Friday, August 09, 2019

9th August,2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter


Stop burning fields to cut smog and boost profits, scientists tell Indian farmers
·       AUGUST 8, 2019 / 11:45 PM


(This August 8 story is refiled to add missing word in first paragraph.)
By Thin Lei Win
ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Every year, a choking smog descends on northwest India as the region’s farmers burn their fields following the rice harvest - a phenomenon that has helped make New Delhi one of the world’s most polluted cities.
Now, scientists have come up with a method that would allow farmers to sow their winter crop, usually wheat, without burning off the stubble left behind after the rice harvest.
Researchers tested 10 alternatives to burning, finding the biggest profits could be achieved with a machine called the Happy Seeder.
The new method would allow farmers to produce more food, boost profits by up to 20%, and cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 78%, according to a study published on Thursday.
“Our analysis suggests that it is possible to reduce air pollution and GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions in a way that is profitable to farmers and scalable,” said the study, by a group of scientists from India and other countries.
“Our analysis strongly suggests that India has an opportunity, through coordinated public and private actions, to reduce burning, increase incomes, and transition to more sustainable agriculture while addressing the urgent problem of seasonal air pollution.”
The Happy Seeder is already being used on about 800,000 hectares of farmland used to grow wheat in winter and rice in summer - but that represents a tiny proportion of the 4 million hectares in northwest India known as the country’s breadbasket.
“The plan next year is to reach close to 2 million hectares. We’re hopeful,” said co-author M.L. Jat, principal scientist with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
With a Happy Seeder costing $2,000, cost remains a major barrier, but farmers can hire a contractor to plant their crops with the machine, Jat told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The study’s authors are urging the government and private sector to promote the machine’s use through subsidies.
Every year, farmers in northwest India burn an estimated 23 million tonnes of rice straw to clear the land quickly and cheaply in time to grow wheat, the study said.
If piled on top of each other, the amount would cover 1.1 times the distance to the moon.
India officially restricts the use of crop burning, but the practice persists and bans are rarely enforced.
The resulting seasonal smog disrupts transportation and threatens public health, said the paper, published hours after a major U.N. report called for big changes to farming to curtail global warming.
Reporting By Thin Lei Win @thinink, Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, and property rights. Visit www.trust.org

Climate Experts Advise Eating More Vegetables, Less Meat

After issuing a new report detailing farming’s contribution to warming, researchers suggested diet changes to reduce the impact

By 
Robert Lee Hotz and 
Jacob Bunge
Updated Aug. 8, 2019 2:20 pm ET
Climate experts meeting in Geneva recommended changes to the foods people eat and farm in an effort to stave off the disruptive effects of rising global temperatures, while growers and major food producers attempt to adapt.
People should consider eating more vegetables and less meat, the researchers said Thursday. The switch may help slow greenhouse-gas emissions, they said, because farming vegetables releases less greenhouse gases than livestock production.
...
TO READ THE FULL STORY

How the quest to bake a better banana bread helps us understand GMOs

Lucy Stitzer | August 8, 2019
Description: large
GMOs are hard to understand. What if we told you that enhancing your banana bread recipe with additional nutrients is similar in concept to adding a gene to a plant? This is otherwise known as genetic engineering.
Banana bread starts with a recipe of basic ingredients
My son has a hankering for homemade banana bread, and suddenly the whole family wants a slice, including me. So I go to the kitchen to whip up a loaf. While the oven is preheating, I put the ingredients on the counter: bananas, butter, baking soda, salt, sugar, egg, vanilla, and flour.
For the best taste and consistency, mixing the ingredients in order is important. I mash the bananas and the butter together before folding in the rest, and end with the flour. Then, I pour batter in a loaf pan and bake. We patiently let it cool, then slice it up and everyone gets a homemade treat.

Our family loves banana bread and I also want to give them extra nutrition. So I add flaxseed for omega 3 fatty acids and yogurt for protein and calcium.
How is banana bread similar to a GMO?
First, the plant breeder starts with a plant they want to modify. Let’s take rice as an example, a staple food for more than half the world’s population. Many people, particularly children, in the developing world are deficient in vitamin A which can compromise their immune system and cause night blindness. The International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines created a more nutritious food by enabling rice to express its beta-carotene gene, the precursor to vitamin A.
Description: unnamed file
Golden Rice technology was based on the premise that rice already has the ability to make beta-carotene, but this conversion was only in the leaves. In order for the beta-carotene to be present in the rice itself, rice breeders added two new genes to basic rice: one from corn and one from a commonly ingested soil bacterium. Together, these genes enable rice to synthesize the beta-carotene found in the leaves. Now a cup of rice a day can keep children healthier and fortified. Breeders in Uganda are working on a similar process to make golden bananas.
What is the process?
Description: unnamed file
1. Banana bread recipe = DNA
Just like banana bread, rice (like every living organism) has a recipe. Just as the directions to make banana bread is in the recipe, the directions to make rice is in its DNA.
2. Banana bread ingredients = genes
When laid out on your counter, the ingredients for banana bread don’t mean much. However, when combined together, they yield a delicious treat. On a much simpler scale, when you mix the banana bread ingredients in a different order and with different ingredient amounts, you get a different recipe all together – banana pancakes!
All living organisms have the same concept. Each human, plant, or animal has thousands of genes that create their living structure. What makes a human a human and rice- rice is that 99% of the genes – otherwise called the genetic alphabet – are written in a certain order. For instance, humans are made up of approximately 23,000 genes compared to rice which contains around 32,000 genes. Per the gene graphic above, if the sequence on the right was changed from red-purple-red-yellow-yellow to yellow-red-red-purple-red it would be a completely different organism.

Alternatives to burning can increase Indian farmers' profits and cut pollution

Description: Alternatives to burning can increase Indian farmers' profits and cut pollutionBurning of rice residues in southeast Punjab, India, prior to the wheat season. Credit: Neil Palmer/CIAT
A new economic study in the journal Science shows that thousands of farmers in northern India could increase their profits if they stop burning their rice straw and adopt no-till practices to grow wheat. Alternative farming practices could also cut farmers' greenhouse gas emissions from on-farm activities by as much as 78% and help lower air pollution in cities like New Delhi.
The new study compares the costs and benefits of 10 distinct land preparation and sowing practices for northern India's rice-wheat cropping rotations, which are spread across more than 4 million hectares. The direct seeding of wheat into unplowed soil and shredded rice residues was the best option—it raises farmers' profits through higher yields and savings in labor, fuel, and machinery costs.
The study, conducted by a global team of eminent agriculture and environmental scientists, was led by researchers from The Nature Conservancy, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) and the University of Minnesota.
A burning issue
To quickly and cheaply clear their fields to sow wheat each year, farmers in northern India burn an estimated 23 million tons of straw from their rice harvests. That enormous mass of straw, if packed into 20-kilogram 38-centimeter-high bales and piled on top of each other, would reach a height of over 430,000 kilometers—about 1.1 times the distance to the moon.Regulations are in place in India to reduce agricultural fires but burning continues because of implementation challenges and lack of clarity about the profitability of alternate, no-burn farming. Farmers have alternatives, the study shows. To sow wheat directly without plowing or burning rice straw, farmers need to purchase or rent a tractor-mounted implement known as the "Happy Seeder," as well as attach straw shedders to their rice harvesters. Leaving straw on the soil as a mulch helps capture and retain moisture and also improves soil quality, according to M.L. Jat, CIMMYT Principal Scientist, cropping systems specialist and a co-author of the study.
Description: Alternatives to burning can increase Indian farmers' profits and cut pollutionA combine harvester equipped with the Super Straw Management System, or Super SMS (left), works alongside a tractor fitted with a Happy Seeder. Credit: CIMMYT
Win-win
The Science study demonstrates that it is possible to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in a way that is profitable to farmers and scalable.
The paper shows that Happy Seeder-based systems are on average 10%-20% more profitable than straw burning options.
"Our study dovetails with 2018 policies put in place by the government of India to stop farmers from burning, which includes a US$166 million subsidy to promote mechanization to manage crop residues within fields," said Priya Shyamsundar, Lead Economist, Global Science, of The Nature Conservancy and first author of the study.
Shyamsundar noted that relatively few Indian farmers currently sow their wheat using the Happy Seeder but manufacturing of the Seeder had increased in recent years. "Less than a quarter of the total subsidy would pay for widespread adoption of the Happy Seeder, if aided by government and NGO support to build farmer awareness and impede burning."
"With a rising population of 1.6 billion people, South Asia hosts 40% of the world's poor and malnourished on just 2.4% of its land," said Jat, who recently received India's prestigious Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award for outstanding and impact-oriented research contributions in natural resource management and agricultural engineering. "Better practices can help farmers adapt to warmer winters and extreme, erratic weather events such as droughts and floods, which are having a terrible impact on agriculture and livelihoods. In addition, India's efforts to transition to more sustainable, less polluting farming practices can provide lessons for other countries facing similar risks and challenges."
In November 2017, more than 4,000 schools closed in Delhi due to seasonal smog. This smog increases during October and November when fields are burned. It causes major transportation disruptions and poses health risks across northern India, including Delhi, a city of more than 18 million people. Some of these problems can be resolved by the use of direct sowing technologies in northwestern India.
"Within one year of our dedicated action using about US$75 million under the Central Sector Scheme on 'Promotion of agriculture mechanization for in-situ management of crop residue in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi,' we could reach 0.8 million hectares of adoption of Happy Seeder/zero tillage technology in the northwestern states of India," said Trilochan Mohapatra, director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). "Considering the findings of the Science article as well as reports from thousands of participatory validation trials, our efforts have resulted in an additional direct farmer benefit of US$131 million, compared to a burning option," explained Mohapatra, who is also secretary of India's Department of Agricultural Research and Education

Valuable anti-diabetic compounds found in Quang Tri organic white rice

VNA THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2019 - 21:34:00 PRINT
Description: https://cdnimgen.vietnamplus.vn/t660/uploaded/wbxx/2019_08_08/valuable_antidiabetic_compounds_found_in_quang_tri_organic_white_rice.jpgIllustrative image (Photo: VNA) 

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Two chemical compounds, Momilactone A and Momilactone B (MA and MB), that can prevent diabetes, obesity and gout through their ability to inhibit enzymes relating to the diseases, have been found in white rice grown in the central province of Quang Tri, scientists have announced.

Research by Associate Professor and Dr Tran Dang Xuan, head of the Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry in Japan’s Hiroshima University, found the MA and MB compounds in Ong Bien organic rice grown in Quang Tri province under schemes and technology provided by Dai Nam Ong Bien Group Joint Stock Company based in the south-central province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

The content of the two compounds in Ong Bien organic rice is 100 times higher than those found in other varieties of rice.

Their study revealed that the compounds played an active role in the diabetes inhibitory potential of rice bran.

MA and MB compounds are very rare and have not been fully studied for biological and pharmacological activities. The compound was sold at 125 USD per 0.1 mg on carbosynth.com, a company that sells famous biochemical products.

Xuan said that the MA and MB compounds were about as 30,000 times more precious than gold and that “the discovery of the two compounds in white rice created a breakthrough in the world’s plant physiology, especially rice.”

Some studies have previously found rice to have compounds that inhibit diabetes, but only in brown or red rice, which are often of poor quality and difficult to consume.

“Today, people tend to have less rice in their diet because rice contains starch which causes obesity and diabetes. However, with high content of MA and MB, Ong Bien organic rice can help prevent the disease,” Xuan said.

Several recent reports indicate that there are more than 3 million people in Vietnam suffering from or at risk of diabetes, so the results of this study are particularly significant.

Vietnam’s Health Ministry and relevant agencies have not yet commented or verified the claims – including the rice's nutrition values, its content of MA and MB and its anti-diabetics ability.

Tran Ngoc Nam, Director General of Dai Nam Trade and Production Ltd Company said that since 2016, the company cooperated with Quang Tri province’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department to grow the variety.

Under their cooperation programme, rice was watered and fertilised with only organic fertilisers made by the company. No other plant protection product or chemical fertiliser was used for the rice.

The rice is now grown on a total area of about 200 ha in Quang Tri province, generating stable income of 30-40 million VND per hectare for farmers, according to Nam.

The rice is available in supermarkets across Vietnam branded Ong Bien Organic rice or Quang Tri organic rice. — VNS/VNA

RELATED NEWS


The Japanese Diet That Holds the Key to Longevity

Description: Alternatives to burning can increase Indian farmers' profits and cut pollutionDescription: The Japanese Diet That Holds the Key to Longevity
1
The health benefits of Japanese cooking are widely touted, but the Big Q is: what exactly is a healthy Japanese diet?
Food scientists in Japan have homed in on the nutritional Keys to health and longevity. The new life expectancy for men and women is at a new record high.
Japan boasts one of the longest life expectancies on earth, and it also a world leader in “healthy life expectancy”, the number of years of good health people can expect on average.
Since diet is believed to play a Key role in a population’s health and longevity, researchers around the world have been studying the benefits of the Japanese diet for some time. 
The people of Japan do not dine primarily on sushi, tempura, or other well-known Japanese specialties.
And, their eating habits have changed over the years.
This study used national surveys to compile weekly menus representative of the Japanese diet at various points in time over the past 50 years.
The research found the Secrets of the 1975 Diet 
What distinguishes the Japanese diet of 1975 to today’s Westernized diet is it strengths of the former can be boiled down to the following: 
VarietyThe daily menu featured a relatively large number of small dishes, typically at least 3, in addition to soup and rice.
Cooking methods: The Top 3 modes of preparation were simmered, steamed, and raw, followed by boiled and grilled. Frying and sauteeing were somewhat less common. Cooking at high heat, as when frying in oil, can cause nutrients to break down. For example, oily fish like horse mackerel (aji) are rich in the healthy omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. However, the fried version provides only about 1/10th the EPA and DHA of sashimi. 
Ingredients: The 1975 diet was rich in soy products, seafood, tubers, green and yellow vegetables including pickles, fruit, seaweed, mushrooms, and green tea. Eggs, dairy products, and meat were consumed as well, but in moderation.
Seasoning: The skillful use of fermented seasonings (soy sauce, miso, vinegar, mirin, and sake) along with dashi broth helped impart a satisfying flavor to foods without the heavy use of salt and sugar. 
For the experiments, the researchers incorporated all of the above features into weekly menus to scientifically verify and measure the health benefits of the “1975 Japanese Diet.”
Sample Menu from the 1975 Japanese Diet
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Rice, grilled salted salmon, nattō(fermented soybeans), miso soup with Chinese cabbage & bean sprouts
Kitsune udon (udonnoodles with aburaage), fruit
Rice, nikujaga (potato & meat stew), vinegared mozukuseaweed,clear soup with cabbage and egg
Raisin bread, omelet, sausage sautéed with cabbage, fruit, milk
Fried rice, wakameseaweed soup
Rice, chikuzen-ni (root vegetables simmered with chicken), cold tōfu, miso soup with spinach & aburaage(deep-fried sliced tōfu)
Rice, dried horse mackerel, komatsuna spinach with clams, sweet & savory runner beans, miso soup with eggplant
Fried noodles, mitsumame (sweet agar jelly) with fruit
Rice, cream stew, blanched Chinese cabbage with dried shrimp in broth, cucumber & hijiki salad
Toast, bacon, eggs, fruit, yogurt
Rice steamed with sweet potato, simmered kōyadōfu (freeze-dried tōfu), miso soup with pork & root vegetables
Rice, mackerel simmered with miso, soybeans with mixed vegetables, clear soup with Chinese cabbage & wakame
Rice, Japanese rolled omelet, nattō, miso soup with cabbage & aburaage, fruit
Oyako donburi (chicken & egg bowl), vinegared daikon radish & carrot, tsukudani (vegetables or shellfish stewed in soy sauce and mirin)
Rice, horse mackerel escabeche, miso dengaku(skewered tōfu & vegetables glazed with miso sauce), clear soup with Japanese pumpkin & komatsuna spinach
Toast, boiled egg, tuna & broccoli salad, fruit, milk
Rice, eggplant sauteed with ground chicken, simmered hijiki seaweed
Rice, simmered flounder, okara (tōfu lees), miso soup with taro root & daikon radish
Rice, clams & cabbage steamed in sake, nattō, miso soup with tōfu and aburaage
Sandwiches, consomme, fruit
Rice, sashimi, satsuma-age(fried fish paste) simmered with Chinese cabbage, white salad (with tōfu dressing)
Eat healthy, Be healthy, Live long and lively
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The Japanese Diet That Holds the Key to Longevity added by Paul Ebeling on August 9, 2019
View all posts by Paul Ebeling →

Farmers wary of further palay price declines as traders reluctant to buy
August 8, 2019 | 9:41 p
Description: rice grains farmerPHILSTAR/MICHAEL VARCAS
FARMERS have asked the government to address the steep decline in farmgate prices for palay, or unhusked rice, warning that the traders who buy from farmers are inactive in the market because they are stuck with expensive inventory from before the government allowed imports of cheaper foreign rice.
In a statement, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the farmgate price for palay, the form in which domestic farmers sell their harvest, has declined 23% from their peak in September of P22.88 per kilogram (kg).
The FFF warned that prices could decline further with the harvest season about to start in September, because of the combination of ample supply and reluctant buyers.
“Many local traders cannot unload their stocks from the previous season due to the large volume of imported rice in the market. Unless they find a way to free up their inventories, they will either stop buying palay, or they will buy at much lower prices in order to cover for anticipated trading losses. Either way, farmers will end up carrying the bag,” FFF National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said in a statement.
He estimated that farmers have foregone some P40 billion in revenue as of the end of June due to the falling farmgate price from peak levels, based on a harvest of 8 million tons of palay in the first half.
The government liberalized rice imports earlier this year, allowing more private entities to import rice while paying a tariff of 35% on grain from Southeast Asia.



Mr. Montemayor also asked the Department of Agriculture (DA) to start imposing additional levies on top of the 35% tariff, such as as safeguard measures and anti-dumping duties.
Farmers have claimed that tariffs generated by the Bureau of Customs (BoC) on rice imports are out of line with the landed cost of the volumes imported, suggesting widespread underdeclaration.
Underdeclaration means the proper tariffs are not collected, thereby shortchanging the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), which is funded by tariffs.
Mr. Montemayor said if duties are imposed, it will result in more expensive imported rice, which will make domestic rice more competitive and make traders more willing to dispose of their stocks and resume purchasing.
He also added that this will not result in higher retail prices due to the large gap between the cost of imported rice and domestic rice prices.
BoC data, he said, suggests that imported rice is landed at P24 per kg including tariffs, but is sold at P35.
“At the moment, there is a lot of profiteering going on. Even if import prices go up because of the remedial tariffs, there is still room for retail prices to actually go down,” Mr. Montemayor said.
He also urged that importers be required to obtain certifications that their shipments are pest- and disease-free, and to secure food safety certificates before bringing in their shipments.
He said rice imports are only randomly tested for hard metals, chemical residue, and general food safety after arrival, and brought up the huge costs the industry might incur if a shipment should contain disease, pests or contaminants.
He said the tariffs the government hopes to raise for RCEF are small relative to the potential damage on the farm sector from competition from imports.
RCEF ”will help, but it is not the saving grace that some legislators are projecting it to be. RCEF is intended to improve the competitiveness of rice farmers by reducing their costs of production and increasing their yields. This will not happen overnight, nor is success guaranteed,” Mr. Montemayor said.
“Although RCEF funds can be used for mechanization, better seed, credit, training and extension, other interventions that are not funded by RCEF such as irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides, and marketing are equally important,” he said. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
Bottom of Form
Floods to slash 400,000t from rice harvest in Bangladesh
AFP . Dhaka | Update: 21:51, Aug 08, 2019

Floods have washed away crops in Bangladesh that would have yielded nearly 400,000 tonnes of rice, according to estimates from the agriculture ministry.
This could be a major blow to the country, which has historically relied on imports to cope with shortages caused by natural disasters such as floods or drought.
The nation's farmers, though, have recently been struggling to secure fair prices for their produce amid a surplus of the grain, with no overseas deals in sight since the country lifted an export ban in May to support the market.
The flooding triggered by heavy monsoon rains has killed at least 108 people and affected more than 6 million people in Bangladesh and damaged other crops, mostly in the northern region.
"This is a huge loss for the farmers," said Mir Nurul Alam, director general of the Department of Agricultural Extension.
"But I don't think this will have much impact on the overall rice stocks," he said, given the nation's ample reserves.
Bangladesh's weather bureau, meanwhile, has forecast another spell of floods could hit the low-lying country of more than 160 million people this month.
The central bank instructed local lenders not to press for repayment of previous loans and to provide new ones to help farmers hit by the floods.
Agriculture minister Abdur Razzaque also said the government has allocated a total of 638 million taka ($7.5 million) in emergency aid for farmers in flood-hit areas.
Besides the emergency aid, a farm rehabilitation plan is being worked out to provide free seed and fertiliser for affected farmers for the next crop season, he said.
"We have taken a slew of measures to ensure fair prices for the farmers ... instructions have been given to (district officials) to buy rice directly from farmers," Razzaque said.
Market insiders, however, said the move would not benefit most growers in dire need of cash, since they are often compelled to sell their crop to millers or middlemen at much cheaper rates to meet loan payments.
In 2017, Bangladesh was forced to massively increase imports to shore up its reserves after floods destroyed crops and pushed local prices to records. Domestic stocks have greatly improved since then.
In May, Bangladesh raised its rice import duty to 55% from 28% and lifted a long-standing ban on exports to support farmers amid widespread protests by growers over a drastic fall in domestic prices.
Bangladesh, the world's fourth-biggest rice producer with nearly 35 million tonnes of output a year, has been unable to clinch overseas deals since the export ban was lifted because its rice is more expensive than supplies from India or Thailand, even after the recent fall in local prices.

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Stop burning fields to cut smog and boost profits, scientists tell Indian farmers
AUGUST 8, 2019 / 11:45 PM

(This August 8 story is refiled to add missing word in first paragraph.)
By Thin Lei Win
ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Every year, a choking smog descends on northwest India as the region’s farmers burn their fields following the rice harvest - a phenomenon that has helped make New Delhi one of the world’s most polluted cities.
Now, scientists have come up with a method that would allow farmers to sow their winter crop, usually wheat, without burning off the stubble left behind after the rice harvest.
Researchers tested 10 alternatives to burning, finding the biggest profits could be achieved with a machine called the Happy Seeder.
The new method would allow farmers to produce more food, boost profits by up to 20%, and cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 78%, according to a study published on Thursday.
“Our analysis suggests that it is possible to reduce air pollution and GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions in a way that is profitable to farmers and scalable,” said the study, by a group of scientists from India and other countries.
“Our analysis strongly suggests that India has an opportunity, through coordinated public and private actions, to reduce burning, increase incomes, and transition to more sustainable agriculture while addressing the urgent problem of seasonal air pollution.”
The Happy Seeder is already being used on about 800,000 hectares of farmland used to grow wheat in winter and rice in summer - but that represents a tiny proportion of the 4 million hectares in northwest India known as the country’s breadbasket.
“The plan next year is to reach close to 2 million hectares. We’re hopeful,” said co-author M.L. Jat, principal scientist with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
With a Happy Seeder costing $2,000, cost remains a major barrier, but farmers can hire a contractor to plant their crops with the machine, Jat told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The study’s authors are urging the government and private sector to promote the machine’s use through subsidies.
Every year, farmers in northwest India burn an estimated 23 million tonnes of rice straw to clear the land quickly and cheaply in time to grow wheat, the study said.
If piled on top of each other, the amount would cover 1.1 times the distance to the moon.
India officially restricts the use of crop burning, but the practice persists and bans are rarely enforced.
The resulting seasonal smog disrupts transportation and threatens public health, said the paper, published hours after a major U.N. report called for big changes to farming to curtail global warming.
Reporting By Thin Lei Win @thinink, Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, and property rights. Visit www.trust.org



Nzenweofor Foundation surprises military widows with 500 bags of rice

By Carl Umegboro
Description: https://cdn.thenigerianvoice.com/story/XGltYWdlc1xjb250ZW50XDg4MjAxOTY0OTMzX2ltZ18yMDE5MDgwN18xODQ0MjkyLmpwZ3w3NzB8NDAwfDgvOS8yMDE5
A subsidiary of Nzenweofor Group; Chief Ndubuisi Nzenweofor Foundation, has identified with widows of slain soldiers under the umbrella of Military Widows Association (MIWA) with a donation of 500 bags of rice (50kg) alongside a sum of N3, 000, 000 (Three million naira) as succours to the families.
The group’s chairman, Chief Ndubuisi Nzenweofor in his address at the Army Headquarters Command Officers’ Mess 1, Abuja on Wednesday stated that the group’s gesture was essentially to support the vulnerable families left behind by Nigerian soldiers who lost their lives in rendering services to the nation, adding that sacrifices with one’s life for others cannot be quantified or overemphasized.
He regretted that over the years, deceased soldiers’ families are neglected to be languishing in abject poverty despite their enormous contributions to public security which he described as height of injustice, and therefore called on other well meaning Nigerians to always remember the families of deceased servicemen that died in warfronts.
MIWA President, Mrs. Veronica Aloko in her welcome address expressed gratitude for the exemplary action of the foundation, and sought for its continuity adding that the anguishes alongside trauma of military widows are better imagined than experienced.
The Vice chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT MIWA), Dr. (Mrs.) Aisha Lemu while also expressing gratitude added that though widows exist in all vocations but the peculiarity and common feature of military widows is that in most cases, their deceased husbands never say ‘goodbye’ before passing on but suddenly dropped dead in painful circumstances particularly by bullets from guns, while corpses of some are never seen for a farewell.
Description: http://cdn.thenigerianvoice.com/thumb/XGltYWdlc1xjb250ZW50XDg4MjAxOTY1MDA0X2ltZ18yMDE5MDgwN18xODQwNDQuanBnfDY3MHw4LzkvMjAxOQ==
Other speakers at the event are Mrs. Juliet Adaa; Vice chairman, Mrs. Biddy Salubi; treasurer, Hon. Rakia Ibrahim; Welfare officer amongst other state executive members. Each of the speakers respectively poured tributes for the gestures and eulogized the arrowhead as a role model who deserved accolades and emulations emphasizing that the generosity was well timed in support of the vulnerable families. The widows uncontrollably shed tears of joy with songs of praises and dances stating that the donor was divinely sent for their comfort.
Responding, Chief Ezenweofor while assuring the mammoth gathering of widows to always count on his supports even beyond rice donation added that education, economic empowerment and other welfares for the children of slain soldiers left behind must not continue to suffer defects, and promised to extend to that direction in no distant time. He also stated that the gestures will soon be extended to other national security agencies including personnel of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) amongst others.

India Grain: Wheat price dn on low demand, basmati up on better buys

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Thursday, Aug 8

By Sampad Nandy

NEW DELHI – Prices of mill quality wheat fell sharply today due to a decline in demand from flour millers, traders said. A gradual decline in arrivals was also unable to limit the fall in prices, they said. 

"Demand fell today as most bulk buyers have piled up enough stocks and have reduced their purchases at higher prices," Indore-based trader N. K. Agarwal said.

Prices are seen falling further in the coming days as bulk buyers are unlikely to increase their purchases in the near term as prices have risen sharply due to a decline in arrivals, a Delhi-based flour mill owner said. 

Tracking spot cues, futures contracts of wheat, too, fell on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange. The most-active September contract closed 0.3% lower today at 2,086 rupees per 100 kg. 

In the case of basmati paddy, prices of the Pusa basmati 1121 variety rose marginally today due to a rise in demand from domestic millers and stockists, traders said. 

"Demand rose today as local millers are picking up more stocks anticipating a rise in demand of basmati rice due to Id-ul-Zuha," a Delhi-based rice mill owner said. 

Rise in prices were, however, capped today as demand from exporters remained subdued, traders said. Bulk export demand remained weak due to persisting uncertainty over trade with Iran, the largest importer of Indian basmati rice, traders said.

Futures contracts of Pusa basmati 1121 paddy rose today due to the rise in domestic demand, traders said. The September Pusa 1121 basmati paddy contract on the Indian Commodity Exchange ended at 3,262 rupees per 100 kg, 2.7% higher than the previous close.  

Prices of maize across key spot markets remained steady today amid weak demand from bulk buyers and low arrivals, traders said. Maize futures on NCDEX, too, were steady on spot cues, traders said. The most active August contract ended steady at 2,155 rupees per 100 kg. 

Following are today's prices for wheat, maize, and paddy, in rupees per 100 kg, in key wholesale markets, and the change from the previous day:

Commodity
Market
Price
Change
Wheat
Kota
2,020-2,040
(-) 10-15
Wheat
Indore
2,020-2,050
(-) 10-15
Maize
Nizamabad
2,420-2,450
Maize
Purnea
2,330-2,350
Pusa 1121 basmati
Amritsar
3,750-3,800
10-20

End

Edited by Maheswaran Parameswaran

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INDIA‘S NON-BASMATI RICE EXPORT FALLS AFTER GOVT WITHDRAWS TAX INCENTIVE

 
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India’s exports of non-basmati rice declined by half between April and May this year after the government withdrew 5 per cent incentives from April 1.
Data compiled by the government-owned Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) showed India’s overall exports at 711,837 tonnes for April-May 2019 compared to 1.53 million tonnes shipped for the corresponding period of the previous year. In value term, India’s overall non-basmati rice exports plunged by more than 50 per cent to $294 million (Rs 2046 crore) for the first two months of FY 2019-2020 as against $652 million (Rs 4347 crore) in the same period last year.
The decline in non-basmati rice exports raises questions about India’s policy making, say analysts. In order to help farmers, the government has increased minimum support price (MSP) for the last several years. This has made Indian rice uncompetitive for exports. A 5 per cent tax cushion encouraged 7-8 million tonnes in exports of non-basmati rice annually.
“Some importing countries like Bangladesh have started growing rice on their own which reduced their overall annual import. Trade sources are also blaming continuous increase for a reduction in India’s non-basmati rice exports,” said a senior Apeda official.
Bangladesh had emerged as the largest importer of India’s non-basmati rice with 1.87 million tonnes in 2017-18. In the following year, however, farmers in Bangladesh expanded their sowing area resulting into higher output from local sources and thus proportionate decline in their overall non-basmati rice import. Thus, in FY 2018-19, India’s non-basmati rice exports plunged by a drastic 70 per cent to Bangladesh to a mere 480,567 tonnes.
With favourable agro climatic condition continues this year as well, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported Bangladesh’s rice output to rise further 35.3 million tonnes this year as compared to 34.9 million tonnes and 32.6 million tonnes in 2018-19 and 2017-18 respectively.
“Declining import from Bangladesh is self-explanatory as to why India’s non-basmati rice exports are falling,” said the Apeda official.
In fact, exporters are worried over sustained rise in the of paddy which translates into the proportionate increase in rice prices. To attract farmers, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has raised of common variety of paddy by 30 per cent in the last four years from Rs 1410 a quintal in 2015-16 to Rs 1815 a quintal in 2019-20.
“The sustained hike in MSP has made India outpriced by $25 in the world market resulting into lower demand of Indian rice. Other rice growing countries including Pakistan and Thailand have filled the gap,” said Gurnam Arora, Joint Managing Director, Kohinoor Foods, one of the largest exporters of basmati and non-basmati rice in India.
With no relief in sight, India’s non-basmati rice exports are likely to fall steeply in coming months.
Meanwhile, bumper local production and possibility of less export are expected to worsen challenges for storage and handling of rice in India.
India’s total rice output is estimated at 115.6 million tonnes for 2018-19 as compared to 96.48 million tonnes reported in the previous year. India’s annual rice consumption is estimated at around 90 million tonnes.
ports drop 18.3pc in July’
By
 -
August 7, 2019

Description: https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/12-2-696x398.jpg
 Listen to Article
·       PM’s adviser says he will visit Afghanistan on 20th to share the agenda of bilateral trade 
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood said on Wednesday that Pakistan’s exports had increased by 14.23pc in July this year, as compared to the same month of last year.
In term of dollars, the country’s exports increased from $1.63 billion in July 2018 to $1.87 billion in July 2019, the adviser informed while addressing a press conference at the commerce ministry.
He continued that Pakistan’s imports from other countries also reduced by 18.39pc during the month.
The adviser said during the period under review, an increase in exports was witnessed in various sectors, including rice (71pc), readymade garments (17pc), home textiles (14pc), plastic goods (34pc), chemicals (26pc), mangoes (33pc) and footwear (24pc).
Replying to a question, he said that China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA), a comprehensive tariff policy, reforms in National Tariff Commission (NTC) and an increase in local exports were among the major hallmarks of his ministry during the first year of this government.
He informed media that Afghanistan had offered a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) to Pakistan in order to enhance trade between the two countries.
During the visit of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, both sides had discussed issues pertaining to bilateral transit trade, he said, adding that both countries were willing to increase the volume of bilateral trade.
He said Afghan Ambassador Shukrullah Atif Mashal had invited him to visit Afghanistan on August 20th.
“I will visit Afghanistan to share the agenda of bilateral trade and to chalk out ways to increase the volume of transit trade.”
On a query, the adviser said that Pakistan had successfully gotten market access to the China, European Union (EU), Indonesia, Malaysia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“We are committed to getting trade access to the potential markets of the United States (US), Canada, Japan, South Korea and Australia so as to increase the volume of our exports,” he maintained.
Regarding his recent visit to South Korea, Dawood informed that during his visit, he held meetings with various Korean companies who were willing to bring their investment to Pakistan, particularly in the textile and agriculture sectors.
He noted that Pakistan has been facing a trade deficit with South Korea, as the former’s exports to latter were $300 million as compared to the imports of $600 million.
“We have arranged the business-to-business meetings with Korean investors in order to negotiate on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), similar to those it signed with India, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Chile,” he stated. “Both sides decided to hold a working group meeting in October to discuss ways to increase the volume of bilateral trade.”

U.S. Rice Develops Trade Relations Amid Trade Tensions 

SHENZHEN, CHINA -- USA Rice hosted two trade seminars in Shanghai and Shenzhen over the last week utilizing Agricultural Trade Promotion and Emerging Markets Program funding from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).  

There were approximately 40 attendees in Shanghai and more than 70 in Shenzhen.  Even though the Trump Administration had announced new proposed tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the U.S. one day prior to the first seminar, attendance and interest ran high among the attendees.  

"While we've certainly spent time over the past several years getting to know the China market, these trade seminars were invaluable for introducing us to a wide range of importers all of whom are interested in U.S. rice," said Mark Holt, from Riceland Foods, who participated.

Six U.S. exporters took advantage of the opportunity to introduce their company and products and join in a one-on-one "speed dating" event at which USA Rice provided interpreters where needed.  Rice from California and the South was taste tested at the seminar in Shanghai and at a hosted dinner in Shenzhen.

"The day after the announced tariffs, we heard credible reports that the Chinese government had contacted agricultural importers and advised them to avoid purchasing U.S. agricultural products," said Jim Guinn, USA Rice director of Asia promotion programs, who helped coordinate both seminars.  "A number of attendees spoke about the trade tensions but it didn't seem to temper their longer term interest in U.S. rice, especially among private importers.  However, given this setback in trade relations, the short term outlook for rice sales is not very positive in the absence of a trade deal."

Local farmers react to China’s refusal to buy U.S. crops

 

China refuses to buy U.S. agricultural goods as the trade war continues
By Robin Richardson | August 6, 2019 at 8:17 PM CDT - Updated August 7 at 1:20 PM
LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - China is officially refusing to buy U.S. Agricultural products, costing American farmers one of their biggest customers. 7News spoke with local farmers about the impact.
The continuing trade war has left rice farmer Paul Johnson and former soybean farmer Kevin Berken worried.
“In the U.S. rice industry we’re heavily dependent on exports we export about 50% of our crop," Johnson said.
Former soybean farmer Kevin Berken agrees.
“Our prices will more than likely go down lower than they probably are now if not drastically lower if something is not done," Berken said.
For Johnson, his fear lies with what could be a surplus of rice crops due to soy bean farmers switching to something more profitable.
“They historically have bought a lot of soy beans out of the United States," Johnson said. "When that market is taken away from the soybean growers, then they have to look to alternative crops.”
An alternative crop available in our area is rice. Johnson says the more farmers produce rice the more prices are driven down.
“Right now rice is selling for about $18 a barrel, which is about $5 a barrel below the cost of production," Johnson said.
The USDA announced the details of a $16 billion support package that will help aid farmers effected by China’s trade retaliation.
“USDA had already came out with those numbers here in the last couple of weeks on a per parish per county basis," Berken said.
In the meantime, Johnson holds out hope.
“Most in the rice industry would see it as a short term deal," Johnson said. " I think the long term goal of the current administration will be good for the rice industry and agriculture in general.”

GIEWS Country Brief: Republic of Korea 08-August-2019
REPORT
Published on 08 Aug 2019 View Original

FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
·       Paddy production in 2019 expected to remain at below-average level
·       Cereal import requirements in 2018/19 marketing year estimated slightly above the five-year average
Paddy production in 2019 expected to remain at below-average level
Description: previewPlanting of the 2019 paddy crop, to be harvested in September and October, concluded in June, and the area sown is expected to be similar to last year’s below‑average level. The planted area with paddy crops has been steadily declining since 2002, as farmers have progressively switched to alternative crops, in part reflecting a decrease in rice consumption.
Weather conditions this season have been generally conducive for crop growth, with well distributed and adequate rainfall amounts recorded between April and July 2019. Reflecting these weather patterns, as of mid‑July remote sensing data indicated average to above‑average vegetation conditions (see ASI map) in the main paddy producing areas.
Mostly reflecting the reduced plantings, the 2019 paddy production is preliminary forecast at 5.2 million tonnes, about 6 percent below the five‑year average, which would be the second lowest output in the last 10 years.
Harvesting of the 2019 winter crops, mainly barley and wheat, concluded in June and harvests are estimated at near‑average levels of 127 000 and 31 000 tonnes, respectively.
Cereal import requirements in 2018/19 marketing year estimated slightly above the five‑year average
The country relies on imports to satisfy its domestic demand as local production covers only a fifth of domestic cereal requirements.
Total cereal import requirements in the 2018/19 marketing year (October/September) are estimated at 14.2 million tonnes, virtually unchanged from the previous year’s average level.
Maize import, which account for the largest share of annual cereal imports, are forecast at 10 million tonnes in 2018/19, close to the five‑year average, reflecting sustained demand from the feed industry. Wheat import requirements are estimated to reach 3.7 million tonnes, close to the previous year’s below‑average level. This reduction reflects a slowdown in demand for feed use, as maize is expected to partially substitute the use of wheat in the feed compounds. Imports of rice in the 2019 calendar year are forecast at 410 000 tonnes, about 6 percent above the five‑year average.

RPT-Asia Rice-Thai rates gain as drought hits supply; Vietnam eyes S.America market
Swati Verma
AUGUST 9, 2019 / 6:35 AM
(Repeats with no changes)

* India’s exports may fall to 7-year low -industry officials

* Bangladesh continues to battle widespread flooding

* Vietnam exports 651,000 tonnes in July, beating forecasts

By Swati Verma

BENGALURU, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Rice export prices in Thailand rose this week on worries that the country’s worst drought in about a decade could further squeeze supply, while Vietnam explored potential deals in the south American market.

Thailand’s benchmark 5-percent broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1 prices rose to $406-$425 a tonne on Thursday from $395-$405 quoted last week.

“Harvesting has started in some areas and the dry conditions have affected the quality of the rice ... which led to an increase in domestic rice prices,” a Bangkok-based trader said.

Water levels in dams nationwide are far short of the monthly average, Thailand’s meteorological department said.

“Many exporters are also trying to buy rice to shore up their stocks amid concerns over a possible shortage, and this drove the price up,” another rice trader said.

Thai prices were also higher than other Asian hubs, with a strong baht also contributing to the high rates even as demand remained flat.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s rates for 5% broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 remained unchanged from last week at $340-$350 a tonne.

Preliminary data showed 103,000 tonnes of rice is to be loaded at Ho Chi Minh City ports during Aug. 2-10, with 42% bound for West Africa, 29% for Iraq and the remainder for the Philippines and Malaysia.

A delegation from the Vietnam Food Association was in Mexico earlier this week to seek opportunities to ship Vietnamese rice to south America as the country was seeking new markets for the grain, a source with the association said.

Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development released on Wednesday showed Vietnam exported 651,000 tonnes of rice in July, beating a government forecast of 600,000 tonnes.

Prices for top-exporter India’s 5 percent broken parboiled variety RI-INBKN5-P1 fell to around $377-$381 per tonne this week from $381-$384 last week due to a depreciation in the rupee.

“As the government has procured a large amount of paddy rice, supplies are limited in the market. Exporters have to pay higher prices for paddy,” said Ashwin Shah, director at Shah Nanji Nagsi Exports Pvt. Ltd, an exporter based in Nagpur in central India.

India’s rice exports are likely to fall to their lowest in seven years, industry officials said, on weak demand from Africa and as shippers absorb the lack of government incentives that supported previous sales.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, floods washed away crops that would have yielded nearly 400,000 tonnes of rice, according to estimates from the agriculture ministry. (Reporting by Khanh Vu in Hanoi, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Ruma Paul in Dhaka and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; editing by Arpan Varghese and David Evans)

We dislike GM Foods because we're ignorant about the
Friday, 9 August 2019, 7:57 PM
By Dr Hoe-Han Goh - 
PROTESTERS of the recent application of a confined  genetically modified (GM)  rice field trial at the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) Arau station in Tambun Tulang, Perlis, claimed that GM rice threatens Malaysia as a centre of genetic diversity for rice.
GM rice could accidentally contaminate natural rice varieties around the site through
animals, machinery or workers involved. This is a serious biosafety concern but it can be prevented.
The field trial will be performed in an enclosed space with double layers of metal and nylon nets that prevent entry and escape of pollens, insects, animals, and unauthorised access with 24-hour security.
Only trained personnel will have access to the site and all plant materials will be incinerated after harvest at the end of trial. Hence, breach of
containment is unlikely unless there is sabotage, which poses a biosecurity issue.
Protesters also claimed that “genetic engineering is an inherently unpredictable process associated with unintended effects”.
Therefore, they are rejecting the field trial of GM MR219 rice due to the lack of food safety and toxicity results, which ironically, is aimed to gather such data.
Based on most scientific evidence, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) do not pose higher risks for food and feed safety than conventional plants and organisms over the last two decades since their introduction to the market in 1996.
The safety of GM crops has been largely based on the absence of evidence of harm in tests instead of actual safety evidence.
A holistic research is therefore needed to consider long-term real field conditions, with comparisons with other production systems, such as integrated pest management, organic and agroecological.
However, if no field trial is allowed, how is this research possible?
This is akin to banning human clinical trials for new drugs.
In Malaysia, there will never be any data to prove the safety of GM rice to people and other non-target organisms if applications for field trials are rejected.
In hindsight, the opponents of GM rice help ensure that safety measures will be implemented to avoid negative ramifications during or after the field trial.
Nonetheless, we can agree that no GM rice should be approved for cultivation without proof of biosafety from field trials.
The coexistence of GM and non-GM crops is possible only through strict traceability and the implementation of buffer zones between farms, as seen in the European Union, ranging from 15m (Sweden) to 800m (Luxembourg).
Pollen barriers — such as hedges, trees or conventional crops surrounding the farms — can prevent pollen movement. The coexistence of GM and non-GM soybean in Canada provides an interesting reference.
In case of inadvertent contamination in organic or conventional farms, a crop insurance programme or liability fund contributed by GM seed producers and farmers can be put in place to compensate for economic losses.
On the other hand, most of the negative socio-economic impacts to subsistence farmers in developing countries adopting GM crops are not from the GM plants per se.
Problems with poverty and loss of biodiversity are usually a consequence of corporate control of agriculture with irresponsible intensive farming.
Therefore, there needs to be regulations in place to ensure transnational agrochemical and seed companies be held accountable for negative impacts brought by GMOs, if substantiated.
Labelling of fresh and processed food and feed containing more than 0.9 per cent  of approved GMOs will need to be enforced by government agencies to trace, detect and identify GMOs.
Each GM food must be tested on a case-by-case basis before introduction.
Malaysia is blessed to have active non-government organisations who are concerned about the security and safety of food and the natural environment.
They serve as checks and balances to ensure that the precautionary principle advocated under the Biosafety Act is practiced.
While we are contemplating on the approval of the first GM rice field trial, the world has fast moved on to the adoption of gene editing technology with precision genetic engineering of the organism’s own genome without the concerns of transgenes or antibiotic markers.
This GM technology holds great promises to crop improvement with resistance against diseases, environmental stresses and fortified nutrients to provide for growing populations under fast- changing climates.
Most people dislike GM foods because they don’t know what GM foods are and how they are created.
A recent research showed that those who think they know the most about GM foods, in fact know less due to their ingrained beliefs.
Therefore, the public needs to be made aware of the evidence-based science behind genetic modification technology that can be used by local plant researchers in creating more productive, nutritious or hardy crops through open forums and education.
Malaysian global prominence in agribiotech will forever be an illusion if we decide to ban GM crops.

The writer is an associate professor and a leader of Plant Functional Genomics Research Group at Institute of Systems Biology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Alternatives to stubble burning not only possible but profitable, shows study
   

Bengaluru Aug 9, 2019, (Research Matters):
Description: Researchers from The Nature Conservancy (TNC), USA, and collaborators from different institutes in India, discuss the agricultural practice of burning crop residues and find alternative solutions. Burning of rice residues after harvest, to quickly prepare the land for wheat planting, around Sangrur, Punjab, India. [Image Credit: Neil Palmer (CIAT) via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 2.0]
In India, about 2.5 million farmers in the Indo-Gangetic plains grow two crops a year—rice and wheat. Rice is planted such that its water requirements are met from the monsoon rain, and within a short period of 10 to 20 days, the fields are cleared for wheat. A convenient way to get rid of the whopping 23 million metric ton of grass and hay left behind by rice cultivation is to burn them. However, this practice contributesto air pollution in cities like Delhi, where the air quality is already the worst in the world.
In 2017, researchers from The Nature Conservancy (TNC), an environmental organisation headquartered in the US, met with a few collaborators from different institutes in India, to discuss this ‘burning’ problem and find alternatives to the practice. Although crop burning is prohibited, farmers continue to defy the ban, due to a lack of greener alternatives that are feasible, affordable and scalable.
“This is why we decided to take a look at the practice from an economic and a scientific standpoint,” says Dr Priya Shyamsundar, an economist working with TNC, in an interview with Research Matters.
In a new study, Dr Shyamsundar and her collaborators from India, Mexico and the USA, have evaluated the impact of alternative practices to stubble burning on the environment, and their profitability. The analysis, published in the journal Science, finds that using Happy Seeder—a machine that can sow wheat in the presence of rice straw—is profitable for farmers and can also help the environment.
Description: https://researchmatters.in/sites/default/files/crb_ludhiana_happy_seeder_field_demo_4_october2019_natalya_skiba.jpg
Happy Seeder. Photo Credit: Natalya Skiba at TNC.
The researchers collected data about farm practices, the costs involved and the yields of crops, from previous studies, field trials and surveys. They then calculated the net profit generated by burning and no-burning practices like baling, straw incorporation into the fields, and mulching, where the straw is spread on the field. Their analysis was based on the market prices, yields, labour and other costs incurred for land preparation and crop production.
The researchers found that using the Happy Seeder led to a nearly 10-20% increase in farmer profits on average. Thus, farmers can, on average, reap a benefit of INR 11498 per hectare by switching from the most common burning practices to the use of a Happy Seeder for mulching. The machine can be mounted on a tractor, and it cuts and lifts rice straw, sows wheat into the bare soil, and deposits the straw over the planted area as mulch.
“With Happy Seeder, the land preparation cost is often less than other practices that use a combination of machinery,” says Dr Shyamsundar. “Since it reuses the crop residue in the field, the biomass improves soil moisture and could be good for the long-term health of the soil,” she adds.
The researchers also found that the use of Happy Seeder reduced agricultural greenhouse emissions per hectare by 78% or more relative to burn options. For each hectare, all the farming options considered that do not include burning, showed a lower contribution to particulate air pollution. Such practices can reduce agriculture’s contributions to India’s greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to better health by reducing air pollution, say the researchers.
However, not all farmers currently have access to equipment like the Happy Seeder. “The Happy Seeder is not affordable for everyone, and there needs to be more available options for renting these machines,” opines Dr Shyamsundar. Even though the manufacturing of these machines has increased in the last two years, an investment of INR 2.4 billion is necessary to produce about 16,000 machines to cater to 50% of the rice-wheat cultivated areas.
The researchers suggest that the government and the private sector can play an active role in increasing the adoption of no-burn practices. Currently, the government provides a significant subsidy to farmers to buy machines to manage crop residue. But, there is more to be done, opines Dr Shyamsundar. “There needs to be a predictable set of rules regarding stubble burning and its thorough implementation,” she argues. The private sector can invest in manufacturing farm equipment that helps no-burn farming locally and increasing rental availability of Happy Seeders, which can help with managing demand and supply.
Drafting a communication strategy that involves access to information on no-burn alternatives is the need of the hour. “Involving educational institutions, farm extension services, awareness drives on profitability and viability, and organising practical demonstrations go a long way in this regard,” says Dr Shyamsundar. Since farmers learn from each other, nudging them by showcasing success stories from their peers can be very useful, she suggests.
The findings of the study show that there is an immense opportunity for India to cut down on air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from stubble burning without affecting farmer revenues. The researchers have shared their findings with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR). The Nature Conservancy, India, has partnered with organisations like the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) to take these findings to the farmers through awareness, training and demonstration programs in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
“India has so many environmental problems, and there is always the story that if you resolve one, there are other trade-offs. On the contrary, our analyses show an economic opportunity that also reduces environmental problems,” signs off Dr Shyamsundar.

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