Scientists hit back against tidal wave of
microplastics
1
2019-06-13 09:59:41China
DailyEditor : Li Yan
Stopping
problem at source will be key to success, experts say.
When
marine biologist Edward Carpenter was on a research cruise in the North Atlantic
Ocean's Sargasso Sea in 1971, he discovered plastic particles floating amid the
seaweed in concentrations averaging 3,500 pieces per square kilometer.
The
following year, Carpenter published the first observations of what are now
known as microplastics in the journal Science. He noted, "increasing
production of plastics, combined with present waste-disposal practices, will
undoubtedly lead to increases in the concentration of these particles".
His
prediction was correct, but it caused little concern until an increasing amount
of evidence turned up over the past decade illustrating that microplastics have
spread across the oceans, threatening marine life and humans alike.
At
a national academic conference on microplastics pollution and control in
Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, on June 5 and 6, more than 500 scholars presented
their findings and discussed the issue ahead of World Oceans Day on June 8.
Researchers
define microplastics as particles with diameters ranging from less than 5
millimeters, about the size of a grain of rice, to just a few microns, about
one-hundredth the diameter of a human hair.
To
better identify sources, microplastics are divided into two categories based on
their formation process - primary and secondary. The former are plastics that
are inherently small, such as industrial scrubbers used to blast surfaces
clean, plastic powders used in moldings, and micro beads found in cosmetics,
toothpaste and facial wash.
Secondary
microplastics are produced by the fragmentation and weathering of larger items,
such as plastic fibers shed from synthetic clothing, small pieces of nets and
foam boxes in the fishing industry, and plastic litter on beaches. Though
plastic decomposes slowly, it ages under sunlight before breaking down into
ever-smaller pieces in the natural environment.
"Almost
all the plastic waste in our daily lives will eventually turn into
microplastics," said Pan Xiangliang, director of the Environmental
Microplastics Pollution Research Center at Zhejiang University of Technology in
Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province.
CRISPR
Breakthrough Could Help Scientists More Quickly Combat Pathogens
JUN
12, 2019 | JARED KALTWASSER
A new strategy to edit the genome
of filamentous fungi could have implications for scientists’ ability to use
tools like CRISPR to prevent or contain infectious diseases in the future.
A team of investigators from Tokyo University of Science, Meiji University, and the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology unveiled their new genome editing strategies last month in the journal Scientific Reports.
The team used CRISPR/Cas9 to devise a new system for introducing a single gene into the rice blast fungus Pyricularia (Magnaporthe) oryzae. The new method has the potential to make CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing considerably quicker. The team also developed several strategies to increase the efficiency of targeted gene disruption.
Although the findings have a most immediate impact on agriculture—rice blast fungus can devastate rice crops—the research will likely also have impacts on human pathogens, both in the short term and long term, said Takayuki Arazoe, PhD, an assistant professor of applied biological science at the Tokyo University of Science.
“Because there are some coincidences between the genomic characteristics of plant and human pathogens, a part of these strategies may be also able to apply for human pathogens including pathogenic protozoa,” Arazoe told Contagion®referencing malaria as 1 example of a human pathogen that might be affected by this research.
In Scientific Reports, Arazoe and colleagues explain that their system helps to offset a main limitation of the CRISPR/Cas9 system—in order to make DNA binding effective, scientists must first develop a pattern called a protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM). The new research suggests PAMs might not be necessary after all.
“In this study, we developed a novel genome editing strategy via single crossover-mediated HR in the model filamentous fungus Pyricularia( Magnaporthe) oryzae,” investigators wrote. “This method includes the CRISPR/Cas9 system and a donor vector harboring a single homology arm with point mutations at the CRISPR/Cas9 cleavage site.”
The most immediate impact of the new research is that it will make it easier for investigators to leverage genome editing to understand and eventually fight destructive pathogens.
“First, the development of novel genome editing technologies including our exploited strategy can speed up molecular biological research, such as functional gene (genome) analysis, to understand about how a pathogen has specific properties for infection and pathogenicity,” Arazoe said.
Such advances could open up an entirely new range of strategies by which to combat pathogens. For instance, scientists might be able to modify the genomes of pathogens in order to make them more susceptible to herbicides or medications, or to make them unable to withstand natural foes.
Eventually, though, Arazoe said, such techniques have the potential to go much further, perhaps to the point of rendering the pathogens entirely ineffective.
“Our final goal is to find out the targets to simultaneously control the pathogen evolution and infection,” he said.
That goal, however, is far off at the moment. Arazoe said more research will be needed to ensure investigators engaged in pathogen genomic engineering have adequate control over the pathogens.
A team of investigators from Tokyo University of Science, Meiji University, and the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology unveiled their new genome editing strategies last month in the journal Scientific Reports.
The team used CRISPR/Cas9 to devise a new system for introducing a single gene into the rice blast fungus Pyricularia (Magnaporthe) oryzae. The new method has the potential to make CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing considerably quicker. The team also developed several strategies to increase the efficiency of targeted gene disruption.
Although the findings have a most immediate impact on agriculture—rice blast fungus can devastate rice crops—the research will likely also have impacts on human pathogens, both in the short term and long term, said Takayuki Arazoe, PhD, an assistant professor of applied biological science at the Tokyo University of Science.
“Because there are some coincidences between the genomic characteristics of plant and human pathogens, a part of these strategies may be also able to apply for human pathogens including pathogenic protozoa,” Arazoe told Contagion®referencing malaria as 1 example of a human pathogen that might be affected by this research.
In Scientific Reports, Arazoe and colleagues explain that their system helps to offset a main limitation of the CRISPR/Cas9 system—in order to make DNA binding effective, scientists must first develop a pattern called a protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM). The new research suggests PAMs might not be necessary after all.
“In this study, we developed a novel genome editing strategy via single crossover-mediated HR in the model filamentous fungus Pyricularia( Magnaporthe) oryzae,” investigators wrote. “This method includes the CRISPR/Cas9 system and a donor vector harboring a single homology arm with point mutations at the CRISPR/Cas9 cleavage site.”
The most immediate impact of the new research is that it will make it easier for investigators to leverage genome editing to understand and eventually fight destructive pathogens.
“First, the development of novel genome editing technologies including our exploited strategy can speed up molecular biological research, such as functional gene (genome) analysis, to understand about how a pathogen has specific properties for infection and pathogenicity,” Arazoe said.
Such advances could open up an entirely new range of strategies by which to combat pathogens. For instance, scientists might be able to modify the genomes of pathogens in order to make them more susceptible to herbicides or medications, or to make them unable to withstand natural foes.
Eventually, though, Arazoe said, such techniques have the potential to go much further, perhaps to the point of rendering the pathogens entirely ineffective.
“Our final goal is to find out the targets to simultaneously control the pathogen evolution and infection,” he said.
That goal, however, is far off at the moment. Arazoe said more research will be needed to ensure investigators engaged in pathogen genomic engineering have adequate control over the pathogens.
Rice imports this year seen reaching 3 MMT
By
June 13, 2019
Sacks
of imported rice are delivered to a rice seller at San Andres district in
Manila on Wednesday. Philippine rice imports are expected to reach a
record-high of 3 million metric tons this year, according to the US Department
of Agriculture.
PHILIPPINE rice imports this year
will rise by 20 percent to a record high of 3 million metric tons (MMT), making
the country one of the world’s top buyers of the staple, according to the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The USDA said purchases for
imports went up after the government removed the quantitative restriction (QR)
on rice with the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 11203, or the rice trade
liberalization law.
On March 5 the government,
through RA 11203, liberalized the country’s rice trade by removing the QR on
the staple and limiting the role of the National Food Authority to buffer
stocking.
In its monthly global grains
situation report, the USDA said it has observed “rapid pace of shipments,
particularly from Vietnam,” after the government liberalized domestic rice
industry.
Due to this, the USDA revised
upward its 2019 import forecast for the Philippines from the earlier estimated
2.8 MMT. The Philippines imported 2.5 MMT of rice last year, USDA data showed.
The Philippines’s projected rice
purchases this year could eclipse the 2.4 MMT it bought in 2008, when the
country experienced a rice-price crisis. USDA data showed that this will be the
first time that the country’s purchases will hit the 3-MMT level.
USDA data also indicated that the
projected rice purchases of the country for 2019 would make the Philippines the
second-biggest buyer of the staple for the second consecutive year.
The USDA attributed this to
higher ending stocks in 2019, which could settle at 3.39 MMT.
Image
Credits: Nonie Reyes
Eating red meat linked with higher risk of death in study of 81,469 adults
Making sense of the beef with red meat.
BY
JUNE
12, 2019 3:30 PM PDT
·
·
·
·
Scientists have
a bone to pick with red meat.
Alexander
Spitari/Getty Images
We've
spent a lot of time here at CNET testing the faux meat patties
from Impossible Burger and the new pea-rice-bean
concoction of Beyond Burger. As it turns out, we might have been
doing our bodies a favor. New research, published in the journal The BMJ on
Wednesday, shows that increasing red meat
consumption is associated with a higher risk of death.
Red
meat, such as beef, lamb and pork, and processed meats, like sausages and
bacon, have been linked with a higher incidence of certain cancers,
cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. For instance, a recent report from
the World Cancer Research Fundsuggests that processed meats
increase the risk of bowel cancer.
The
evidence is clearly mounting for lowering consumption of red meat, making it
one part of a balanced diet.
Watch
this: The
Impossible Burger gets a beefy upgrade at CES 2019
4:46
The
new study, conducted by researchers in the US and China, looked at changes in
red meat intake of middle-aged adults. A previous study, by the same research group, showed red meats
and processed meat may contribute to an early death -- suggesting the risk
could be raised by up to 13%.
The
researchers followed over 53,000 female nurses and almost 28,000 male health
professionals for a period of eight years, and every four years, they would complete
a questionnaire asking how often they ate each food of a standard portion size
in the previous year.
Over
the course of the study, 14,019 people died of heart disease, cancer, lung
disease or neurodegenerative conditions.
Once
the team adjusted for age, it saw that increasing red meat intake by three and
a half servings a week over an eight-year period resulted in a 10% higher risk
of death in the following eight years.
The
authors suggest that red meat might accelerate processes leading to heart
disease, lung disease or dementia because they are high in saturated fat,
cholesterol, salt and heme iron.
Notably,
switching out a serving of red meat each day for a serving of fish was linked
with a 17% lower risk of death.
"This
new study adds important fuel to the fire on the danger of red meat
consumption," said Brian Morris, emeritus professor in the school of
medical sciences at the University of Sydney. "But the good news is that
if people switch to non-meat sources of protein they can substantially reduce
their risk of common diseases of ageing and premature death."
An
important factor in the study is that the researchers looked at the change in
consumption over time, rather than actual intake of red meat. It also did not
take into account the reasons for increasing or decreasing red meat consumption
in the time period, which may itself affect lifestyle choices and lead to
increasing mortality.
The
participants were white, middle-aged health professionals, making it hard to
draw wider conclusions about the effect of changing intake in other
populations. The authors also make it clear that, as in previous studies, it is
only an observational study and can not establish cause. At the very least, the
evidence is swinging in favor of replacing red meat with a different protein
source.
"We
are not yet sure of the relative merits of reducing red and processed meat
compared with increasing plant-based foods," said nutritionist and
University of New South Wales visiting fellow Rosemary Stanton. "However
this study adds to the evidence that such changes in dietary patterns show
benefits."
Crop Resilience Is Focus of New
Interdisciplinary Research
Project will focus on microbial interactions with wheat.
June
12, 2019
Microbiologist Amy Grunden will lead a new international
collaboration to make crops more resilient. Photo courtesy of Becky Kirkland,
NC State University.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mick Kulikowskimick_kulikowski@ncsu.edu919.515.8387
Research suggests that microbes
in the soil, roots and leaves have important impacts on plant health and
productivity. Now, new interdisciplinary research at North Carolina State
University and three Danish universities will examine the roles of
plant-associated microbes and their interactions with plants. The goal is to
help make crops more resilient against environmental stresses while reducing
the need for chemical treatments and irrigation.The new Collaborative Crop Resilience Program (CCRP) is funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the parent organization of NC State partner and biological solutions leader Novozymes. NC State will receive approximately $8 million of the project’s $30 million in funding over six years.
The program will be led by NC State’s Amy Grunden, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Plant and Microbial Biology, who helped develop the program’s proposal after holding a highly successful workshop in Denmark on plant microbe interactions. The University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University and the Technical University of Denmark will collaborate on the project.
NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson said that the grant-funded program represents a milestone for the university.
“The CCRP positions NC State at the forefront of discovery in plant sciences and in translating these discoveries into solutions for farmers, life-sciences companies and consumers,” he said.
The project will take a holistic view of plants and their interactions with microbes in the soil, roots and foliage. The plant’s microbiome – its microbes and the ways they interact with the plant – plays a critical role in plant health and well-being, similar to the way the human gut microbiome influences human health.
Wheat, one of the world’s most important crops in both production and value, will be the featured crop in various studies – including heat, cold and drought tolerance – occurring in Denmark and North Carolina. The findings in wheat may also apply to other important cereal crops, like corn and rice, the researchers say.
“The goal is to improve plant productivity in the face of climate change and emerging pathogens and pests by leveraging microbes to help plants avoid stresses while acquiring nutrients to reduce fertilizer, pesticide and irrigation,” Grunden said.
Three projects comprise the CCRP:
1) “Matrix” focuses on poorly understood wheat plant-microbial interactions above ground. Field and greenhouse studies in Denmark and North Carolina will provide data on how microbes and metabolites influence wheat resilience and yield.
2) “Interact” focuses on the interactions between wheat plants and microbes below ground. Field and greenhouse studies in Denmark and North Carolina will help provide predictive models for microbiome structure/function and wheat performance under different environmental stresses, like cold resistance in Denmark and heat resistance in North Carolina.
3) “InRoot” focuses on development of new crop varieties and microbial interventions that will improve productivity, reduce the need for fertilizers and pesticides, and alleviate negative environmental impact. Three types of plants will be studied: Lotus japonicas, a Japanese legume to model soybean; wheat to represent cereal crops; and Arabadopsis thaliana, the lab rat of plant systems.
Richard Linton, dean of NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said that the grant funding builds on, and advances, the North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative (NCPSI).
“The initiative was envisioned as a way to create the kind of problem-solving interdisciplinary partnerships needed to address complex problems related to food, health and agriculture,” he said. “That’s precisely what this new research partnership is all about.”
NCPSI helped spur the 2018 Danish workshop on plant-microbe interactions. That workshop, in turn, drove the proposal to the Novo Nordisk Foundation for a grand vision to improve crop security and resilience.
“The CCRP and NCPSI are really parallel and overlapping efforts,” Grunden said. “Excellence in plant sciences and interdisciplinary research drive both programs, especially the CCRP with its specific focus on plant security through plant improvement, data science and sustainability. Food security is a problem too great for one discipline to solve, so integrating collaborations across disciplines is key to finding solutions.”
4.44 Mln Acres Fixed For Rice Cultivation
Agriculture department Punjab has
fixed a target of 4.44 million acres for cultivation of rice across the
province including Faisalabad
FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan
Point News - APP - 12th Jun, 2019 ) -:Agriculture department Punjab has fixed a target of
4.44 millionacres
for cultivation of rice across the province including Faisalabad.
A spokesman of Agriculture extension
department said the farmers should immediately start rice cultivation and
complete it by end of June to get bumper yield.
"Rice crop is not only our
domestic food needs but its high
quality varieties can be exported as well".
He said farmers should cultivate
approved varieties of rice including Super Basmati, Shaheen Basmati,
Basmati-370, Basmati-385, Basmati Pak (Karnal Basmati), Basmati-2000,
Basmati-515, Basmati-198, AARI-6, KS-282, KSK-133, Y-26, Pride-1, Shehansha-2,
PHB-71. More information in this regard can be obtained from agri helpline---0800-15000 and
0800-29000, he added.
Rs 12,047 Million Allocated For National Food Security In PSDP
The government has allocated an
amount of Rs 12,047.516 million for various development projects of Ministry of
National Food Security and Research in Public Sector Development Program (PSDP)
2019-20
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - APP -
11th Jun, 2019 ) :The government has
allocated an amount of Rs 12,047.516 millionfor various
development projects of Ministry of National Food Security and Research in
Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) 2019-20.
The amount would be spent on 16
ongoing and 24 new developmental schemes under PSDP 2019-20 for the uplift
of agriculture and
livestock sectors in the country.
According to the details, the government would spent Rs
1,393 million on
the completion of 16 ongoing developmental projects, where as an amount of Rs
10,653.988 million on
24 new developments schemes during the current fiscal year.
The government has allocated Rs
650 million for
the project wheat productivity
enhancement under its development program, where as Rs 600 million has been earmarked for
national oil seed
enhancement project.
In PSDP 2019-20, the government has also allocated
Rs 1,100 million for
enhancing command area of small and mini dams in barani areas to
bring maximum land under crop cultivation to strengthen the food safety and security.
Rs 5,500 million has been allocated for
national program for improvement of water courses in Pakistan phase-2, where as Rs
450 million for
the productivity enhancement of rice crop.
In its public sector development
program, the government has also allocated
Rs 400 million for
for a pilot projects for the development of shrimp farming clusters in order to
promote the aqua culture in the potential areas of in country.
Meanwhile, Rs 300 million has been earmarked in
PSDP 2019-20 for pesticides resides residues monitoring systems in Pakistan to minimize the
health and environment hazards causing the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
In PSDP 2019-20, the government has allocated Rs
400 million for
promotion of olive cultivation on commercial scale to enhance local oil seed production for
minimizing the reliance on imported edible oil.
Related Topics
‘Budget ignores growers’ issues’
Farmer representatives have expressed dismay over lack of funds
allocation for agriculture sector, stating that the PTI government could not
focus on solving burning issues of the growers.
All major crops face decline in the current financial year,
inflicting huge losses to farmers but regrettably no measure has been announced
by the government for financially supporting the growers, said Ch Muhammad
Anwar, President Pakistan Kissan Ittehad. Low production of sugarcane, rice,
wheat and cotton has deprived farmers of billions of rupees. Farooq Bajwa,
convener Punjab Water Council, while commenting on budge said that prices of
tractors would increase as government increase taxes on it. We are already
facing low mechanization in the farming sector and step taken by the PTI
government would further increase cost of production of the farmers, he said.
Ibrahim Mughal, Chairman Agri-Forum Pakistan, said the agriculture
sector grew by merely 0.85 per cent in the outgoing financial year
CPD calls for Tk5,000 in cash aid
for each farmer hit by low paddy prices
·
Published at 03:33 pm June 11th, 2019
CPD officials at the unveiling of report titled 'State of
Bangladesh Economy and the Budget Challenges' at the Cirdap auditorium in Dhaka
on Tuesday, June 11, 2019 Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka Tribune
'This year’s Boro harvest has not been a
pleasant experience for farmers due to unexpected low prices against a higher
cost of production and lack of buyers'
The Centre for
Policy Dialogue (CPD) has recommended a cash incentive of Tk5,000 this year for
every farmer who suffered losses due to low paddy prices.
The local think
tank made the recommendation unveiling its report: “State of Bangladesh Economy
and the Budget Challenges” at Cirdap auditorium in Dhaka yesterday.
“Injustice has
been done to farmers with paddy prices as the government did not set the
procurement target and prices in time. If the low price of paddy continues, it
will be tough for farmers to survive. These armers deserve financial incentives,
which is also financially logical,” said Debapriya Bhattacharya, a
distinguished fellow of the CPD.
In the upcoming
budget, apparel exporters demanded a 5% cash incentive against exports, which
would cost about Tk15,000 crore, he said, arguing that spending Tk9,000 crore
for farmers would not be illogical.
Toufiqul Islam
Khan, a senior CPD research fellow said in his keynote presentation: “This
year’s Boro harvest has not been a pleasant experience for farmers due to
unexpected low prices against a higher cost of production and lack of
buyers."
In the given
situation the government should consider providing a cash incentive of Tk5,000
this year to each of the 1.82 crore farmers (agricultural input assistance card
holders) in the absence of crop insurance against losses farmers incurred from
Boro rice cultivation, said Toufiqul.
“Providing cash
support may require a budgetary allocation of around Tk9,100 crore and it
should be given to the farmers through the bank accounts of the respective
farmers,” he suggested.
Budgetary
support should be extended for the development of local manufacturers of
machinery, such as low-cost credit facilities, reduction of VAT and import
duties, and allocations for research and innovation of mechanization, he stated.
The CPD urged
the government to reduce the production cost of rice, particularly labour cost,
by raising both yields and mechanization.
The monitoring
authorities should be more vigilant about the quantity of rice imported
throughout FY18 and its impact on the domestic market, said Toufiqul.
Low import
duties on rice should be rationalized to curb the import of rice by the private
sector, he added.
Since the
floods of 2017, fiscal measures for the private import of rice have adversely
affected the rice market. Import duty on rice was reduced by 18% in June 2017,
and it continued till May 2019, which he said should have been withdrawn much
earlier.
As a result,
about 3.5 million tons of rice was imported in FY18, mostly by the private
sector, when the seasonal deficit of Boro production was estimated to be about
1.5 million tons in 2017.
The think-tank
also suggested restructuring the government procurement system and the amount
of procurement.
Considering the
current stock of 1.45 million tons of food grains, there is further scope for
procuring paddy using space available in different regions and the government
should revisit the procurement target of paddy, which is currently set at
150,000 tons, said CPD.
The government
should allocate additional funds for the procurement of extra paddy, it said,
adding that in view of the poor procurement, a special drive was badly
required.
A special
targeted program could be designed for the poor and deprived (cyclone-affected
people, fishermen, Rohingya people etc), CPD suggested.
In addition,
the government may consider allowing the export of specific varieties of rice
for a limited time, it said.
According to
the forecast for 2019, about 47.3 million tons of rice will be exported by
Asian countries, led by five main rice-exporting countries — India, Thailand,
Vietnam, Pakistan, and China.
Government
procurement is primarily rice-centric, which is usually over 90%, while paddy
constitutes only a marginal share of total public stock. Both in 2016 and 2017,
paddy procurement was 700,000 tons.
In contrast,
for FY19, the target for paddy procurement was set at 150,000 tons only,
against 1.15 million tons for rice procurement.
Given the early
negative signals of retail prices, setting a negligible target for procurement
of paddy was indeed a failure of the procurement committee, the CPD said.
akistan vows
to raise revenues with new budget following IMF deal
+4
Opposition activists from the Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz (PML-N) party shout slogans after exiting the National Assembly in
Islamabad following the rowdy budget session
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's
government vowed to collect more taxes and make spending cuts in a closely
watched budget presented to parliament Tuesday, weeks after reaching a deal
with the IMF for a $6 billion bailout.
Before a rowdy parliamentary session, the
government announced plans to slash civil expenditure and freeze military
spending while promising to substantially raise revenues to stem a yawning
fiscal deficit, and pledging to collect 5.5 trillion rupees ($36 billion) in
taxes.
Discontent is simmering in Pakistan following
repeated devaluations of the rupee, soaring inflation, and increasing utility
costs.
"The country is in a difficult
situation," Khan admitted during a televised address into early Wednesday,
but he promised the situation would only continue for several months.
Earlier in parliament the opposition shouted
slogans and held up signs against an "unacceptable IMF budget."
"We have slashed the civil budget by
five percent while the military budget will remain the same," Hammad
Azhar, Minister of State for Revenue, said as he announced details of the plan.
"The financial year 2019-2020 will be a
year for economic stability. We will make some tough decisions and will try to
save the poor public from the effects of those tough decisions," he added.
Azhar went on to highlight a range of new
taxes and increases in existing levies in the new budget, saying raising
revenue was pivotal to stabilising the country's economy.
"As long as we do not improve our tax
system Pakistan cannot prosper," said Azhar, who added that government
members and the prime minister had agreed to take a 10 percent salary cut.
Pakistan has struggled for decades to collect
taxes. Estimates suggest that only around one percent of the 200-million strong
population filed a return in 2018.
+4
A Pakistani shopkeeper in Karachi watches a
television broadcast of Pakistan's Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar
presenting the state budget for the year 2019-20 at parliament in Islamabad
Ahead of the budget presentation, Khan took
to the country's airways Monday for the second time in recent weeks to plead
with Pakistanis to declare their assets in the latest scheme aimed at
increasing tax revenues.
The budget session was dominated by a vocal
opposition following a string of arrests of their leaders this week. Members of
the Pakistan People's Party and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz chanted throughout
the proceedings, drowning out Azhar.
- Economic pain -
The presentation of Khan's first budget comes
just a day after the government released the latest round of bleak economic figures
for the cash-strapped country, showing growth for the current fiscal year
falling to 3.3 percent -- well below the 6.2 percent target.
+4
A vendor sells dry fruits at a market in
Karachi, as discontent simmers in Pakistan following repeated devaluations of
the rupee, soaring inflation, and increasing utility costs
Khan's administration has tried for months
but failed to stave off ballooning fiscal and balance of payments deficits,
along with low tax yields and mounting debt.
The agreement eked out with the International
Monetary Fund still needs final approval by the fund's board, and it is widely
believed the body was waiting to see details of the budget before giving the
final sign-off.
Analysts have warned the IMF deal would
likely come with myriad restrictions that could thwart Khan's promises to build
an Islamic welfare state, as the country is forced to tighten its purse
strings.
He announced the creation of a commission to
investigate former leaders and recover money suspected to have been embezzled.
+4
A Pakistan shopkeeper waits for customers at
his rice shop in a Karachi market, while the country faces increasing economic
woes
He welcomed the arrest on Monday of former
president Asif Ali Zardari, as well as that of legislator Hamza Shahbaz, both
in cases of alleged corruption.
Pakistan's increasing economic woes also come
as the country faces possible sanctions from the Financial Action Task Force --
a money-laundering monitor based in Paris -- for failing to rein in terrorist
financing.
The organisation will decide soon whether to
add Pakistan to a blacklist that would trigger automatic sanctions, further
weakening an already faltering economy.
To add to its troubles, the United States has
warned it will be watching closely to ensure Pakistan does not use IMF money to
repay debts to China, which has poured billions into the country for
infrastructure projects under its Belt and Road Initiative.
Pakistan’s
temperature rose 0.6°C in last century: economic survey
BY STAFF
REPORT , (LAST UPDATED 2 DAYS AGO)
KARACHI: During the last century, the average temperature in
Pakistan has increased by 0.6°C, which is in conformity with the increase in
average global temperature. The temperature rise has affected water and
agriculture sources. The mean annual temperature has increased over Pakistan in
the recent past with a greater increase in Sindh and Balochistan, according to
newly launched Economic Survey of Pakistan 2018-19.
The observed increase is higher
in winter when compared with summer. The month wise analysis shows that the
maximum increase has been observed in December and February. Similarly,
mean annual precipitation has also shown an increase over most parts of the
country. The increase is higher in summer as compared to winter with September
and June showing the greatest increase. Future climate change projections based
on all the four IPCC-AR5 RCPs scenarios show that the average rise in
temperature over Pakistan by the end of the century will be about 1°C higher
compared to the global average.
Within the country, the northern
regions will experience relatively more warming than the south. This increase
particularly in temperature is associated with a number of adverse impacts,
including the increasing frequency of extreme events (floods, droughts, heat
waves, and cyclonic activity), steady regression of most glaciers (except a
small minority in the Karakorum Range) that supply the bulk of the country’s
water supply and changes in the rainfall patterns.
Impacts of Climate Change on
Water Resources The primary effect of climate change is the disruption of the
water cycle and it is important to understand the impact that climate change is
having on drinking water supplies, sanitation, and food.
In many regions around the world,
the incidence of hydrological extreme events is rising day by day. However, in
Pakistan it is in many different forms, especially flash flooding in
mountainous streams in the north. Analysis of the available long-term record
(1969-2014) of annual total flow volumes and annual maximum flows of the Indus
River at Besham Qila (a flow gauging station upstream of Tarbela dam), shows no
statistical evidence of a significant and sustained change in the aggregate
average annual flows in the upper Indus Basin (UIB) upstream of Tarbela Dam.
However, there is a significant
increase in the annual maximum flows. This has especially been found in the
water availability analysis of the Kabul River Basin, a snowmelt-fed basin,
where there is a sharper peak with a clear shift in the annual peak flow by a
month.
Also, more increased frequency of
larger magnitude annual maximum flow events has come out as a key finding of
this Kabul River Basin study. Another modeling work focused on the Gilgit River
Basin, a glacier-fed basin, revealed that faster melting of glaciers under
increased temperatures would bring more flows a month earlier but with a
flattened peak. More rigorous modeling analysis is currently going on to gain a
more clear insight into the state and fate of Karakoram glaciers and associated
impacts on the river flow regimes in Pakistan.
IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON AGRICULTURE:
Agriculture is one of the major
sectors likely to be adversely affected by climate change. Climate change can
disrupt food availability, reduce access to food, and affect food quality.
Projected increases in temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, changes
in extreme weather events, and reductions in water availability may all result
in reduced agricultural productivity.
Crop simulation models-based studies
depicted significant reductions in wheat and rice yields in the arid, semi-arid
and rain-fed areas of Pakistan under various IPCC climate change scenarios. In
general, the increase in temperature leads to a shortening of the Growing
Season Length (GSL) for wheat and rice crops in all regions of the country. The
studies further report that the South Eastern side of Pakistan is more
vulnerable to consecutive heat days stress during flowering and ripening stages
of wheat.
This vulnerability is increasing both
spatially and temporally to all the major wheat producing zones from Lower
Sindh to Potohar till the end of the 21st century under both Representative
Concentration Pathways (RCPs i.e. RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5). In the absence of a
change in management practices and technology, an overall reduction will be
registered for all cereal crop yields.
Temperature in Pakistan to rise beyond global average
ISLAMABAD: Already risen in the last century, the temperature in
Pakistan is on course for climbing further in the next 80 years and that, too,
beyond the global average increasing the incidence of floods, droughts, and
heat waves, warns the country's Economic Survey for the financial year 2018-19.
According to the survey report, the mean annual temperature has
gone up in Pakistan with Sindh and Balochistan recording a greater increase
than other provinces and regions. The increase in temperature is higher in
winters than summers with the maximum being recorded in December and February.
“During the last century, the average temperature across Pakistan
has increased by 0.6 degree Celsius, which is in conformity with the increase
of average global temperature.
However, the future climate change projections show that the
average rise in temperature by the end of the century will be around one degree
Celsius higher than the global one causing more warming in the northern regions
than the southern ones. The higher temperature will increase the frequency of
floods, droughts, heat waves, and cyclonic activity, steady regression of most
glaciers except a small minority in the Karakorum Range that supply the bulk of
the country's water supply, and changes in the rainfall patterns," it
said.
The report also revealed an increase in annual precipitation in
most parts of the country with September and June recording the most of it.
According to it, the high incidence of hydrological extreme events
has increased flash flooding of mountainous streams in the country’s north. The
report feared a reduction in cereal crop yields due to climate change in the
days ahead.
“Southeastern side of Pakistan is more vulnerable to the
consecutive heat day stress during flowering and ripening stages of wheat. This
vulnerability is increasing both spatially and temporally to all the major
wheat producing zones from lower Sindh to Potohar region until the end of the
21st century. In the absence of a change in management practices and
technology, an overall reduction will be registered for all cereal crop
yields.”
The report declared the transport sector as the biggest
contributor (43 percent) to the total air pollution in Punjab followed by
industry (25 percent), the burning of rice residue (20 percent), and power
sector (12 percent).
“Overall, the energy sector occupies 80 percent of the total air
pollutants emissions in Punjab. The emissions of NOx, the main pollutant
responsible for smog formation, are the highest from the transport sector (58
percent), while industry and power collectively hold 34 percent share in NOx
emissions and the rice residue burning nine percent,” it said. Warning Pakistan
is facing environmental challenges including climate change impacts, loss of
biological diversity, deforestation and degradation of air and water quality,
the report suggested the revival of forestry and control air, weather,
wildlife, forestation, watershed management, and soil conservation as
corrective measures.
Gambia: NARI
Kick Starts Training On Rice Breeding
Tagged:
By Louise Jobe
The National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) in
partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations
(FAO), has commenced a five day training on Rice and PVS on Monday June 10th
2019, at their Conference Center at Brikama Campus. The objective of the
training, according to the organisers, is to provide participants with
theoretical knowledge on modern plant breeding methods and techniques.
In his statement, Professor Moussa Si, an expert in Agriculture
and Seed Systems asserted that the Gambia is a net importer of food and
produces only half of its national requirements of staples, due to some deficit
in the Agriculture sector; that the Government's effort in addressing the
deficit in the Agriculture sector, has resulted in the design of a project with
the aim of creating sustainable production and productivity of crops and
livestock. The project he said aims to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition
and create the enabling environment for an improved national economic
development.
Si said it is against this backdrop that the FAO is providing
the technical and financial assistances to train young breeders in the Gambia,
on the concepts and principles of plant breeding. "This workshop will
enable participants to identify appropriate breeding methodologies to be
adopted at each step of the crop's improvement program," Professor Si
said.
Prof. Si further indicated that the course aims to provide
knowledge to participants to enable them to develop the next generation of
breeders using modern tools for enhancing precision and efficiency of their
breeding programs. This, he said, should provide them with a theoretical background
on modern breeding methods and techniques including the use of biotechnology,
planning and information management tools and experimental techniques and
software. He added that the training will provide participants the opportunity
to share experience with the other rice breeders on latest updates on areas
relevant to breeding and the worldwide exchange of rice genetic resources. He
said that the training module is for breeders and agronomists working on a
variety of development or tests in the public and private sector, and called on
the participants to take the training seriously.
Babucarr Gibba, a participant from NARI said in an interview
that the training is an opportunity for them and will help them build their
capacity in carrying out breeding procedures. He pointed out that the rationale
behind training is to give the opportunity to NARI's young researchers to have
the skills and knowledge in breeding procedures and to prepare them to be
professional rice breeders for the country.
The training commenced with an assessment test on general skills
and ability and some basic knowledge on crop breeding, in order to assess the
present status of participants.
According to the organisers, participants are expected to adopt
good principles of breeding methodologies as well as improve the quality of
their research and enhance their knowledge on plant breeding, after the course.
‘Address poverty among farmers to
ensure food security’
·
NATION
·
Wednesday,
12 Jun 2019
·
·
PUTRAJAYA:
Padi farmers must be brought out of poverty as a way to ensure food security,
says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The
Prime Minister said farmers were stuck in poverty and heavily relied on
government subsidies.
Dr
Mahathir said currently the government had allocated RM1.8bil in subsidies
annually for about 200,000 rice farmers.
This,
he said, was too costly.
Dr
Mahathir said holdings of farmers were too small to produce returns, adding
that they were also not efficient in utilising their land.
“One
acre of land which can produce eight tonnes (in padi yield) only produces four
tonnes.
“We
need to attend to this by improving the methods of planting and also the way
farmers apply fertilisers and such,” he said at a press conference after
chairing the Economic Action Council yesterday.
Dr
Mahathir said the government could not force farmers to solely plant rice but
they should be encouraged to plant other crops that could yield good returns,
especially those that would be harvested three to four times a year.
“In
Kedah, for example, rice can be planted twice but in other areas it is only
done once a year.
“So
we need to look at this as a whole, as a reason for poverty among farmers and
how to overcome it,” the Prime Minister said.
“At
the same time we must also look after food security. That has got to be
attended to.”
Dr
Mahathir said consumers should not be burdened with rising cost in order to
“enrich farmers”.
Currently,
the government imports RM60bil worth of food per year, and wants to bring
that cost down by half.
Dr
Mahathir said farmers could earn more through planting other crops, such as
fruits and vegetables.
Citing
his home state, Dr Mahathir said farmers in Kedah were producing harum manis (a
variety of mango), melons and pineapples that gave them better returns.
“Maybe
they should allocate a certain part of their land to grow other crops,” he
said.
Meanwhile,
Dr Mahathir also said that the government was still gathering data on the
proposed fuel subsidy.
The
new-targeted fuel subsidy mechanism is expected to be rolled out in July.
“We
have only come to the stage of getting data, no real decision has been made,”
he said.
Asked
if the mechanism will still be introduced in July, Dr Mahathir said: “I think
July (or) later.”
In
April, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin
Nasution Ismail said the government was looking into two methods of
implementing the programme.
It
is either through crediting an amount into the bank accounts of recipients or
introducing a petrol card.
The
plan to move from blanket fuel subsidy to targeted subsidies was announced by
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng in Budget 2019.
Govt to buy 2.5 lakh tonnes more rice from farmers
Staff Correspondent |
Published: 19:30, Jun 11,2019 | Updated: 22:47, Jun 11,2019
The government on Tuesday decided to procure 2.5 lakh tonnes
more un-husked rice directly from the farmers during the current boro season.
The price of per kilogram un-husked rice would remain the same at Tk 26, said food minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder while talking to reporters after a meeting at the ministry’s conference room.
The government’s fresh decision came in the face of countrywide protests by affected farmers and socio-political organisations against the low price of boro.
Earlier, the government decided to procure 11.50 lakh tonnes of husked rice from millers and 1.50 lakh tonnes of un-husked rice from farmers during the current boro season.
Although the procurement was supposed to start on April 1, finally it started on April 25, said food ministry officials.
They also said that procurement would continue until June 30 at the rate of Tk 26 for un-husked rice and Tk 36 for husked rice per kilogram.
In reality, the farmers could not get benefitted by the government procurement system due to small amount against massive production and delayed procurement.
According to a press release issued on Tuesday, the food minister said that bumper rice production caused the lower price of un-husked rice this year and the farmer incurred the losses.
To support the farmers, the government would purchase more 2.5 lakh tonnes of rice from farmers, he said.
He also said that un-husked rice would be procured directly from farmers and supplied to the millers for husking. ‘We are looking for permanent solution to the problems,’ he said.
The minister also said that the government would build paddy silos at 200 places across the country with a total capacity of 10 lakh tonnes.
Agriculture minister Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, who also attended the meeting, laid high importance on agriculture and said that Bangladesh had become self-resilient in food production due to increased crop production.
He said the prime minister asked them to increase price of rice by procuring more un-husked rice directly from farmers and turning them husked rice through millers.
As moisture was the main problem for buying un-husked rice from farmers, so the government issued order to collect 3,000 pieces of moisture measurement machines which would be distributed at union level.
Using those machines, the farmers themselves would be able to measure moisture in their un-husked rice at their villages, he said.
Food secretary Shahabuddin Ahmed and senior officials were present at the meeting.
Farmers were compelled to sell 40 kg of boro un-husked rice at Tk 500-600 though their production cost was Tk 900 while a farm labour per day wage was Tk 500 this season. The government’s procurement rate is Tk 1,040 a tonne.
Agriculture experts told New Age that massive import of rice caused the low price of boro rice.
At the same time, the delayed procurement of rice by the millers could not leave any positive impact on the rice market, they said.
An estimated 1.80 crore tonnes of rice was produced during boro season every year, said officials at Department of Agricultural Extension.
The price of per kilogram un-husked rice would remain the same at Tk 26, said food minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder while talking to reporters after a meeting at the ministry’s conference room.
The government’s fresh decision came in the face of countrywide protests by affected farmers and socio-political organisations against the low price of boro.
Earlier, the government decided to procure 11.50 lakh tonnes of husked rice from millers and 1.50 lakh tonnes of un-husked rice from farmers during the current boro season.
Although the procurement was supposed to start on April 1, finally it started on April 25, said food ministry officials.
They also said that procurement would continue until June 30 at the rate of Tk 26 for un-husked rice and Tk 36 for husked rice per kilogram.
In reality, the farmers could not get benefitted by the government procurement system due to small amount against massive production and delayed procurement.
According to a press release issued on Tuesday, the food minister said that bumper rice production caused the lower price of un-husked rice this year and the farmer incurred the losses.
To support the farmers, the government would purchase more 2.5 lakh tonnes of rice from farmers, he said.
He also said that un-husked rice would be procured directly from farmers and supplied to the millers for husking. ‘We are looking for permanent solution to the problems,’ he said.
The minister also said that the government would build paddy silos at 200 places across the country with a total capacity of 10 lakh tonnes.
Agriculture minister Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, who also attended the meeting, laid high importance on agriculture and said that Bangladesh had become self-resilient in food production due to increased crop production.
He said the prime minister asked them to increase price of rice by procuring more un-husked rice directly from farmers and turning them husked rice through millers.
As moisture was the main problem for buying un-husked rice from farmers, so the government issued order to collect 3,000 pieces of moisture measurement machines which would be distributed at union level.
Using those machines, the farmers themselves would be able to measure moisture in their un-husked rice at their villages, he said.
Food secretary Shahabuddin Ahmed and senior officials were present at the meeting.
Farmers were compelled to sell 40 kg of boro un-husked rice at Tk 500-600 though their production cost was Tk 900 while a farm labour per day wage was Tk 500 this season. The government’s procurement rate is Tk 1,040 a tonne.
Agriculture experts told New Age that massive import of rice caused the low price of boro rice.
At the same time, the delayed procurement of rice by the millers could not leave any positive impact on the rice market, they said.
An estimated 1.80 crore tonnes of rice was produced during boro season every year, said officials at Department of Agricultural Extension.
A staple food to
withstand disaster
For
more than half the world’s population, rice is on the menu every single day. As
a crop that can be grown on every continent, we have come to rely on it
heavily. But there’s a catch. Requiring waterlogged paddy fields to grow, rice
is an extraordinarily thirsty crop.
With
the advance of climate change, extreme events such as droughts and flooding are becoming more frequent.
Finding staple foods such as rice that can survive an unreliable water supply
is essential to the world’s long-term food security. So, too, is finding ways
to make the use of water in all areas of agriculture more precise and
efficient.
…
Instead
of searching for varieties that are already drought-resistant, another way is
to bioengineer rice to require less water from scratch. This is what Julie
Gray, a professor of plant cell signalling at the University of Sheffield, is
working on. The industrial British city might seem like an unlikely spot for
rice research, but Gray’s rice growth room houses experiments on rice whose
stomata – microscopic pore-like structures in leaves and stems – make them more
resilient to drought.
CRISPR Breakthrough Could Help
Scientists More Quickly Combat Pathogens
JUN 12, 2019 | JARED
KALTWASSER
A new strategy to edit the genome of filamentous fungi could
have implications for scientists’ ability to use tools like CRISPR to prevent
or contain infectious diseases in the future.
A team of investigators from Tokyo University of Science, Meiji University, and the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology unveiled their new genome editing strategies last month in the journal Scientific Reports.
The team used CRISPR/Cas9 to devise a new system for introducing a single gene into the rice blast fungus Pyricularia (Magnaporthe) oryzae. The new method has the potential to make CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing considerably quicker. The team also developed several strategies to increase the efficiency of targeted gene disruption.
Although the findings have a most immediate impact on agriculture—rice blast fungus can devastate rice crops—the research will likely also have impacts on human pathogens, both in the short term and long term, said Takayuki Arazoe, PhD, an assistant professor of applied biological science at the Tokyo University of Science.
“Because there are some coincidences between the genomic characteristics of plant and human pathogens, a part of these strategies may be also able to apply for human pathogens including pathogenic protozoa,” Arazoe told Contagion®referencing malaria as 1 example of a human pathogen that might be affected by this research.
In Scientific Reports, Arazoe and colleagues explain that their system helps to offset a main limitation of the CRISPR/Cas9 system—in order to make DNA binding effective, scientists must first develop a pattern called a protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM). The new research suggests PAMs might not be necessary after all.
“In this study, we developed a novel genome editing strategy via single crossover-mediated HR in the model filamentous fungus Pyricularia( Magnaporthe) oryzae,” investigators wrote. “This method includes the CRISPR/Cas9 system and a donor vector harboring a single homology arm with point mutations at the CRISPR/Cas9 cleavage site.”
The most immediate impact of the new research is that it will make it easier for investigators to leverage genome editing to understand and eventually fight destructive pathogens.
“First, the development of novel genome editing technologies including our exploited strategy can speed up molecular biological research, such as functional gene (genome) analysis, to understand about how a pathogen has specific properties for infection and pathogenicity,” Arazoe said.
Such advances could open up an entirely new range of strategies by which to combat pathogens. For instance, scientists might be able to modify the genomes of pathogens in order to make them more susceptible to herbicides or medications, or to make them unable to withstand natural foes.
Eventually, though, Arazoe said, such techniques have the potential to go much further, perhaps to the point of rendering the pathogens entirely ineffective.
“Our final goal is to find out the targets to simultaneously control the pathogen evolution and infection,” he said.
That goal, however, is far off at the moment. Arazoe said more research will be needed to ensure investigators engaged in pathogen genomic engineering have adequate control over the pathogens.
A team of investigators from Tokyo University of Science, Meiji University, and the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology unveiled their new genome editing strategies last month in the journal Scientific Reports.
The team used CRISPR/Cas9 to devise a new system for introducing a single gene into the rice blast fungus Pyricularia (Magnaporthe) oryzae. The new method has the potential to make CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing considerably quicker. The team also developed several strategies to increase the efficiency of targeted gene disruption.
Although the findings have a most immediate impact on agriculture—rice blast fungus can devastate rice crops—the research will likely also have impacts on human pathogens, both in the short term and long term, said Takayuki Arazoe, PhD, an assistant professor of applied biological science at the Tokyo University of Science.
“Because there are some coincidences between the genomic characteristics of plant and human pathogens, a part of these strategies may be also able to apply for human pathogens including pathogenic protozoa,” Arazoe told Contagion®referencing malaria as 1 example of a human pathogen that might be affected by this research.
In Scientific Reports, Arazoe and colleagues explain that their system helps to offset a main limitation of the CRISPR/Cas9 system—in order to make DNA binding effective, scientists must first develop a pattern called a protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM). The new research suggests PAMs might not be necessary after all.
“In this study, we developed a novel genome editing strategy via single crossover-mediated HR in the model filamentous fungus Pyricularia( Magnaporthe) oryzae,” investigators wrote. “This method includes the CRISPR/Cas9 system and a donor vector harboring a single homology arm with point mutations at the CRISPR/Cas9 cleavage site.”
The most immediate impact of the new research is that it will make it easier for investigators to leverage genome editing to understand and eventually fight destructive pathogens.
“First, the development of novel genome editing technologies including our exploited strategy can speed up molecular biological research, such as functional gene (genome) analysis, to understand about how a pathogen has specific properties for infection and pathogenicity,” Arazoe said.
Such advances could open up an entirely new range of strategies by which to combat pathogens. For instance, scientists might be able to modify the genomes of pathogens in order to make them more susceptible to herbicides or medications, or to make them unable to withstand natural foes.
Eventually, though, Arazoe said, such techniques have the potential to go much further, perhaps to the point of rendering the pathogens entirely ineffective.
“Our final goal is to find out the targets to simultaneously control the pathogen evolution and infection,” he said.
That goal, however, is far off at the moment. Arazoe said more research will be needed to ensure investigators engaged in pathogen genomic engineering have adequate control over the pathogens.
To stay informed on the latest in
infectious disease news and developments, please sign
up for our weekly newsletter.
Govt allows foreign companies to
export rice, other commodities
THIHA KO KO 13 JUN 2019
Aung Htay Hlaing/The Myanmar
Times
The
Ministry of Commerce (MOC) will now allow foreign and joint venture companies
to export specific food and commodity items, according to Notification 24/2019
released on June 6.
Foreign
companies with recommendations from relevant ministries can buy the commodities
from local producers will be issued licenses to export the goods.
The
aim is to raise the quality of Myanmar exports and boost international demand
for local goods as well as to raise earnings for domestic producers.
The
MOC allowed a total of seven items including rice, meat and fish, value-added
crops, pulp and paper, seeds, refined metals, semi-finished or finished fruit
products and wood based furniture.
Notably,
foreign companies in Myanmar will be allowed to export value-added rice and
broken rice as well as beans, pulses and corn.
Competition
is likely to become more intense for local producers as foreign companies come
with larger capital pools and marketing networks, said U Than Oo, secretary of
Bayintnaung Rice Commodity Market in Yangon, said.
“On
the other hand, there will be more buyers in the market, which is good for
farmers and producers. The government’s move will attract foreign investments
in the agriculture sector, which is important for growth and export quality,”
he said.
Myanmar
exported 1.5 million tonnes of rice worth U$470 million between October 2018
and May 2019. A third of the rice is exported to China at the border while the
EU and Africa account for about 45pc of exports, according to the Myanmar Rice
Federation.
Recently,
the Myanmar Investment Commission permitted Singapore-listed Wilmar
International to form a local joint venture - Wilmar Myanmar Riceland Ltd -
to produce, sell and distribute rice and rice-related products including
rice, rice flour, rice bran, rice bran oil and rice husks at the Thilawa port
in Yangon.
USDA
Announces Additional Details on MFP and Prevented Planting
WASHINGTON, DC -- On Monday evening, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue clarified existing guidance and provided more details to the 2019 Market Facilitation Program (MFP) and Prevented Planting crop insurance coverage. Secretary Perdue's statement delivered a clear answer on a universal concern shared amongst farmers and others in the agriculture industry on unplanted acres and MFP payments. Perdue stated on record that unplanted acres will not be eligible for MFP payments, but offered a small reprieve for those farmers able to plant a cover crop after filing for prevented planting.
"USDA is not legally authorized to make Market Facilitation Program payments to producers for acreage that is not planted," said Perdue. "However, we are exploring legal flexibilities to provide a minimal per acre market facilitation payment to folks who filed prevent plant and chose to plant an MFP-eligible cover crop, with the potential to be harvested and for subsequent use of those cover crops for forage."
Additionally, clarity has been provided on prevented planting language in the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019. This law affords authority to the Secretary of Agriculture to compensate producers on losses due to prevented planting up to 90 percent; however, USDA notes that farmers shouldn't expect anything more than a modest adjustment at best due to the finite appropriations.
According to Perdue: "While the authority exists, USDA must operate within finite appropriations limits. It is highly unlikely that the supplemental appropriation will support that level of coverage in addition to crop insurance. Congress appropriated $3.005 billion in assistance for a wide array of losses resulting from disasters throughout 2018 and 2019, requiring USDA to prioritize how it is allocated. The Department plans to provide assistance on prevented planting losses within the confines of our authority."
Go here to read Secretary Perdue's statement and for answers to frequently asked questions about the USDA Risk Management Agency's prevented planting policy and losses resulting from floods.
"While not every question is answered, we're extremely appreciative of Secretary Perdue for providing this information that helps clear up some of the big questions we've had on our minds over the past few weeks," said Joe Mencer, Arkansas rice farmer and chair of the USA Rice Farmers. "We look forward to USDA releasing additional information on MFP in the coming weeks."
Annual Eagle Lake Rice Field Day set for June 25
- Contact: Laramie Naumann,
979-732-2082, Laramie.naumann@ag.tamu.edu
EAGLE LAKE – The 45th annual
Eagle Lake Rice Field Day is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. June 25 at the David
R. Wintermann Rice Research Station on Farm-to-Market Road 102 just north of
Eagle Lake.
The field day will offer an
opportunity for producers to tour the research station, making stops along the
way to hear about insect, weed, plant nutrient and disease management, varietal
testing and rice breeding.
The field day is planned and
coordinated by the Colorado County Rice Committee, which is comprised of local
producers, in collaboration with the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Texas
A&M AgriLife Extension Service. The committee meets throughout the year to
identify relevant and applicable topics for the event.
Area agribusinesses provide
sponsorship support so attendance is free.
The evening program will be
held at the Eagle Lake Community Center with Dr. Steve Linscombe, retired rice
breeder at Louisiana State University, providing a brief update of the U.S.
Rice Sustainability Report.
There also will be a discussion
led by Pam West, general manager of Brookshire Drying Co., and Maclane Peters,
of TRC Trading, concerning Texas rice exports. Dr. Joe Outlaw, AgriLife
Extension economist, College Station, will provide an update on farm policy
issues, and Dr. Ted Wilson, AgriLife Extension entomologist, Beaumont, will
share some observations concerning climate stress data and what it may mean to
rice production.
A catered meal will be
provided. Two general Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will
be offered to all licensed pesticide applicators who attend the tour and
evening program.
For more information, contact
the David R. Wintermann Rice Research Station at 979-234-3578 or the AgriLife
Extension office for Colorado County at 979-732-2082.
New rice festival could draw crowds to Davis this fall
The Cali Rice Fest will celebrate rice — one of Yolo County's
often overlooked crops.
COMPANIES
IN THIS
ARTICLE
By Emily
Hamann – Staff Writer,
Sacramento Business Journal
Jun 12, 2019, 8:38am EDT
A new festival could draw 30,000 people to Davis this fall to
celebrate one of Yolo County’s largest crops.
The inaugural Cali Rice Fest will be held Oct. 4-6 in downtown
Davis and on the University of California Davis campus. It will feature local
rice, cultural performances, talks, farm tours and food demos.
The concept for the Cali Rice Fest started after Davis
Mayor Brett Lee put
out the call for a new signature event for the city.
“I was trying to think of an event that would be a nice
communitywide event,” Lee said. Aside from UC Davis Picnic Day and Fourth of
July fireworks, the city doesn’t hold any major community events. He wanted
something that long-term residents and UC Davis students could enjoy together.
“This is the one that really stood out,” Lee said.
Rachael Ryen and
her husband Dustin, who worked as event planners before they opened Zumapoke
and Lush Ice in Davis, started brainstorming after they saw the call from the
mayor last year, and ultimately pitched the Cali Rice Fest.
They took inspiration from close to home — Ryen’s family has
been farming rice in Yolo County for three generations. Ninety-five percent of
the rice in the state is grown in the Sacramento Valley. In 2017, Yolo County
grew $40 million worth of rice — making it the county's sixth-largest crop.
“The rice that’s from Yolo County goes all around the
world,” Rachael Ryen said.
“We wanted to have an event that represented that.”
The festival will be divided into different continents — each
one focused on a culture with cuisine that uses rice heavily.
The event will feature rice dishes from each cuisine, but also
drinks, music and dance performances from each culture.
“That was the idea behind rice: Let’s take something that is a
little more basic and make it as sexy as possible. Let’s show it for what it
really is,” Ryen said.
Part of the event will take place in the city, on Third Street
between A and B streets, and it will spill onto the campus.
Ryan estimates the event will bring in 20,000 to 30,000 people
the first year.
“We think that’s a pretty safe number,” she said.
She hopes it gets bigger each year.
“We want to expand our footprint into the Bay Area so It really
becomes a huge cultural regional event,” Ryen said.
Ryen was inspired by the California Honey Festival, which held
its second annual event in Woodland in May. The success of that event proves there
is a local audience interested in having fun and learning about agriculture,
Ryan said.
“We know that people in Yolo are looking for festivals to go
to,” she said.
The event has secured some sponsors, including the city and UC
Davis. The event is also renting out vendor booths. Ryen said they are still
looking for more event sponsors and vendors.
Attendance will be free, but there will be passports for sale.
Attendees who buy a passport and collect a number of stamps by trying different
rice dishes can enter to win an international trip.
Lee said the city is still working on logistics like car and
bicycle parking. He said one idea is to allow people to park on campus, and
offer a shuttle to get them to the event.
He said he hopes the event draws a crowd of both locals and
visitors to Davis, and that it can return next year.
“Success is a large number of people coming and having a good
time,” he said. “In terms of the long term, it would be great to have this
continue forward.”
Group: Rice
farmers lose billions from low prices
A business group claims that rice
imports have caused farmers of the crop to lose a staggering P95 billion as
farmgate prices of palay (unmilled rice) have hit lows, making them lose as
much as P5 per kilo.
According to government
statistics, the average cost of producing palay in the Philippines is P12.72
per kilo.
Companies participating in a
recent dialogue of the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (Pcafi)
with Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Ariel Cayanan disclosed their
concerns over the liberalization of rice imports as provided by Republic Act
11203 or the “Rice Tarrification Law” (RTA).
Frisco Malabanan, SL Agritech
Corp. rice consultant, said with the prevailing farmgate prices of palay,
Filipino farmers have already lost as much as P95 billion in income.
Federation of Central Luzon
Farmers’ Cooperatives Chairman Simeon Sioson added the prevailing prices of palay
in some parts of Central Luzon have dropped to P11 to P13 or even to P10 per
kilo since the RTA was enacted early this year.
A representative of Chen Yi
Agventures, which built the Visayas most modern rice complex in Leyte, also
said locally produced rice has better quality than those imported from Thailand
and Vietnam.
“We produce local rice; we do not
mix with imports. It’s entirely good, much better quality than imported. But
their (Thailand’s and Vietnam’s) rice has long been stocked in the warehouse,
shipped for some time, and stocked again in local warehouses. Their rice is
sprayed with pesticides because of bukbok (pests) and with artificial
fragrance because it smells old,” the Chenyi representative said.
Pcafi President Danilo Fausto
also questioned the capabilities of some government agencies to implement the
programs and projects to be funded by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund
(RCEF), which RA 11203 establishes to be funded by tariff collections from
imported rice.
“Even Amtech (Agricultural
Machinery Testing Evaluation Center) under the University of the
Philippines Los Baños is not capable of supporting that huge task of testing
machines to support the RCEF mechanization program,” he said.
Amtech is the agency tasked to
test farm machines and equipment before they are sold or distributed in the
Philippines.
The representative from Chen Yi
also underscored the importance for the country to make its rice industry
competitive.
“We’re putting food security at
risk. What happens if Thailand and Vietnam can longer supply us because they
also have their own food security issues or if China or the US will import
more? They can pay more money,” the representative said.
Riverina rice harvest wraps up
with small crop, strong yields + VIDEO
Grain Central, June 13, 2019
LOW water availability and high
water prices have seen just 54,000 paddy tonnes of rice harvested in the
Riverina this season, a fraction of the 2018 crop of 623,000 tonnes and the
second lowest recorded since the start of the Millennium Drought in 2003.
With the 2019 harvest now
completed, SunRice general manager global agribusiness and sustainability Tom Howardsaid despite water-related challenges and seasonal conditions
fluctuating from extreme heat to the occasional cold snap, Riverina growers had
once again shown their resilience and expertise.
Tom Howard
“Overall yields were above the
five-year average, with a grower in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA)
achieving a standout 15.4 tonnes per hectare for a medium grain Reiziq crop, 30
per cent above the region’s five-year average of 11.8 tonnes per hectare,” he
said.
“This season also saw the best
Doongara (Low GI) yield recorded. Grown in the MIA, the crop yielded 14 tonnes
per hectare, far outstripping the region’s five-year average of 11.3 tonnes per
hectare.
“Both these crops were drill sown,
a technique that is growing in popularity and was used across 70pc of the area
grown to rice this year. A combination of improved irrigation layouts,
machinery technology and available weed control options ensured drill sowing
has delivered top yields with decreased water use. Growers reported between one
to two megalitres per hectare less water use compared to crops grown using
other methods.”
The high yielding Reiziq crop was
grown using 12.4 megalitres of water per hectare and the Doongara crop used 11.6
megalitres of water per hectare, with both crops exceeding the targeted
industry benchmark of 1 tonne/megalitre of water.
Once again, this season there
were a number of exceptional results achieved on a gross return per megalitre
and hectare, as outlined in the table below, including these highlights:
- The Reiziq crop generated an estimated
gross profit margin of $6270/ha (or $505/ML); and
- The Doongara crop delivered an estimated
$6270/ha (or $539/ML).
Harvest Highlights
While the majority of the 2019 crop
was planted to Reiziq (73pc of the area), other varieties grown included:
- Doongara, which is used in SunRice’s Low
GI range sold in domestic and exports markets;
- Topaz, which is a Jasmine variety that is
popular in Asian cuisine;
- Viand, the new short-season medium grain
variety that was launched in 2018, offering growers a late planting,
double cropping option, providing flexibility and potentially lower
water-use compared to existing longer season varieties;
- Langi, a soft cooking long grain popular
in the domestic market;
- Opus, a short grain for the Asian market,
particularly in sushi; and
- Koshihikari, a premium short grain variety
for the sushi market.
Other standout results included:
- A drill sown crop of Reiziq in the Eastern
Murray Valley produced 13.1t/ha, 3.3t/ha above the five-year average for
the region of 9.8t/ha.
- The top performer in the Coleambally
Irrigation Area was a drill sown crop of Reiziq that yielded 13.2t/ha,
3.0t/ha above the region’s 10.2t/ha five-year average.
- 15pc of the total Reiziq area was above
13t/ha, while 34pc of the total Reiziq area above 12t/ha.
- On the whole drill sown crops performed
better than other sowing methods. For example, a drill sown crop of Reiziq
in the MIA yielded 15t/ha compared to a dry broadcast sown crop of Reiziq
that was grown beside it and yielded 13.5t/ha. The drill sown crop used
1.1 megalitres of water per hectare less than the dry broadcast crop.
Water use efficiency was 1.3 tonnes per megalitre and 1.1 tonnes per
megalitre respectively.
- A special mention goes to a crop of
organic Viand, which yielded 9.5t/ha, the best yield and lowest water use
ever recorded by that grower and almost double the longer-term average for
organic crops.
- Viand consistently performed well across
all regions. On average Viand yielded around 0.5t/ha below Reiziq, or 95pc
of the Reiziq average – an impressive result given it has a sowing date of
three to four weeks after Reiziq.
- The value of rice goes beyond harvest,
with many growers baling their rice straw to sell for animal feed and
sowing wheat crops into their rice stubble, taking advantage of remnant
ground moisture and recent rains.
Willbriggie grower, Robert Andreazza, who grew a record 14 tonne
per hectare Doongara crop.
Price uplift
The SunRice Board has announced that
the lower end of the price range in the C18 Pool for base grade medium grain
(Reiziq) has been increased by $15/t for the 2018 crop (for rice harvested in
2018 and marketed in the financial year just ended on 30 April 2019).
The estimated range for base
grade medium grain (Reiziq) is now $400/t – $410/t, from the previous guidance
of $385/t – $410/t. This follows the $25/t uplift announced in February and
represents a total increase of $45/t since the C18 pool opened. Payment of the
additional $15/t was made to growers on Thursday 23 May 2019.
SunRice chairman Laurie Arthur
said the adjustment was approved by the Board based on the strong finish to the
financial year that SunRice had experienced and the ongoing strategy to deliver
premium prices for Riverina rice in key domestic and international markets.
“With prospects improving for
winter cropping following the recent rain across the Riverina and in the
catchment, we hope this price uplift provides growers with a timely cashflow
injection. We also hope the seasonal outlook continues to improve as we head
into C20,” he said.
“We remain hopeful that, as we
close out the year, a further price uplift for C18 could be delivered,
dependent on final audited results and year-end adjustments.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Video: Harvest highlights, including commentary from
Sunrice’s Tom Howard and Willbriggie grower, Robert Andreazza, who grew the record 14 tonne per hectare Doongara crop.
Source: Sunrice
How biotech could help save
rice, staple crop consumed by half the world daily, from climate change
Christine
Ro | BBC | June 12,
2019
For more than half the world’s population, rice
is on the menu every single day. As a crop that can be grown on every
continent, we have come to rely on it heavily. But there’s a catch. Requiring
waterlogged paddy fields to grow, rice is an extraordinarily thirsty crop.
With the
advance of climate change, extreme events such as droughts and flooding are becoming more
frequent. Finding staple foods such as rice that can survive an
unreliable water supply is essential to the world’s long-term food security.
So, too, is finding ways to make the use of water in all areas of agriculture
more precise and efficient.
…
Instead of searching for varieties that are
already drought-resistant, another way is to bioengineer rice to require less
water from scratch. This is what Julie Gray, a professor of plant cell
signalling at the University of Sheffield, is working on. The industrial
British city might seem like an unlikely spot for rice research, but Gray’s
rice growth room houses experiments on rice whose stomata – microscopic
pore-like structures in leaves and stems – make them more resilient to drought.
CRISPR Breakthrough Could Help
Scientists More Quickly Combat Pathogens
JUN 12, 2019 | JARED
KALTWASSER
A new strategy to edit the genome of filamentous fungi
could have implications for scientists’ ability to use tools like CRISPR to
prevent or contain infectious diseases in the future.
A team of investigators from Tokyo University of Science, Meiji University, and the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology unveiled their new genome editing strategies last month in the journal Scientific Reports.
The team used CRISPR/Cas9 to devise a new system for introducing a single gene into the rice blast fungus Pyricularia (Magnaporthe) oryzae. The new method has the potential to make CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing considerably quicker. The team also developed several strategies to increase the efficiency of targeted gene disruption.
Although the findings have a most immediate impact on agriculture—rice blast fungus can devastate rice crops—the research will likely also have impacts on human pathogens, both in the short term and long term, said Takayuki Arazoe, PhD, an assistant professor of applied biological science at the Tokyo University of Science.
“Because there are some coincidences between the genomic characteristics of plant and human pathogens, a part of these strategies may be also able to apply for human pathogens including pathogenic protozoa,” Arazoe told Contagion®referencing malaria as 1 example of a human pathogen that might be affected by this research.
In Scientific Reports, Arazoe and colleagues explain that their system helps to offset a main limitation of the CRISPR/Cas9 system—in order to make DNA binding effective, scientists must first develop a pattern called a protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM). The new research suggests PAMs might not be necessary after all.
“In this study, we developed a novel genome editing strategy via single crossover-mediated HR in the model filamentous fungus Pyricularia( Magnaporthe) oryzae,” investigators wrote. “This method includes the CRISPR/Cas9 system and a donor vector harboring a single homology arm with point mutations at the CRISPR/Cas9 cleavage site.”
The most immediate impact of the new research is that it will make it easier for investigators to leverage genome editing to understand and eventually fight destructive pathogens.
“First, the development of novel genome editing technologies including our exploited strategy can speed up molecular biological research, such as functional gene (genome) analysis, to understand about how a pathogen has specific properties for infection and pathogenicity,” Arazoe said.
Such advances could open up an entirely new range of strategies by which to combat pathogens. For instance, scientists might be able to modify the genomes of pathogens in order to make them more susceptible to herbicides or medications, or to make them unable to withstand natural foes.
Eventually, though, Arazoe said, such techniques have the potential to go much further, perhaps to the point of rendering the pathogens entirely ineffective.
“Our final goal is to find out the targets to simultaneously control the pathogen evolution and infection,” he said.
That goal, however, is far off at the moment. Arazoe said more research will be needed to ensure investigators engaged in pathogen genomic engineering have adequate control over the pathogens.
A team of investigators from Tokyo University of Science, Meiji University, and the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology unveiled their new genome editing strategies last month in the journal Scientific Reports.
The team used CRISPR/Cas9 to devise a new system for introducing a single gene into the rice blast fungus Pyricularia (Magnaporthe) oryzae. The new method has the potential to make CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing considerably quicker. The team also developed several strategies to increase the efficiency of targeted gene disruption.
Although the findings have a most immediate impact on agriculture—rice blast fungus can devastate rice crops—the research will likely also have impacts on human pathogens, both in the short term and long term, said Takayuki Arazoe, PhD, an assistant professor of applied biological science at the Tokyo University of Science.
“Because there are some coincidences between the genomic characteristics of plant and human pathogens, a part of these strategies may be also able to apply for human pathogens including pathogenic protozoa,” Arazoe told Contagion®referencing malaria as 1 example of a human pathogen that might be affected by this research.
In Scientific Reports, Arazoe and colleagues explain that their system helps to offset a main limitation of the CRISPR/Cas9 system—in order to make DNA binding effective, scientists must first develop a pattern called a protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM). The new research suggests PAMs might not be necessary after all.
“In this study, we developed a novel genome editing strategy via single crossover-mediated HR in the model filamentous fungus Pyricularia( Magnaporthe) oryzae,” investigators wrote. “This method includes the CRISPR/Cas9 system and a donor vector harboring a single homology arm with point mutations at the CRISPR/Cas9 cleavage site.”
The most immediate impact of the new research is that it will make it easier for investigators to leverage genome editing to understand and eventually fight destructive pathogens.
“First, the development of novel genome editing technologies including our exploited strategy can speed up molecular biological research, such as functional gene (genome) analysis, to understand about how a pathogen has specific properties for infection and pathogenicity,” Arazoe said.
Such advances could open up an entirely new range of strategies by which to combat pathogens. For instance, scientists might be able to modify the genomes of pathogens in order to make them more susceptible to herbicides or medications, or to make them unable to withstand natural foes.
Eventually, though, Arazoe said, such techniques have the potential to go much further, perhaps to the point of rendering the pathogens entirely ineffective.
“Our final goal is to find out the targets to simultaneously control the pathogen evolution and infection,” he said.
That goal, however, is far off at the moment. Arazoe said more research will be needed to ensure investigators engaged in pathogen genomic engineering have adequate control over the pathogens.
4.44mn acres fixed for rice
cultivation
FAISALABAD: Agriculture department
Punjab has fixed a target of 4.44 million acres for cultivation of rice across
the province including Faisalabad. A spokesman of Agriculture extension
department said the farmers should immediately start rice cultivation and
complete it by end of June to get bumper yield. “Rice crop is not only our
domestic food needs but its high quality varieties can be exported as well”. He
said farmers should cultivate approved varieties of rice including Super
Basmati, Shaheen Basmati, Basmati-370, Basmati-385, Basmati Pak (Karnal
Basmati), Basmati-2000, Basmati-515, Basmati-198, AARI-6, KS-282, KSK-133,
Y-26, Pride-1, Shehansha-2, PHB-71. More information in this regard can be
obtained from agri helpline—0800-15000 and 0800-29000, he added.
Date: 13-Jun-2019
China’s cheap rice threatens Thai
exports
Thai
rice faces competition from China as the East Asian country plans to ramp up
its rice shipments to other markets. (Photo by Pattanapong Hirunard) Thai rice
exporters are fretting over their prospects... Please credit and share
this article with others using this link:https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1693884/chinas-cheap-rice-threatens-thai-exports.
View our policies at http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Bangkok
Post Public Company Limited. All rights reserved.
Group: Rice farmers lose billions
from low prices
A
business group claims that rice imports have caused farmers of the crop to lose
a staggering P95 billion as farmgate prices of palay (unmilled rice) have hit
lows, making them lose as much as P5 per kilo. According to government
statistics, the average cost of producing palay in the Philippines is P12.72
per kilo. Companies participating in a recent dialogue of the Philippine
Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (Pcafi) with Department of Agriculture
Undersecretary Ariel Cayanan disclosed their concerns over the liberalization
of rice imports as provided by Republic Act 11203 or the “Rice Tarrification
Law” (RTA).
Frisco
Malabanan, SL Agritech Corp. rice consultant, said with the prevailing farmgate
prices of palay, Filipino farmers have already lost as much as P95 billion in
income.
Federation
of Central Luzon Farmers’ Cooperatives Chairman Simeon Sioson added the
prevailing prices of palay in some parts of Central Luzon have dropped to P11
to P13 or even to P10 per kilo since the RTA was enacted early this year.
A
representative of Chen Yi Agventures, which built the Visayas most modern rice
complex in Leyte, also said locally produced rice has better quality than those
imported from Thailand and Vietnam. “We produce local rice; we do not mix with
imports. It’s entirely good, much better quality than imported. But their
(Thailand’s and Vietnam’s) rice has long been stocked in the warehouse, shipped
for some time, and stocked again in local warehouses. Their rice is sprayed
with pesticides because of bukbok (pests) and with artificial fragrance
because it smells old,” the Chenyi representative said.
Pcafi
President Danilo Fausto also questioned the capabilities of some government
agencies to implement the programs and projects to be funded by the Rice Competitiveness
Enhancement Fund (RCEF), which RA 11203 establishes to be funded by tariff
collections from imported rice. “Even Amtech (Agricultural Machinery Testing
Evaluation Center) under the University of the Philippines Los Baños is
not capable of supporting that huge task of testing machines to support the
RCEF mechanization program,” he said. Amtech is the agency tasked to test farm
machines and equipment before they are sold or distributed in the Philippines.
The representative from Chen Yi also underscored the importance for the country
to make its rice industry competitive. “We’re putting food security at risk.
What happens if Thailand and Vietnam can longer supply us because they also
have their own food security issues or if China or the US will import more?
They can pay more money,” the representative said.
Thai rice exporters worry about
China’s competition
Bangkok
(VNA) - Thai rice exporters are
fretting over their prospects this year as China looks set to ramp up its rice
shipments, notably to Africa. The Bangkok Post on June 12 quoted Chookiat
Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association as
saying that China produces an estimated 120 million tonnes of rice each year
and is likely to raise exports to 3 million tonnes of aged grains this year
from 1.5-2 million tonnes last year. Africa is a potential target market for
China now that consumers there are in the habit of eating aged rice, he said.
China’s 5 percent white rice is quoted at 300 USD a tonne, while similar grains
from Thailand are quoted at 390 USD, those from Vietnam at 360 USD and those
from India at 370 USD. Chinese rice is very cheap compared with others, said
Chookiat, adding that Thailand has run out of stocks of aged rice. Thai
rice shipments totalled 11.09 million tonnes last year, down 5 percent from
11.67 million in 2017 but greater than 2016's 9.91 million. The value of rice
exports rose 8.3 percent last year to 5.61 billion USD from 5.18 billion USD in
2017 and 4.40 billion USD in 2016. Rice export prices averaged 507 USD per
tonne last year, up 14.1 percent from 2017. For the whole of 2019, rice
exporters forecast Thai shipments of 9.5 million tonnes, or 500,000 tonnes shy
of the Commerce Ministry’s projection. According to Chookiat, China has
continued to develop rice varieties with higher yields, meaning the country
could expand its exports of the grain to other Asian countries in the future at
relatively low prices. As long as China is capable of exporting its grains to
Asia, especially to Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines,
Thailand’s rice market will be hit the hardest, Chookiat said. The official
said the new government should promote development of new rice varieties and
support more R&D to add value to Thai rice and reduce production costs for
farmers.-VNA
Author
Name: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/thai-rice-exporters-worry-about-chinas-competition/154313.vnp
Date: 13-Jun-2019
Myanmar plans to export rice worth 500 million
U.S. dollars to China
Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-11 20:28:59|Editor:
xuxin
A laborer works at a warehouse in Yangon, Myanmar, June 11,
2019. Myanmar has planned to export rice worth 500 million U.S. dollars to
China through barter trading system later this year. U Aung Htoo, deputy
minister for commerce, said on Monday that according to the report from China's
Kunming, China will purchase rice worth 500 million U.S. dollars and Myanmar
will buy machineries and equipment with the same value from China. (Xinhua/U
Aung)
Rice inventory rose to nearly 3 million tons
in May–report
June 12, 2019
A
worker at the National Food Authority (NFA) sweeps the rice grains at their
warehouse in FTI, Taguig City.
The country’s rice inventory
reached nearly 3 million metric tons (MMT) a few weeks before farmers started
planting for the wet season based on the latest data from the Philippine
Statistics Authority (PSA).
In its latest report, the PSA
said Philippine rice stocks reached 2.947 million metric tons as of May 1, 1.3
percent higher than the 2.909 MMT recorded in the same period last year.
On a monthly basis, however, data
from the PSA showed that rice inventory during the period was higher by 12.2
percent compared to the April level of 2.627 MMT.
Rice harvest in the Philippines
reached its peak in April. Farmers usually begin planting their wet- season
crop in May.
According to the PSA, stocks held
by the National Food Authority (NFA) jumped the most as it surged by 15,952.4
percent year-on-year to 558,140 metric tons (MT) in May.
The surge could be attributed to
the implementation of the rice trade liberalization law, which limited the role
of the NFA to buffer stocking. The food agency stepped up its purchases of rice
from local farmers to beef up its inventory.
Compared to the April 2019 level
of 576,190 MT, however, NFA’s rice stocks were lower by 3.1 percent.
On an annual basis, stocks held
by households and commercial warehouses fell by 9 percent and 25.9 percent,
respectively, data from the PSA showed. The rice inventory of households
reached 1.265 MMT while commercial warehouses had stocks of 1.123 MMT.
The PSA also reported that the
country’s total corn stocks stood at 829,110 MT as of May 1. The figure is more
than w double the 338,310 MT recorded a year ago.
The latest figure was also 35
percent higher than the April inventory of 614,000 MT, according to the PSA.
The corn inventory of households
and commercial warehouses was higher by an annualized rate of 72.6 percent and
160.2 percent, respectively. The NFA, according to PSA data, did not have corn
stocks during the period.
On a monthly basis, corn stocks
in households were lower by 30.1 percent. The inventory of commercial
warehouses, however, was higher by 55.1 percent.
Of the current corn inventory,
households accounted for 12.2 percent while commercial warehouses held 87.8
percent.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/06/12/rice-inventory-rose-to-nearly-3-million-tons-in-may-report/
Rice dearer by Rs 4 to Rs 6 a kg
Shradha Manimunda, DH News Service, Bengaluru, JUN 13 2019, 00:53AM IST
UPDATED: JUN 13 2019, 14:21PM IST Due to a delayed monsoon, the price of rice has
gone up sharply by Rs 4 to Rs 6 a kg for different var...
Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/state/top-karnataka-stories/rice-dearer-by-rs-4-to-rs-6-a-kg-739973.html
Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/state/top-karnataka-stories/rice-dearer-by-rs-4-to-rs-6-a-kg-739973.html
Paddy procurement in T ..
Read
more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/69763466.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/69763466.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
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