Wednesday, February 20, 2019

20th February,2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter





Rice export prices fall in top Asian hubs
HANOI: Rice export prices fell in top Asian hubs this week on slow demand and rising supply following a quiet start to the year, while limited interest from the Philippines failed to spur a Vietnamese market reeling from Chinese import restrictions.  In top exporter India, 5 percent broken parboiled variety eased to $380-$385 per tonne from $383-$388 last week as supply from the winter crop poured in.  Demand from Asian and African buyers was subdued, an exporter based in Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh said.  India’s rice exports between April and December dropped 10.2 percent from a year earlier to 8.46 million tonnes, a government body said last week.  In Thailand, benchmark 5 percent broken rice prices fell to $382-$398 a tonne, free on board Bangkok, from $390-$402 previously.  “The market has been really quiet and new supply of rice is coming out now,” a Bangkok-based trader said.  A weaker domestic currency was adding further pressure to prices, traders said.  “More supply will lower prices further but exporters are still looking for buyers because it has really been quiet since the start of the year,” another trader said.  Thailand is the world’s second biggest rice exporter followed by Vietnam, where rates for benchmark 5 percent broken rice fell to $340 a tonne from $350 two weeks ago before the markets closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.  “Trade has resumed and we have seen more buyers from the Philippines placing orders,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said, adding that private buyers from rice-scarce Philippines purchased about 20,000 tonnes this week.  However, China has been imposing stricter conditions for rice imports from Vietnam, traders said.  China will likely cut rice shipments from Vietnam to 500,000-600,000 tonnes this year from around 1.5-2 million tonnes a year in the past, another trader said.  “We think the government will likely buy rice this year for stockpiling, giving a support for domestic prices.”  Export prices, however, will be under pressure as the major winter-spring harvest peaks by month-end, traders said.  Elsewhere, Bangladesh, which saw imports surge in 2017 after floods wreaked havoc on local crops, will procure more rice locally as output has revived a food ministry official from the country said.  “We are getting good response in our local procurement drive and will continue it,” the official said.  Bangladesh has procured nearly 1.4 million tonnes of rice locally so far in the current season to build state reserves.—Reuters



A prophecy of rice export
Last year may be considered a good year for Vietnam’s rice export sector. There remain complicated issues to address, though.

Description: https://english.thesaigontimes.vn/Uploads/Articles/66185/d423e_anh5.jpg
Vietnam exported around 6.1 million tons of rice in 2018, a year-on-year rise of 4.6%, or an equivalent of 270,000 tons, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). Those tallies undoubtedly prove to be modest rises compared with over one million tons and 21%, respectively, in 2017.
Despite a slight upsurge in the volume of rice export, Vietnamese rice prices were high, making last year a success for the sector. Each ton of rice was sold at an average US$502, which was 10.8% higher than in 2017. As a result, 2018 rice export turnover surged by 16% to top US$3 billion.
What’s more, that Vietnamese rice prices were equal to, or sometime higher than, those offered by her rival, Thailand, should require careful analysis.
Calculations based on Thai and Vietnamese statistics show that Vietnam’s average rice price was between US$7 and US$9 per ton higher than Thailand’s during 2016-2017. In 2018, the gap no longer existed, resulting in an equal price of US$502 per ton.
Two plausible reasons can be given at a time to explain the price increase—Vietnamese exporters were able to considerably enhance both their glutinous and fragrant rice export segments at much better prices. For a comparison, in 2017, Vietnam shipped abroad more than three million tons of these rice catgories—which accounted for 46.4% of the total—and significantly reduced the amount of white rice. In contrast, Thailand decreased the export volume of her Thai Hom Mali fragrant rice exports, from 31.7% down to 20.1%, and, at the same time, made every effort to sell off her huge stocks—the consequence of ineffective policies—at dirt-cheap prices.
Some uncertainties down the road
Despite last year’s achievements, Vietnam will confront both existing and new obstacles when it comes to rice export.
First, it seems that Vietnamese exporters prefer to sell their products at high prices, and are thus unable to sell out their rice stockpiles. It is possible to push up rice export prices so as to maximize profits. However, if such price hikes are likely to curb competitiveness, one should think twice. Therefore, a revision of rice prices to clinch a bigger market share remains a burning issue on the Vietnamese side.
Statistics show that Vietnam’s rice export volume was 6.1 million tons last year, while her rice-equivalent  production was almost triple. Consequently, around half a million tons of rice could have not been sold on the global market—just as what happened a few years ago.
In 2018, Thailand outperformed Vietnam in the latter’s traditional Southeast Asian markets. Between January and November 2018, Thai rice traders shipped a total of 2.12 million tons to Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, which was 100,000 tons higher than Vietnam’s volume.
Secondly, China’s recent moves may put Vietnam’s rice export in a dilemma if what the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has predicted becomes a reality.
According to the USDA, although the total worldwide rice production in 2019 is projected to decrease by nearly four million tons, rice stocks around the globe at the beginning of the year jumps sharply to an unprecedented record of nearly 162 million tons—or more than four months of rice consumption in the world. Meanwhile, the demand for rice import is put at some 45 million tons, the same as in 2018.
However, what is more important for Vietnam is she may have to witness a drastic decline in rice import from her second largest rice buyer in 2018, Indonesia, which is scheduled to ship in only 800,000 tons from Vietnam this year versus 2.15 million tons this country did last year.
Additionally, China is taking some measures to tighten rice import in a bid to reduce the country’s increasingly rapid rice stockpiles. Currently, China’s rice reserves have amounted to around 109 million tons, equivalent to 279 days of consumption, and the figure may continue to rise to 113 million tons at the end of 2019.
Viewed from these two largest markets, Vietnam’s rice export sector should brace itself for difficulties ahead.
Third, in spite of the impressive price hikes of glutinous and fragrant rice in recent years, ‘made in Vietnam’ fragrant rice is still sold at the lowest prices among rice exporters in the world.
According to Thai rice exporters, their Hom Mali fragrant rice and its Indian equivalent called Basmati are now bought at US$1,127 and US$1,450 per ton, respectively. Hom Mali’s Vietnamese counterpart, jasmine rice, is way below, hovering around US$488-492 per ton.
Therefore, creating new fragrant rice strains capable of selling at remarkably higher prices is poised to play the key role in giving a new lease of life to Vietnamese rice in the international marketplace.
SGT

Iraq buys about 120,000 tonnes rice from Vietnam in direct deal

Fawad MaqsoodFebruary 19, 2019HAMBURG/DUBAI: Iraq’s state grains buyer, the trade ministry, has purchased around 120,000 tonnes of rice from Vietnam in a direct deal without an international tender being issued, traders in Europe and the Middle East said on Tuesday.
Seller was believed to be Vietnamese trading house Vinafood1.
Iraq has not issued an international tender to purchase rice for several months with market talk that the country has turned to more purchases through private negotiations.
Business Recorder


National assembly to debate controversial rice bill despite protests
·       February 19, 2019

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Despite protests by some farmer groups and the Democrat party, the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) is determined to go ahead with its planned deliberation of the controversial rice bill in its second and final readings on Wednesday.
Objections to the bill focus on Section 27/1 which empowers the Rice Department as the sole authority for checking and approving rice seeds for cultivation to ensure the seeds meet set standards.
Critics claim the bill, when enacted, will deprive rice farmers of the right to trade or exchange rice seeds among themselves because the seeds will have to be certified by the Rice Department.  They also suspect that the bill is designed to benefit the agro industry in a way that will force farmers to rely on their seeds for cultivation.
On Saturday, the NLA’s committee scrutinizing the rice bill invited representatives from 70 farmer groups to parliament to be briefed on the content of the bill and to refute the allegations against it.
The farmers’ representatives were told that it was untrue that farmers would face heavy fines if they are caught in possession of rice seeds for cultivation.  Instead, they were assured that they could keep their own rice seeds and were free to exchange their seeds with other farmers unless they were kept for commercial purpose, in which case their seeds must be certified by the Rice Department.
Mr. Supachai Srila, a Democrat party member, has suggested that the NLA put the rice bill on hold and let the post-election House of Representatives deliberate it instead.

Vietnam to buy 200,000 T rice from farmers for stockpiling

Fawad MaqsoodFebruary 19, 2019
HANOI: The Vietnam government will buy 200,000 tonnes of rice from local farmers for stockpiling, it said on Tuesday, amid falling domestic prices.
Paddy price in the Southeast Asian country, the world’s third-largest rice exporter, have fallen by 25-30 percent since the start of this year, according to traders.

Record level of rice imports seen this year

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:03 AM February 19, 2019
The Philippines may see the biggest volume of rice imports this year at 4 million metric tons (MT) following the passage of the rice import liberalization bill.
Acting Administrator Tomas Escarez of the National Food Authority (NFA) said on Monday the agency had already received more than 200 applications from prospective traders and importers.
The overall volume from these applications is seen to reach 2 million MT, 20 percent of which has already arrived in the country.
In addition, listed AgriNurture Inc. (ANI) president and CEO Antonio Tiu confirmed to the Inquirer that its deal with Vinafood II, Vietnam’s largest grains exporter, would still push through this year.
The exporter agreed to exclusively supply ANI annually with 2 million MT of long grain rice valued close to $1 billion.
In a text message, Tiu said the company was only waiting for the law’s implementing rules and regulations before it would submit an application. It plans to directly sell the staple to the market.
Under the recently signed Rice Import Liberalization Act, importers need to secure only a permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry and pay a 35- and 50-percent tariff for imports from Southeast Asian countries and non-Asean countries, respectively.
If the imports push through, the total volume will surpass the highest recorded rice imports in the country during the Arroyo administration at 2.34 million MT.
Unlike in Vietnam and Thailand where farmers can produce a kilo of rice at P6, Filipino farmers spend P12 a kilo.
Reports from the Philippine Advisory Farmers Board showed the farm-gate price of palay has already declined to P14 a kilo in some rice-producing provinces. Meanwhile, in the country’s rice granaries, the recorded farm-gate price for palay was at P18-P19 a kilo.
Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s price monitoring report, the average farm-gate price of palay as of the first week of February was at P19.70 a kilo. This was the fifth consecutive week of a price downtrend.
However, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said on his Facebook page that the falling price of palay was not due to the recently enacted law but due to “speculation fueled by the anticipated ’flooding’ of the market with cheap imported rice.”

NFA employees fear job loss under rice import law

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 07:21 AM February 19, 2019
Description: NFA employees fear job loss under rice import law
BLACK PROTEST Employees of the National Food Authority dramatize their protest against the newly signed Rice Import Liberalization Act on Monday, wearing black during an assembly at the agency’s main office in Quezon City. Under the law, the NFA’s tasks will be limited to palay procurement. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
Employees of the National Food Authority (NFA) wore black on Monday to protest the rice import liberalization or tariffication law as they feared losing their jobs when it limits the agency’s function to procuring palay and clips its regulatory powers.
The NFA has 4,136 employees nationwide, according to records.
In a press conference at the NFA central office in Quezon City, the NFA Employees Association said it was considering filing a case against the government in the Supreme Court for violating its members’ security of tenure.
A majority of the employees hold regular positions, said the association’s president, Maxie Mallabo Torda.
Edwin Paraluman, the farmers’ representative in the NFA Council, said the sector questioned the legality of certain provisions of the law and would seek a temporary restraining order from the court.
The Rice Import Liberalization Act, or Republic Act No. 11203, overrides Presidential Decree No. 4, or the NFA Charter, Paraluman said. It is set to start on March 3. (See story in Business, Page B1.)
Under the new law, anyone can import rice as long as shipments are slapped tariffs ranging from 35 percent to 180 percent.
The law would allow the flow of cheaper rice in the market, give farmers a yearly subsidy of P10 billion from duties that would be collected from imported rice, and would open the market to more competition.
Import permits
Before President Duterte signed the law on Feb. 14, the NFA regulated the entry of rice from abroad by granting import permits to boost the country’s buffer stock.
The NFA was blamed for the surge in rice prices last year because its supply of subsidized rice had been depleted. The situation had dragged down the President’s ratings.
Asked for comment during a press briefing on Monday, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said “the Palace welcomed any move from any sector questioning any act of the government.”
In a statement, Panelo said the new law was expected to “result in lower rice prices as well as help cushion the impact of inflation for the benefit of the consumers.”
“The law, at the same time, protects our farmers from the emerging competition as a result of its implementation through a direct safety net and productivity support in the form of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund,” he said.
Teary-eyed
Acting NFA Administrator Tomas Escarez was teary-eyed while delivering a speech before agency employees on Monday.
Escarez said the signing of the bill “broke the hearts of millions of Filipino farmers, consumers, small grains businessmen and employees who rely on NFA for support.”
“I’ve been with the agency for the past 39 years and I’ve seen the hardships of all the employees. I’m saddened that our economic planners don’t realize this, although they’ve promised that employees would be given compensation packages,” he said.
“But right now, we really don’t know what will happen to NFA,” he added.
Implementing rules
Escarez, however, said the employees should “not be discouraged by this development” as the agency “will still fight for the best—for the farmers, consumers and our employees—in the IRR (implementing rules and regulations).” 

The IRR, to be crafted by the NFA Council, would specify the powers and functions of the grains agency, including the optimal level for its buffer stock, its source of funding and whether it would still sell subsidized rice.
Escarez, who also sits in the council, said economic managers were rushing to finalize the IRR, which should be crafted within 90 days upon the bill’s approval.
Farmer groups fear that limiting the power of the NFA would strip them of a “safety net” when palay prices decline.
Bohol protest
They are also wary that once the agency stops selling subsidized rice—priced at P27 to P32 a kilogram—more than 10 million Filipinos would not be able to afford the staple.
In Tagbilaran City, at least 30 NFA employees also wore black.
“It’s the beginning of the end of the rice industry in the Philippines,” said Maria Fe Evasco, NFA-Bohol manager, reading the message of Escarez.
“This law stripped the NFA of its regulatory and stabilization functions. We are just reduced to a mere buffer stocking agency,” Evasco said.
She said the law would affect many farmers, small grains retailers and consumers who rely on NFA for support, livelihood and affordable rice.
“There will be no price monitoring and control as NFA rice will no longer be available through accredited retailers,” she said. —WITH REPORTS FROM CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO AND LEO UDTOHAN
Solon urges modernization of local rice production
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Palace assures corruption-free rice fund


SunStar File
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AA
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February 19, 2019
THE P10-billion Rice Competitveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) that will be funded from the tariffs on rice imports will be free from corruption, Malacañang assured the public on Tuesday, February 19.

The Palace made the statement to allay fears of some groups of farmers, who were worried that the fund would be used for corruption just like the P728 million in fertilizer funds that were allegedly diverted to the 2004 campaign of former President, now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo reiterated that President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration have "zero tolerance" for any irregularities in government.

"Good governance is the hallmark of the Duterte Administration and the President has zero tolerance against corruption and wastage of taxpayers’ money," Panelo said.

"We continue to exercise accountability and transparency in all levels of the bureaucracy," he added.

Under Republic Act (RA) 11203, the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, or simply the Rice Fund, will have an annual appropriation of P10 billion for the next six years, in a bid to help farmers improve their profitability and competitiveness.

The funds will come from the tariffs that will be imposed on rice imports, as follows: 35 percent for rice coming from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and 50% for rice coming from non-Asean countries.

RA 11203 imposes tariffs on rice imports to replace the quantitative restrictions that were removed. Under this new law, traders may import rice without having to secure permits from the National Food Authority.

At the end of the sixth year of implementation, a mandatory review shall be conducted by the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM) to determine whether the Rice Fund shall be continued, amended, or terminated.

The Secretary of Agriculture, as mandated by RA 11203, shall be accountable and responsible for the Rice Fund.

Panelo said the Department of Agriculture (DA) would conduct a consultation with farmers' cooperatives and organizations, and local government units, for the effective implementation of the law.

"The Department of Agriculture, in consultation with farmers’ cooperatives and organizations as well as local government units, shall also validate and update the master list of eligible beneficiaries, which include farmers, farmworkers, rice cooperatives and associations," he said.

The law likewise provides that a Rice Industry Roadmap will be formulated and adopted to restructure the government's delivery of support services for the rice sector.

Panelo called on rice farmer groups to become "pro-active" in the cradtng of the Rice Industry Roadmap to ensure that safeguards aimed at eliminating corruption "are in place."

"We ask rice farmer representatives and vital stakeholders to be pro-active in the discussion and review of the crafting of the Rice Industry Roadmap and Internal Rules and Regulations with other concerned agencies of the government to ensure the effective and efficient implementation of the new measure," he said. 
(SunStar Philippines)
Boy Santos
Philippines rice imports to hit 2.3 million MT this year
“The Philippines has been a more active buyer in recent months and pending legislation would likely keep imports at robust levels,“ USDA said.
Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star) - February 11, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will continues to import more rice this year as local production will still not be able to cover the national demand for the country’s main staple and as the government moves toward the liberalization of the industry.
In the latest report of the United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS), the Philippines is seen importing some 2.3 million metric tons (MT) of rice this year, 21 percent higher than last year’s 1.9 million MT.
The USDA hiked this year’s rice imports from the earlier projection of 1.8 million MT following reduced crop estimates and the lifting of the quantitative restriction on the commodity.
“The Philippines has been a more active buyer in recent months and pending legislation would likely keep imports at robust levels,“ USDA said.
In fact, application to bring in the commodity under the out-quota scheme has already reached 1.19 million MT as of January after 180 private traders have sought approval for the importation.
An updated list released by the National Food Authority showed that 180 firms have already applied for the out-quota importation of 1,185,764 MT of rice to be sourced from Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Myanmar and China.
It was in November 2018 when the interagency NFA Council allowed the unlimited importation of rice to further stabilize the market.
The out-quota allocation means traders can apply for any volume of imported rice they would want to bring into the country.
Of the initial volume, the imports will be discharged in Manila, Subic, Cebu, Zamboanga City, Davao, La Union, Tacloban and Cagayan de Oro.
Meanwhile, the USDA said high rice prices due to tight supplies, rising fuel prices, and market distribution inefficiencies will force the Philippine government to import more rice to stabilize prices and contain inflation.
The country’s additional imports also aim to strengthen buffer stocks ahead of the midterm elections scheduled in May.
Rice consumption has also been raised to 13.65 million MT from 13.25 million MT as rising food prices are forcing less affluent Filipinos to consume more rice and less meat and vegetables.
Production of milled-rice this year is seen decreasing by one percent to 12.15 million MT from the 12.23 million MT in 2018.
USDA said there may be slight reduction in area planted as rice areas in 2019 will be at 4.81 million hectares, one percent lower than the 4.84 million hectares last year.

Vietnam to buy 200,000 T rice from farmers for stockpiling -govt
FEBRUARY 19, 2019 / 4:44 PM

HANOI, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The Vietnam government will buy 200,000 tonnes of rice from local farmers for stockpiling, it said on Tuesday, amid falling domestic prices.

Paddy price in the Southeast Asian country, the world’s third-largest rice exporter, have fallen by 25-30 percent since the start of this year, according to traders.Reporting by Khanh Vu Editing by David Goodman


PM approves plan to stock up on rice
The Saigon Times Daily
Tuesday,  Feb 19, 2019,20:00 (GMT+7)
Description: https://english.thesaigontimes.vn/Uploads/Articles/66274/06930_vnp_1502_lua.jpg
Local farmers harvest rice in the Mekong Delta in the file photo. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently approved a proposal to purchase 80,000 tons of unhusked rice and 200,000 tons of rice from farmers for storage to cope with the region's sharp drop in rice price - PHOTO: VNA
HCMC – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a proposal to purchase 80,000 tons of unhusked rice and 200,000 tons of rice from farmers for storage to cope with the sharp drop in the price of rice in the Mekong Delta region, the local media reported.
A meeting was held today to find solutions to the price fall, and attended by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the Vietnam Food Association and the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC).
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development suggested the Ministry of Finance purchase the given volume of rice and unhusked rice. Also, both ministries will jointly buy an additional 100,000 tons of rice in line with a Governmental decree on policies to protect and develop forests and policies on poverty reduction and supporting minority populations in the 2015-2020 period.
The prime minister urged the two ministries to quickly buy the given volume of rice from farmers.
Apart from that, food corporations have to stock up on rice under the prevailing regulations and must soon plan to export 200,000 tons of rice to the Philippines. Also, Chinese buyers have decided to buy 100,000 tons of rice from Vietnam at this time.
Meanwhile, SBV has to consider giving commercial banks higher lending caps, allowing rice trading firms to have enough capital to buy rice, while CMSC and food corporations Vinafood 1 and Vinafood 2 have to map out specific plans to quickly buy rice from local farmers.
The ministries of Agriculture-Rural Development and Industry-Trade were asked to seek new markets for local rice in the long run, aside from traditional markets.
The agricultural ministry and localities have to effectively carry out a scheme for restructuring the rice sector, so that Vietnam can have more types of high-quality, branded rice, the prime minister noted.
Rice prices in the region have recently edged down VND500-VND1,000 per kilogram to VND4,000-VND5,000. Meanwhile, the winter-spring crop is the most important one of the year as it can generate high yields with high quality. Local rice farmers had high hopes of strong profits after the Tet holiday, but the current price fall has delivered a blow to them.
Moreover, rice consumption in the region is currently low due to the reportedly low number of orders from foreign rice buyers.
In Can Tho City, local farmers have had difficulty selling their rice as traders have offered much lower prices than in the pre-Tet period.
The farmers in the Mekong Delta city have harvested rice from over 1,100 hectares out of a total of more than 81,200 hectares for the 2018-2019 winter-spring crop, which has yielded about seven tons of rice per hectare. The total yield this year is expected to reach 570,000 tons of rice, and the harvest season lasts until the end of this month, according to the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Rice prices became volatile in the 10 days before and after Tet when the Mekong Delta provinces entered the harvest season for the 2018-2019 winter-spring rice crop, according to some rice traders. Meanwhile, rice businesses delayed resuming operations after the holiday, and some plants’ warehouses were only available for storing rice from February 13 (the ninth day of the lunar year).
Some rice types, including IR50404 and Jasmine 85, which were earlier forecast to enjoy strong demand this year, have seen their prices drop by an average of VND100-VND200 per kilogram compared with the levels on February 10.
Accordingly, rice traders who made deposits before Tet to buy fresh unhusked rice have grown concerned.
According to the Department of Industry and Trade in Can Tho, commercial banks usually set loan caps for rice enterprises based on their signed export contracts. However, major rice firms have yet to sign export contracts, affecting bank loan disbursements, lending caps and the rice price.
As for An Giang Province, both popular rice and high-quality rice prices have taken a nosedive. For instance, each kilogram of high-quality unhusked rice RVT is being traded at VND5,500, instead of VND8,000, as seen last year. Other high-quality unhusked rice types have encountered the same price decline.
The picture of rice exports in Dong Thap Province in the year to date has been gloomy as well, as the province’s rice inventories are worryingly high, at an estimated 120,000 tons, and the number of rice export contracts remains low.
To help facilitate rice trading activities and cope with the rice price fall, SBV on February 18 asked its provincial branches and commercial banks in the Mekong Delta region to balance their sources of capital to offer loans to enterprises that purchase rice, consider increasing loans and boost loan disbursements.

Ministry urges exporters to join REX system

Sum Manet / Khmer Times 

The Ministry of Commerce last week asked rice exporters to join the recently-created Registered Exporter System (REX), which allows firms to ship goods abroad using a statement of origin instead of the ‘form A’ of the certificate of origin (CO).
Speaking at a seminar held at Sokha Hotel on Friday, Pich Rithy, under-secretary of state at the ministry, said the REX system facilitates trade and makes the local export sector more competitive.
“This system will make things easier and reduce costs for exporters shipping to the European market,” Mr Rithy said.
. .
The REX system is based on the principle of self-certification. By joining the system, companies become ‘registered exporters’, which allows them to issue their own statements of origin.
The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Commerce in collaboration with the Cambodia Agricultural Value Chain Programme (CAVAC) to inform producers, traders, and exporters to the EU of the REX system and its benefits and the implementation of a 10-digit code for rice exports to the EU.
Hun Lak, vice president of the Cambodia Rice Federation, said REX makes exporting easier but believed it didn’t help much in reducing costs for exporting firms.
“It reduces costs for us but is nothing huge. However, it will help us save time,” he said, adding that to make the sector more competitive the government and the private sector need to focus on reducing logistics and electricity costs.
Chan Sokheang, chairman and CEO of Signatures of Asia, echoed Mr Lak’s remarks.
. .
“I think it does not help that much when it comes to cutting costs for exporters. In order to compete with countries like Thailand and Vietnam, we need to reduce our production costs by $30 to $60,” Mr Sokheang said.
Last month, Cambodia exported 59,625 tonnes of rice to international markets, a 5 percent drop compared to January 2018, according to a report issued by the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export Formality.
The same report points out that the EU bought 20,000 tonnes of Cambodian rice in January, which is around 40 percent of all Cambodian rice exports. China bought about the same amount.


In the Philippines, where 'rice is life,' a move to allow more imports signals change

·      
BULACAN, Philippines —The Philippines has long touted the idea of self-sufficiency in rice, an essential staple here at the heart of every breakfast, lunch and dinner.
But rice growers like Efraen Serrano know that dream is falling further out of reach. The country's geography doesn't provide enough suitable land for the crop as the population swells. Urbanization and the pull to work in cities have reduced the number of farmers.
"More farms are being converted to factories and homes," said Serrano, who farms a five-acre family plot in Bulacan, a quickly urbanizing province north of Manila. "Nobody wants to buy land and use it to farm."
The 66-year-old says he's now resigned to the fact that less and less of the rice Filipinos eat will be grown by farmers like him.
"Imports are a necessity," he said.
In the clearest sign yet that he is right, the country has ended a two-decades-old cap on private-sector imports of the grain. The move marks a radical change for a nation whose obsession with rice is ordinarily matched by its protection of domestic producers.
"Importation is always sensitive because rice is the No. 1 agricultural sector," said Ramon Clarete, a professor of economics at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
But resistance to buying more of it abroad has lifted over the last several months following a bout of severe inflation that sparked long lines in the streets for government-subsidized rice.
It's hard to overstate the importance of rice in the Philippines.
The country of 105 million is the world's sixth-largest consumer of rice on a per capita basis, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"Rice is life in the Philippines," said Nicholas Mapa, a senior economist in Manila for ING. "Almost everything comes from rice. Even our delicacies are based on the grain."
When politicians want to curry favor in poor neighborhoods, they come bearing sacks of rice. Gas stations offer free bags of it with any purchases of about $10. And one of the nation's most popular restaurant chains, Mang Inasal, is famed for its "unlimited rice" —a menu option better known as "unli" (Filipinos have a penchant for shortening words. McDonald's, for example, is simply called McDo).
One of the most legendary varieties of rice, IR8, was developed at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. Dubbed "magic rice," the high-yield strain is credited with fending off famine across Southeast Asia and India starting in the 1960s.
"Even if you have no ulam," said 36-year-old Jaquelin Marsan, using the Tagalog word for a dish of meat or vegetable, "you have to have rice. It's a priority."
She lives with her husband and their eight children —aged 7 months to 19 years —in a ramshackle Manila slum of scavenged wood and corrugated sheet metal homes called Del Pan Binondo.
Two-fifths of their meager income is spent on rice. During the surge in rice prices last year, she had to cut back the family's consumption by a quarter.
"The children complained," Marsan said. "So my husband and I ate less."
Economists blamed the crisis on new taxes, costlier fuel and a failure on the government's part to restock rice reserves in time.
As criticism mounted about his administration's handling of the shortage, President Rodrigo Duterte deflected blame and trained his scorn on other players such as rice traders.
"I now ask all the rice hoarders, cartels and their protectors," the president said with a menacing glare during his State of the Nation address last year. "Stop messing with the people."
The crisis harked back to a more severe shortage in 2008 in which President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo deployed armed soldiers to watch over rice distribution and ordered fast-food chains to reduce their rice portions by half.
Prices today have since tapered. But fearing a repeat, the Philippine Senate passed a bill in November lifting the import cap and providing funds to cushion the blow on the shrinking domestic rice farming industry. The bill became law Friday, and the law will take effect March 3.
Economic reformers and the country's central bank have long championed lifting the import quota, which was supposed to protect farmers but instead led to rampant smuggling and left the country vulnerable to price manipulation by domestic rice traders.
Under World Trade Organization rules, the Philippines was obligated to eventually eliminate the cap —which stands at about 888,000 tons, or about 6 percent of the nation's annual consumption. But the country had been winning waivers to keep it by arguing for more time to reach self-sufficiency.
Resistance to the change came from vested interests in the agricultural sector and parts of the powerful National Food Authority, an agency charged with importing and maintaining the country's rice reserves for the poor —a mandate that put officials there in an ideal position to accept kickbacks.
The agency did not respond to an interview request. A spokesman for the president's office also did not respond to a request for comment.
Even with the cap in place, the Philippines is the world's second-largest importer of rice after China, giving it the power to move global grain markets.
Now major rice-producing nations such as Vietnam and Thailand stand to benefit from the lifting of the quota, even with the Philippines' 35 percent tariff on Southeast Asian rice imports.
The move to increase imports could also bolster Duterte's PDP-Laban political party heading into midterm election in May. Rice prices disproportionately affect the poorest Filipinos, a crucial voting bloc. Nearly half their food expenditures go toward the staple, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
"You can raise the price of gasoline, water and electricity, but not rice," said Jorge Tigno, a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines Diliman. "It's the only commodity politicians are not allowed to sacrifice."
(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)
The crisis last year tested the political power of the nation's 3 million farmers. They lost.
"The president's political strength will not be based on rice farmers, but more on workers and the urban poor," said Clarete, the economics professor.
Back in Bulacan, Serrano said his crop has dwindled since a shopping center started siphoning water away from his land a few years ago. And even when rice prices soared last year, he saw none of the extra profits returned to him.
"There's so many middlemen who make the money," said Serrano, who earns about $3,800 a year.
Unless one of his grandchildren chooses to takeover his rice fields, Serrano may be the last generation in his family to farm. His four children have all left Bulacan to work in factories closer to the city.
"I have no one to take over," he said.
___
(c)2019 Los Angeles Times
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 Ghana’s Approach To Reduction Of Imported Rice

By Frederik Paraiso

Description: Ghana’s Approach To Reduction Of Imported Rice
Change is coming to rural Western Africa in the shape of increased food security for, rice. Rice has become the second most important food staple after maize in Ghana and its consumption keeps increasing as a result of population growth, urbanization and change in consumer habits.
For the past few years, Ghanaians have over the years developed a strong appetite for imported rice due to its availability and distribution reach in the market as well as its highly polished and fragranced nature. This has a left a huge gap in the production of local rice and the domino effect being the loss of jobs directly and directly in agriculture.
The nation’s value of rice imports has escalated eightfold – from US$152million in 2007 to a peak of US$1.2billion in both 2014 and 2015. In the same period, the volume of rice imports climbed from 441,000 metric tonnes to 630,000 metric tonnes. According to figures from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) at the end of 2016, Ghana’s rice production stood at 687,680 metric tonnes.
Therefore, plans to increase production by 49% in 2017 means addition of 337,500 metric tonnes which will put total production this year to a little over one million (1,025,180) metric tonnes. A focused approach would lead to the creation of roughly This will also create some 226,800 direct and indirect employment comprising 32,400 direct jobs, 194,400 indirect jobs.
The important questions were how would our organisation, Intervale, play a positive role in agriculture in Ghana?
In early December of 2018, the “Ghana Rice Initiative”, an agricultural development project supporting 200 000 rice farmers in Ghana, was announced by the German government. The project was budgeted at 10 million Euros and with a three-year life span, with the goal of boosting small-scale rice production through the use of subsidized seeds and technical assistance.
This will help Ghana reach self-sufficiency in rice consumption and put an end to rice imports which currently cost over 1 billion USD per year (including rice smuggling from Cote d’Ivoire). This was the result of a public-private partnership (PPP) and international cooperation between, amongst others, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Ghanaian Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the John Kuafor Foundation, and Intervalle.
Swiss-based Intervalle launched similar rice productivity initiatives four years ago in Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire. Those projects’ successes led to neighbouring countries taking notice, and several government entities have since expressed interest in replicating the business models and public-private partnership structure for their own farmers.
In 2008, the financial crisis led to sharp increases in food prices and rioting in some African countries as desperate people took to the streets. Over-reliance on food imports and insufficient agricultural productivity was putting even politically stable countries at the mercy of price hikes and could lead to mass starvation. The plan was to reduce food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa by focusing on one of the most cultivated crops, rice, and find a way to solve the issue of insufficiently productive farmland.
The first step was to recognize the concepts that had worked and those that failed: planned economy-styled programs had been imposed on farmers who resisted them, large-scale agricultural cooperatives hadn’t obtained enough support from the farmers either, and governments just couldn’t afford the exorbitant cost of price subsidies to incentivize farmers and boost domestic production. So we went back to square one, and instead of trying to impose a top-down approach were we told the farmers what to do through a central planning entity, we favored a bottom-up vision where we took their opinion into consideration in order to increase the likelihood they would adhere to the project.
We involved the key stakeholders such as government officials, local leaders, suppliers, bulk buyers, and of course rice farmers. Every human being is a rational economic actor in the greater context of the market. If rice farmers are unable to put money aside for emergencies and are forced to live hand-to-mouth, it is primarily because of price volatility and the uncertainty of the harvest quantity and quality.
A rice farmer’s constant obsession is “How do I feed my children tomorrow?” not “What is the best way to optimize my acreage relative to my production costs over the next 5 years?”. This led us to tailor the design of our business model to answer the farmer’s priorities with very short-term benefits instead of long-term promises. At the same time, we had to take into account the other stakeholders’ priorities and balance them out.
When we analysed the situation our view was to look at it as ‘lifetime value of the investment’.
Another important element was the ability to provide farmers with fast cash flow cycles to soothe their concerns and lower their financial anxieties. We carried out several trials and simulations before finding the right equilibrium and the next step as to present it to the stakeholders.
The fact this was a Public Private Partnership put additional constraints in terms of procurement and oversight, but at the same time, we could benefit from the credibility bestowed by the government’s endorsement of the project and this really helped get people to support us. At the end of the day, we found solutions to accommodate all parties and we signed the project into existence.
The project was very successful, and as a result, we increased both productivity and the net amount of rice produced on the farms where the project was implemented. I really believe that agriculture in West Africa is sleeping beauty and our lessons in this region can be shared with the rest of the continent in core agriculture driven markets such as Kenya, South Africa and many other countries.
It will take enlightened investors both in Africa especially countries that are not heavily reliant on agriculture and international investors to put aside the commonly-held beliefs on Africa being too backwards to produce anything valuable besides oil and raw minerals, and realize that there is a whole value chain of agricultural produce that is going to emerge, taking advantage of the fertile soils, exceptional climate, low cost of labor and shear market size.
Disclaimer: "The views/contents expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not neccessarily reflect those of Modern Ghana. Modern Ghana will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements contained in this article."

Palay prices fall close to 40% due to rice import fears from lifting of quotas

Last updated Feb 19, 2019

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol blamed speculation for the fall in the buying price of rice in anticipation of the “flooding” of the market with cheap imported rice under a liberalized market.
Piñol said the disinformation surrounding the newly-enacted Rice Tariffication Law’s effect on the local rice industry, to the point that the buying price of palay has dropped from a high of P22 per kilo last year to P14 and P15 in some parts of the country now.
Piñol, however, admitted that initially, there would be a drop in the buying price of palay “but farmers are expected to adjust by increasing productivity with funds coming from tariffication.”
Piñol clarified that the law has just been signed by President Rodrigo Duterte and is not effective yet.
“There is a period within which the public will be notified and the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) still have to be finalized,” he explained.
And even if the importers would want to bring in huge volumes of imported rice, the DA chief said there was not much rice supply available in the world market.
“As it is now, the volume of rice traded in the world market every year is only about 40-million metric tons (MT) of which about 38-million (MT) is already committed to specific non-rice producing countries,” he said.
“The world population is growing exponentially while the land area is constant and this is true with rice exporting countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan and Myanmar,” he added.
The DA chief said a few years from now, Thailand and Vietnam will not be able to export the same volume of rice as they do today because they also have growing populations.
“The Philippines cannot let go of its own Rice Production Program because the moment it becomes dependent on imported rice, even on a short term, it will end up at the mercy of the rice exporters who could sell their produce at an even higher price than our domestic cost of production,” he noted.
Piñol said that the view that some economists are peddling that the
Philippines would be better off just importing rice rather than
producing it locally was “a short-sighted perspective”.
“If this view prevails, the Philippines will face a real rice crisis a few years from now with sky-high prices which the poor cannot afford,” he said.
Under the Rice Tariffication Law, a provision states that the tariffs and duties collected from the rice importation — 35 percent for ASEAN members and 50 percent for other sources — shall be turned over to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), estimated at no less than P10-billion annually.

Enrile slams proposed deregulation of sugar imports

MANILA. Former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. (Al Padilla/SunStar File)
February 20, 2019
FORMER Senate President and senatorial candidate Juan Ponce Enrile warned the government that thousands of sugar farmers and workers “will go hungry” if the deregulation of sugar importation proposed by the country’s economic managers is implemented.

“I urge the government to avoid the inordinate importation of commodities like sugar to protect our sugar farmers and worker and their families who will go hungry if the government will not protect them,” Enrile, who is vying for a Senate comeback in the upcoming 2019 midterm elections, said in a statement.

He said the sugar industry contributes about P120 billion annually to the national economy through the sale of raw and refined sugar, molasses, bioethanol, and biopower.

The industry also employs about 84,000 farmers and 720,000 workers in 28 sugar-producing provinces in the countries, all in all providing the primary source of livelihood for five million Filipinos.

Aside from the loss of income for sugar labor force and their families, Enrile also warned against economic losses.

“Hundreds of billions of pesos have been invested in dozens of raw sugar mills, refineries, bioethanol distilleries, and biopower generating plants. The government must aid the industry so that these will not just become billions down the drain in case liberalization of imports is pursued,” he said.

Enrile clarified that though he supports measures that “could reduce the cost of sugar for ordinary Filipinos,” this must be balanced with a desire to protect the interest of local farmers.

“We have to focus on long-term solutions rather than short-term steps. For the sugar industry, as with the rice industry, we must focus on investing in the capability of our local farmers. Ang kailangan diyan dagdag na pondo para sa research at development para tumaas ang productivity,” he said.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno announced last month that the country’s economic managers are eyeing the deregulation of government restrictions on sugar imports, adding that sugar “is next on their list” after deregulating rice imports.

Diokno said the move is intended to “put pressure” on domestic sugar products to compete with the global market in terms of the price of sugar. 
(PR)

NegOcc prepares farmers for rice tariffication

BACOLOD City – The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) of Negros Occidental underscored the need to prepare rice farmers for coping with challenges brought by the tariffication measure.
“Our farmers really need the help of the government mainly in terms of lowering down production costs and increasing productivity,” Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino said on Sunday, two days after President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the measure lifting restrictions on rice importation.
Masculino noted that one major effect would be cheaper price of imported than locally-produced rice.
Necessary interventions should be done immediately given the little time to prepare as the implementing rules and regulations may be out soon, he added.
Negros Occidental is known as the country’s top sugar-producing province, but it has also become one of the top 10 rice producers in the past years in its bid to become 100 percent rice-sufficient.
Masculino said one measure to reduce production cost of Negrense rice farmers is mechanization, which the provincial government has already been implementing since last year.
He added that if the government can seriously implement mechanization by providing funds for the purchase of machineries, it would be a big help because labor comprises more than 50 percent of the total production cost.
“Our mechanization accomplishment, especially in the planting and harvesting stages, is still minimal. If we can just fully mechanize at least our irrigated areas of 40 hectares, it would already be a big thing,” Masculino said.
Duterte certified the rice tariffication bill as urgent in October 2018 “to address the urgent need to improve availability of rice in the country, to prevent artificial rice shortage, reduce the prices of rice in the market, and curtail the prevalence of corruption and cartel domination in the rice industry.”
A month after the President certified the measure as urgent, a report on the bill was ratified by the bicameral conference committee.
Under the rice tariffication bill, quantitative restrictions on rice importation are lifted and private traders are allowed to import the commodity from countries of their choice.
The bill imposes a 25-percent duty on rice imports from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member-states and a 50-percent rate on imports from non-members of the regional bloc. (PNA)

New rice tariffication law inutile – Ibon

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:38 AM February 20, 2019
Description: New rice tariffication law inutile – Ibon
FARM VOICE Peasant groups rally at two departments—agriculture and agrarian reform—in Quezon City to protest rice importation and land conversions. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
The economic research group Ibon Foundation on Tuesday warned that the rice tariffication law would neither improve the productivity of local farmers, lower the price of rice, or ensure a stable rice supply unless the government gave substantial support to agriculture.
The rice tariffication law replaces volume restrictions and allows unlimited rice importation, with a 35-percent tariff on rice imports from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and 50 percent from non-Asean countries.
It takes effect on March 5, with up to P11 billion in import duties expected to be collected during its first year of implementation, the Department of Finance (DOF) said on Tuesday.
Under the law, a P10-billion rice competitiveness enhancement fund will be taken from the tariff revenues to support Filipino farmers for six years.
Beyond control
But Ibon said the law could not control the global prices of rice or prevent possible price manipulation by domestic rice traders.
“Global rice prices are volatile and can become very high depending on the production conditions of exporting countries. Rice production [in] Vietnam and Thailand is subsidized and incentivized, making their rice cheap. But they can decide to prioritize local consumption and ban exports, making cheap rice unavailable to Filipino consumers,” Ibon warned.
Danilo Ramos, chair of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), also expressed concern about the Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR) “fast-track land use conversion” that, he said, would endanger the livelihood of those dependent on the country’s P360-billion rice industry.
The P10-billion rice fund would prove futile for farmers “if there are no more rice lands left after the accelerated conversion of agricultural lands proposed by [the] DAR,” Ramos said, adding that “rice farmers demand free land distribution and not land use conversion.”
Palace assurance
But Malacañang has assured farmers that safeguards would be put in place to prevent the misuse of the fund, with the Department of Agriculture (DA) being accountable and responsible for it.
The DA, according to presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, would work with farmers cooperatives and groups to validate the list of beneficiaries.
The Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization will also conduct a periodic review of the fund, he added.
At a press briefing in Malacañang, DOF spokesperson Antonio Joselito Lambino II said “the implementing rules and regulations of the new law is being crafted to ensure that [there would be no corruption].”
Lambino said the rice fund would be used to improve existing infrastructure in the rice production sector.
Alternate bill
Both Ibon and KMP are pushing for House Bill No. 8512, or the proposed Rice Industry Development Act, filed by Anakpawis party-list group that is asking for an annual allocation of P61 billion for three years, or a total of P183 billion, for the development of the rice sector.
The bill included subsidies for rice production and socialized credit; irrigation development, repair and rehabilitation of existing irrigation systems; postharvest facilities development; farm inputs; and research and development of sustainable agriculture technologies. —With reports from Christine O. Avendaño, Julie M. Aurelio and Ben O. de Vera


Alloted farm subsidy seen not enough
By Karl R. Ocampo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
February 20, 2019 at 5:16 am

Industry stakeholders have expressed their doubts over the government’s yearly P10-billion subsidy for the rice industry under the Rice Import Liberalization Act, saying this might not be enough to ensure the competitiveness of local rice producers.
Industry leaders told the Inquirer it would take time before farmers would feel the effect of the interventions to be financed by the annual subsidy, which could discourage farmers from planting rice and, thus, cut total production.
Under the new law, a P10-billion subsidy would be given to the farm sector yearly, half of which would be used to purchase farm equipment, P3 billion for research and seed inputs, P1 billion for credit and P1 billion for training and seminars.
Sen. Cynthia Villar, proponent of the bill and chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, said the subsidy would be provided until such time that the collected duties from rice imports would be enough to fund the sector’s programs.
The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the policy’s impact on farm productivity might be felt in one to two years’ time.
Grain Retailers Confederation of the Philippines (Grecon) president James Magbanua said farmers would have a hard time competing with more affordable imported rice without immediate support from the government, noting that the cost of producing rice in the country was double of those in other rice-producing countries like Vietnam and Thailand.
“Our worry is that this may discourage local farmers to plant later on, and the government should always be ready against the threats of climate change. We need to be able to produce our own rice,” he said.
Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) chair Rosendo So said the rice sector “can only start to be competitive once cost of production is lowered.”
“Even if we become productive, unless the production cost is lowered, farmers would still be on the losing end,” he said.
In Vietnam and Thailand, where most of the country’s rice imports come from, a kilo of rice is being sold at P21 and P25, respectively. Even with additional freight costs, these are still considered cheaper than local rice which are sold at P34 to P39 a kilogram.
Rice watch group Bantay Bigas said the RCEF was not enough to help the country’s 2.7 million farmers, adding that it might just be “another source of plunder for government officials of the Duterte administration.”


https://m.inquirer.net/business/265334

What the EU’s new tariffs mean for Cambodia and Myanmar’s rice farmers


Starting today, Cambodia and Myanmar will be forced to pay hefty tariffs to export rice to the European Union – and farmers fear that it will leave both nations’ rice industries in critical condition
Cambodian farmers carry rice bales through a field in Cambodia’s Kampong Speu province, some 60 km south of Phnom Penh Photo: Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP
Rice farmers across Cambodia and Myanmar have been left scrambling for new markets for their crop after the European Union announced on Wednesday that it will now be imposing hefty tariffs on long-grain Indica rice from both Southeast Asian nations for the next three years beginning today.
The decision, announced by the European Commission this week, follows a month-long investigation that confirmed the increase in Indica imports from Cambodia and Myanmar has been damaging to EU rice producers.
In December, the Commission held a vote on this issue among its 28 EU state members, but did not receive a majority in favour of imposing the tariff measures. In the absence of strong opposition to the proposal, the Commission made the final decision itself on 16 January.
Representatives of European farming groups told Reuters that they are grateful for the Commission’s decision, as the cheap rice imported from Southeast Asia has been contributing to farmers’ abandonment of crops and exodus from rural areas.
Farming group Copa-Cogeca said rice imports from the two Asian countries increased from 9,000 tonnes in 2012 to 360,000 tonnes in 2017, leading to a collapse in prices across the European continent. In 2018, approximately 30% of all EU rice imports originated from countries with duty-free status – with the bulk being shipped in from Cambodia and Myanmar.
“This surge in low-price imports has caused serious difficulties for EU rice producers to the extent that their market share in the EU dropped substantially from 61% to 29%,” the Commission said in a recent statement.
Rice is currently grown across eight southern European countries including Italy, whose government initially requested the launch of the Commission’s investigation in March 2018 in the name of “protecting the Italian and European rice industry”.
Cambodia and Myanmar have enjoyed duty-free rice export to Europe since 2010, when the EU dropped its tariffs on the crop as a benefit of the Everything but Arms agreement, a policy which aims to promote European trade of goods with the world’s 50 least-developed countries. Other more developed countries in Southeast Asia, including Thailand and Vietnam, have long been paying tariffs of around $200 per tonne for white rice exports to the EU.

Potential Impact on Cambodia’s and Myanmar’s Economies

For countries that have long benefitted from free access to the European market, the new tariffs are a steep price to pay: for the first year, the two countries’ Indica rice exports will be charged a duty of approximately $200 per tonne of rice, with the duties gradually dropping to $171 and $142.50 per tonne, respectively, over the course of the following two years.
For both Cambodia and Myanmar, rice is a major export – and Europe has become their most profitable market.
The EU is currently Cambodia’s largest destination for exports, with nearly 43% of all exported rice – or approximately 270,000 tonnes’ worth – going straight to European markets.  But while Cambodia’s exports to the EU have been on the rise in recent years, the country’s overall rice exports suffered slightly last year: the industry took a 1.5% dip in 2018 compared to 2017, with officials citing high production costs, international competition and a potential EU tariff as the cause.
Just under a week before the Commission’s Wednesday announcement of its decision, Cambodia Rice Federation vice-president Vong Bun Heng told a local news outlet that the very threat of an EU tariff on Cambodia’s rice has already proven damaging to overall exports.
“Some international buyers hesitate to place orders when they hear about implementation of the EU safeguard,” he said. “There is a need for our rice, but the choice of buyers is limited.”
Chan Sophal, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, a research unit of the Cambodian Economic Association, told the Phnom Penh Post that the Kingdom could see its rice industry in critical condition in the face of the EU tariffs. In order to offset the additional duty costs, he said, local rice farmers will have to focus on cutting production costs, and may need to switch up their crops altogether.
“The government should consider reducing the electricity cost and port fee to help our rice industry to remain or be more competitive,” he said. “I think [the impact of the tariff] will depend on the substitutability of the Cambodian rice in EU market outlets. If they like Cambodian rice, the supermarkets and consumers in Europe may not mind paying a bit more.”
According to AMRU Rice Cambodia chairman and CEO Song Saran, Cambodian rice exporters should focus on expanding to new markets – but for now, it needs Europe.
“We need the EU market and we cannot afford to lose it. So we will have to find a way to lower our operating costs to improve competitiveness,” he said.
Myanmar is in much the same boat, as Europe has steadily grown to become one of the country’s major markets. Myanmar exported upwards of $320 million worth of rice in 2017, the same year it reached an all-time high of 293,000 tonnes of rice exported to Europe.
At a World Economic Forum in September, Myanmar state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi noted that Myanmar’s rice exports have been on the rise for years, achieving “pre-war” levels in 2017 thanks to access to foreign markets.
“[Our rice export success] has not affected the rice exports of [neighbouring countries like] Vietnam or Thailand,” she said. “The fact that we have been gaining our position in the world rice market does not mean that other local markets have suffered.”
But this could change now that the European market has set a high barrier for entry to the Indica rice market, forcing farmers to look closer to home as they seek out different buyers.
Last week, general secretary of the Myanmar Rice Federation Ye Min Aung spoke about the potential negative effects of the EU’s decision to impose duties on the country’s rice exports.
“We have seen increased income as we are able to export quality rice to EU market,” he told a local news outlet. “Unless we have [duty free export] rights, we have to compete more with other countries. But to do so, we have much difficulty – we don’t have enough ports and warehouses.”
However, others are for more optimistic about the potential effects of the new tariff, which some Burmese industry insiders – including Myanmar Rice Federation joint secretary Lu Maw Myint Maung alongside several local rice exporters – claim will only affect about 60,000 to 100,000 tonnes of Indica exports. Even if only 100,000 tonnes of Myanmar’s exports were to be affected, however, the new tariff would still result in a loss of approximately $20 million for the country, should Myanmar choose to send its rice to the EU in the upcoming year.
According to Hla Maung Shwe, deputy chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, it could be worse – the EU could have chosen to target duty-free garment imports, which are the backbone of several developing Southeast Asian economies.
“This decision will not affect us very much on rice exports to Europe, but if it were on our garment exports, it would hurt,” Hla Maung She told Radio Free Asia.
In Cambodia, officials are looking at the new tariff as an opportunity, and a sign from the EU that the Kingdom no longer needs preferential treatment. Cambodia’s Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan told RFA that the government is unconcerned by the tariff, though he admitted it would have an impact.
“Imposing a tax on Cambodia is a positive development, which proves that Cambodia is able to pay duties like other countries,” he said. “We know that imposing the tax will affect us, but we must be ready to compete on a level playing field with other countries in trade.”

Rice Farmers Drum Support For Buhari’s Re-Election

Description: https://i2.wp.com/sundiatapost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Buhari-Osinbajo.jpg?zoom=1.5&resize=624%2C351&ssl=1
By Hawa Lawal
Abuja – Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) has drummed support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election bid, ahead  of Saturday’s presidential election.
This was the resolution of the National Executives and State Chairmen of the association in the 36 states and FCT on Tuesday in Abuja.
RIFAN President, Aminu Goroyo, told the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) that each of the 12.2 million members of the association had pledged their support for President Buhari.
He said the endorsement became imperative in view of the efforts the president had  made to drive the nation’s economy through mechanised agriculture.
“With the enthusiasm to promote good governance and corrupt free Nation, RIFAN resolved to support the re-election of President Muhamadu Buhari come Saturday with massive votes.
According to Goroyo, the re-election of the president is to ensure Nigeria’s self-sufficiency in food production.
He also said the step would help in moving the nation from overdependence on crude oil to non-oil economy.
“We are all speaking with one voice, exhibit unalloyed commitment in making sure that bulk of our votes go for President Buhari to achieve the desired transformation for the country.
Goroyo said the President’s commitment to agriculture through various schemes was an indication that Nigeria will soon end  challenges of hunger, poverty, food security and unemployment.
He said before this administration, the country was a net importer of rice to the detriment of the economy and the farmers.
“The country’s dependence on food imports in the past was hurting local production, reducing farmers’ welfare and contributing to increasing unemployment.
“The difference is very clear now as the rice import has reduced to 5 per cent and it is only done through the informal process,”he said.
He said that in 2015, Nigerians spent not less than N1bn on rice consumption, adding that while spending had drastically reduced, consumption had increased because of increased local production.
He urged Nigerians to give adequate support to the Buhari administration by casting their votes for him on Saturday. (NAN)



File photo

NLA in a hurry to push Rice Bill

national February 19, 2019 01:00
By Khanittha Thepphajorn,
Sayan Chucham
The Nation 
Description: File photo18

THE NATIONAL Legislative Assembly (NLA) looks set to pass the Rice Bill tomorrow despite concerns expressed by many farmers and various prominent figures.


THE NATIONAL Legislative Assembly (NLA) looks set to pass the Rice Bill tomorrow despite concerns expressed by many farmers and various prominent figures.



The second and third readings of the Rice Bill are listed as the second urgent item on the agenda for deliberations at the upcoming NLA session, ranking behind the Town Planning Bill. 
In an apparent bid to ensure the Rice Bill will sail through, the NLA ad hoc committee on this draft law has even sought a meeting with various groups of farmers. Yesterday, more than 70 farmer representatives turned up at the NLA in response to an invitation for them to hear why the Rice Bill would be good for their sector.
“These farmer representatives are welcome to listen to the second and third readings of the bill, too,” Somchai Swangkarn said in his capacity as secretary of the NLA ad hoc committee. 
Some of the guests unfurled banners expressing support for the Rice Bill. 
Their gesture effectively countered concerns expressed by many farmers last week that the Rice Bill, if introduced as a law, might hurt their way of life and livelihood. For example, the Rice Bill seeks to ban the distribution of uncertified rice seeds for commercial purposes. 
The NLA’s ad hoc committee on the Rice Bill sought to allay concerns by explaining that the clauses prescribing tough punishments – Bt100,000 in fine and/or one year in jail – had already been removed. 
In addition, the committee explained that the bill was written in a way that would allow the exchange or sale of rice seeds among farmers from the very beginning. 
Kittisak Rattanawaha, who sits on the ad hoc committee, even claimed that someone with an ulterior political motive had tried to block this bill.
“In fact, this bill is useful for farmers. If it sails through, it will stop unfair practices suffered by rice farmers. It will also affects rice mills just a little,” he said. 
Among the concerns about the draft law is the fact that rice mills will have to issue purchase paper specifying the variety of rice, weight, quality and moisture content. A researcher at the Thailand Development Research Institute warned such a requirement would add to the cost and farmers could feel the pinch. 
Even Agriculture Minister Grisada Boonrach voiced concerns about the many controversial points in the Rice Bill last week.
In response to these concerns, the NLA ad hoc committee on this draft law quickly rephrased or removed some controversial clauses. 
Still, some farmers and figures remain worried about this draft law. 
Thanakrit Vorathanatchakul, a state attorney, commented in a Facebook post that the ban on the distribution of uncertified rice seeds “for commercial purpose” was broad in meaning and this could cause problems for farmers later on. 
“If legislators really intend to exempt rice farmers from punishment related to this clause, they should clearly state so in the bill,” he said. 
He also pointed to the fact that while phrases like fine and jail term were already removed from the Rice Bill, there were clauses specifying that the control, certifying and distribution of rice seeds would be subject to the Plant Varieties Act. 
“A regulation issued under this act states that all rice seeds are controlled varieties and any violation of the control is punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a fine of Bt2,000,” he added. 
In Phichit province, a group of rice farmers were so worried about the Rice Bill that they urged Phichit Governor Worapan Suwannus yesterday to help push for the review. 
“I will forward their petition to the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, as well as the government,” Worapan said. 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30364354

What the EU’s new tariffs mean for Cambodia and Myanmar’s rice farmers

Starting today, Cambodia and Myanmar will be forced to pay hefty tariffs to export rice to the European Union – and farmers fear that it will leave both nations’ rice industries in critical condition
Cambodian farmers carry rice bales through a field in Cambodia’s Kampong Speu province, some 60 km south of Phnom Penh Photo: Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP
Rice farmers across Cambodia and Myanmar have been left scrambling for new markets for their crop after the European Union announced on Wednesday that it will now be imposing hefty tariffs on long-grain Indica rice from both Southeast Asian nations for the next three years beginning today.
The decision, announced by the European Commission this week, follows a month-long investigation that confirmed the increase in Indica imports from Cambodia and Myanmar has been damaging to EU rice producers.
In December, the Commission held a vote on this issue among its 28 EU state members, but did not receive a majority in favour of imposing the tariff measures. In the absence of strong opposition to the proposal, the Commission made the final decision itself on 16 January.
Representatives of European farming groups told Reuters that they are grateful for the Commission’s decision, as the cheap rice imported from Southeast Asia has been contributing to farmers’ abandonment of crops and exodus from rural areas.
Farming group Copa-Cogeca said rice imports from the two Asian countries increased from 9,000 tonnes in 2012 to 360,000 tonnes in 2017, leading to a collapse in prices across the European continent. In 2018, approximately 30% of all EU rice imports originated from countries with duty-free status – with the bulk being shipped in from Cambodia and Myanmar.
“This surge in low-price imports has caused serious difficulties for EU rice producers to the extent that their market share in the EU dropped substantially from 61% to 29%,” the Commission said in a recent statement.
Rice is currently grown across eight southern European countries including Italy, whose government initially requested the launch of the Commission’s investigation in March 2018 in the name of “protecting the Italian and European rice industry”.
Cambodia and Myanmar have enjoyed duty-free rice export to Europe since 2010, when the EU dropped its tariffs on the crop as a benefit of the Everything but Arms agreement, a policy which aims to promote European trade of goods with the world’s 50 least-developed countries. Other more developed countries in Southeast Asia, including Thailand and Vietnam, have long been paying tariffs of around $200 per tonne for white rice exports to the EU.

Potential Impact on Cambodia’s and Myanmar’s Economies

For countries that have long benefitted from free access to the European market, the new tariffs are a steep price to pay: for the first year, the two countries’ Indica rice exports will be charged a duty of approximately $200 per tonne of rice, with the duties gradually dropping to $171 and $142.50 per tonne, respectively, over the course of the following two years.
For both Cambodia and Myanmar, rice is a major export – and Europe has become their most profitable market.
The EU is currently Cambodia’s largest destination for exports, with nearly 43% of all exported rice – or approximately 270,000 tonnes’ worth – going straight to European markets.  But while Cambodia’s exports to the EU have been on the rise in recent years, the country’s overall rice exports suffered slightly last year: the industry took a 1.5% dip in 2018 compared to 2017, with officials citing high production costs, international competition and a potential EU tariff as the cause.
Just under a week before the Commission’s Wednesday announcement of its decision, Cambodia Rice Federation vice-president Vong Bun Heng told a local news outlet that the very threat of an EU tariff on Cambodia’s rice has already proven damaging to overall exports.
“Some international buyers hesitate to place orders when they hear about implementation of the EU safeguard,” he said. “There is a need for our rice, but the choice of buyers is limited.”
Chan Sophal, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, a research unit of the Cambodian Economic Association, told the Phnom Penh Post that the Kingdom could see its rice industry in critical condition in the face of the EU tariffs. In order to offset the additional duty costs, he said, local rice farmers will have to focus on cutting production costs, and may need to switch up their crops altogether.
“The government should consider reducing the electricity cost and port fee to help our rice industry to remain or be more competitive,” he said. “I think [the impact of the tariff] will depend on the substitutability of the Cambodian rice in EU market outlets. If they like Cambodian rice, the supermarkets and consumers in Europe may not mind paying a bit more.”
According to AMRU Rice Cambodia chairman and CEO Song Saran, Cambodian rice exporters should focus on expanding to new markets – but for now, it needs Europe.
“We need the EU market and we cannot afford to lose it. So we will have to find a way to lower our operating costs to improve competitiveness,” he said.
Myanmar is in much the same boat, as Europe has steadily grown to become one of the country’s major markets. Myanmar exported upwards of $320 million worth of rice in 2017, the same year it reached an all-time high of 293,000 tonnes of rice exported to Europe.
At a World Economic Forum in September, Myanmar state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi noted that Myanmar’s rice exports have been on the rise for years, achieving “pre-war” levels in 2017 thanks to access to foreign markets.
“[Our rice export success] has not affected the rice exports of [neighbouring countries like] Vietnam or Thailand,” she said. “The fact that we have been gaining our position in the world rice market does not mean that other local markets have suffered.”
But this could change now that the European market has set a high barrier for entry to the Indica rice market, forcing farmers to look closer to home as they seek out different buyers.
Last week, general secretary of the Myanmar Rice Federation Ye Min Aung spoke about the potential negative effects of the EU’s decision to impose duties on the country’s rice exports.
“We have seen increased income as we are able to export quality rice to EU market,” he told a local news outlet. “Unless we have [duty free export] rights, we have to compete more with other countries. But to do so, we have much difficulty – we don’t have enough ports and warehouses.”
However, others are for more optimistic about the potential effects of the new tariff, which some Burmese industry insiders – including Myanmar Rice Federation joint secretary Lu Maw Myint Maung alongside several local rice exporters – claim will only affect about 60,000 to 100,000 tonnes of Indica exports. Even if only 100,000 tonnes of Myanmar’s exports were to be affected, however, the new tariff would still result in a loss of approximately $20 million for the country, should Myanmar choose to send its rice to the EU in the upcoming year.

Related reading:

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According to Hla Maung Shwe, deputy chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, it could be worse – the EU could have chosen to target duty-free garment imports, which are the backbone of several developing Southeast Asian economies.
“This decision will not affect us very much on rice exports to Europe, but if it were on our garment exports, it would hurt,” Hla Maung She told Radio Free Asia.
In Cambodia, officials are looking at the new tariff as an opportunity, and a sign from the EU that the Kingdom no longer needs preferential treatment. Cambodia’s Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan told RFA that the government is unconcerned by the tariff, though he admitted it would have an impact.
“Imposing a tax on Cambodia is a positive development, which proves that Cambodia is able to pay duties like other countries,” he said. “We know that imposing the tax will affect us, but we must be ready to compete on a level playing field with other countries in trade.”

Ghana’s Approach To Reduction Of Imported Rice

By Frederik Paraiso

Description: Ghana’s Approach To Reduction Of Imported Rice
Change is coming to rural Western Africa in the shape of increased food security for, rice. Rice has become the second most important food staple after maize in Ghana and its consumption keeps increasing as a result of population growth, urbanization and change in consumer habits.
For the past few years, Ghanaians have over the years developed a strong appetite for imported rice due to its availability and distribution reach in the market as well as its highly polished and fragranced nature. This has a left a huge gap in the production of local rice and the domino effect being the loss of jobs directly and directly in agriculture.
The nation’s value of rice imports has escalated eightfold – from US$152million in 2007 to a peak of US$1.2billion in both 2014 and 2015. In the same period, the volume of rice imports climbed from 441,000 metric tonnes to 630,000 metric tonnes. According to figures from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) at the end of 2016, Ghana’s rice production stood at 687,680 metric tonnes.
Therefore, plans to increase production by 49% in 2017 means addition of 337,500 metric tonnes which will put total production this year to a little over one million (1,025,180) metric tonnes. A focused approach would lead to the creation of roughly This will also create some 226,800 direct and indirect employment comprising 32,400 direct jobs, 194,400 indirect jobs.
The important questions were how would our organisation, Intervale, play a positive role in agriculture in Ghana?
In early December of 2018, the “Ghana Rice Initiative”, an agricultural development project supporting 200 000 rice farmers in Ghana, was announced by the German government. The project was budgeted at 10 million Euros and with a three-year life span, with the goal of boosting small-scale rice production through the use of subsidized seeds and technical assistance.
This will help Ghana reach self-sufficiency in rice consumption and put an end to rice imports which currently cost over 1 billion USD per year (including rice smuggling from Cote d’Ivoire). This was the result of a public-private partnership (PPP) and international cooperation between, amongst others, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Ghanaian Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the John Kuafor Foundation, and Intervalle.
Swiss-based Intervalle launched similar rice productivity initiatives four years ago in Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire. Those projects’ successes led to neighbouring countries taking notice, and several government entities have since expressed interest in replicating the business models and public-private partnership structure for their own farmers.
In 2008, the financial crisis led to sharp increases in food prices and rioting in some African countries as desperate people took to the streets. Over-reliance on food imports and insufficient agricultural productivity was putting even politically stable countries at the mercy of price hikes and could lead to mass starvation. The plan was to reduce food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa by focusing on one of the most cultivated crops, rice, and find a way to solve the issue of insufficiently productive farmland.
The first step was to recognize the concepts that had worked and those that failed: planned economy-styled programs had been imposed on farmers who resisted them, large-scale agricultural cooperatives hadn’t obtained enough support from the farmers either, and governments just couldn’t afford the exorbitant cost of price subsidies to incentivize farmers and boost domestic production. So we went back to square one, and instead of trying to impose a top-down approach were we told the farmers what to do through a central planning entity, we favored a bottom-up vision where we took their opinion into consideration in order to increase the likelihood they would adhere to the project.
We involved the key stakeholders such as government officials, local leaders, suppliers, bulk buyers, and of course rice farmers. Every human being is a rational economic actor in the greater context of the market. If rice farmers are unable to put money aside for emergencies and are forced to live hand-to-mouth, it is primarily because of price volatility and the uncertainty of the harvest quantity and quality.
A rice farmer’s constant obsession is “How do I feed my children tomorrow?” not “What is the best way to optimize my acreage relative to my production costs over the next 5 years?”. This led us to tailor the design of our business model to answer the farmer’s priorities with very short-term benefits instead of long-term promises. At the same time, we had to take into account the other stakeholders’ priorities and balance them out.
When we analysed the situation our view was to look at it as ‘lifetime value of the investment’.
Another important element was the ability to provide farmers with fast cash flow cycles to soothe their concerns and lower their financial anxieties. We carried out several trials and simulations before finding the right equilibrium and the next step as to present it to the stakeholders.
The fact this was a Public Private Partnership put additional constraints in terms of procurement and oversight, but at the same time, we could benefit from the credibility bestowed by the government’s endorsement of the project and this really helped get people to support us. At the end of the day, we found solutions to accommodate all parties and we signed the project into existence.
The project was very successful, and as a result, we increased both productivity and the net amount of rice produced on the farms where the project was implemented. I really believe that agriculture in West Africa is sleeping beauty and our lessons in this region can be shared with the rest of the continent in core agriculture driven markets such as Kenya, South Africa and many other countries.
It will take enlightened investors both in Africa especially countries that are not heavily reliant on agriculture and international investors to put aside the commonly-held beliefs on Africa being too backwards to produce anything valuable besides oil and raw minerals, and realize that there is a whole value chain of agricultural produce that is going to emerge, taking advantage of the fertile soils, exceptional climate, low cost of labor and shear market size.

Haitians seek water, food as businesses reopen after protest


by EVENS SANON and DANICA COTO, Associated Press
Monday, February 18th 2019
Description: https://nbcmontana.com/resources/media/c3dd12c3-c640-40a1-b68b-5a7cafadee20-large16x9_AP19046841751124.jpg?1550513021497
Demonstrators drag the body of a fellow protester toward police, as a form of protest after police shot into the crowd in which he died, during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Haitian President Jovenel Moise near the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Businesses and government offices slowly reopened across Haiti on Monday after more than a week of violent demonstrations over prices that have doubled for food, gas and other basic goods in recent weeks and allegations of government corruption.
Public transportation resumed in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where people began lining up to buy food, water and gas as crews cleared barricaded streets, where hundreds of thousands of Haitians had protested to demand the resignation of President Jovenel Moise.
Moise has refused to step down, though his prime minister, Jean-Henry Ceant, said over the weekend that he has agreed to reduce certain government budgets by 30 percent, limit travel of government officials and remove all non-essential privileges they enjoy, including phone cards. Ceant also vowed to investigate alleged misspending tied to a Venezuelan program that provided Haiti with subsidized oil and said he has requested that a court audit all state-owned enterprises.
But many Haitians remained wary of those promises, and schools remained closed on Monday amid concerns of more violence.
"The government is making statements that are not changing anything at this point," said Hector Jean, a moto taxi driver who was waiting for customers. He recently had to buy a gallon of gas for 500 gourdes ($6), more than twice what he normally pays, and he has been unable to find customers who can afford to pay higher fares.
"It's very hard to bring something home," he said. "I have three kids."
Other goods in the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation have also doubled in price in recent weeks: A sack of rice now costs $18 and a can of dry beans around $7. In addition, a gallon of cooking oil has gone up to nearly $11 from $7. Inflation has been in the double digits since 2014, and the price hikes are angering many people in Haiti, where about 60 per cent of its nearly 10.5 million people struggle to get by on about $2 a day. A recent report by the U.S. Agency for International Development said about half the country is undernourished.
The latest violent demonstrations prompted the U.S. government to warn people last week not to travel to Haiti as it urged Moise's administration to implement economic reforms and redouble efforts to fight corruption and hold accountable those implicated in the scandal over the Venezuelan subsidized oil program known as Petrocaribe. A Haitian Senate investigation has alleged embezzlement by at least 14 former officials in ex-President Michel Martelly's administration, but no one has been charged. Meanwhile, Haitians have demanded a probe into the spending of the $3.8 billion Haiti received as part of the Petrocaribe program.
"Corruption goes unpunished, and people are just really tired of it," said Athena Kolbe, a human rights researcher who has worked in Haiti. "I can't imagine that things are going to calm down."
She said she doesn't believe claims that opposition leaders are behind the demonstrations or that people are being paid to protest as has happened in previous years given the incredible number of people that have taken to the streets in recent days. However, Kolbe warned that even if Moise were forced to step down, it would not resolve one of Haiti's underlying issues: how to address corruption.
"People are just kind of exhausted with the business elite running the country and retaining control and not knowing where public funds are going," she said.
Martelly hand-picked Moise in 2015 to be the candidate for the ruling Tet Kale party even though the businessman from northern Haiti had never run for office. Moise was sworn in as president in February 2017 for a five-year term and promised to fight corruption and bring investment and jobs to one of the least developed nations in the world. His swearing-in marked Haiti's return to constitutional rule a year after Martelly left office without an elected successor amid waves of opposition protests and a political stalemate that led to suspended elections.
Moise's administration previously set off deadly protests in July 2018 when officials abruptly announced double-digit increases in the prices for gasoline, diesel and kerosene as part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to eliminate fuel subsidies and boost government revenue. At least seven people died in those protests, which also forced Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant to resign after facing a no-confidence vote in parliament.

Northwest drought: rice, banana growers plant only 50% of lands


Montecristi, Dominican Republic.- The Northwest region’s rice and banana growers  planted only 50 percent of their land due to the prolonged drought, while the irrigation boards take measures to distribute the water through the irrigation channels.
Rice grower and local irrigation board president José Eugenio de la Rosa said the low water levels in the irrigation system have forced working in two shifts to supply water. “Before we distributed between 13 and 14 cubic meters per second in different shifts, but now we barely reach four meters.”
Deficit
De la Rosa said that of 7,000 hectares of rice planted, only 55,000 tareas (one tarea=630 square meters) could be planted, while of 68,000 tareas of bananas, only 78,000 tareas were planted and only 68,000 tareas could be cultivated, for a deficit of 10,000 tareas.
“The losses of the agricultural and livestock sector in this area are huge,” de la Rosa said, quoted by Diario Libre.
Meanwhile Hatillo Palma district banana grower Víctor Manuel Santana, said in addition to the drought, fruit exporters lowered prices as much as two dollars per box.
1,000 National Food Authority employees to lose jobs
During a meeting on the draft implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Import Liberalization Act on Monday, it was determined that the NFA’s role would be limited to buffer stocking or procurement of local palay.
Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star) - February 20, 2019 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Close to a thousand employees of the National Food Authority (NFA) will lose their jobs as the agency will undergo restructuring following the enactment of the rice tariffication law.
During a meeting on the draft implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Import Liberalization Act on Monday, it was determined that the NFA’s role would be limited to buffer stocking or procurement of local palay.
This means that when the law takes effect on March 5, all NFA workers directly involved in industry regulation, licensing and monitoring of wholesalers, millers and retailers will be removed as the agency is stripped of its power to distribute the staple.
“Based on our evaluation, there are about 400 people in the regulations and our operations are more than that. So it’s about close to 1,000 workers (who will lose their jobs),” NFA officer-in-charge administrator Tomas Escarez told journalists yesterday.
“We will be recommending that they can either remain, although their status is CTI or co-terminus with the incumbent. Or they can just avail of the compensation package, which we are certain most of them would,” Escarez said.
The NFA will no longer need that much manpower as its functions will only be limited to buffer stocking for emergencies and calamities.
“What we will do is just buy palay from local farmers good for 15 days and 30 days, we will be managing that for the whole year and doing that will not require a lot of people,” Escarez said.
The NFA has created a change management team that would handle the transition period between now and what the agency’s structure will be.
The interagency NFA Council has given the NFA up to 30 days to finalize its restructuring plan, which will be up for approval of the council.
The council is fast-tracking the draft of the IRR. Based on the law, a period of 90 days has been allocated for its completion.
Among the issues yet to be resolved is the exact tariff rates that would be imposed on importers from inside and outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.
The council is expected to meet again next week and a series of consultations with local farmers will be conducted.

Tariffication starts March 5

The Department of Finance (DOF) has clarified that the liberalization of rice imports and imposition of tariffs on imported rice should begin on March 5 as provided under the Rice Tariffication Law. The DOF said the shift from quantitative restrictions (QR) to tariffication of rice imports would start on March 5 and not on March 3, as earlier agreed upon by the NFA Council.
Finance Assistant Secretary and spokesman Antonio Lambino said this is in line with Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Act, which provides that the law should become effective 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
President Duterte signed the law on Feb. 14 and it was published in the Official Gazette on Feb. 18.
Lambino said the NFA Council assumed that the publication of the law was done on Feb. 15, which was why they agreed to impose tariffs starting March 3.

Corruption source?

Malacañang allayed fears that the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) from rice tariff would become a source of corruption.
The Palace gave assurance that safeguards are in place to ensure that the rice fund, which will be created by the Rice Tarriffication Law, would be used properly. 
Malacañang issued the statement after some farmers expressed worry that the fund would be misused like the P723-million fertilizer fund, which was allegedly diverted to the campaign funds of then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004. 
The Rice Tarriffication Law provides an annual budget of P10 billion to the RCEF, which will protect the livelihood of local farmers.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the government would not allow the RCEF to be misused. 
Panelo said the agriculture secretary would be accountable and responsible for the RCEF and has been tasked to validate and update the master list of eligible beneficiaries, who include farmers, farm workers, rice cooperatives and associations.
He said the law requires the congressional oversight committee on agricultural and fisheries modernization to review the RCEF periodically.
Meanwhile, Butil party-list Rep. Cecilia Chavez is worried that the law would only worsen the sufferings of the agricultural sector, citing the “cartelized oil industry.”
“That’s what they did to oil and power. How can we be sure that the prices of rice will not rise in the future? Today, yes, it might go down, but what about in the future? That’s what I am worried about,” Chavez said.
“That’s what they were exactly saying before: let the market prices determine the price of the product,” Chavez told journalists at a briefing in the House media center yesterday.
“So what is happening now?” she asked, referring to the high cost of fuel.

Higher budget

Despite having most of its functions removed, the NFA is expecting a silver lining from the rice liberalization act, as a higher budget will be provided for the agency to ensure its buffer stocking role during calamities and emergencies.
The NFA Council agreed to include the NFA’s budget under the General Appropriations Act, which means higher allocation for the grains agency.
The NFA would adopt an optimal level of rice inventory equivalent to 15 to 30 days of national rice consumption under the tariff regime, effectively removing its function of issuing licenses, collecting fees and releasing import permits.
“Starting next year, the fund to be utilized will be sourced from GAA which is being approved by the Congress and Senate. What is in the IRR is that it will be supplemented by our corporate fund,” Escarez said.
Currently, the NFA’s annual budget is subsidized and most of its expenses for price stabilization are coming from its corporate fund.
“What we have right now is the budget only for palay procurement, relying on the P7 billion. But next year, we will be including the operating expenses. It will include the budget for 30 days and that is good because we will no longer have a hard time looking for funds,” Escarez said.

Draft IRR completed

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has completed drafting the IRR for the Rice Tariffication Act in anticipation of the signing of the bill into law.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said NEDA has always been pushing for key reforms that will make the Filipino staple food accessible and affordable for everyone.
“We are confident that the full implementation of the law will have the resolute support of everyone,” Pernia said.
He said government agencies started preparing the IRR as early as January.
Technical working groups were created to discuss key provisions of the bill and provide inputs to the draft IRR.
The IRR drafting committee is composed of the NEDA, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Agriculture and other concerned government agencies.
The first draft of the IRR formulated during a two-day workshop last week was presented to the NFA on Feb. 18.
Pernia said the revised draft IRR would be subjected to public consultation in the coming days to ensure a smooth and timely transition to a new rice regime.
The draft IRR contains provisions on the removal of NFA’s regulatory powers and the streamlining of import requirements.
It also provides details on the necessary institutional arrangements that would enhance competitiveness and institute safety nets for local farmers affected by the removal of the QR on rice imports. – With Alexis Romero, Mary Grace Padin, Czeriza Valencia, Delon Porcalla

U.S. Rice Prompts Visit by Haitian Delegation  

ARLINGTON, VA -- Haiti, the United States' second largest rice market by both volume and value, has been rocked by civil unrest for more than two weeks as a result of soaring food and fuel prices, and a currency that has lost 30 percent of its purchasing power.  Last week, Haitian Foreign Minister Bocchit Edmond, in town for high level meetings with U.S. government officials, came to USA Rice headquarters here to meet with industry representatives to discuss the current situation in his country. 

"The government of Haiti has made some difficult decisions that have had dire consequences, but they were necessary," Minister Edmond said, referencing the decision to cut off fuel imports from Venezuela last year.  "Our schools have been closed for two weeks, hospitals are paralyzed, and the National Police are exhausted."

Edmond was in Washington meeting with officials at the State Department and White House seeking solutions to the country's economic emergency.  
 
"We are very appreciative Minister Edmond personally came to brief us on the very serious situation," said Betsy Ward, president and CEO of USA Rice.  "We are also honored that President Jovenel Moïse called in to thank us for welcoming essential members of his Administration."

Haiti imports long grain milled rice from the mid-South and representatives from several USA Rice member companies active in the market joined Ward in the meetings.  Haiti imported 366,553 metric tons of milled rice in the first 11 months of 2018 (the equivalent of 14.7 million cwt, paddy basis), valued at $185 million. 
    
"Haiti's consumers show a strong preference for U.S.-grown rice and it is an essential market for the U.S. rice industry," said Bobby Hanks, chair of the USA Rice International Trade Policy committee who attended the meeting.  "We are very sympathetic and are looking at several avenues to assist the Haitian people, and preserve this critical commercial market and long-term investments made by U.S. suppliers."

Edmond stressed that time is of the essence and while they need help, his government is not looking for hand-outs.

"We believe in the big heart of the Americans to work together for a good cause," he said.

"We committed to Minister Edmond that this is our highest priority right now," concluded Ward.  "USA Rice members also met with Trump Administration officials to encourage a coordinated response that can provide assistance to the fuel, food, and currency crisis."

Rice Webinar:  Thursday February 21   
  
Tune in Thursday, February 21, at 3:00 p.m. Central Time, for a new rice webinar hosted by Dr. Bobby Coats, with the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the University of Arkansas.  Terry Barr, a nationally recognized economist who has served as chief economist for the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, will discuss the significant challenges agriculture and rural America will face in 2019-20 as the U.S. and global economies slow and trade uncertainties continue.

Go 
here to register for the webinar.
USA Rice Daily

NABARD, PJTSAU to launch joint research programmes

THE HANS INDIA |    Feb 20,2019 , 02:19 AM IST Description: NABARD, PJTSAU to launch joint research programmes
NABARD, PJTSAU to launch joint research programmes
Hyderabad: National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development(NABARD) has sought cooperation of Prof. JayashankarTelanganan State Agriculture University (PJTSAU) in research in various areas including climate proofing and models of cropping patterns etc.NABARD Chief General Manager(CGM) Vijaykumar along with the bank officials visited the PJTSAU campus on Tuesday and interacted with Vice-Chancellor Dr Praveen Rao and explained the agricultural activities of the bank in villages for socio-economic development of farmers.

He asked the VC to initiate joint research programmes for ensuring profitable agriculture to the farmers. Further, he also suggested that the activities and programmes of NABARD can be included in the course curriculum. Accepting the proposals, Dr V Praveen Rao said initially the NABARD activities would be included in the UG courses and guest lectures will be arranged with the NABARD officials. 

For this, it was decided to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the joint research programmes by both the parties. While addressing the NABARD officials’ team, Dr Praveen Rao explained the university’s mandate of teaching, research and extension activities. He also said that there is a plan to include the entrepreneurship and management in the university mandate.  Dr Rao stated that from June onwards expansion of crop colonies would be taken up in four horticultural crops and four agricultural crops mainly rice, maize, soybean, redgram and groundnut in Rabi.

The food processing facility is also provided in the proposed crop colony areas, he said. The university is ready to involve with the NABARD in the areas of collaborative research, impact assessment, extend technical backup support etc., the VC said. Later, the team of NABARD officers along with CGM visited the establishments of the university at Rajendranagar campus. The officers visited the millet incubation centre, fields of the water technology centre, PFDC, IFS at the college farm, maize research centre, rice research centre. 

CGM and officers of NABARD appreciated the efforts of the VC for achieving the 2nd rank among the agricultural universities in the country and for being awarded as the best vice-chancellor in the country. Dr R Jagadeeshwar, Director of Research PJTSAU, Dr Rajireddy, Director of Extension, PJTSAU, GMs of NABARD CSR Murthy, BK Mishra, Retired engineers association secretary Shyamprasad Reddy, D Vasanthkumar of G Cot were among those present during the CGMs visit. 

sought the cooperation of Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) in the areas of climate proofing in view of the climate change, models of cropping patterns, enhancement of productivity, integrated farming, area development in watershed development program areas of NABARD.

NEDA leads crafting of rice tariffication law IRR

By Leslie Gatpolintan/PR/PNA
MANILA — The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is taking the lead in crafting the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the recently signed Rice Tariffication Act or Republic Act 11203, ensuring the country’s smooth and timely transition to a new rice regime.
“We laud the signing of the historic Rice Tariffication Act. This ushers in a new rice policy that will set in motion big reforms in the agriculture sector and will ensure the availability of cheaper rice (closer to world prices) in the market,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said.
Signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Feb. 14, 2019, the law amends the 20-year-old Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996 and replaces the quantitative restrictions (QR) on rice imports with tariff.
“We, at NEDA, have always been pushing for key reforms that will make the Filipino staple food accessible and affordable for everyone. We are confident that the full implementation of the law will have the resolute support of everyone,” Pernia said.
In anticipation of the signing of the bill, government agencies started preparing for its implementation as early as January 2019. Technical working groups were created to discuss the key provisions of the bill and provide inputs to the draft IRR.
The IRR Drafting Committee has members from NEDA, the Department of Budget and Management, the Department of Agriculture, and other concerned government agencies.
The first draft of the IRR, which was formulated during a two-day workshop last week, was presented to the National Food Authority (NFA) Council on Feb. 18, 2019.
Pernia said the revised draft IRR will be subjected to public consultation in the coming days.
The draft IRR contains provisions on the removal of NFA’s regulatory powers and the streamlining of import requirements. It also provides details on the necessary institutional arrangements that will enhance competitiveness and institute safety nets to assist local farmers affected by the removal of the QR on rice imports.
“Anyone, whether a small or a big trader, can now import as long as they have secured a Sanitary Phytosanitary (SPS) clearance from the Department of Agriculture and paid the corresponding tariff. By removing NFA’s decades-old monopoly on rice importation, we promote greater participation of the private sector and enhance competition in the market,” Pernia said.
He added that safety nets are included in the new law that addresses concerns of many farmers.
“The law provides sure and transparent support to farmers through a comprehensive assistance program to the tune of at least P10 billion a year for the next six years,” Pernia said.
In particular, the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) will be used to provide key interventions to support farmers and enhance their competitiveness and profitability, including farm machinery and equipment to improve farm operations, rice seed development, propagation, and promotion, expanded rice credit, and extension services.
A portion of the rice tariff revenues in excess of PHP10 billion will be used to provide direct financial assistance to rice farmers affected by the removal of the QR and for diversification to high-value crops.
A mandatory review of the RCEF will be conducted by Congress on the sixth year.
Pernia said the law also grants the President the power to increase, reduce, revise or adjust existing tariff rates to safeguard Filipino farmers. In case of imminent danger of rice shortage, the bill empowers the President, for a limited period and for a specified volume, to allow importation at lower tariff rates for the benefit of consumers.
The bill also enables the President to increase the applied tariff to more than 100 percent, but not to exceed the specified bound rate, if warranted.
Pernia said a special safeguard duty on rice will also be imposed to protect the rice industry from sudden or extreme price fluctuations. A safeguard duty is a temporary increase in import duty of an agricultural product to deal with import surges or price falls, under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture.
“The new law not only puts in place a new and efficient rice regime but also widens the horizons of productivity and sustainability of the country’s rice sector. With this law, concerned government agencies, including NEDA, are mandated to craft a Rice Industry Roadmap. This development plan will detail strategies related to research, production, and governance mechanisms, among others,” he said.The law provides a maximum of 180 days from the law’s effectivity date for the formulation and adoption of the Roadmap.

In the Philippines, where 'rice is life,' a move to allow more imports signals change

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BULACAN, Philippines —The Philippines has long touted the idea of self-sufficiency in rice, an essential staple here at the heart of every breakfast, lunch and dinner.
But rice growers like Efraen Serrano know that dream is falling further out of reach. The country's geography doesn't provide enough suitable land for the crop as the population swells. Urbanization and the pull to work in cities have reduced the number of farmers.
"More farms are being converted to factories and homes," said Serrano, who farms a five-acre family plot in Bulacan, a quickly urbanizing province north of Manila. "Nobody wants to buy land and use it to farm."
The 66-year-old says he's now resigned to the fact that less and less of the rice Filipinos eat will be grown by farmers like him.
"Imports are a necessity," he said.
In the clearest sign yet that he is right, the country has ended a two-decades-old cap on private-sector imports of the grain. The move marks a radical change for a nation whose obsession with rice is ordinarily matched by its protection of domestic producers.
"Importation is always sensitive because rice is the No. 1 agricultural sector," said Ramon Clarete, a professor of economics at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
But resistance to buying more of it abroad has lifted over the last several months following a bout of severe inflation that sparked long lines in the streets for government-subsidized rice.
It's hard to overstate the importance of rice in the Philippines.
The country of 105 million is the world's sixth-largest consumer of rice on a per capita basis, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"Rice is life in the Philippines," said Nicholas Mapa, a senior economist in Manila for ING. "Almost everything comes from rice. Even our delicacies are based on the grain."
When politicians want to curry favor in poor neighborhoods, they come bearing sacks of rice. Gas stations offer free bags of it with any purchases of about $10. And one of the nation's most popular restaurant chains, Mang Inasal, is famed for its "unlimited rice" —a menu option better known as "unli" (Filipinos have a penchant for shortening words. McDonald's, for example, is simply called McDo).
One of the most legendary varieties of rice, IR8, was developed at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. Dubbed "magic rice," the high-yield strain is credited with fending off famine across Southeast Asia and India starting in the 1960s.
"Even if you have no ulam," said 36-year-old Jaquelin Marsan, using the Tagalog word for a dish of meat or vegetable, "you have to have rice. It's a priority."
She lives with her husband and their eight children —aged 7 months to 19 years —in a ramshackle Manila slum of scavenged wood and corrugated sheet metal homes called Del Pan Binondo.
Two-fifths of their meager income is spent on rice. During the surge in rice prices last year, she had to cut back the family's consumption by a quarter.
"The children complained," Marsan said. "So my husband and I ate less."
Economists blamed the crisis on new taxes, costlier fuel and a failure on the government's part to restock rice reserves in time.
As criticism mounted about his administration's handling of the shortage, President Rodrigo Duterte deflected blame and trained his scorn on other players such as rice traders.
"I now ask all the rice hoarders, cartels and their protectors," the president said with a menacing glare during his State of the Nation address last year. "Stop messing with the people."
The crisis harked back to a more severe shortage in 2008 in which President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo deployed armed soldiers to watch over rice distribution and ordered fast-food chains to reduce their rice portions by half.
Prices today have since tapered. But fearing a repeat, the Philippine Senate passed a bill in November lifting the import cap and providing funds to cushion the blow on the shrinking domestic rice farming industry. The bill became law Friday, and the law will take effect March 3.
Economic reformers and the country's central bank have long championed lifting the import quota, which was supposed to protect farmers but instead led to rampant smuggling and left the country vulnerable to price manipulation by domestic rice traders.
Under World Trade Organization rules, the Philippines was obligated to eventually eliminate the cap —which stands at about 888,000 tons, or about 6 percent of the nation's annual consumption. But the country had been winning waivers to keep it by arguing for more time to reach self-sufficiency.
Resistance to the change came from vested interests in the agricultural sector and parts of the powerful National Food Authority, an agency charged with importing and maintaining the country's rice reserves for the poor —a mandate that put officials there in an ideal position to accept kickbacks.
The agency did not respond to an interview request. A spokesman for the president's office also did not respond to a request for comment.
Even with the cap in place, the Philippines is the world's second-largest importer of rice after China, giving it the power to move global grain markets.
Now major rice-producing nations such as Vietnam and Thailand stand to benefit from the lifting of the quota, even with the Philippines' 35 percent tariff on Southeast Asian rice imports.
The move to increase imports could also bolster Duterte's PDP-Laban political party heading into midterm election in May. Rice prices disproportionately affect the poorest Filipinos, a crucial voting bloc. Nearly half their food expenditures go toward the staple, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
"You can raise the price of gasoline, water and electricity, but not rice," said Jorge Tigno, a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines Diliman. "It's the only commodity politicians are not allowed to sacrifice."
(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)
The crisis last year tested the political power of the nation's 3 million farmers. They lost.
"The president's political strength will not be based on rice farmers, but more on workers and the urban poor," said Clarete, the economics professor.
Back in Bulacan, Serrano said his crop has dwindled since a shopping center started siphoning water away from his land a few years ago. And even when rice prices soared last year, he saw none of the extra profits returned to him.
"There's so many middlemen who make the money," said Serrano, who earns about $3,800 a year.
Unless one of his grandchildren chooses to takeover his rice fields, Serrano may be the last generation in his family to farm. His four children have all left Bulacan to work in factories closer to the city."I have no one to take over," he said.

Drop in rice prices due to market speculation


By Lilybeth Ison/PNA
MANILA — Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol clarified that the fall in the buying price of rice by commercial traders is the result of speculation, which was fueled by the anticipated “flooding” of the market with cheap imported rice under a liberalized market.
This is in view of the disinformation surrounding the newly-enacted Rice Tariffication Law’s effect on the local rice industry, to the point that the buying price of palay has dropped from a high of PHP22 per kilo last year to PHP14 and PHP15 in some parts of the country now.
Piñol said the Rice Tariffication Law has just been signed by President Rodrigo Duterte and is not effective yet.
“There is a period within which the public will be notified and the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) still have to be finalized,” he explained.
And even if the importers would want to bring in huge volumes of imported rice, the DA chief said there is not much rice supply available in the world market.
“As it is now, the volume of rice traded in the world market every year is only about 40-million metric tons (MT) of which about 38-million (MT) is already committed to specific non-rice producing countries,” he said.
“The world population is growing exponentially while the land area is constant and this is true with rice exporting countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan and Myanmar,” he added.
The DA chief said a few years from now, Thailand and Vietnam will not be able to export the same volume of rice as they do today because they also have growing populations.
“The Philippines cannot let go of its own Rice Production Program because the moment it becomes dependent on imported rice, even on a short term, it will end up at the mercy of the rice exporters who could sell their produce at an even higher price than our domestic cost of production,” he noted.
Piñol said that the view that some economists are peddling that the Philippines would be better off just importing rice rather than producing it locally is “a short-sighted perspective”.
“If this view prevails, the Philippines will face a real rice crisis a few years from now with sky-high prices which the poor cannot afford,” he said.
Piñol, however, admitted that initially, there would be a drop in the buying price of palay “but the farmers are expected to adjust by increasing productivity with funds coming from tariffication.”
Under the Rice Tariffication Law, a provision states that the tariffs and duties collected from the rice importation — 35 percent for ASEAN members and 50 percent for other sources — shall be turned over to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), estimated at no less than PHP10-billion annually.
For 2019, Piñol said about PHP5 billion of the PHP10-billion RCEF will be allocated for farm mechanization; PHP3-billion for high-yielding seeds; PHP1-billion for credit; and PHP1-billion for technical skills training.
“Properly used, the RCEF could actually increase the productivity of Filipino rice farmers because farm mechanization alone will increase production efficiency and reduce post-harvest losses estimated at 16 percent of total production,” he said.
The DA chief explained that the PHP3-billion intended for high-yielding seeds developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) is also expected to increase average farm yield by at least two MT in one-million hectares for the first year of implementation.
On the other hand, the PHP1-billion credit facility will also allow farmers to buy fertilizers and other farm inputs, thus increasing their productivity, while the P1-B for technical skills training is expected to improve their farming technology, he said.
Piñol also stressed that he is supporting the lifting of the Quantitative Restrictions (QR) on rice importation.
He reiterated that the Rice Tariffication Law was the commitment of the Philippines to the World Trade Organization WTO) negotiations many years ago “and these are commitments that we must honor or else we will face trade disputes from other WTO member countries.”
“Of course, I have to admit that I had my reservations on the provisions of the law, which takes out the regulatory powers of the National Food Authority (NFA), but these are now settled with the signing of the bill into law. I am a government worker and I will abide by the policy set by the administration and work to ensure its successful implementation,” he added.

Louisiana agriculture hall of fame gets second female member

Description: Louisiana agriculture hall of fame gets second female member
Linda Zaunbrecher
February 17, 2019 at 9:54 AM CST - Updated February 17 at 12:02 PM
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's agricultural hall of fame will have four new members in March, including its second female member.
Linda Zaunbrecher will be among the inductees into the Louisiana Agriculture Hall of Distinction on March 7 in Baton Rouge.
She was the first woman elected to the Louisiana Farm Bureau State Board of Directors' executive committee, in 1984. She also helped create the Louisiana Farm Bureau Foundation, a scholarship program.
The Hall of Distinction honors people who have made significant contributions to the state's agriculture community. This year's other inductees include Grady Coburn, Jack Hamilton and George LaCour.
Coburn is one of Louisiana’s earliest crop consultants and contract researchers. Hamilton, who died in 2001, made innovations in cotton production and ginning. LaCour has expertise in sustainability and conservation in the cotton industry.
http://www.wafb.com/2019/02/17/louisiana-agriculture-hall-fame-gets-second-female-member/

Farmers warn of rice bill strife

'Unclear' wording could land growers in hot water
Description: C:\Users\Mujahid\Downloads\Farmers warn of rice bill strife _ Bangkok Post_ news_files\c1_1631070_190219042718_620x413.jpg
Angry farmers from a Phichit province group submit a petition to provincial governor Woraphan Suwanus at the province hall on Monday, demanding that government scrap the rice bill. (Photo by Sittipot Kaebui)
Farmers and activists are threatening to stage huge protests if the controversial rice bill, that they believe will seriously hurt local farmers, is not dropped.
The threat is part of a fierce campaign to put pressure on the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), which will deliberate the bill later today and tomorrow. Last month, the NLA approved the draft bill in its first reading.
Opponents of the bill are protesting against Section 27, which prohibits the trading of rice seeds that have not been approved by the Rice Department.
Critics said the section was designed to benefit large-scale commercial rice producers, as farmers who trade their own rice seeds could get into trouble.
Small farming communities who have developed, harvested and come to rely on indigenous rice varieties will be hit hardest by the bill, critics said.
Thanakrit Worathanatchakul, a provincial chief public prosecutor attached to the Office of the Attorney-General, said the bill lacks clarity and might affect farmers who develop and harvest their own strains.
Section 3 of the bill, he noted, limits the exchange and sale of seeds for "commercial purposes" without any further explanation.
"What this entails is unclear, and the bill should have been written more clearly such as if small-scale farmers will be spared from the prohibition.
Meanwhile, farmers across the country were up in arms over the bill.
At Khon Kaen City Hall, members of various community organisations jointed the Alternative Agriculture Network in the Northeast in reading a statement opposing the bill.
Chuchart Phiewsawan, chairman of tambon organisation council meetings, said the legislation undermines the strength of farmers' unions and organisations, as the drafting process lacked public participation.
If implemented, the legislation would aggravate social disparity and result in protests in the future, he said.
"We want the NLA to immediately drop the rice bill," said Mr Chuchart. "Tambon councils from 77 provinces and other allies will join hands in opposition to the rice bill."
Mr Chuchart said that since the bill will only allow certified seeds to be bought and sold, corporations with capital and the required technology stand to benefit more than local farmers.
The Chairman of the Thai Rice Growers Association, Suthep Kongmak, said farmers were also opposed to the bill because it was not written to protect them.
Mr Suthep said the NLA should not rush to pass it as more thorough studies must be conducted.
In Phichit, representatives of local farming networks lodged a petition against the bill with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha via provincial governor Woraphan Suwanus.
They said they will assemble every seven days to hear the progress of their demands, and if they are not met by this month, farmer networks across the country will stage a big protest in March.
Members of the Thai Farmer's Debt Network also assembled Monday at Prachuap Khiri Khan's provincial hall to submit a petition against the bill.
They said the legislation will only be beneficial to business groups, not farmers.
Gen Prayut said the NLA intends to take better care of farmers by preventing them from being taken advantage of.
He also insisted the bill would not affect farmers in terms of seed storage, exchange or trade.
Meanwhile, the NLA committee vetting the rice bill invited more than 70 representatives from farmer networks to exchange views on the legislation.
The representatives were said to be in support of the bill and hoped it will pass the NLA reading tomorrow.
Kittisak Ratanawaraha, a member of the committee, insisted the lawmakers deliberating the bill were not being influenced by big businesses and vested interests.
The panel released a statement to counter criticism of the bill.
It states that the bill includes a clause that would spare farmers who store seeds for their own use.
Growers who have good quality seeds can trade or exchange them freely, except those who do so for commercial purposes,it said.

Rice insurance continues

Cabinet gauges 2018 scheme as success
A rice farmer in Ayutthaya’s Bang Sai district takes a break from her routine work in the fields. (Photo by Pattanapong Hirunard)
The cabinet has approved a rice insurance scheme for the 2019 season worth 1.74 billion baht, aiming to cover 30 million rai of farmland.
The scheme, operated by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), covers six types of natural disaster -- floods, drought, storms, cold, hail and fires.
Nathporn Chatusripitak, a spokesman to the deputy prime minister who oversees economic affairs, said the scheme is scheduled to start from April 1, charging an insurance premium of 85 baht per rai, with the government subsidising 51 baht and farmers required to pay 34 baht.
The cabinet on Monday also acknowledged that last year's rice insurance scheme was successful. Almost 27 million rai of farmland, host to 1.92 million farmers, was insured for the 2018 crop year, or 82% of the scheme's target.
The cabinet also approved 121.8 million baht for a maize insurance scheme this year, covering 3 million rai.
Participating farmers will be charged an insurance premium of 59 baht per rai, with the government paying 35.40 baht per rai as a subsidy, and farmers paying 23.60 baht per rai.
On Monday, the cabinet ordered the Interior Ministry to support and promote each province to develop geographical indication (GI) products to generate community income and add value to local products.
Each province is required to establish a working committee to handle promotion and development.
GI is a distinctive certificate used to identify a product as originating in the territory of a particular country, region or locality that specific quality, reputation or from which other characteristics originate and are unique.
These unique characteristics and quality are expected to increase market value in developed countries.
The Commerce Ministry through the Intellectual Property Department has already approved GI certificates for 103 indigenous products in 67 provinces.
The government aims to raise sales from GI products to more than 30 billion baht over the next five years, while ramping up linking GI locations to tourism schemes.
GI product sales topped 4 billion baht last year, up from 3.7 billion in 2017.
Thailand has GI registration in the EU for Thung Kula Rong Hai hom mali rice, Doi Chaang and Doi Tung coffee, and Sangyod Muang Phatthalung rice, while in India and Indonesia it has registered Lamphun brocade Thai silk. Isan indigenous Thai silk yarn has GI registration in Vietnam.
Thailand has already filed GI applications in China for Thung Kula Rong Hai hom mali rice, Phetchabun sweet tamarind and Tubtim Siam Pak Phanang pomelo. For Japan, Thailand has filed for GI registration of Doi Tung and Doi Chaang coffee, and Uttaradit's Hauymon pineapple.
It also filed and is awaiting registration confirmation in Vietnam of Phetchabun sweet tamarind and Lamphun golden dried longan. The same process is taking place for Doi Tung coffee in Cambodia.
There are 16 foreign products GI registered in Thailand, mostly from Italy, Vietnam and France. Nine applications are pending for foreign products such as grapes from California, Pisco brandy from Chile, grana padano and asiago cheeses from Italy, and Kobe beef from Japan.