, the lead researcher says. Red
yeast rice has been known to cause serious liver damage in the past, and it can
take months to recover. In this woman's case, she also reported drinking two
glasses of red wine nightly while taking the supplements; drinking alcohol can
increase the risk of liver damage from the supplements, LiveScience reports.
The woman received steroids and doctors asked her not to take the supplement
again, according to the report of her case published this week in BMJ Case Reports. (Woman's turmeric supplement likely caused uncommon disease.)
Study: aquaculture
increases greenhouse gas emissions
BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) — An international study found that
freshwater aquaculture in ponds converted from rice paddy fields may cause a
significant rise in methane emissions, a major greenhouse gas responsible for
global warming.
Aquaculture is one of the fast-growing segments of the food
economy and exceeded capture fisheries due to the growing global demand for
fish products.
In some countries, rice paddy fields have been and are being
converted into aquaculture ponds. Previous studies found that rice paddies are
a significant source of atmospheric methane. The greenhouse gas implications of
the conversion have yet to be quantified.
Researchers from the Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy
of Sciences, Britain’s Bangor University and Yonsei University in the Republic
of Korea measured year-round methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide
emissions from paddy fields and the converted crab aquaculture ponds in China’s
Taihu Lake near Shanghai.
Primarily due to increased methane emissions, about 28 tonnes of
carbon dioxide equivalent are released from converted aquaculture ponds per
acre every year, compared to 8.15 tonnes from traditional rice patty fields,
they reported on the British journal Nature Climate Change.
Paddy fields produce a large amount of methane when decaying
plant materials are broken down by microbes called methanogen in the
oxygen-free waterlogged soils. In aquaculture ponds that are converted from
paddy fields, the food added to feed the crabs and fish increases the amount of
rotting material for methanogen to produce more methane.
The researchers then compiled a worldwide database of different
freshwater aquaculture systems and found that most methane emitted originated
in shallow earthen aquaculture systems and far lower emissions from intensified
systems with continuous aeration.
They suggested that more aerated systems should be required to
address the significant rise in methane emissions from the conversion of paddy
fields to aquaculture, noting that the modification can eliminate methane
before it reaches the atmosphere.
According to a report by the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization, growth in the global supply of fish for human consumption has outpaced
population growth in the past five decades. World per capita apparent fish
consumption increased from an average of 9.9 kg in the 1960s to 14.4 kg in the
1990s and 20.4 kg in 2016.
Agriculture, directly affected by climate change, also affects
the climate as it is responsible for about one-third of greenhouse gas
emissions, a major cause of global warming. Most of the methane in the
atmosphere comes from agricultural activities, such as livestock breeding, rice
cultivation, and burning of plant materials.
Need to create
awareness on IPR amongst MSMEs: Expert
Need to create awareness on IPR amongst MSMEs: Expert
Nagpur, Mar 27 (KNN) There is need to create awareness about on Intellectual
Property Rights (IPR) amongst Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
This was said by Dinesh Rai, Former Secretary of Ministry of
MSME at the two day interactive workshop on ‘Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR)’.
The workshop was organized by MSME-DI Nagpur in association with
MIDC Industries Association, Ready-made Garment Cluster, Nagpur Rice Millers
Association, Ramtek, Alliance for Indian MSME and Nagpur Agarbatti Cluster
Association (NACA).
Speaking on the occasion, Dinesh Rai said, “There is need to
organize programs on IPR to create awareness about IPR amongst MSMEs of
Vidarbha.”
He stated “IP rights protect all the aspects of the business,
its name and logo, designs, inventions, works of creative or intellectual
effort or trademarks that distinguish the business.”
In addition he pointed out that IPRs were essentially recognized
and accepted all over the world due to important reasons like to provide
incentive to the individuals for new creations, providing due recognition to
the creators and inventors, ensuring material reward for intellectual property
and ensuring the availability of the genuine and original products.
Director of MSME-DI Nagpur, P M Parlewar said “An effective and
enabling administrative and legal regime for IPR bestows confidence to the
IP-owner and creator allowing them to manage and eventually create the crucial
link between innovation and its economic applications.”
On the occasion, National President of Confederation of All
India Traders (CAIT), B C Bhartia said Innovations are much needed and for this
purpose there is a need to change the mindset. It will be better, if we first
innovate in India and then manufacture in India. IPR protects the identity of
products manufactured by MSMEs.”
In his address, Deputy Controller of Patent, Pankaj Borkar
thanked MSME-DI Nagpur for organizing program on IPR which will definitely
create awareness amongst the entrepreneurs and help in growth of MSMEs.
He gave power point presentation on topics like introduction to
IPR, trademark, industrial design, copyright, geographical indication, trade
secret, national and international IP laws, etc. (KNN/YV)
Worms destroying agriculture
Comments / 
39 Views / Wednesday, 27 March 2019 00:00
39 Views / Wednesday, 27 March 2019 00:00
The farmer is at the receiving
end of climate, pests and worm attacks and worst are the political worms – Pic
by Shehan Gunasekara
By mid-March the majority
of paddy farmers have completed harvesting their Maha crop; some with financial
issues have already disposed their stocks to middlemen. Others are fighting to
get a reasonable price for their stocks.
The Paddy Marketing Board announced that it has commenced purchasing paddy from farmers and by 11 March had purchased 400,000kg of paddy at a maximum of 2,000kg paddy per farmer, meaning PMB has purchased paddy from 200 farmers. The balance stocks need to be sold to rice millers or their agents who pay a lesser price than the PMB. Two weeks ago there were two ministerial committees arguing on the purchase price for paddy.
Daily Mirror on 2 March reported, ‘Unidentified pest causes havoc in paddy fields’. According to the report, an identified pest has caused extensive damage to paddy cultivation on the verge of harvest on the Polonnaruwa District, with over 10,000 acres of paddy cultivation already destroyed by the pest.
Farmers pointed out that the pest was spreading fast and they have used every pesticide recommended by the Department of Agriculture to no avail. Agricultural officials claim the prevailing weather in the area has worsened the situation. Meanwhile, Agricultural Instructor M.A.A.S. Swarnalatha said the paddy cultivations in the latter part of the Maha season had been affected by the pest.
The Paddy Marketing Board announced that it has commenced purchasing paddy from farmers and by 11 March had purchased 400,000kg of paddy at a maximum of 2,000kg paddy per farmer, meaning PMB has purchased paddy from 200 farmers. The balance stocks need to be sold to rice millers or their agents who pay a lesser price than the PMB. Two weeks ago there were two ministerial committees arguing on the purchase price for paddy.
Daily Mirror on 2 March reported, ‘Unidentified pest causes havoc in paddy fields’. According to the report, an identified pest has caused extensive damage to paddy cultivation on the verge of harvest on the Polonnaruwa District, with over 10,000 acres of paddy cultivation already destroyed by the pest.
Farmers pointed out that the pest was spreading fast and they have used every pesticide recommended by the Department of Agriculture to no avail. Agricultural officials claim the prevailing weather in the area has worsened the situation. Meanwhile, Agricultural Instructor M.A.A.S. Swarnalatha said the paddy cultivations in the latter part of the Maha season had been affected by the pest.
Worms attack maize
The country is facing the worst
pest infestation in the history, being attacked by the Army-Worm (spodoptera
frugiperda). According to Director General of Agriculture W.M.W. Weerakoon, the
pest, first confirmed in October last year, has damaged half of the country’s
80,000 hectares of maize and it has also infected rice and vegetable crops, “We
have never experienced this kind of damage in the past.”
The pest is the larvae of the Fall Army-Worm moth. It originated in America, perhaps from Chile, has spread to Africa, then India by 2018 and is now found in Sri Lanka.
The ‘Army-Worm’ attack on maize, paddy and other crops attracted heavy news coverage from media. But the damage is not bad as feared. In the 2017/18 Maha season, the maize harvest was 274,399 metric tons. The country is forecasted to produce 240,675 metric tons of maize in the Maha season, which is down 12.2% from a year earlier. But other forecasts predict lower figures.
The pest is the larvae of the Fall Army-Worm moth. It originated in America, perhaps from Chile, has spread to Africa, then India by 2018 and is now found in Sri Lanka.
The ‘Army-Worm’ attack on maize, paddy and other crops attracted heavy news coverage from media. But the damage is not bad as feared. In the 2017/18 Maha season, the maize harvest was 274,399 metric tons. The country is forecasted to produce 240,675 metric tons of maize in the Maha season, which is down 12.2% from a year earlier. But other forecasts predict lower figures.
Reasons for pest attacks
Wide-spread pest attacks on paddy
and other plantations are mostly due to permitting their easy multiplication of
their numbers. Farmers fail to cultivate together as a team, allowing the pest,
worm-laying moths, to spread from one field to the other.
In the north-east dry-zone, Maha rains arrive normally around 20 September. Prior to rains fields are hard, but after the first few rains, the ground becomes softer, allowing farmers to repair their field bunds damaged during the previous harvesting season. When all openings are closed, with following rains water will get collected and ground would be soft, allowing field preparation by tractors. The procedure allows sowing of seed paddy by early or mid-October, when heavier rains arrive in November rice plants are sufficiently tall to withstand flooding. The process would allow mature paddy be ready for harvesting by mid-January, especially with rains ending with December and January being dry.
If the same procedure is followed by all farmers, any delayed farmer could still cultivate a shorter maturing variety and all farms would mature roughly at the same time. Allowing for Yala cultivation by early March, leaving a gap of two months deprives moths of an opportunity to lay their eggs, thus controlling moths and worms. This is the very reason Agricultural Instructor M.A.A.S. Swarnalatha informed that “the paddy cultivations in the latter part of the Maha season had been affected by the pest”.
In the north-east dry-zone, Maha rains arrive normally around 20 September. Prior to rains fields are hard, but after the first few rains, the ground becomes softer, allowing farmers to repair their field bunds damaged during the previous harvesting season. When all openings are closed, with following rains water will get collected and ground would be soft, allowing field preparation by tractors. The procedure allows sowing of seed paddy by early or mid-October, when heavier rains arrive in November rice plants are sufficiently tall to withstand flooding. The process would allow mature paddy be ready for harvesting by mid-January, especially with rains ending with December and January being dry.
If the same procedure is followed by all farmers, any delayed farmer could still cultivate a shorter maturing variety and all farms would mature roughly at the same time. Allowing for Yala cultivation by early March, leaving a gap of two months deprives moths of an opportunity to lay their eggs, thus controlling moths and worms. This is the very reason Agricultural Instructor M.A.A.S. Swarnalatha informed that “the paddy cultivations in the latter part of the Maha season had been affected by the pest”.
Ignorant executive staff
Decades ago, cultivation
societies at village level used to meet and agree on the paddy cultivation days
based on rains. Now, especially in regions with extensive irrigation facilities
as Polonnaruwa, cultivation time is decided by the District Secretary at a
meeting with agricultural officers. Their decision is based on the water
availability in irrigation tanks to release water without considering rains.
The procedure delays the cultivation and wastes valuable water that could have
been saved for Yala cultivation.
This process has resulted in a number of issues. Some elderly farmers cultivate traditionally with the first rains, are least affected by pests and diseases, also their crop becomes mature with the dry period in January. Late cultivators face number of problems, as young rice plants get inundated under heavy rains, shortage of irrigation water at the latter period, as irrigation being curtailed for mature crops, thereby affecting plants still needing water. In addition, they would be subjected to high volumes of pest attacks.
The Daily Mirror news item showed a crop expecting harvesting by end-March. This paddy field would have been planted only in early December. This season most rains ended up early December. Farmers were lucky as Moragahakanda supplied water had filled all tanks in Polonnaruwa District without any shortages. But the pests and worms would multiply in numbers moving from one field to the other.
In addition, when early farmers engage in Yala cultivation in March, pests from late cultivators would be waiting. Resulting farmers needing to use heavy quantities of pesticides.
This process has resulted in a number of issues. Some elderly farmers cultivate traditionally with the first rains, are least affected by pests and diseases, also their crop becomes mature with the dry period in January. Late cultivators face number of problems, as young rice plants get inundated under heavy rains, shortage of irrigation water at the latter period, as irrigation being curtailed for mature crops, thereby affecting plants still needing water. In addition, they would be subjected to high volumes of pest attacks.
The Daily Mirror news item showed a crop expecting harvesting by end-March. This paddy field would have been planted only in early December. This season most rains ended up early December. Farmers were lucky as Moragahakanda supplied water had filled all tanks in Polonnaruwa District without any shortages. But the pests and worms would multiply in numbers moving from one field to the other.
In addition, when early farmers engage in Yala cultivation in March, pests from late cultivators would be waiting. Resulting farmers needing to use heavy quantities of pesticides.
Pesticide usage
Current cultivation practices
necessitate usage of heavy quantities of pesticides and fertiliser by farmers.
Currently, most farms are small, two-and-a-half acre plots allocated in farm
settlements half a century ago, have got subdivided with increasing family
numbers. Farmers tend to use the entire pesticide bottle, even when only a part
is required and throw the empty bottle into the waterway.
This has resulted in excessive usage of pesticides, along with fertilisers. Most fields are laid in cascade fashion and excess water flows to the sown-stream paddy fields and back to irrigation canal. Canal waters are used by farmer families for day-to-day consumption. This intake of excessive chemicals is the primary reason for kidney disease prevailing in the north-central country.
Excessive usage of pesticides and fertiliser has polluted the streams carrying water from fields, small fish as handaya, kavaiya and pethiya, common decades ago, have all disappeared. In addition, unnoticed by most, birds and bees too have disappeared from the area. If the birds continued they would have consumed some of the worms and their spread would have been controlled.
Our agricultural officers complain B-onion seeds produced locally are poor in quality. In other countries beehives in boxes are placed among plantations, enhancing pollination. The writer has observed in North India beekeepers in small vans park their vehicle by the flowering plantations, possibly at the request of plantation owners, leaving bee-boxes on the ground. Meanwhile, keepers sell their bee honey.
This has resulted in excessive usage of pesticides, along with fertilisers. Most fields are laid in cascade fashion and excess water flows to the sown-stream paddy fields and back to irrigation canal. Canal waters are used by farmer families for day-to-day consumption. This intake of excessive chemicals is the primary reason for kidney disease prevailing in the north-central country.
Excessive usage of pesticides and fertiliser has polluted the streams carrying water from fields, small fish as handaya, kavaiya and pethiya, common decades ago, have all disappeared. In addition, unnoticed by most, birds and bees too have disappeared from the area. If the birds continued they would have consumed some of the worms and their spread would have been controlled.
Our agricultural officers complain B-onion seeds produced locally are poor in quality. In other countries beehives in boxes are placed among plantations, enhancing pollination. The writer has observed in North India beekeepers in small vans park their vehicle by the flowering plantations, possibly at the request of plantation owners, leaving bee-boxes on the ground. Meanwhile, keepers sell their bee honey.
Protesting paddy farmers
The biggest problem faced by the
paddy farmers is the difficulty in disposing of their crop at a reasonable
price. During the past few weeks, media has been reporting on farmer protests
over difficulties faces due to absence of a proper buying price and demand a
reasonable price.
A Cabinet Committee recently decided to pay Rs. 38 for a kilogram of Nadu (long grain rice) and Rs. 41 for a kilogram of Samba. Paddy Marketing Board Chairman Kasthuri Anuradhanayaka noted that these prices have considered farmers’ operational cost and the selling price to consumers. He noted PMB has opened all paddy stores and are ready to purchase paddy. But farmers claim they sold Nadu for Rs. 45 and Samba for Rs. 50 in 2015 and demand Rs. 55 for Samba and Rs. 50 for Nadu.
A Cabinet Committee recently decided to pay Rs. 38 for a kilogram of Nadu (long grain rice) and Rs. 41 for a kilogram of Samba. Paddy Marketing Board Chairman Kasthuri Anuradhanayaka noted that these prices have considered farmers’ operational cost and the selling price to consumers. He noted PMB has opened all paddy stores and are ready to purchase paddy. But farmers claim they sold Nadu for Rs. 45 and Samba for Rs. 50 in 2015 and demand Rs. 55 for Samba and Rs. 50 for Nadu.
New rice price formula
Meanwhile media reported of a new
rice formula arrived at a recent meeting between Agriculture Minister P.
Harrison and representatives of mill owners and farmers associations. According
to the agreed simple formula, when the purchase price of a kg of paddy is Rs.
10, the wholesale price of a kg of rice is to be Rs. 24 and to be retailed at
Rs. 28.
Based on the above, if Nadu is purchased at Rs. 38 per kg, wholesale price would be Rs. 91.20 and the retail price Rs. 106.40, a price very much higher than the current market, meaning the Minister is looking after some other interests.
Based on the above, if Nadu is purchased at Rs. 38 per kg, wholesale price would be Rs. 91.20 and the retail price Rs. 106.40, a price very much higher than the current market, meaning the Minister is looking after some other interests.
PMB Paddy purchase prices
Purchase price of paddy by the
Paddy Marketing Board has been changing over the years. Given below are prices
paid by PMB for long grain paddy (Nadu) produced to their standard.
2012 to 2014: 32.00
2015: 45.00
2016: 45.00/38.00 see note
2017: 38.00
2018: 36.00
2019: 38.00
Note: After 2016 Budget PMB purchase price was revised to Rs. 38.00
2012 to 2014: 32.00
2015: 45.00
2016: 45.00/38.00 see note
2017: 38.00
2018: 36.00
2019: 38.00
Note: After 2016 Budget PMB purchase price was revised to Rs. 38.00
Paddy purchase under Yahapalana
Government
President Sirisena took oaths on
8 January 2015 and the Government took steps to increase salaries of Government
servants by Rs. 10,000 a month and the increase with arrears was paid prior to
Sinhala New Year, which created the need for infamous bonds.
President Sirisena addressing the public declared that although the public servants salaries were increased, he did not forget the paddy farmers and proposed to increase the minimum purchase price of paddy to Rs. 45 for Nadu rice.
Prior to the President’s announcement, white rice and Kekulu (lowest priced rice) were selling between Rs. 45 to 50 and Nadu around Rs. 52. Immediately after the announcement minimum price shot up to between Rs. 75 and 80 and Nadu still higher.
President Sirisena addressing the public declared that although the public servants salaries were increased, he did not forget the paddy farmers and proposed to increase the minimum purchase price of paddy to Rs. 45 for Nadu rice.
Prior to the President’s announcement, white rice and Kekulu (lowest priced rice) were selling between Rs. 45 to 50 and Nadu around Rs. 52. Immediately after the announcement minimum price shot up to between Rs. 75 and 80 and Nadu still higher.
Colombo Telegraph on paddy purchase
Colombo Telegraph on 2 March 2015
reported that on 12 February, the Minister had announced: “From now on we will
not allocate money to the PMB to buy paddy since President Maithripala Sirisena
has decided that the PMB has become corrupt.”
“The Minister is clearly trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the electorate! Even a second grader will understand that abolishing the paddy purchasing power of the PMB would only strengthen the hand of those who control the market at present even more.”
“The Minister is clearly trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the electorate! Even a second grader will understand that abolishing the paddy purchasing power of the PMB would only strengthen the hand of those who control the market at present even more.”
Manipulated paddy market
Harvesting of Maha season
commences in mid-January and continue till March. With the President’s decree
eliminating PMB from paddy purchase, private rice millers had a whale of a
time. At the time PMB price was Rs. 32 per kg, but if farmers got Rs. 25 they
would have been lucky. Although a large number of rice millers existed most
were small and lacked finances to purchase paddy.
Former Polonnaruwa District JVP MP S.K. Subasinghe complained: “Right at the beginning of harvesting, leading mill owners obtain loans from State banks without any hassle. Then, they buy and hoard stocks. When small-scale mill owners get loans after going through difficult formalities, there isn’t much paddy left to be procured from farmers. Leading mill owners also manipulate the prices by the use of devious methods.”
According to ASARC Working Paper 2016/041, ‘An Analysis of the Paddy/Rice Value Chains in Sri Lanka’, of the total paddy produced in the county PMB purchases only 10% of production and 90% is handled by the private sector. Farmers face problems in selling paddy to PMB due to long queues, inability to meet quality requirements and cumbersome procedures. The paper reports paddy purchases are concentrated with top four rice mills in Polonnaruwa collecting 37% showing concentrated milling industry in Polonnaruwa.
Former Polonnaruwa District JVP MP S.K. Subasinghe complained: “Right at the beginning of harvesting, leading mill owners obtain loans from State banks without any hassle. Then, they buy and hoard stocks. When small-scale mill owners get loans after going through difficult formalities, there isn’t much paddy left to be procured from farmers. Leading mill owners also manipulate the prices by the use of devious methods.”
According to ASARC Working Paper 2016/041, ‘An Analysis of the Paddy/Rice Value Chains in Sri Lanka’, of the total paddy produced in the county PMB purchases only 10% of production and 90% is handled by the private sector. Farmers face problems in selling paddy to PMB due to long queues, inability to meet quality requirements and cumbersome procedures. The paper reports paddy purchases are concentrated with top four rice mills in Polonnaruwa collecting 37% showing concentrated milling industry in Polonnaruwa.
Paddy purchase by millers
According to Department of Census
and statistics 2014 Maha paddy season running from September to March 2015
harvest was 2.877 million tons. When the President announced enhanced purchase
price of Rs. 45 for Nadu in mid-April, farmers had already sold their paddy to
rice millers.
According to ASARC Working Paper – In July 2015 (Yala harvest) the farmers were compelled to sell paddy in the open market where prices ranged between Rs. 39 a kg for the round grain variety and Rs. 28.47 for long grain variety, both were much below the guaranteed prices of Rs. 50 a kg for round grain and Rs.45 for long grain.
According to ASARC Working Paper – In July 2015 (Yala harvest) the farmers were compelled to sell paddy in the open market where prices ranged between Rs. 39 a kg for the round grain variety and Rs. 28.47 for long grain variety, both were much below the guaranteed prices of Rs. 50 a kg for round grain and Rs.45 for long grain.
Enormous profits by rice millers
In January 2015, beginning of
Maha harvest, white and Kekulu rice was priced at Rs. 45 to 50 and Nadu around
Rs.52. With the President’s announcement white and Kekulu rose to Rs. 75 to 80
and Nadu to Rs.85.
Thus rice millers who purchased paddy prior to price increase would make an additional profit of Rs. 32 per kilo of rice. Paddy harvest in Maha was 2.877 million tons and the four top rice millers from Polonnaruwa would have purchased minimum 37%, or 1.065 million tons of paddy yielding 710,000kg of rice, resulting in four Polonnaruwa rice millers making an additional profit of Rs. 24.85 billion.
With PMB blacklisted by the President, rice millers would have paid farmers a still lower price, purchased a higher volume and made a much higher profit. As the JVP MP pointed out local banks have denied credit to small rice millers, but supported larger millers, raising their percentages in purchases and the profits.
This additional profit of minimum Rs. 24.85 billion made by the four large rice millers in Polonnaruwa is higher than the Rs. 20 billion worth bonds offered by the Central Bank in the infamous bond scam.
The Colombo Telegraph article on 12 March 2015 under ‘Is the rice monopoly exempted from Yahapalanaya?’ claims President Sirisena’s brother Dudley Sirisena of Araliya Rice, with another Deputy Minister of the Rajapaksa Government, Nipuna Gamlath, finally became a duopoly controlling paddy price to the detriment of farmers in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa.
“These two mill owners achieved their dubious ‘success’ by somehow managing to obtain finances easily from the State banking sector during harvest times while starving the smaller millers who faced many obstacles in securing loans from the same banks.”
Thus rice millers who purchased paddy prior to price increase would make an additional profit of Rs. 32 per kilo of rice. Paddy harvest in Maha was 2.877 million tons and the four top rice millers from Polonnaruwa would have purchased minimum 37%, or 1.065 million tons of paddy yielding 710,000kg of rice, resulting in four Polonnaruwa rice millers making an additional profit of Rs. 24.85 billion.
With PMB blacklisted by the President, rice millers would have paid farmers a still lower price, purchased a higher volume and made a much higher profit. As the JVP MP pointed out local banks have denied credit to small rice millers, but supported larger millers, raising their percentages in purchases and the profits.
This additional profit of minimum Rs. 24.85 billion made by the four large rice millers in Polonnaruwa is higher than the Rs. 20 billion worth bonds offered by the Central Bank in the infamous bond scam.
The Colombo Telegraph article on 12 March 2015 under ‘Is the rice monopoly exempted from Yahapalanaya?’ claims President Sirisena’s brother Dudley Sirisena of Araliya Rice, with another Deputy Minister of the Rajapaksa Government, Nipuna Gamlath, finally became a duopoly controlling paddy price to the detriment of farmers in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa.
“These two mill owners achieved their dubious ‘success’ by somehow managing to obtain finances easily from the State banking sector during harvest times while starving the smaller millers who faced many obstacles in securing loans from the same banks.”
VIP mill owners default loans
Meanwhile, Daily Mirror on 8
March reported: “The Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has
in its inquiries found that two politically influential mill owners in the
Polonnaruwa District have defaulted on the repayment of loans amounting to Rs.
300 million borrowed from a State bank. The loans had been obtained to purchase
paddy from farmers in the area. The bank had eventually written off this amount
as bad debt.”
Araliya Green City Hotel
In August 2018, in a full page
advertisement in local English newspapers Araliya Group announced its ‘Araliya
Green City Hotel’ in Nuwara Eliya achieved five-star status, within one year of
operation. News media also reported that the hotel owner Dudley Sirisena boasted
that by end of 2019 he would have 1,500 hotel rooms under him, the highest
hotel room ownership under a single owner.
But he seems to be a selfish person, as President Sirisena informed at a public meeting that “my brothers won’t give me even five rupees”.
But he seems to be a selfish person, as President Sirisena informed at a public meeting that “my brothers won’t give me even five rupees”.
Paddy cultivator’s plight
The paddy cultivators have made
the country almost self-sufficient in rice, but are in a pathetic situation.
They cultivate under difficult conditions with changing weather, with
fertilisers not received on time, pests and marketing problems. Also the paddy
farmer has become lazy, with field preparation and harvesting done with hired
machinery. With more time on his hands his expenses have gone up, he also needs
to pay for machine hire.
After harvesting the farmer needs sufficient storage space at home. For paddy to be acceptable to PMB, moisture content needs to be reduced to 14%, achieved generally by drying on the roadside. Finally, staying in line with paddy possibly over days on a hired vehicle. Once delivered payments may take weeks.
Meanwhile, middle-men purchase paddy off the harvesting machine and the payment is immediate, but at a much lower rate. The poor farmer already in debt without money to pay the harvester has no other alternative. The worst was in February 2015, at the peak paddy harvesting time, President Sirisena prevented PMB from entering the paddy purchase market, making way for large rice millers to purchase at a still lower price. The farmer is at the receiving end of climate, pests and worm attacks and worst are the political worms.
After harvesting the farmer needs sufficient storage space at home. For paddy to be acceptable to PMB, moisture content needs to be reduced to 14%, achieved generally by drying on the roadside. Finally, staying in line with paddy possibly over days on a hired vehicle. Once delivered payments may take weeks.
Meanwhile, middle-men purchase paddy off the harvesting machine and the payment is immediate, but at a much lower rate. The poor farmer already in debt without money to pay the harvester has no other alternative. The worst was in February 2015, at the peak paddy harvesting time, President Sirisena prevented PMB from entering the paddy purchase market, making way for large rice millers to purchase at a still lower price. The farmer is at the receiving end of climate, pests and worm attacks and worst are the political worms.
Create awareness about IPR amongst MSMEs, says Dinesh Rai
|
Date :27-Mar-2019
|
Business Bureau, 
MSME-DI Nagpur in association
with MIDC Industries Association, Ready-made Garment Cluster, Nagpur Rice
Millers Association, Ramtek, Alliance for Indian MSME and Nagpur Agarbatti
Cluster Association (NACA) recently organised two-day interactive workshop on
‘Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)’. Dinesh Rai, former Secretary, Government
of India graced the occasion as chief guest. P M Parlewar, Director, MSME-DI,
Nagpur, Sandip Bharne, President of Nagpur Agarbatti Cluster, B C Bhartia,
National President of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), Capt. C M
Randhir, President of MIA, Pankaj Borkar, Deputy Controller of Patent, V
Shivaji, Director of Rice Mill Association, Ramtek were seated on the dais.
MSME-DI Nagpur in association
with MIDC Industries Association, Ready-made Garment Cluster, Nagpur Rice
Millers Association, Ramtek, Alliance for Indian MSME and Nagpur Agarbatti
Cluster Association (NACA) recently organised two-day interactive workshop on
‘Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)’. Dinesh Rai, former Secretary, Government
of India graced the occasion as chief guest. P M Parlewar, Director, MSME-DI,
Nagpur, Sandip Bharne, President of Nagpur Agarbatti Cluster, B C Bhartia,
National President of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), Capt. C M
Randhir, President of MIA, Pankaj Borkar, Deputy Controller of Patent, V
Shivaji, Director of Rice Mill Association, Ramtek were seated on the dais.
Speaking on the occasion, Dinesh
Rai said, “There is need to organise programmes on IPR to create awareness
about IPR amongst MSMEs of Vidarbha.” He said, “Nowadays patent/trademark is
very valuable. Hence, IPR must figure high on India’s development agenda. In
order to make Indian economy knowledge based and to build up India’s international
competitiveness more on the basis of knowledge than on the basis of cheap
labour and raw materials, it is imperative for Indian people to encourage and
protect its IP.” He said, IP rights protect all the aspects of the business,
its name and logo, designs, inventions, works of creative or intellectual
effort or trademarks that distinguish the business.
The Intellectual Property Rights
were essentially recognised and accepted all over the world due to important
reasons like to provide incentive to the individuals for new creations,
providing due recognition to the creators and inventors, ensuring material
reward for intellectual property and ensuring the availability of the genuine
and original products. He appealed to all the participants to avail maximum
benefit from the programme. P M Parlewar said, an effective and enabling
administrative and legal regime for IPR bestows confidence to the IP-owner and
creator allowing them to manage and eventually create the crucial link between
innovation and its economic applications.
B C Bhartia said, “The workshop
is beneficial for the growth of MSMEs and it will promote prospective and
existing entrepreneurs. Innovations are much needed and for this purpose there
is a need to change the mindset. It will be better, if we first innovate in
India and then manufacture in India. IPR protects the identity of products
manufactured by MSMEs.”. Capt. C M Randhir said, “MSME is taking lead in
arranging such workshops for MSEs which are very much needed. But there is lack
of awareness in our country about patents and IPR and for this purpose
investment in R&D is needed.” In his address, Pankaj Borkar thanked MSME-DI
Nagpur for organising programme on IPR which will definitely create awareness
amongst the entrepreneurs and help in growth of MSMEs. He gave power point
presentation on topics like introduction to IPR, trademark, industrial design,
copyright, geographical indication, trade secret, national and international IP
laws, etc. The programme was co-ordinated by M V K Jha of MSME-DI Nagpur who
also proposed vote of thanks.
VN sees rice export opportunity to
Egypt
|
Update: March, 27/2019 -
09:00
Vietnamese rice shipments have stayed in good
shape from the beginning of March thanks to the robust demand from Iraq,
Malaysia, Cuba and China. — Photo vneconomy.vn
|
The department said that it had received a tender notice from the Egyptian Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade. Under the tender notice, the minimum amount is 20,000 tonnes of rice (± 10 per cent). The type of rice required is short- and medium-grain white rice with 10-12 per cent broken rice.
The rice must be harvested in the last crop of 2018 and meet Egypt’s requirements. The volume of rice will be shipped to Egypt in two phases, from June 1-15 and from June 16-30, 2019.
The time for bidding is March 30 (before 12:00) and the offer is valid until April 30 (18:00 local time).The Import-Export Department said that this is a big opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises to boost rice export to this market. The department advised the businesses to pay attention to the quality of rice to create trust among customers.
On the management side, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will coordinate with ministries, branches and localities to focus on trade promotion and seeking new markets.
According to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), Vietnamese rice shipments have remained in good shape from the beginning of March thanks to the robust demand from Iraq, Malaysia, Cuba and China.
Iraq has already signed a deal to purchase 120,000 tonnes of the grain from Việt Nam. Exporters expect to ship some 300,000 tonnes to the Middle Eastern country in 2019, equal to the same amount from the previous year.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s commodities procurement agency Bernas sealed an agreement with the Vietnam Northern Food Corporation (Vinafood 1) to buy 25,000 tonnes of five per cent broken rice. Bernas has requested express delivery for the order to ensure sufficient rice supply in the country.
Negotiations are underway with importers from the Philippines and China. In addition, the VFA is hoping for a rice export deal with the Republic of Korea via the Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) system. Last year, Viet Nam supplied more than 113,000 tonnes for the East Asian market through the TRQs.
In late 2018, Egypt agreed to import one million tonnes of white rice from Việt Nam in the next three to four months after it reduced the area for the cultivation of the grain due to a lack of water. — VNS
Rice cultivation: Balance of phosphorus and nitrogen
determines growth and yield
In the future, a newly discovered mechanism in control of plant
nutrition could help to achieve higher harvests in a sustainable way.
Scientists from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China) discovered this mechanism in their
research on Asian rice in collaboration with Professor Dr Stanislav Kopriva
from the University of Cologne's Botanical Institute and the Cluster of
Excellence CEPLAS. The balance between nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) is
decisive for crop yield. Both nutrients, which the plant absorbs from the soil
through its roots, interact more strongly with each other than previously
known. The study 'Nitrate-NRT1.1B-SPX4 cascade integrates nitrogen and
phosphorus signalling networks in plants' has now appeared in the journal Nature
Plants.
Kopriva said: 'For healthy and optimal growth, all living beings
need a good balance of minerals. However, we know very little about how plants
achieve this balance.' His colleagues in Beijing had observed that the addition
of phosphate only had a positive effect on plant growth and yield if a
sufficient amount of nitrogen was also available in the soil. 'Together, we
have now discovered the mechanism by which nitrogen controls the absorption of
phosphate', Kopriva remarked.
A detailed analysis at the molecular level revealed an entire
signalling chain that the plant sets in motion - from the sensor that
recognizes nitrate quantities to factors that enable the synthesis of the
so-called transporters that carry the phosphate into the plant. Kopriva
explained: 'Although most of the components were already known individually, it
was only through this work that they were brought together into a signalling
pathway. This gives us a completely new understanding of how to control plant
nutrition. In addition, it enables specific manipulations to either couple the
uptake of both nutrients more closely or to separate them from each other -
depending on how nutrient-rich the soil on which the rice grows is.'
Professor Dr Stanislav Kopriva from the Botanical Institute of
the University of Cologne is co-speaker of the Cluster of Excellence on Plant
Sciences CEPLAS at the Universities of Düsseldorf and Cologne, which is funded
by the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal Government and the Laender.
CEPLAS wants to develop basic knowledge about 'SMART Plants for Tomorrow's
Needs'.
The Sense of Water—and Nitrogen: Studies Uncover Genome-Wide
Responses that Limit Crop Growth in Nutrient-Poor Soils
Mar 26, 2019
New York City
A team of researchers has tested how each gene within the genome
of rice—one of the world’s most important staple crops—senses and responds to
combinations of water and nutrients.
A team of researchers has tested
how each gene within the genome of rice—one of the world’s most important
staple crops—senses and responds to combinations of water and nutrients. Photo
credit: DigitalSoul/Getty Images
A team of researchers has tested how each gene within the genome
of rice—one of the world’s most important staple crops—senses and responds to
combinations of water and nutrients. Its findings,
published in the journal Nature Communications, potentially point
to ways to engineer crops in soils around the world that are currently too dry
or lack the nutrients needed to sustain crop growth.
“Changes in nutrient dose have dramatic effects on gene
expression and plant growth,” explains Joseph Swift, a doctoral candidate in
New York University’s Department of Biology and the study’s lead author. “One
outstanding question is whether organisms respond to changes in absolute
nutrient amount versus its concentration in water. This question is
particularly relevant to plants, as soil drying can alter nutrient
concentration without changing its absolute amount.”
Since the nutrients that plants absorb from the soil are always
dissolved in water, previous studies could not determine whether organisms
sense the total amount of nutrient available or, rather, its relative amount
dissolved in water.
In the Nature Communications study, the
scientists, working in NYU’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, addressed
this matter by exposing rice seedlings to an experimental matrix varying
nitrogen and water conditions, which could parse out the different effects
water and nitrogen—a key plant nutrient—have on rice growth. Through computational
analysis of the responses of the more than 50,000 genes found in the rice
genome, the team found that while some plant genes were controlled in response
to either the amounts of nitrogen or water individually, others were
specifically responsive to their combination.
The researchers then wanted to investigate if these findings,
obtained in lab-grown rice seedlings, affect rice production in a real
agricultural setting. To do so, the team went to the Philippines and
collaborated with researchers at the International Rice Research Institute to
conduct rice field trials over two growing seasons. In the field, they found
that the genes responding to both nitrogen and water simultaneously were
associated with the amount of grain produced by rice crop.
“These genes may assist in developing crops that require not
only fewer nutrients to grow, but less water, too,” observes Gloria Coruzzi, a
professor in NYU’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology and the paper’s
senior author. “This could potentially lead to allowing many marginal soils
around the world—those that are too dry or nutrient poor for crop production—to
be more agriculturally viable. Moreover, it is especially crucial to develop
crops that produce grain yield in the face of global warming and climate
change.”
The research was supported, in part, by grants from the National
Science Foundation (NSF-DBI-0445666, NSF-IOS-1840761) as well as by the Zegar
Family Foundation and the Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program.
Press Contact
James Devitt
(212) 998-6808
USA Rice Demands End to False Labeling in
Puerto Rico
By Bob
Cummings
ARLINGTON, VA --
USA Rice sent a cease and desist letter yesterday to Pan American Grain
demanding that the company stop its deceptive practices concerning the marking
and sales of imported Chinese rice on the U.S. Commonwealth, an important
market for U.S. medium grain.
"We understand that Pan American is packaging imported Chinese rice in violation of U.S. regulatory provisions - to wit, Pan American suggests on its packaging that the imported rice is from Puerto Rico, and Pan American is failing to mark clearly (and in a manner consistent with U.S. regulations) that the product actually originates in China. In addition, at least a portion of the imported rice is short grain rice, but Pan American deceptively has been labeling the product as medium grain rice," wrote USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward.
Puerto Rico is a significant medium grain consumer, traditionally supplied from the mid-South. Imports from China surged beginning in late 2017 and have continued at the expense of shipments of U.S.-grown rice from the mainland. Puerto Rico consumed an average 217,674 cwt of rice in the 2016-2018 period.
Yesterday's action is a follow-up to USA Rice's meeting with U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection (CBP) agents in San Juan in January to educate them about our concerns over false country of origin labeling on rice sold by Pan American Grain, and USA Rice continues to engage with CBP.
USA Rice separately provided evidence this month to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of false and misleading labeling on the Arroz Rico brand sold by Pan American Grain for medium grain when the content is in fact short grain, in addition to the rice being sourced from China but marketed with a faulty country of origin claim. We are asking for regulatory action from both agencies.
Earlier this month Puerto Rican media reported that the island's Department of Consumer Affairs fined Pan American Grain $10,000 for deceiving consumers by claiming place of origin on 20-pound bags of medium grain rice sold under various brands was the United States when the origin actually was China.
"We understand that Pan American is packaging imported Chinese rice in violation of U.S. regulatory provisions - to wit, Pan American suggests on its packaging that the imported rice is from Puerto Rico, and Pan American is failing to mark clearly (and in a manner consistent with U.S. regulations) that the product actually originates in China. In addition, at least a portion of the imported rice is short grain rice, but Pan American deceptively has been labeling the product as medium grain rice," wrote USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward.
Puerto Rico is a significant medium grain consumer, traditionally supplied from the mid-South. Imports from China surged beginning in late 2017 and have continued at the expense of shipments of U.S.-grown rice from the mainland. Puerto Rico consumed an average 217,674 cwt of rice in the 2016-2018 period.
Yesterday's action is a follow-up to USA Rice's meeting with U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection (CBP) agents in San Juan in January to educate them about our concerns over false country of origin labeling on rice sold by Pan American Grain, and USA Rice continues to engage with CBP.
USA Rice separately provided evidence this month to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of false and misleading labeling on the Arroz Rico brand sold by Pan American Grain for medium grain when the content is in fact short grain, in addition to the rice being sourced from China but marketed with a faulty country of origin claim. We are asking for regulatory action from both agencies.
Earlier this month Puerto Rican media reported that the island's Department of Consumer Affairs fined Pan American Grain $10,000 for deceiving consumers by claiming place of origin on 20-pound bags of medium grain rice sold under various brands was the United States when the origin actually was China.
"The U.S. rice industry can't afford to lose any market in today's competitive environment," said Keith Gray, chair of the USA Rice Millers' Association and a Texas miller. "We're seeing the first benefits of concerted industry action to preserve the critical market in Puerto Rico. However, the Chinese rice at landed prices in Puerto Rico is well below internationally traded prices so we still have more work ahead of us."
Amira Nature Foods Ltd Announces Increase
of Previously Announced $30 Million Contract with Repeat Customer to $42
Million
March 26, 2019 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amira
Nature Foods Ltd (the "Company") (NYSE: ANFI), a global provider of
packaged Indian specialty rice, today announced that its previously announced
$30 million contract to supply third party branded basmati rice to a repeat
customer in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (“EMEA”) region was increased
to $42 million within the provisions of the contract. The Company expects to
recognize the benefit of this contract in the 2020 fiscal year ending March 31,
2020.
“We are extremely pleased that our customer has increased its
order and we look forward to continuing to grow all of our relationships in the
EMEA region”
“We are extremely pleased that
our customer has increased its order and we look forward to continuing to grow
all of our relationships in the EMEA region,” stated Karan A. Chanana, Amira’s
Chairman.
Further information on the
Company, including an updated investor presentation and other information, can
be found on the Company’s website at www.amira.net.
About Amira Nature Foods
Founded in 1915, Amira has
evolved into a global provider of packaged specialty rice, with sales in over
40 countries today. Amira sells Basmati rice, premium long-grain rice grown
only in certain regions of the Indian sub-continent, under their flagship Amira
brand as well as under other third party brands. Amira sells its products
primarily in emerging markets through a broad distribution network. Amira’s
headquarters are in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and it also has offices in
India, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Cautionary Note on
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities
laws. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases
that we or our members of management use such as “believe,” “expect,”
“anticipate,” “foresee,” “forecast,” “estimate” or other words or phrases of
similar import. Specifically, these statements include, among other things,
statements that describe our expectations for the global rice market, the
financial impact of new sales contracts on our revenue, our expectations
regarding the successful efforts of our distribution partners, and other statements
of management’s beliefs, intentions or goals. It is uncertain whether any of
the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or
occur, or if any of them do, what impact they will have on our results of
operations, financial condition, or the price of our ordinary shares. These
forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such
forward-looking statements, including but not limited to our ability to perform
our agreements with customers; our ability to recognize revenue from our
contracts as planned; continued competitive pressures in the marketplace; our
reliance on a few customers and distribution partners for a substantial part of
our revenue; our ability to implement our plans, forecasts and other
expectations with respect to our business and realize additional opportunities
for growth; and the other risks and important considerations contained and
identified in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All
forward-looking statements attributable to us or to persons acting on our
behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these risk factors. Other
than as required under the securities laws, we undertake no obligation to
update any forward-looking or other statements herein, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise.
Contacts
Wendy Eguez
The Amira Group
+447340071854
wendy.eguez@theamiragroup.com
The Amira Group
+447340071854
wendy.eguez@theamiragroup.com
Export prices take a dent
Pakistan’s exports at $15 billion, growing at 1.86 percent
year-on-year in 8MFY19 must be a worry. Only that the massive slide in imports
seems to have masked the minimal growth in exports. But imports can only be
curtailed to a limit, and the limit appears to be here. Exports growth, on the
other hand, will depend on a multitude of factors, mostly out of Pakistan’s
control, unlike imports. Exports were never expected to rise immediately
with the sharp currency correction. Prices were expected to slide with the
dollar going dearer and that happened. Pakistan also made efforts on its part
to provide the exporting sectors ground to play competitive through reduction
in energy prices, issuing of promissory notes for clearing long pending dues of
the textile sector, among other factors. But as luck would have it, the sharp
slide in rupee and the resultant drop in unit prices almost across all major
export product categories, coincided with a considerable drop in demand in the
major exporting markets of Pakistan, such as Europe and the USA. Growth of
textile and apparels in the European market has gone down from 4.1 percent in
1HFY18 to 1.4 percent in 1HFY19, according to SBP’s latest report on the state
of the economy. That in the US almost doubled during the period, but Pakistan’s
textile and related exports to the US grew by only 0.5 percent, down from 4.6
percent in 1HFY18. Apart from fruits with a total share of 2.25 percent in
exports, all major export categories have either faced a drop in unit prices or
quantity or both. Readymade garments, for instance, grew by a massive 27
percent year-on-year in terms of quantity, but the unit price slid to $4.43 a
piece, by 19 percent, restricting the growth to under 3 percent year-on-year.
Towels on the other hand, fetched 11 percent higher prices year-on-year, but
the quantity dropped by the same magnitude, limiting the value growth. Basmati
exports have shown resurgence with nearly 28 percent year-on-year growth in
quantity. The unit prices dropped by 10 percent year-on-year, but the quantum
growth were more than enough to keep the value growth well within double
digits. But the story on no-Basmati rice is not as good, as the 10 percent drop
in quantity, more than wiped off the Basmati gains. Most of the exporters’
concerns seem to have been addressed. Some are also reportedly in different
phases of expansion. But, the SBP has rightly pointed out that the “support
would not amount to much-desired forex earnings if the exporters continue to
chase the same markets without making concerted efforts to improve their
product quality and brand image”. There is a dire need for the exporters to tap
new markets. Pakistan’s share in the Middle East textile and apparel market of
over $5 billion is a mere 3 percent. This is simply not enough. Diversification
has to happen, both in terms of product mix and markets, and soon.
Date: 27-Mar-2019
GI Rice Distinctively Unique
Thailand’s geographical features - soil, air and water - help
cultivate produce with inherent characteristics. Thai rice with a geographic
indication (GI) is unique in its flavour and other amazing attributes.
There are currently nine strains of Thai GI rice. 1. Kam
Rice of Lanna Cancer-preventing, nutritious black-grain
glutinous rice. 2. Luem Phua Rice of Phetchabun Fragrant,
tender, delicious and nutritious black-grain rice. 3. Jek
Choei Rice of Sao Hai Fluffy, shape-retaining rice that
doesn’t spoil easily 4. Pathiu Yellow Rice of Chumphon Quick
to cook, fluffy and shape-retaining long-grain rice. Perfect for street
food. 5. Sang Yod Rice of Phatthalung Red-tinted
long-grain rice with a chewy texture and a mild fragrance. Rich in
antioxidants. 6. Thung Kula Rong Hai Hom Mali Rice Thailand’s
best Hom Mali long-grain white rice. Deliciously supple and aromatic. 7. Surin
Hom Mali RiceLong-grain white rice with a glossy exterior.
Pleasantly soft and moist when cooked. 8. Hang Hom Sakonthawapi Rice Slender-grain
golden brown rice. Highly nutritious. 9. Khao Wong Glutinous Rice of Kalasin Soft
but not mushy, this fragrant glutinous rice remains palatably tender for a long
time. Think Rice , Think Thailand
Date: 27-Mar-2019
S.Korea's
rice production costs increase in 2018
26 Mar 2019
Last Updated: 09:21 AM
S
production costs increase
in 2018
Sejong, Mar. 26 (BNA): Rice production costs in South Korea rose
15.2 per cent in 2018 from a year earlier, government data showed Tuesday.
Farmers spent 796,000 won ($ 703) to grow rice on a 1,000-square
meter paddy last year, compared with 691,000 won from 2017, according to the
data compiled by Statistics Korea.
The gross income of rice farmers came to 1.17 million won per
1,000-square meter paddy in 2018, compared with 974,500 won from a year
earlier, South Korean News Agency (Yonhap) reported.
Rice is a key staple food for Koreans, but its consumption has
been on a steady decline in recent decades due mainly to changes in diet and
eating habits.
Per capita average annual rice consumption hit a record low of
61 kilogrammes in 2018, compared with 122.2 kilogrammes in 1988, according to
official data.
F.K.N.
Indian rice export prices rise to seven-month highs
Rice export prices in India rose to their highest level in more
than seven months as the rupee appreciated, denting demand, while trading
companies in Vietnam increased domestic buying to fulfil new overseas deals.
India's 5 percent broken parboiled variety was quoted around $392-$395 per
tonne this week, up from $386-$389 last week. "Demand has been moderating
due to the price rise. African buyers are not ready to pay higher prices,"
said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The
Indian rupee was trading near its highest level in seven months, trimming
returns from overseas sales for traders in the world's largest rice exporter.
In Vietnam, rates for 5 percent broken rice were in line with last week's $360
a tonne. "Demand for Vietnamese rice is seen rising, with key trading
companies increasing their purchases from farmers for deals they have signed
with customers from Malaysia, Philippines and Iraq," a trader based in Ho
Chi Minh City said. Vietnam, the world's third largest rice exporter, has
shipped more than 200,000 tonnes of rice to Malaysia so far this year, while
clients from Iraq have placed orders for 120,000 tonnes, the trader said. A
source with the Ministry of Industry and Trade said Egypt was seeking to buy
20,000 tonnes of 10-12 percent broken rice from Vietnam for delivery in June.
Thai benchmark 5 percent broken rice prices were quoted at $390-$393, free on
board Bangkok, on Thursday, up from $380-$385 last week. With demand little
changed, traders attributed the price rise to fluctuations in the exchange rate
between the baht and the US dollar. On Tuesday, the Thai cabinet agreed to
extend a rice trading agreement with the Philippines which expired in December
for another two years. The agreement allows Thailand, the world's
second-largest rice exporter, to take part in tenders issued by the
Philippines, stating that the two countries can trade up to 1 million tonnes of
rice per year. Meanwhile, Bangladesh will give its farmers free fertiliser and
seeds to boost cultivation of a type of rice that requires less irrigation, the
country's agriculture minister said on Thursday. The stimulus package, worth
nearly 402 million taka ($4.75 million), could help more than 459,000 farmers
increase production of the Aus rice variety grown during the May-August season,
Abdur Razzak, the minister, said. "We are encouraging farmers to grow more
Aus rice as it matures during the monsoon. So it needs only a little irrigation
to cultivate," Razzak told reporters. Bangladesh, usually the world's
fourth biggest producer of rice, was forced to massively increase imports to
shore up domestic reserves in 2017 after floods wrought havoc on local crops.
REAP delegation off to Saudi Arabia for rice promotion
A 17-member delegation of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan
(REAP) left for Saudi Arabia for promotion of Pakistani rice in the Kingdom.
REAP senior vice chairman Ali Hussam Asghar is leading the delegation that will
hold a number of events and business-to-business meetings (B2B) with rice
importers during the 5-day visit to increase the share of Pakistani rice in
that country. Saudi Arabia was one of the leading importing country of
Pakistani rice; however, during the last few years, Pakistan's share in the
Kingdom's rice market has drastically declined. Therefore, REAP has sent the
delegation for promotion of Pakistani rice, which is much better than Indian
rice. The delegation will visit several cities of Saudi Arabia, including
Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah. A mega Biryani festival will be arranged in Jeddah
where top rice importers have been invited to attend and taste some 15
different varieties of Biryani like Mutton Sindhi Biryani, Fish Bombay Biryani,
Chicken Biryani, White Biryani, etc. REAP chairman Safder Hussain Mehkri
informed that Pakistan's rice share in Saudi market declined to 20 percent and
now REAP want to increase share up to 80 percent. The higher rice export will
also help earn more foreign exchange for the country, which is facing a balance
of payment crisis and need massive foreign inflows, he said, adding that
currently, Pakistan's rice export are about $2 billion annually and REAP is
closely working with the federal and provincial governments to increase rice
exports to $5 billion by 2023. He said REAP has focused Research and
Development (R&D) to get a better crop yield and as a part of these
efforts, REAP organised a Rice Conference in Larkana, one of the major rice
cultivation area, to discuss the issues being faced by farmers. Proposal and
recommendation of this conference has already been sent to federal government
for implementation, he said.
Author Name: https://fp.brecorder.com/2019/03/20190324458185/
ESL develops two rice hybrids for resisting BLB, LB diseases
Emkay Seed Limited (ESL) has developed two rice hybrids having
resistance against Bacterial Leaf Blight (BLB) and Leaf Blast (LB), which are
the main damaging factors in the rice production. "We are this year all
set to launch multi-location testing of hybrids with BLB resistant parental
material. Initially, we have planned to sow these seeds at three sites in
Punjab and two sites in Sindh. In Punjab, we will be re-evaluating these seeds
at Sheikhupura and Gujranwala and at one other place while in Sindh it will be
tested in Larkana districts," said ESL CEO Sajjad Malik while talking to Business
Recorder here on Saturday. The company was conducting research to
develop hybrids having resistance against diseases and development of a hybrid
of 'Super Basmati' at its Farooqabad research centre since May 2001. Both the
varieties are ready to hit the market after re-evaluation through different
tests to help rice farmers fight against these diseases and get maximum per
acre yield adding to more surplus production for export or domestic usage. The
company has developed 20 medium grain CMS lines, four Basmati Lines including
the famous 'Super Basmati' having excellent eating and cooking quality have
been converted into CMS lines, about 400 Restorer and Maintainer Lines.
Moreover, two basmati hybrids have also been developed with yield potential of
around 8 tons per hectare. Dr Mohammad Bashir Cheema, head of the research
programme, started the research programme in collaboration with Chinese
counterpart but continued to develop parental lines and hybrids after Chinese
left in 2005. The new hybrids developed are the result of indigenous result
carried out by the Pakistani scientists, said Sajjad Malik. Sajjad Malik and Dr
Cheema in a recent visit of selected journalists to their Farooqabad Farm while
talking to journalists said that a very big achievement at this research farm
was the establishment of 'Shuttle Breeding Programme' at the research site for
increasing the pace of development of rice hybrids and parental lines within
the country. "This was the first rice shuttle breeding programme in Pakistan's
plant breeding history and since then two generations of breeding material are
being produced each year as opposed to normal breeding programmes wherein only
a single generation is produced annually. Till date Emkay Agricultural Research
Center is the only organisation in the country which has the expertise of this
rice shuttle breeding either in the private or public sector," Dr Cheema
proudly added. The research programme of Emkay, also, is unique in the manner
that the foreign companies working in Pakistan with local partners do not
provide with the complete three-line system of hybrid rice. So, a disturbing
fact is that whenever the foreign companies want, they can effectively stop
their Pakistani partners from hybrid rice seed production, Sajjad Malik concluded.
Business
Performance and Opportunity Analysis of Rice Roll Processing Machine Market by
2025: Global Players Anko Food Machine, Zaccaria, MILLTEC Machinery and more..
-
March 27, 2019
Global Rice Roll Processing
Machine market witnessed a substantial growth rate and is expected to have an
escalating growth rate over the forecast period. The Rice Roll Processing
Machine market has been performing up to the mark for the last couple of
decades and significantly contributing to the international revenue generation.
Also, it is one of the most robust industries which have been heavily
influencing the global economy.
The Rice Roll Processing Machine
Market research report studies the historical, present, and future performance
of the global market. The report further evaluates the present competitive
landscape, prevalent business models, and the likely advancements in offerings
by significant players in the coming years.
Top key players included in this
report are: Anko Food Machine, Zaccaria,
MILLTEC Machinery, Zhengzhou Yonghua Machinery Manufacturing, Lianyungang
Huantai Machinery, .
The Global Rice Roll Processing
Machine Market is highly fragmented and is based on new product launches and
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initiatives, high investments on R&D, agreements, joint ventures, mergers
and acquisitions, partnerships, collaborations, and others to expand their
presence in this market.
The Global Rice Roll Processing
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By Product type Analysis: Fully Automated, Semi-Automated, Manual Processing, .
By End Users/Applications
Analysis: Hotels, Households,
Restaurant, .
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The research document will answer
following questions such as:
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Garner Insights is a Market Intelligence and consulting firm with an all-inclusive experience and vast knowledge of the market research industry.
Our vast storage of research reports across various categories, gives you a complete view of the ever changing and developing trends and current topics worldwide. Our constant endeavor is to keep on improving our storage information by providing rich market reports and constantly improving them.
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Email: sales@garnerinsights.com
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Supermarkets
to ensure availability of NFA rice
By Aerol John Patena, Philippine News Agency on March 26, 2019
MANILA — The Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association
(PAGASA) vowed that it will ensure that subsidized rice from the National Food
Authority (NFA) will be made more available in supermarkets across the country.
This as PAGASA expressed
confidence that the rice tariffication policy of the government will lead to
lower rice prices in the market.
“We assure that cheap rice will
be available in the market. Rice tariffication will also help achieve this,”
PAGASA President Steven Cua said in an interview with the Philippine News
Agency (PNA) on Monday.
He urged the government to
expedite the issuance of permits to supermarkets for them to sell the NFA rice
to their customers.
“Some of our member supermarkets
are not selling subsidized rice because they need a permit from the NFA,”
according to Cua.
The PAGASA has signed a
memorandum of agreement last September with the Department of Trade and
Industry and NFA to allow the distribution and selling of subsidized rice in
supermarkets nationwide.
Consumers may buy up to two bags
or four kilograms of NFA rice in participating supermarkets for PHP 27 per
kilogram.
Consumers may buy up to two bags or four kilograms of NFA rice in participating supermarkets for PHP 27 per kilogram. (File photoby Adam Cohn/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Furthermore, Cua said rice
tariffication will help ensure wider availability of affordable rice in the
market for consumers.
“The rice prices will depend on
the quality of supply that will be imported in the country,” he said.
The National Economic and
Development Authority has earlier assured that subsidized NFA rice will still
be available in the market until the end of this year while consumers also
benefit from cheaper imported rice with the passage of the rice tariffication
law.
The NFA is mandated to ensure the
sufficient supply of buffer stocks of rice in the country.
President Rodrigo Duterte has
signed Republic Act No. 11203 last February which liberalized the importation
of rice in the country through the lifting of quantitative restrictions and
replacing them with tariffs
Dealing with El Niño
March 26, 2019 | 8:29 pm
33,000 rice farmers in Iloilo affected by dry spell
ABOUT 30% of the 110,000 rice
farmers in Iloilo province have been affected by the prevailing El Niño
phenomenon, and the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) is already anticipating
that it would not be able meet the one million metric ton (MT) target
production this year. “With the present condition, Iloilo’s one million metric
tons target harvest for rice may not be achieved. We are expecting that our
rice production for this year will really be affected,” said Provincial Rice
Report Officer Nancy C. Superal. The 33,000 affected farmers are those who
planted during the second cropping season late last year. In 2018, Iloilo was
the top rice producer in Western Visayas and the country’s fourth with an
output of 939,332 MT, according to the Department of Agriculture–Region 6
(DA-6). Ms. Superal advised farmers to adopt technology and appropriate inputs
once the next cropping season starts to recoup the losses caused by El Niño.
OTHER PROVINCES
In other parts of Western Visayas, about 547.52 hectares of rice areas have been affected in the municipalities of Patnongon and Culasi, with an estimated loss of over P10.4 million, based on DA-6 data. The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) also recently reported P6.11 million worth of damaged rice crops in Cauayan, Negros Occidental. Last Friday, the RDRRMC discussed the response plans of various agencies, such as cloud seeding, distribution of standby farm inputs and relief goods, among others. Based on the climate outlook of weather bureau PAGASA, 13 provinces in the Visayas will experience drought by the end of April. These are: Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern, and Western Samar. Three others — Bohol, Cebu, and Southern Leyte — will experience dry spell. — Emme Rose S. Santiagudo
In other parts of Western Visayas, about 547.52 hectares of rice areas have been affected in the municipalities of Patnongon and Culasi, with an estimated loss of over P10.4 million, based on DA-6 data. The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) also recently reported P6.11 million worth of damaged rice crops in Cauayan, Negros Occidental. Last Friday, the RDRRMC discussed the response plans of various agencies, such as cloud seeding, distribution of standby farm inputs and relief goods, among others. Based on the climate outlook of weather bureau PAGASA, 13 provinces in the Visayas will experience drought by the end of April. These are: Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern, and Western Samar. Three others — Bohol, Cebu, and Southern Leyte — will experience dry spell. — Emme Rose S. Santiagudo
Dry spell’s initial damage to Cebu agri sector
estimated at P100M
THE FREEMAN
CEBU PROVINCE is now under a
state of calamity due to the effects of a weak El Niño. The provincial board
passed Monday afternoon a resolution making the declaration, which paves the
way for the release of emergency funds to assist farmers, fisherfolk, and other
affected communities. Board Member Thadeo Jovito Z. Ouano, author of the resolution,
said the declaration is backed by the visible damage and losses that the El
Niño has caused on crops, livestock, fishery products, and water supply. The
Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) also
conducted an initial survey and assessment of the dry spell’s impact. PDRRMO
head Baltazar S. Tribunalo Jr. said the initial damage estimate is P100
million. Mr. Tribunalo added that with the weak El Niño expected to persist
until May or June, the number could increase, noting that the damage value
recorded during the 2015-2016 El Niño episode in Cebu reached P215 million.
Emily Lagrimas, PDRRMO Research and Planning Division head, said at least 27
local government units have declared damage and losses out of the 51 towns and
component cities in the province. Mr. Tribunalo said the short-term assistance
program include provision of water and cash-for-work for the affected farmers
and fishermen. — The Freeman
Waiting for water
MAYOR CLIMACO FB PAGE
Residents in various parts of Zamboanga
City, where a state of calamity has already been declared, line up to get
supply from water tankers deployed by the local government amid the dry spell.
The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, meanwhile, has been
ordered to draw up plans for the immediate construction of five small water
impounding dams or weirs, with three in Pasonanca and two at the Saaz River in
Patalon. Cloud seeding operations — with funding from the local government,
Prime Water Infrastructure Corp. based inside the Zamboanga economic zone, and
the Zamboanga City Water District — is also being scheduled to mitigate the
impact of the prevailing El Niño phenomenon.
Seaweed-based
fertilizer to increase rice yield
DAVAO. The Department of Agriculture (DA) Davao regional office
targets to increase rice productivity in the region by 2020 through the
Carrageenan Plant Growth Promoter (PGP). (Photo from the Philippine Rice
Research Institute)
+
AA
-
March 25, 2019
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) regional office in Davao
targets to increase rice productivity in the region by 2020 through the
Carrageenan Plant Growth Promoter (PGP).
Carrageenan PGP is a fertilizer developed by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD) and Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) under Department of Science and Technolog (DOST), funded by the DA. It was extracted from red edible seaweeds for enhanced growth and induced pest and disease resistance in rice.
DA-11 Research Division senior science research specialist Jose A. Villar II told SunStar Davao Monday, March 25, that there are seven pilot areas for the developing study, identified as Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Davao Region.
In Davao Region, the technology was tested in 2,500 hectares of rice growing areas and its initial findings showed there was an increase in rice yeilds.
“We are fortunate that Davao is one of the seven regions. The normal yield of farmers without CPGP is only around 4.3 tons. Those farmers who used CPGP reached around 4.7 tons per hectare,” Villar said.
“This [CPGP] is environmental-friendly so it will be good for those who are practicing organic farming. It will also enhance development of plants so that it will become resistant on pests and diseases that will result boost of rice production,” he said in vernacular.
Villar said PCGP will be commercialized tentatively by next year and its initial cost is P260 per liter which will be very affordable.
They already identified a private sector that bought its license.
“As a researcher, nakita namo na effective siya sa growth and yield ng rice (As a researcher, we have seen its effectivity in growth and yield of rice),” Villar said.
Carrageenan PGP is a fertilizer developed by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD) and Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) under Department of Science and Technolog (DOST), funded by the DA. It was extracted from red edible seaweeds for enhanced growth and induced pest and disease resistance in rice.
DA-11 Research Division senior science research specialist Jose A. Villar II told SunStar Davao Monday, March 25, that there are seven pilot areas for the developing study, identified as Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Davao Region.
In Davao Region, the technology was tested in 2,500 hectares of rice growing areas and its initial findings showed there was an increase in rice yeilds.
“We are fortunate that Davao is one of the seven regions. The normal yield of farmers without CPGP is only around 4.3 tons. Those farmers who used CPGP reached around 4.7 tons per hectare,” Villar said.
“This [CPGP] is environmental-friendly so it will be good for those who are practicing organic farming. It will also enhance development of plants so that it will become resistant on pests and diseases that will result boost of rice production,” he said in vernacular.
Villar said PCGP will be commercialized tentatively by next year and its initial cost is P260 per liter which will be very affordable.
They already identified a private sector that bought its license.
“As a researcher, nakita namo na effective siya sa growth and yield ng rice (As a researcher, we have seen its effectivity in growth and yield of rice),” Villar said.
Southern provinces replace crops on ineffective rice
growing area
Tuesday, March 26, 2019 11:51
The Department of Cultivation under the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on March 25 announced that
Southern provinces will grow other lucrative crops on around 126,333 hectares
of ineffective rice growing area this year.
Farmers in Vinh Long shift to
grow fast growing crop for higher economic results. (Photo: SGGP)
Particularly, Southern provinces
had switched to cultivate fast-growing crops, such as corns, peanuts, soy beans
and vegetables, and fruit trees, including oranges, pomelos, mangoes, dragon
fruits, longan fruits and durians, on an area of about 32,840 hectares in the
winter-spring crop.
Statistics showed that most
fast-growing crops and fruit trees gave higher economic results than rice.
However, the winter-spring crop is not the main crop to change plant growing
structure on rice cultivation area, especially at regions along the Tien and
Hau rivers. Therefore, provinces will promote conversion of inefficient rice
growing area in the summer-autumn and autumn-winter crops to help famers to
increase their incomes.
According to the ministry,
switching crops helps to diversify farm produce as well as to improve the
growing soil, prevent pests and diseases and save water especially amid severe
drought and salinity intrusion. However, there is no centralized planning for
the converted growing area for farmers to build suitable irrigation system. As
growing scale is still small and sparse, it is difficult to mechanize
production, causing high cost of labor and input materials, raising cost
prices. In addition, without cooperation of firms, consumption for farm produce
grown on converted area has not been ensured.
Moreover, policy to encourage
farmers to switch to other crops has not been strong enough. Farmers are still
familiar with rice cultivation practices and there is a shortage in
agricultural laborers. These shortcomings should be tackled soon in order for
conversion of crops become highly effective.
Dragon fruit is among plants that farmers choose to grow on
unproductive rice growing area. (Photo: SGGP)
Switching to grow vegetables on ineffective rice growing area
helps to save water amid severe drought and salinity intrusion in summer-autumn
crop. (Photo: SGGP)
After harvesting the winter-spring rice crop, farmers in Mekong
Delta provinces switch to grow other plants on inefficient area. (Photo: SGGP)
Rice traders ask govt to negotiate
with Chinese traders
Muse 105-mile
border trade center (Photo-Tun Nay Hlaing)
PUBLISHED 26 MARCH 2019
NILAR
Rice traders from Myanmar requested the government to intervene in
negotiations between them and Yunnan government as well as Chinese traders as
about 50,000 tons of rice remains stuck in Muse to be exported to China,
sources said.
“China granted permits for their companies to buy long grain rice,
short grain rice and broken rice. Now, we have heard that the Chinese
government will not grant permits for broken rice and long grain rice,” said a
rice trader from Mandalay.
The rice trade came to a halt due to the rumours, resulting in
about 50,000 tons in remaining in Muse.
Ye Min Aung, Chairman of Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) requested
Vice President Myint Swe to negotiate with Yunnan Province government and
buyers from the province in relation with the issue.
He urged the government to negotiate a good price for farmers, to
have quota to export rice and broken rice to China and to sign MoU to export
rice.
According to Ko Ko Kyi, border trade promotion committee member
under the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(UMFCCI), Myanmar is also facing market exploitation both economically and
politically by China as Myanmar is exporting goods illegally to China except
five kinds of goods registered in General Administration of Quality
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China
(AQSIQ).
Myanmar is exporting farm products, animal products, fishery
products and industrialized products to China but only rice, mango, watermelon,
cucumber and plum are exported to China officially, registered under AQSIQ.
Other products are all going to China illegally, he continued.
“Myanmar needs to register other goods and products while
respective departments need to implement registration for some products from
farming, livestock, fishery and industry sectors as quickly as possible”, he
said.
Rice price up by 9 per cent in three months
TUESDAY
MARCH 26 2019
By Halili Letea @hletea
hletea@tz.nationmedia.com
Dar es Salaam. Rice prices increased by an average of nine per cent in the
past three months, reports show.
Data by the Ministry of Industry,
Trade and Investment indicate that the wholesale price for a 100-kilo bag of
rice ranged from Sh159,260.9 to Sh192,173.9 on March 22, up from Sh146,739.1 to
Sh178,217.4 on December 22, 2018.
In Dar es Salaam, a 100-kilo bag was
sold at between Sh150,000 and Sh205,000, depending on rice quality. A random
survey by The Citizen has established that a kilo of rice was sold at between
Sh1,900 and Sh2,500 in retail on Friday last week.
Rukwa and Shinyanga had the lowest
wholesale price of Sh120,000 while Lindi had the highest: at between Sh190,000
and Sh200,000 for a 100-kilo bag.
Traders attribute the price increase
to decreased supply.
The Temeke Grains Agency head, Peter
Sospeter, told The Citizen at the weekend: “Farmers are using their crops
frugally as drought bites. Some keep it in anticipation that prices will soar.”
According to Tandika market chairman Mohamed Mwekya, rice supplies normally
decrease in March.
Rice is widely consumed in Tanzania.
The traditional method for cultivating rice is flooding the fields while, or
after, planting seedlings. This simple method requires sound planning and
servicing of water damming and channelling, but reduces the growth of less
robust weeds and pest plants that have no submerged growth state, and deters
vermin.
Nutritionists say health benefits of
rice include its ability to provide instant energy, regulate and improve bowel
movements, stabilise blood sugar levels, and slow down the ageing process.
It also plays a role in providing
vitamin B1 to the human body.
Other benefits include its ability
to aid in skin care, boost metabolism, regulate digestion, and reduce high
blood pressure. It helps in weight loss, boosts the immune system, and provides
protection against dysentery and chronic diseases.
In the headlines
Police
continue to patrol venue of ACT-Wazalendo meeting
Police have continued to patrol the areas around PR Stadium Hotel
where ACT –Wazalendo were
Rice cultivation: Balance of phosphorus and nitrogen determines growth
and yield
In the future, a newly discovered mechanism in control of plant
nutrition could help to achieve higher harvests in a sustainable way.
Scientists from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China) discovered this mechanism in their
research on Asian rice in collaboration with Professor Dr Stanislav Kopriva
from the University of Cologne's Botanical Institute and the Cluster of
Excellence CEPLAS. The balance between nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) is
decisive for crop yield. Both nutrients, which the plant absorbs from the soil
through its roots, interact more strongly with each other than previously
known. The study 'Nitrate-NRT1.1B-SPX4 cascade integrates nitrogen and
phosphorus signalling networks in plants' has now appeared in the journal Nature
Plants.
Kopriva said: 'For healthy and optimal growth, all living beings
need a good balance of minerals. However, we know very little about how plants
achieve this balance.' His colleagues in Beijing had observed that the addition
of phosphate only had a positive effect on plant growth and yield if a
sufficient amount of nitrogen was also available in the soil. 'Together, we
have now discovered the mechanism by which nitrogen controls the absorption of
phosphate', Kopriva remarked.
A detailed analysis at the molecular level revealed an entire
signalling chain that the plant sets in motion - from the sensor that
recognizes nitrate quantities to factors that enable the synthesis of the
so-called transporters that carry the phosphate into the plant. Kopriva
explained: 'Although most of the components were already known individually, it
was only through this work that they were brought together into a signalling
pathway. This gives us a completely new understanding of how to control plant
nutrition. In addition, it enables specific manipulations to either couple the
uptake of both nutrients more closely or to separate them from each other -
depending on how nutrient-rich the soil on which the rice grows is.'
Professor Dr Stanislav Kopriva from the Botanical Institute of
the University of Cologne is co-speaker of the Cluster of Excellence on Plant
Sciences CEPLAS at the Universities of Düsseldorf and Cologne, which is funded
by the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal Government and the Laender.
CEPLAS wants to develop basic knowledge about 'SMART Plants for Tomorrow's
Needs'.
This week in weird Twitter food: Oreo
rice?
Photo: Tracey Patterson (iStock),
JacquesPALUT (iStock)
Feast your eyes:
Let’s move right past the Oreo
dunked in Red Bull, because we can. We’re not here for whatever that mess might
be. We’re here for Oreo rice. Twitter user @WahyuYordanposted
the above photos late last week (if you click through and expand, you can see
that the concoction has been heated on a stove, which makes it marginally more
understandable), and the responses are a children’s treasury of memes that
communicate “ugh” and “why” and “what’s wrong with you” in joke form. A
personal favorite:
This rice prompted a fierce
debate amongst the members of The Takeout staff. I’m essentially the cheese that stands alone,
unsoaked in Oreos, in that I cannot imagine the Oreo rice being a particularly
pleasurable experience. My cohorts Kate Bernot and Kevin Pang, on the other
hand, were more open to the idea. They compared it to (potentially) rice
pudding, cocoa rice, and “dessert risotto,” all of which make sense to me. Yes,
there’s rice, milk, and sweets, that sounds like rice pudding. Yes, Oreos are
chocolate cookies, and cocoa rice is good, ergo this should also be good. Yes,
dessert risotto sounds cool as hell. So acknowledged.
Yet my gut reaction is the
hardest of hard nos. (Maybe my response was tainted by the Red Bull picture.)
As it happens, this person didn’t
invent “Oreo rice,” such as it is—or if he did, he’s not alone. Here’s the
Tokyo-based SoraNews24,
posting it as an original recipe experiment in 2012: “It’s a Far East spin on
an American classic with a unique texture and fantastic taste that we guarantee
your whole family will enjoy, even if it does look a bit like asphalt.”
Emphasis mine.
Here’s BuzzFeed, whose writers “had to try it” back in 2015.
There’s a chirpy little video version,
too. Here’s a single-serving version using
rice cups and “Oreo mush,” both heated separately. It’s a lot of places. And it
squicks me out in all of them. Maybe I’m just not an Oreo person? I don’t know.
I can’t deal.
But we are very curious to know
if you can deal, so let us know below. Oreo rice: yea or nay?
Arkansas high school juniors can win up to $7,000 for their
education
o
Posted: Mar 25, 2019 08:10 PM CDT
Updated: Mar 25, 2019 08:10 PM CDT
LITTLE ROCK, Ar. (KARK) -
(3/25/19) Scholarship money can sometimes be hard to find but a new opportunity
in Arkansas is giving eligible high school juniors the chance to win up to
$7,000 for their education.
The five-month program sponsored
by the Arkansas Rice Federation will help educate rising juniors heading into
the senior year about the rice industry.
Cade Bethea was once a former
Arkansas Rice Federation intern and now serves as the Public Relations
Coordinator for them. Seeing first hand how the organization has
developed his professional life, he says the new scholarship opportunity is
just another way students can learn about the importance and economic impact
rice has on the state.
"We want to start them off
in an early age and help them and equip them with the tools so they will be
able to go on and use that further in their life," says Bethea. "And
potentially in their career one day."
The program will run from May
through September and students will have the opportunity to attend four
different, on-site experiences during the program.
Application deadline is April
1st.
For more information on the
scholarship or to apply, click here.
NRRI develops
nine new paddy varieties
The
scientists of National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), here have developed nine
new varieties of high yielding paddy suitable for farmers across the country.
Published: 27th
March 2019 06:28 AM | Last Updated: 27th March 2019
10:46
CR Dhan 802
(Subhas) at dough stage
CUTTACK: The
scientists of National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), here have developed nine
new varieties of high yielding paddy suitable for farmers across the country.
Among these, two climate smart varieties CR Dhan 801 and CR Dhan 802 with in-built drought and submergence stresses tolerance are unique and first in rice research, said Dr SK Pradhan, Principal Scientist of the Institute.
Among these, two climate smart varieties CR Dhan 801 and CR Dhan 802 with in-built drought and submergence stresses tolerance are unique and first in rice research, said Dr SK Pradhan, Principal Scientist of the Institute.
Submergence tolerance quantitative trait loci
(QTL), Sub1 and drought yield QTLs, qDTY1.1, qDTY2.1, and qDTY3.1 are stacked
in the background of Swarna variety through marker-assisted backcross breeding,
said Dr Pradhan.
While CR Dhan 801 has been recommended for
cultivation in Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Uttar
Pradesh, CR Dhan 802 has been recommended for the farmers of Bihar and Madhya
Pradesh.
As per the suggestion of the last Standing
Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, CR Dhan 802 has been christened
‘Subhas’ after Cuttack-born freedom fighter Subhas Bose.
With water becoming a scarce commodity, two other varieties of paddy have been released for water limiting areas. While CR Dhan 204 is for Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu, CR Dhan 205 is for Odisha, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. These two varieties are early maturing type and require considerably less water than irrigated rice, said Dr Pradhan.
With water becoming a scarce commodity, two other varieties of paddy have been released for water limiting areas. While CR Dhan 204 is for Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu, CR Dhan 205 is for Odisha, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. These two varieties are early maturing type and require considerably less water than irrigated rice, said Dr Pradhan.
The Institute has developed three varieties
for irrigated ecology. CR Dhan 306 matures in 130-135 days while CR Dhan 309 is
a long slender grained type variety with maturity duration of 125 days. CR Dhan
311 is a specialty type of rice containing more protein and zinc in the grain.
This variety matures in 125 days, he informed.
The other two newly developed varieties of
paddy CR Dhan 510 and CR Dhan 511 which mature in 160 days have been
recommended for water logged semi-deep water ecology of Odisha and West Bengal,
the Principal Scientist said.
Indonesia
Charts A New, Low-Carbon Development Path. Will Other Countries Follow Suit?
Farmers in Yogyakarta. Indonesia’s government
is charting a new, low carbon path to development. Photo by the International
Rice Research Institute.
Originally published on the WRI blog.
Indonesia’s recent socioeconomic performance has been impressive.
Over the past two decades, the country has cut extreme poverty in half and
doubled per capita income.
This economic growth has come at a steep cost, including slashing
forests, spewing greenhouse gases, and burning enough coal that nearly 60
percent of Jakarta residents suffer from air pollution-related diseases.
Indonesia’s future growth, though, could look very different.
A new report from the Indonesian
government’s Low Carbon Development Initiative found that less
carbon-intensive, more efficient energy systems can deliver an average of 6
percent GDP growth per year until 2045—even more economic growth than the
business-as-usual path, with continued gains in employment generation,
increased incomes and poverty reduction. This strategy would cut the country’s
greenhouse gas emissions nearly 43 percent by 2030, exceeding Indonesia’s
international climate target.
The government is now feeding findings from this new report
directly into its next five-year development plan, which will cover 2020–2024.
By doing so, Indonesia can upend the false choice between economic growth and
sustainability, and show countries around the world that it is now entirely
possible and profitable to tackle climate change economy-wide.
Low carbon development can reduce Jakarta’s air pollution while
growing Indonesia’s economy. Photo by Aaron Minnick.
A Triple-Win
for Economy, People, and Environment
So what would low-carbon growth actually look like for
Indonesians?
The gains from low carbon development will consistently and
increasingly yield more over the next decades, starting immediately. In 2045,
Indonesia will have added $5.4 trillion to GDP, relative to business as usual.
Some of those gains in 2045 stem from: 15.3 million additional and
good quality jobs, which are greener and better paid; extreme poverty halving
again, to 4.2 percent of the population relative to 2018; about 40,000 lives
saved every year from reduced air and water pollution; and the preservation of
nearly 16 million hectares of forests that would otherwise have been cut
down—an area of land larger than the size of England. Additionally, air quality
and living conditions will have vastly improved, and the opportunity gap
between women and men, and between provinces, will have diminished.
Importantly, this Indonesia of the future will offer better value
to investors than an Indonesia that grows through extraction and fossil fuel
use. With low-carbon development, each dollar added to the country’s GDP
requires less up-front investment than it would with business-as-usual
development, while also reducing the need for health expenditures associated
with air and water pollution.
Getting There from Here
This vision of a clean and green Indonesia may appear far away. A
wholesale economic shift will require a concerted policy effort, with full
participation from the national government, local governments, the private
sector, and civil society, as well as increased financing from international
development finance institutions and private investment. But by setting
strategic policies with clear incentives and signals for the private sector,
Indonesia’s government has its future within reach. Required actions include:
1.
Moving away from coal and increasing renewable energy’s share of
the power sector to at least 30 percent in 2045. Renewable energy is now
cheaper than coal in Indonesia when considering the costs of air pollution;
2.
Reducing energy intensity (units of energy per unit of GDP) by
3.5 percent in 2030, and by 4.5 percent afterward;
3.
Fully enforcing moratoriums on forests, palm oil, mining, and
peatland development;
4.
More than tripling targets for reforestation, reaching more than
1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) per year by 2024;
5.
Meeting existing national and international targets for water,
fisheries and biodiversity conservation; and
6.
Increasing land productivity by 4 percent each year, enabling
Indonesia’s farmers to grow more food for more people using fewer resources.
A fisherman casts his net in Yogyakarta. Fisheries conservation is
an important part of Indonesia’s vision for low-carbon development. Photo by
the International Rice Research Institute.
Crucially, Indonesia must ensure a just transition to a low-carbon
economy. While better for the Indonesian economy and people as a whole, a small
fraction of people and businesses— especially those that rely on high-carbon sectors
and resource extraction—may be negatively impacted by Indonesia’s shift to a
low-carbon economy. Low Carbon Development Initiative policies must support
these people as they build new capabilities to participate in and benefit from
the new low-carbon economy.
The report did consider even more ambitious policies and
interventions, which would lead to even greater emissions reductions and better
social and economic outcomes. This scenario, however, comes with implementation
challenges. The government would need to further develop technical and
institutional capabilities to move in this direction.
If Indonesia Can Do It, So Can
Other Countries
Indonesia is the world’s 15th-largest economy and its
fourth-largest greenhouse gas emitter. Given the country’s outsized impact on
the global climate, transitioning now to a low-carbon economy will be good not
only for Indonesia, but for the whole world.
Perhaps just as important, other governments can learn from the
country’s example. Indonesia’s new development plan is ambitious, yes, but it
is also necessary, achievable and economically prudent. If Indonesia – an
emerging economy with an imperative to improve its people’s standard of living
– can pull off low-carbon development, then other countries can, too.
LEARN MORE: Download the full report, Low Carbon Development: A Paradigm Shift Towards a
Green Economy in Indonesia
Africa: New
Consortium to Reduce Environmental Footprint of Rice Production
Tagged:
A new global consortium, the Sustainable Rice Landscapes
Initiative, will bring together expertise from international organizations,
research institutions and business groups with significant market influence to
tackle the enormous environmental footprint of rice production, members of the
partnership announced today.
The new consortium will introduce sustainable approaches to
farming practices, incentivise production and demand for sustainable rice with
market-based instruments, deliver policy support to governments, and improve
knowledge sharing and collaboration on sustainable rice solutions.
Rice is a leading cause, as well as a victim, of climate change,
and its production impacts many natural systems. Rice is responsible for about
the same greenhouse gas emissions as Germany, particularly from methane, which
is emitted from rotting vegetation in inundated paddy fields.
At the same time, rice yields and nutritional values are
significantly reduced by rising temperatures, and production must increase by
25% by 2050 to meet global demand.
Practices such as removing rice straw can reduce methane
emissions by up to 70%, but farmers currently lack awareness, training, policy
and market support.
The founding members of the Sustainable Rice Landscapes
Initiative represent the range of partners needed to make these practices
commonplace, namely UN Environment, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the
Sustainable Rice Platform, the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development, the International Rice Research Institute and the German Agency
for International Cooperation (GIZ).
"UN Environment is proud to be a member of the Sustainable
Rice Landscapes Consortium. Sustainable rice production is one remedy that can
fix a host of issues," said Dechen Tsering, Regional Director of UN
Environment's Asia and the Pacific Office. "It can help us fight climate
change, protect biodiversity and restore landscapes and simultaneously safeguard
rice farming communities and the billions of people that rely on them."
The Initiative is particularly targeting a number of Asian
countries, where rice is one of the most important crops and the economic
backbone for millions of farmers, and will seek changes in national policy,
farming practices, and improvements in the supply chain. To achieve scale, the
Initiative is calling upon governments and international funding bodies to
support their efforts.
Quotes
"By working in partnership to apply scientific advances and
best practices in rice landscapes the SRL consortium is a unique vehicle to
deliver global benefits for the climate, land and water resources and
biodiversity, while also ensuring the food security needs of billions of people
in Asia and around the world." said Kundhavi Kadiresan, Food and
Agriculture Organization Assistant Director General for Asia and the Pacific.
"The Sustainable Rice Landscapes Initiative demonstrates
our commitment to transforming global food systems using market-based, climate
smart solutions, for healthy people and a healthy planet." - Peter Bakker,
President and CEO of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
"SRP and its 100 institutional partners are fully committed
to this Consortium, which will drive wide-scale adoption of climate-smart,
sustainable rice production among rice smallholders, using the world's first
Rice Sustainability Standard and Indicators." - Wyn Ellis, Coordinator of
the Sustainable Rice Platform.
"Through the Consortium and the implementation of the
world's first rice sustainability standard, we will not only strengthen
environmental sustainability in rice production landscapes, but also help
smallholder farmers to become more competitive, inclusive and resilient."
- Dr. Matthias Bickel, GIZ Project Director of the Agriculture and Food Cluster
in Thailand.
"The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) promotes
improvements in the environmental footprint of rice farming. Solutions will
come from the combined efforts of many partners. As part of the Sustainable
Rice Landscapes Initiative, we will share our science, technologies, and
expertise in rice research to help deliver environmental sustainability to
farmers and other key actors in the rice sector." - Dr. Matthew Morell,
Director General of the International Rice Research Institute.
Editorial:
Supporting the sciences
March 26, 2019
SCIENCE is an integral part of how one community or civilization
advances its self.
Sadly, for some reason, the scientific community in the Philippines is not getting the attention it should get. Because if it is getting the attention that it is supposed to get, we would be in a much more technologically and scientifically advanced society.
It is unfortunate that not many are aware of the technological and scientific milestones that came out of the different fields of science and research institutions in the country.
For instance, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and the International Rice Research Institute have developed technologies and seeds that will help increase the yields of the farmers. They have also developed seeds that are resilient to climate change.
PhilRice developed rice varieties PSB Rc 10, NSIC Rc130, and NSIC Rc 134. These varieties are drought resistant and can be harvested within 104 to 110 days. With El Niño, these can be of help to rice farmers and securing our food security.
The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) also supported the development of Eco-Friendly Septic System (Eco-Sep).
Developed by Dr. Merlinda Palencia through the support of DOST-PCIEERD, the council said Eco-Sep “is a self-sustaining, portable, and movable wastewater treatment system that uses an innovative combination of bio-stimulation and filtration enhanced with organominerals.”
There is also the RxBox telehealth device, which allows medical consultations “even from geographically isolated and depressed areas of the country.” The device was conceptualized by the Philippine General Hospital while the prototype was developed by Dr. Alvin Marcelo, former UP National Telehealth Center (NTHC) director, and Dr. Luis Sison of the UP Diliman College of Engineering.
These are just among the technologies and innovations that were developed by Filipino scientists with the support of the government. Sadly, not many Filipinos know about them.
The proposed P19.8 billion budget for DOST and its attached agency may not be enough to further advance the scientific community here in the Philippines.
Hopefully, the government will increase its spending on research and development in the different fields in the coming years.
DOST might want to increase its spending on information and education on the advances in sciences in the country. As more people will know about the scientific community here, it might just get the attention and appreciation it needs.
The government and the general public must understand the importance of sciences in improving our country as a whole. It is through the sciences that we will be able to find ways to adapt to climate change and make our county more competitive.
Sadly, for some reason, the scientific community in the Philippines is not getting the attention it should get. Because if it is getting the attention that it is supposed to get, we would be in a much more technologically and scientifically advanced society.
It is unfortunate that not many are aware of the technological and scientific milestones that came out of the different fields of science and research institutions in the country.
For instance, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and the International Rice Research Institute have developed technologies and seeds that will help increase the yields of the farmers. They have also developed seeds that are resilient to climate change.
PhilRice developed rice varieties PSB Rc 10, NSIC Rc130, and NSIC Rc 134. These varieties are drought resistant and can be harvested within 104 to 110 days. With El Niño, these can be of help to rice farmers and securing our food security.
The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) also supported the development of Eco-Friendly Septic System (Eco-Sep).
Developed by Dr. Merlinda Palencia through the support of DOST-PCIEERD, the council said Eco-Sep “is a self-sustaining, portable, and movable wastewater treatment system that uses an innovative combination of bio-stimulation and filtration enhanced with organominerals.”
There is also the RxBox telehealth device, which allows medical consultations “even from geographically isolated and depressed areas of the country.” The device was conceptualized by the Philippine General Hospital while the prototype was developed by Dr. Alvin Marcelo, former UP National Telehealth Center (NTHC) director, and Dr. Luis Sison of the UP Diliman College of Engineering.
These are just among the technologies and innovations that were developed by Filipino scientists with the support of the government. Sadly, not many Filipinos know about them.
The proposed P19.8 billion budget for DOST and its attached agency may not be enough to further advance the scientific community here in the Philippines.
Hopefully, the government will increase its spending on research and development in the different fields in the coming years.
DOST might want to increase its spending on information and education on the advances in sciences in the country. As more people will know about the scientific community here, it might just get the attention and appreciation it needs.
The government and the general public must understand the importance of sciences in improving our country as a whole. It is through the sciences that we will be able to find ways to adapt to climate change and make our county more competitive.
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