Monday, December 16, 2019

16 December,2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter


Chinese expert believes ‘Green Corridor’ to boost Pakistan’s agriculture

  •  Rising demand in China will boost agricultural sector in Pakistan, says Chinese expert.
  • Pakistani and Chinese customs administrations have principally agreed to implement ‘Green Corridor' project.
The implementation of the newly agreed ‘Green Corridor' project between China and Pakistan would greatly benefit the agricultural sector of Pakistan, as more agricultural products from Pakistan can be expected in the Chinese market.
This was stated by Zhou Rong, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China. Zhou said that as China becomes the biggest importer of agricultural products in the world, the rising demand will boost the agricultural sector in Pakistan.
“Key imports of agricultural products from Pakistan include rice and cotton," Zhou said, quoted the Global Times, a Chinese daily. “Agricultural imports from Pakistan still account for a very limited amount of China's total imports, but as the market grows and as production and quality inspection standards are standardized, more products from Pakistan can be expected in the Chinese market."
However, in order to take full advantage of the project Zhou said that transportation needs to be further improved apart from the simplification of custom procedures.  “Due to geographical conditions and extreme regional weather, many products involved in bilateral trade are still airborne, adding to the cost of transportation," Zhou said.
Pakistani and Chinese customs administrations on Thursday principally agreed to implement the ‘Green Corridor' – a fast track customs clearance system exclusively for speedy clearances of the perishable agricultural products, under the proposed Green Corridor at Sust-Khunjerab border.
The salient features of the Green Corridor which distinguish this expeditious customs clearance system include; firstly, the fresh fruit and other agricultural produce imports and exports will be cleared on priority on fulfilling of due customs and import policy requirements. Secondly, there will be dedicated customs staff and separate shed/area for the handling, examination, storage and clearance of such cargo. Thirdly, there will be minimum intrusive examination, with more reliance on risk-based selective examination and automated processing.

The Tahri That Binds: How A Sweet Rice Dish Connects A Woman To Her History

I have always found it difficult to explain my family‘s syncretic faith traditions to both white Americans and to other South Asians. We are Hindu Sindhis, originating from around the Indus River, in what is now modern southeast Pakistan. On our home altar, familiar Hindu idols — Lakshmi, Ganesh, Krishna — share space with images of the 10 Sikh gurus and Jhulelal. Jhulelal, a river deity, is not only the patron saint of Hindu Sindhis, but is also revered by Sufi Muslims. For many, my religion is an outlandish concoction of incompatible faiths. But one thing that brings it all together is our traditional foods.
My grandparents left newly formed Pakistan in 1947, after the , in one of the largest mass migrations in human history. They settled in refugee camps in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh before migrating to Pune, an Indian city with a large Sindhi diaspora and where my parents were born.
In independent India, my family felt spiritually alienated, because their practices were viewed as not “truly Hindu” by their new neighbors. As communities in exile often do, Sindhi Hindus formed tight-knit, transnational networks, and these practices, as well as language and food, became a vital connection to their roots.
After immigrating to the United States, my parents steadfastly held onto their “Sindhi-ness.” The Hindu Sindhi diaspora in the U.S. is small; according to the Census Bureau, fewer than 10,000 people of any and all faiths speak Sindhi. As a child, I was shuttled to Sindhi camps and conventions, spoken to only in Sindhi, and served unusual Sindhi dishes.
Once a year, we went to Ved Mandir, a run-down, drafty temple in central New Jersey to celebrate Cheti Chand, the Sindhi New Year and a celebration of the birth of Jhulelal. There, my aunties and uncles sang passionate devotional songs in praise of Jhulelal, and danced the ecstatic chhej (a Sindhi folk dance).
As I got older, I categorically rejected all these trappings of my subculture. It was much easier to be a “mainstream” Indian and to assume more conventional Hindu practices. But now that I‘m an adult — and a parent — I‘m reclaiming all the quirky bits of my culture and faith.
Jhulelal is known by various names and worshiped in many forms; his shrine in Pakistan receives both Hindu and Muslim pilgrims. But this white-bearded saint who sits on fish and whose image is found in nearly all Sindhi homes was originally a marginal deity for a particular group of Sindhis who prayed to the Indus River, according to Steven Ramey, in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama and Hindu, Sufi or Sikh: Contested Practices and Identifications of Sindhi Hindus in India and Beyond.
After Partition, however, the singer Ram Panjwani, known as a , recast Jhulelal into a Sindhi icon. “Panjwani] consciously popularized Jhulelal as a Hindu Sindhi deity,” says Ramey. Panjwani set Muslim and Hindu spirituals about the glory of Jhulelal to music. These hymns were then published and distributed among the diaspora.
There are many rituals associated with the holiday Cheti Chand, which falls on March 29 this year, but two continue to hold both nostalgia and meaning for me: pallao payan, when devotees hold their garment hems, or the ends of their mother‘s sari, as I once did, to pray to Jhulelal, and the consumption of tahri or sweet rice, during langar, the communal meal at the end of the celebration.
During langar, we sit cross-legged on the floor while volunteers scoop heaps of this sticky, aromatic rice onto our plates. Tahri is complex in flavor. Its varying ingredients — sugar or jaggery, fennel seeds, cardamom, and caraway seeds — give it a sweet, bitter, peppery and earthy taste. Its perfume is sharp and slightly aggressive.
Because of Sindh‘s location on the Silk Road, its cuisine has been influenced influenced by Persian, Arab and central Asian cooking. The Mughal Empire‘s Muslim rulers‘ decadent staples, such as saffron and pistachios for example, are showcased in tahri. During langar, tahri was often served with sai bhaji, a green, leafy vegetable and lentil stew, or bhee aloo, lotus stem and potato curry, both considered comfort foods for this uprooted population.
A spoonful of tahri instantly transports me to the Cheti Chand functions of my childhood — of family members chanting, “Jeko chawundo Jhulelal, tehnija theenda bera paar (Whomever calls the name of Jhulelal, their ship will safely reach the shore),” while greeting each other on that special day.
This week, I‘ll be cooking bowlfuls for my daughter, who has a sweet tooth. She, too, may turn away from all of this one day. But I‘m doing my best to hold onto that which has survived through war, migration and globalization, just as my own parents and grandparents did.

Tahri

This family recipe comes to us from the author.
Ingredients:
§  1 cup Basmati rice
§  2 cups water
§  ½ cup sugar
§  4 cardamoms pods
§  few strands of saffron
§  ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
§  pinch of salt
§  4 tablespoons ghee
§  ¼ cup silvered almonds, chopped pistachios, and chopped cashews (for garnish)
§  ½ teaspoon caraway seeds (for garnish)
1.      Heat ghee over medium heat in heavy-bottomed pan. Sauté cardamom pods and rice until cardamom is fragrant and rice is coated.
2.      Add water, saffron, fennel seeds, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil.
3.      Cook until water has reduced by half, and rice is half-cooked.
4.      Add sugar, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until rice is cooked.
5.      Garnish with nuts and caraway seeds.
Pooja Makhijani is a New Jersey-based journalist, essayist, and children‘s book writer. Visit her online home at poojamakhijani.
SovereigntySovereignty and rice
Farida Akhter | Published: 22:01, Dec 15,2019
      


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FORTY-EIGHT years ago in 1971, Bangladesh emerged as a sovereign nation through a bloody liberation war, Mukti Juddha. We are now a sovereign country with our own flag of red and green, a defined territory, a national anthem and the state with a constitution. But the notion of ‘sovereignty’ is a contested notion in the era of neo-liberal globalisation. Apart from the issues of political and economic sovereignty there are major issues related to protection of vital resources such as water, seeds, natural resources and biodiversity. The very notion of defending the ecological foundation of life is absolutely integral to understanding of the meaning of ‘sovereignty’.
Let’s take the issue of seeds. Seeds and genetic resources are not mere inert input in farming, but ‘sovereign’ in the sense that we survive as a life-form because they are integral to our biological existence. Even ensuring the ‘rights’ of the farmers as the producers of food does not guarantee people’s sovereignty to exist as biological beings. The notion of political sovereignty thus must be extended to include the sovereignty of seeds and genetic resources.
In practical terms, farmers must have their own seeds or access to open pollinated varieties that they can save, improve and exchange. Seed sovereignty ensures food sovereignty, to save, breed and exchange seeds, to have access to diverse open source seeds which can be saved and therefore, they must not be patented, genetically modified, owned or controlled by corporate business giants.
The 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence is going to be celebrated in the year 2021. I doubt, if we can really say at the 50th birth anniversary of the country that we are seed sovereign country as well, or in other words, are capable to defend our biological foundation of the nation. We were separated from Pakistan and became independent nation in 1971, but we did not give up the destructive agricultural and seed policies followed by the Pakistani military regime. We followed the policies of modern agriculture of HYV seeds, along with use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. In the independent Bangladesh, the modern rice varieties are grown on around 66 per cent of the rice land, giving less emphasis on the farmer saved landraces.
Our policy emphasis was quantitative increase of cereal production. Total rice production was about 10.59 million tonnes in the year 1971 with the country’s population of about 70.88 millions. For the newly independent country devastated by the war, the immediate need after liberation was to ensure self-sufficiency in food. This was a big challenge, now in 2018, the government claims rice production came to 36.2 million tonnes, far above domestic needs (29.1 million). But quantitative increase of cereals also contributed to the reduction of other vital crops such as lentils, oilseeds, vegetables, etc. The surplus also achieved at the cost of losing the traditional varieties and vital nutritional needs. Health and nutrition are at stake now. More importantly increase in cereal production came with the environmental and ecological disasters.
Bangladesh has extensive rice diversity. Despite being a very small country with only 8.6 million hectares of cultivable land, of which rice covers about 75 per cent has shown a huge diversity. It is known to have 15,000 landraces of rice in the early part of the 20th century. In the National Gene Bank of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute about 4500 indigenous rice varieties of Bangladesh origin and 3500 collected varieties, ie a total of 8000 varieties are preserved. Instead of doing research on the rice landraces, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute has developed 94 ‘new varieties’ of rice. The new seeds were provided to the farmers to boost productivity. What is lost in the process is rice sovereignty. Do the farmers decide which variety should be grown more than the others? The new varieties of BRRI are all chemical-dependent, which are the main reasons for health, environmental and climate disasters.
Rice plays a vital role in the livelihood of the people of Bangladesh. Small (up to 2.4 acres) and medium (2.5 to 7.4 acres) farming households have been producing rice and other crops and are supplying the food for our people. They are growing different varieties of rice, as well as the ‘modern varieties’. Researchers concerned with only food production in quantitative terms think about rice as an ‘abstract seed’. The scientists and researchers only talk about ‘modern varieties’ vs ‘traditional varieties’ and strongly believe that the former is better than the latter. They are happy that small and marginal farmers and tenancy cultivation in agrarian structure are adopting modern rice varieties in Bangladesh. But that is not entirely true. Statistics show that the farmers adoption rate of two Boro varieties — BRRI Dhan 28 and BRRI Dhan 29 — was respectively 40.14 per cent and 28.51 per cent in 2014–15. Other rice varieties such as Aman BRRI Dhan 11, Aman BRRI Dhan 49 and Aus BR 26 respectively have adoption rate of 11.6 per cent, 11.07 per cent and 8.75 per cent. Mostly, the adoption rate is below 10 per cent (Dhaka Tribune, September 19, 2016).
‘Dhana-dhanya-pushpa-bhara’ — Bangladesh is a country of rice with a glorious history of rice varieties. Rice is interwoven with Bengali culture. It is the symbol of wealth. Husked dhan or paddy is chaul or chal. Cooked chal is bhat. Bangalee means ‘Bheto Bangalee’, if fish is added then ‘machhe-bhate bangali’. Bangladesh’s topography is very suitable for rice cultivation. It consists of low, flat, fertile land. There are over 230 rivers and their tributaries across the country flow down to the Bay of Bengal. The flood during the rainy season is a blessing bringing the alluvial soil which is continuously enriched by heavy silt deposited by the rivers. The subtropical monsoon climate is blessed with six seasons including three prominent seasons of summer, monsoon, and winter.
Rice is grown as three major seasonal crops such as Aus, Aman and Boro which many people mistakenly take as the varieties. There are over 80 landraces of Aus rice in farmers’ collection in different agro-ecological zones of the country, while only four varieties developed by BRRI.
Aman season of rice is the main rice growing season and has many different varieties of deepwater rice. This deepwater rice can survive in more than 50cm water for one month or a longer period during the growing season. That is these are flood resistant varieties. There are more than 2,000 deepwater rice cultivars in Bangladesh and more than 6,000 in Asia. In Bangladesh, deepwater rice occupied 2.09 million hectares (21 per cent of the total rice area) in the late 1960s. The area has now shrunk to about 0.85 million hectares because of cultivation of high yielding varieties under irrigation in deepwater rice fields in the dry season (boro). High yielding modern deepwater varieties developed from the traditional varieties are Dulabhog (BR 5), Kiron (BR 22), Dishari (BR 23) are promoted by the government.
Boro Rice is grown in submerged land lower in elevation. Boro rice has always been grown in only low lying areas such as Haors and had many traditional varieties. But the government policy to promote Boro rice is given the highest priority by providing irrigation facilities all over the country. It now means that the irrigated rice variety paving the way for hybrid rice, which is supposed to produce 15–20 per cent more yield compared to their inbred counterparts. On the other hand, local Boro rice varieties in Haors are disappearing due to badly planned infrastructure development.
Boro rice is increasingly under strain due to the high level of irrigation it uses. Most of the popular varieties of Boro rice such as BRRI 28 and BRRI 29 were developed by the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute and were meant to deal with cultivation in waterlogged areas. But Boro paddy needs intensive irrigation, requires about 3,500 litres of water to produce one kilogramme of rice (The Thirdpole.net, July 14, 2016).
As a result of the introduction of modern varieties in the name of higher yields, many indigenous rice varieties have completely disappeared or are on the way of extinction. The traditional varieties are not promoted by the government as they have comparatively lower yield of the grain. But other systemic yields of these varieties such as the fine quality, better straws, and susceptibility with climate are ignored. Yet farmers’ conservation of rice genetic diversity has continued managing landraces in the agro-ecosystems and communities where they have evolved historically. Despite of low yield one of the major reasons for continuing production of local varieties is varietal adaptation to soils and other environmental, social, cultural and religious factors. The total number of landraces as well as the area planted to landraces in Bangladesh is also declining over time. For example, local variety Aus has declined from 7 million to 5.2 million acres, ie dropped by 25 per cent; local variety Aman rice dropped from 31 million acres to 27 million acres, ie dropped by 13 per cent; and local Boro rice dropped from 1.7 million to 1.1 million acres, ie dropped by 35 per cent during recent years 2011–12 to 2015–16. The major decline occurred already before this period. This only shows that the decline is a continuous process. On the other hand HYV and hybrid varieties are increasing for Aman and Boro season.
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute is the custodian of rice varieties deposited in the gene bank. Unfortunately, farmers do not have access to the rice germ plasm collected in the gene bank while other breeders (known as scientists) are using the local races for developing improved rice varieties. Studies show that many of these landraces such as Lati Shail and Niger Shail have been used by rice breeders as donors to develop elite lines that have been used as parents for popular improved rice varieties grown throughout Asia.
Farmers in Bangladesh grow BRRI-developed varieties in four-fifths of the total rice lands, fetching 91 per cent of their yearly rice output. Although all the BRRI varieties did not gain popularity, BRRI dhan 28 and BRRI dhan 29 became popular among the farmers since their release in 1994 for their high yield potentials. These two varieties are grown in over 60 per cent of rice lands during the Boro season. Despite being popular among the farmers, BRRI scientists are developing other HYVs BRRI dhan 88 and 89 as replacements to BRRI dhan 28 and 29. This is not only because productive rice varieties are losing potential due to ageing and have diminishing returns, but because these varieties are already being used for developing Golden Rice, a beta carotene-rich rice genetically modified as a remedy against vitamin-A deficiency. The vitamin A-rich rice is named Golden Rice for its golden colour.
The BRRI 29, a HYV rice variety is no longer under the control of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, so it has to be replaced by other variety. It is now a big philanthropy of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that sanctioned a grant of over $10 million to IRRI to develop and evaluate Golden Rice varieties for Bangladesh and the Philippines. The technology developer is a biotech giant Syngenta, which is at present generously declaring that it will allow ‘a royalty-free access to the patents, the new rice would be of the same price as other rice varieties once released for commercial farming in Bangladesh, and farmers would be able to share and replant the seeds as they wish’ (Dhaka Courier, September 21, 2018).

International scientists are now considering engineering rice plant in the context of ever-growing demand. So the plan is to convert rice into a photosynthesis-efficient plant, which would produce substantially more grains using the sunlight. At present rice uses the C3 photosynthetic pathway, which in hot and dry environments is much less efficient than the C4 pathway used by other plants. Experts noted that successful completion of engineering rice into a C4 plant would be a ‘game-changer’ since the 1960s when scientists had first developed semi-dwarf rice varieties heralding the famous ‘Green Revolution’ (Dhaka Courier, September 21, 2018).
Rice in Bangladesh, therefore, is not in the control of the farmers, nor even in the control of the state. These rice germplasms are already in the hands of International Rice Research Institute. From there these germplasm are transferred to Fort Knox, USA and finally to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway mostly controlled by the international agencies and the biotech giants. Bangladeshi farmers have already lost the rights to grow the rice varieties they would like to grow; they are given the chemical-dependent varieties developed by BRRI and agro-industries.
Our Muktijoddho is not over yet, it has to be fought for the sovereignty of the rice, the main source food and livelihood of our people.

Farida Akhter is the executive director of UBINIG and organiser of Nayakrishi Andolon.

Govt working on enhancing ease of living while keeping middlemen away: Modi

by Denton Staff Contributor  December 15, 2019
Prime Minister on Saturday said the Central and state governments are working full-time to ensure that all projects and schemes rolled out are centred around ease of living and besides keeping middlemen at bay.
Addressing a summit of the 'One District One Project' (ODOP) in his parliamentary constituency, the Prime Minister said that ODOP was an extension of Make in India with the potential of "firmly placing Uttar Pradesh on the world map".
In an oblique reference to the Congress regime, the Prime Minister said his government was committed to keeping middlemen away by making necessary changes in the government system by making it more transparent. He asked people if "some people were being troubled because of a tradition of allowing the middlemen."
When the gathering responded with an applause, Modi said for the prosperity of the nation, some pain has to be borne to keep middleman at bay. He also lauded the Union telecom ministry for launching a digital pension project, saying it would benefit pensioners immensely, reflecting the citizen-centric approach of his government.
"This is our approach to minimum government and maximum governance," the Prime Minister said. People can now track the pension status on their mobile phone and don't have to made rounds of offices for pension-related issues.
Referring to strides taken in different sectors under the present regime, the Prime Minister said internet connectivity had increased to 65 per cent in the past two years and India now had 500 million active internet users. This, he said, was special because the growth of internet was equally big and significant in villages.
Under his government, he said, 125,000 panchayats have been connected by broadband of which 29,000 villages are in Uttar Pradesh.
Purchases by government departments had been shrouded in doubts and charges of favouritism, he said, adding government's e-market place (GEM) can enable the smallest of traders to sell their products. "This is the best platform for the sector," Modi said.
Online loans up to Rs 10 million are now being disbursed in 59 minutes without any red-tape or exploitation, the Prime Minister said.
The quality of Ganga water has considerably improved as tested by scientists. He said while schemes had been made for long, the Ganga remained polluted, but not any longer. "Jab niyat saaf hai to Ganga bhi saaf hogi (if the intention is clear, the Ganga will be cleaner)," he said as people applauded and raised slogans of 'Har Har Mahadev'.
Talking about the industry in Varanasi and nearby areas, Modi said there were 150,000 lakh weavers and 70,000 power looms in the region, and that right from funds to facilitation in marketing their produce, the state and the Union government were working out things for the weavers. "We will keep extending job opportunities through such schemes," he said.
Uttar Pradesh's Minister Satyadev Pachauri informed the Prime Minister that so far loans worth Rs 53.45 billion had been given to 65,000 artisans in the state and that Rs 750 billion loans will be disbursed by banks in the state.
The Prime Minister laid the foundation stones for 14 infrastructure projects and inaugurated 12 projects, totalling Rs 2.79 billion.
Earlier Modi inaugurated the International Rice Research Institute and interacted with scientists.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Kundapur: Udupi district farmer’s conference held

Sun, Dec 15 2019 01:45:17 PM
Silvester D’ Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (EP)
Kundapur, Dec 15: “We are troubled by challenges and anxiety in all the sectors now. But farming sector can survive. A strong agricultural sector is equal to strong nation. The name that the country is agriculture based becomes complete by it. It is difficult to imagine life without agriculture. Farmers are also responsible for the growth of cooperative sector,” said Karnataka state cooperative marketing federation Bengaluru and Dakshina Kannada district central cooperative bank Mangaluru president Dr M N Rajendra Kumar.
He was speaking after inaugurating Udupi district farmer’s conference held in Kundapur Vyasaraj Kala Mandira on the eve of centenary birth anniversary celebrations of Bakisam founder late Dattopanta Tengadi by Bharatiya Kisan Sangha, Karnataka region.
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“Success is assured if we work trusting agriculture. Conferences should create awareness among farmers. We should stress on exporting our country’s farm produce. The market for the produce in the country decreases when products from other countries are imported,” he said.
Bhatiya Kisan Sangha national president I N Basavegowda presided over the programme. District milk producer’s federation president K Raviraj Hegde who was the Chief guest said that rice is more valuable than gold and mud is more valuable than rice. There is no stable price for farm produce in the country at present. But milk fetches steady prices. Therefore, when farmers indulge in horticulture they can achieve economic progress,” he said.
Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Hopcoms Mangaluru president Laxminaryayana Udupa, Bharatiya Kisan Sangha Karnataka region president Puttaswamy Gowda, Bakisam Karnataka region state executive member B V Poojary Perdoor, Bakisam Karnataka region vice president Ramachandra Alse, Udupi district committee treasurer Vasudev Shanbhog Pangala, Kundapur taluk president Seetarama Ganiga Halady, Gangadhar and others were present.
Udupi district committee president Navinchandra Jain welcomed and gave an introduction. Karkala taluk committee chief secretary Chandrahas Shetty Inna, Kundapur taluk committee secretary Shivaraj Shetty Kodlady compered the programme. Subrahmanya Navada sang a song in Yakshagana form. Kundapur taluk president Seetarama Ganiga Haladi rendered vote of thanks.
Office bearers of taluk and village units and farmers took part. More than twenty outlets connected with agriculture took part.
  

Rupee likely to gain

The rupee climbed to its six-month high against the dollar in the outgoing week, and dealers said the currency could gain more in days ahead.
A loan disbursement from the Asian Development Bank, strong foreign exchange reserves position, and improved economic outlook were the reasons for the rise in the rupee’s value this week.
On Monday, the rupee closed at 154.96 to the dollar in the interbank market, the highest since June this year. It had ended at 155.06/dollar in the previous session.
The local unit continued in a range-bound trading pattern, and traded in the band of 154.96 and 154.98 throughout five sessions.
In the open market, the rupee gained 20 paisas to close at 154.70/dollar on Tuesday. It remained stable at this level during the week.
“It seems there are no major import payment flows next week,” said a dealer. “We see a slight gain in the currency against the dollar in the coming week due to expected inflows from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).”
The IMF’s board and Pakistani authorities are scheduled to meet to discuss the first review on Thursday, which will pave the way for the disbursement of the second tranche worth $450 million under its three-year loan programme.
Dealers said the rupee was likely to appreciate to 153.50-154 against the dollar by the end of this month.
Pakistan has to repay approximately $168 million debt to the IMF against its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) this month.
However, the debt repayment to the IMF was unlikely to put pressure on the currency due to the stable foreign exchange reserves.
Ahead of the IMF executive board meeting with Pakistani authorities, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said the fund’s board would meet on December 19 to discuss the first quarterly review conducted in November by the staff for preliminary assessment.
“What that indicates is that all prior actions and performance criteria under the program with Pakistan have been met,” Rice told late on Thursday a regular news briefing available online. “And that the financing assurances needed for the program to go forward are in place.”
The country bagged the first tranche of $991.4 million under the $6 billion extended fund facility in July. Pakistan’s bright economic outlook could push the rupee higher in the near- to medium-term.

Customs intercept vehicle conveying smuggled rice in Niger

 December 16, 2019
Enyioha Opara, Minna
The Niger State Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted a truck conveying 79 bags of 100kg foreign rice believed to have been smuggled into the country.
The Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Abba-Kassin Yusuf, said this in an interview with Northern City News in Minna on Sunday
He said the truck was intercepted along the Yauri Road around Kontagora.
Yusuf put the duty paid value of the contraband at N2,686,000.
He said the vehicle, a Mitsubishi Canter, was intercepted on Sunday, December 8, 2019, by the command’s anti-smuggling patrol team.
Yusuf stated, “When my men swung into action following a tip-off, the driver abandoned the vehicle and ran into a nearby bush.
“It is disturbing that some Nigerians remain unrepentant even as they continue to lose their goods; not even the Federal Government’s visible efforts in transforming the agricultural sector, especially in the area of rice production, have touched their conscience to avoid smuggling rice into the country.
“Our searchlight is all around Niger and Kogi commands to uncover and suppress smuggling to the barest minimum in the interest of economic prosperity and national development.”
The customs boss urged smugglers to seek legal means of livelihood and stop undermining the nation’s economy.

Rice exports from India witnesses a downward trend owing to elections

by Denton Staff Contributor  December 15, 2019
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Belying expectations of upswing, the rice exports from India have witnessed a downward trend owing to elections that took place in some states and upcoming general elections apart from global geopolitical factors in the ongoing season.
While global factors pertain to recessionary trends in key export markets and persisting payments issue with Iran, the domestic factors include among others, big traders avoiding taking long positions due to impending Lok Sabha election in the early months of 2019, as a caution before the results could reflect in amended export terms with any change in political equations.
India is the world’s largest rice exporter and in 2017, it had accounted for 25% of the global rice trade valued at US$ 7.73 billion, primarily due to its competitive cost advantage. India’s net rice exports touched 12.7 million tonnes (MT) last year. Basmati exports had stood at about 4 MT with almost 80% of the consignment going to the Gulf countries, including
The decline started from August this year ahead of state elections. Although arrival of new season crop was also awaited. And during april-November 2018, exports of basmati and non-basmati are down 6 per cent to $4.67 bn. All the fall has been attributed to lower exports of non-basmati rice.
Devendra Vora of Friendship Traders, New Bombay based rice exporter, told Business Standard that the state elections that ended and coming 2019 Lok Sabha poll has been a major reason for the “big players” shying away from holding long positions in domestic market for export related procurements since a change in political equations could bring radical changes in export policies.
Owing to basmati crop loss coupled with higher purchase price, the net availability of the crop for exports was on the lower side but realised value has improved while non-basmati exports have fallen in quantity and even realisation was lower. Vpora said that, “the recessionary trend in export markets, including and Europe contributed to weaker sentiments. Environment in market has been comparatively subdued than last year due to several factors, including low international demand and higher purchase price in India resulting lower viability, which dented the cost competitiveness to some extent,” Vora added.
In the past, the change of government brought about export ban on staple food grains, which caused economic loss to exporters holding large inventories meant for exports. “At the same time, the banks have become jittery about extending credit to exporters due to stricter norms. This has resulted in complex paper works and delays, which has also affected trade,” a north India based exporter said.
Drip Capital, a US-based trade finance company, in its research report ‘Rice Commodity Insights’ outlining the evolving dynamics in the Indian market in 2018, forecast the current decline in rice exports was part of a regular annual cycle.
“There is little need for panic, as demand and export volumes should rise into 2019,” the report said.
The lingering process of payment terms with has played its part in pulling down rice exports. Iran’s annual basmati import market is pegged at almost a MT.
“The Iran market is still to open to potential, since their payment norms are not clear yet and are in the process of being finalised,” Kohinoor Foods joint managing director Gurnam Arora said. Iran, which had been facing wide ranging US sanctions, was allowed barter deals and trade valued in Rupee terms.
Commenting on the China market, Arora said exporters were getting enquiries from China, mainly for long grain rice and that the country would take some more time to become a major export destination.
“We need to explore the China market with roadshows and exhibitions before it attains scale in the next 1-2 years,” he added. A few months back, a buyer-seller meet was organised in China, where some Indian rice exporters had participated, while the Dragon has approved about two dozen domestic rice millers for the purpose.

Govt working on enhancing ease of living while keeping middlemen away: Modi

by Denton Staff Contributor  December 15, 2019
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Prime Minister on Saturday said the Central and state governments are working full-time to ensure that all projects and schemes rolled out are centred around ease of living and besides keeping middlemen at bay.
Addressing a summit of the 'One District One Project' (ODOP) in his parliamentary constituency, the Prime Minister said that ODOP was an extension of Make in India with the potential of "firmly placing Uttar Pradesh on the world map".
In an oblique reference to the Congress regime, the Prime Minister said his government was committed to keeping middlemen away by making necessary changes in the government system by making it more transparent. He asked people if "some people were being troubled because of a tradition of allowing the middlemen."
When the gathering responded with an applause, Modi said for the prosperity of the nation, some pain has to be borne to keep middleman at bay. He also lauded the Union telecom ministry for launching a digital pension project, saying it would benefit pensioners immensely, reflecting the citizen-centric approach of his government.
"This is our approach to minimum government and maximum governance," the Prime Minister said. People can now track the pension status on their mobile phone and don't have to made rounds of offices for pension-related issues.
Referring to strides taken in different sectors under the present regime, the Prime Minister said internet connectivity had increased to 65 per cent in the past two years and India now had 500 million active internet users. This, he said, was special because the growth of internet was equally big and significant in villages.
Under his government, he said, 125,000 panchayats have been connected by broadband of which 29,000 villages are in Uttar Pradesh.
Purchases by government departments had been shrouded in doubts and charges of favouritism, he said, adding government's e-market place (GEM) can enable the smallest of traders to sell their products. "This is the best platform for the sector," Modi said.
Online loans up to Rs 10 million are now being disbursed in 59 minutes without any red-tape or exploitation, the Prime Minister said.
The quality of Ganga water has considerably improved as tested by scientists. He said while schemes had been made for long, the Ganga remained polluted, but not any longer. "Jab niyat saaf hai to Ganga bhi saaf hogi (if the intention is clear, the Ganga will be cleaner)," he said as people applauded and raised slogans of 'Har Har Mahadev'.
Talking about the industry in Varanasi and nearby areas, Modi said there were 150,000 lakh weavers and 70,000 power looms in the region, and that right from funds to facilitation in marketing their produce, the state and the Union government were working out things for the weavers. "We will keep extending job opportunities through such schemes," he said.
Uttar Pradesh's Minister Satyadev Pachauri informed the Prime Minister that so far loans worth Rs 53.45 billion had been given to 65,000 artisans in the state and that Rs 750 billion loans will be disbursed by banks in the state.
The Prime Minister laid the foundation stones for 14 infrastructure projects and inaugurated 12 projects, totalling Rs 2.79 billion.
Earlier Modi inaugurated the International Rice Research Institute and interacted with scientists.

Why local rice should not sell above N14,000 this Christmas –RIFAN chairman
16th December 2019 in Business
Merit Ibe
Contrary to claims that rice farmers have yet to receive adequate support and provision of equipment to enhance their productivity, leading to scarcity and increase in price of rice, Chairman of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, has declared that this year’s farming season recorded a bumper harvest has never been recorded in the past 25 years.

He explanation comes on the heel of last August closure of the nation’s land borders by the Federal Government following large scale smuggling activities, especially rice.The government opined that the closure would help to attain self-sufficiency of the commodity.However, Goronyo attributed the scarcity to sabotage by few unpatriotic citizens urging Nigerians not to panic at the effect of the policy
Only recently, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) forecasted that output of milled rice for the current crop year is expected to be lowered by 3.8 million metric tonnes to 513.5 million tonnes.

FAO had projected that the production of rice may be affected by unfavourable weather in major rice-growing countries, including Nigeria.

Consequently, the economic implication of the United Nations’ food agency’s forecast on Nigeria as a rice nation, was that the price of local rice is further expected to rise following bad weather, coupled with the uncertainty in the country’s rice sector with regard to the ongoing border closure.
Refuting the report recently in an interview with Daily Sun, Goronyo insisted that few Nigerians were sabotaging the Federal Government efforts to make rice available to all consumers.
“There are people sabotaging the issue of border closure. They go round the local markets buying rice. These people buy, process, package and sell at exorbitant prices.
“Today, an official called from one of the rice markets in a local government and told me a bag of 75kg rice paddy is being sold for N7,800 to N8,200, it costs millers N2,500 to mill a bag of rice. So, they spend a maximum of 10,500, why should they sell at exorbitant rate.”
The RIFAN chairman disclosed that in a meeting  of producers, millers and dealers in rice with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, recently instructed the stakeholders to discuss the issue and arrive at an affordable price.
Goronyo said if farmers sell for N8,500 and millers mill for N2,500, then, we should sell at most N14,000 for a bag. It was agreed that a bag would be sold at N14,000. He said whoever sells above the N15,000 or N16,000 price, is a saboteur and should be arrested.
“I see no reason somebody will sell at N18,000 or N17,000, it is sabotage. They buy, process, package and sell at exorbitant price or they hoard them. It is inhuman for Nigerians to cheat their brothers. We had a bumper harvest this year, which has never been for the past 25 years.
“There is more than enough paddy in the country, that there is no how we can finish the sale of our produce. God blessed us this year. We produced so much this year, that is why we are selling N8,000 for 75kg bag to millers at that cheap rate. So, whosoever sells above that should be arrested.”

Experts have continued to push for increased funding by the federal government for farmers to be equipped for the task to increase rice production. They argue that there is need for acceleration of rice production to achieve self-sufficiency in the country.
But Goronyo said the Federal Government has been supprtive in funding the farmers through the Central Bank.We are getting the support in terms of loans.”He disclosed the country has enough mills; We have almost 38 integrated rice mills, about 210  medium rice mills, and over 120,000 small mills in the country.”He queried why Nigerians were punishing their brothers because of money, adding that it was greed.

The RiFAN chairman pegged the price of rice at N14,000 per bag of 50 kilograms.

But according to Prof. Kayode Babatunde Olusola, former Dean of Faculty of Agriculture, Lagos State University (LASU), the research institutes like the National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI) or any other such institutes could be consulted to research on how to improve on the production of the commodity.
“The Federal Government can ensure it galvanises research institutes to accelerate  research on rice. Production constraints should be looked into.“There should be massive acceleration of production process in states like Anambra, Ebonyi and Kebbi. Production process should be removed from the bureaucracies hindering them. That is the way to go. We are not meeting the target at all.“They should challenge the NCIR, so that they can help the growers, those into production to overcome the challenges or constraints in terms of yield, pest control and make funds available for those involved as well as the processing.
“We need to increase the number of mills in Nigeria. When these are taken care of, production will increase and availability will be higher which will in turn bring down the price of rice.The immediate past chairman of the National Association of Small Scale Industries (NASSI), Segun Kuti George, opined that government would have funded and ensured that production has increased by funding and giving incentives to farmers, before the border closure, it would have gone a long way to ameliorate the non-availability of rice and increase in price.
“Our main stay now is the local rice. It is an opportunity for farmers to begin to produce what our people consume and increase their output. If it becomes a permanent thing, our Small and Medium Enterprises in the agriculture sector would have to be able to produce more to meet up with the demand.
“We cannot meet the demand because we don’t have the capacity. This is the time for govt to fund farmers, so they can increase their output and meet the demand.“When production is increased, prices can come down.
Establishment of more rice mills would also accelerate rice production, expand milling activities to stimulate further growth in the rice sector.

An agriculturist and an Anchor Borrower Programme (ABP) client in the North East, Abba Kale, had called for the establishment of mega rice mills.He urged the Federal Government to support the establishment of modern mega rice mills in each of the 109 senatorial districts in the country to encourage processing, value addition, enhance farmer enterprising skills, promote competition and create a market for the produce.
One of the setbacks in production of rice in the country, experts say is that the produce cultivated by the farmers is higher than the capacity of the existing mills in the country.Experts support the ban on importation of foreign rice proposing that the sudden hike in prices occasioned by the border closure can be pushed down and controlled through mass production.

Findings show that most of our mills in operation lack basic equipment such as boilers, driers and trash machines to enable production of  high-quality rice to meet local demands and for export.Hoarding is also a monster causing price hike, it should be discouraged.

Andhra Pradesh government to supply quality rice under PDS from April 2020

A ministerial committee had suggested that the civil supplies department should negotiate with rice millers regarding the charges/incentives to be paid towards improving quality.
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Published: 16th December 2019 09:16 AM  |   Last Updated: 16th December 2019 09:16 AM  |  A+A A-
Volunteers oversee supply of quality rice at the doorstep of the beneficiaries as part of a pilot project in Srikakulam district| Express
By Express News Service
VIJAYAWADA:  The State government on Sunday issued orders approving the recommendations made by the Group of Ministers for the supply of quality rice in the packaged form under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
In July, the government constituted the committee consisting of ministers Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, K Kanna Babu, Cherukuvada Sri Ranganatha Raju and Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao to examine various options to improve the quality of rice including sortex, bagging material and bagging machinery and also to come up with suitable recommendations needed to improve the quality of rice in the public distribution system and to start door delivery of rice to eligible households in packaged form.
In its recommendations, the committee suggested that the civil supplies department negotiate with rice millers regarding the charges/incentives to be paid towards improving quality including sortex, reduction of discoloured/broken grains etc, finalise appropriate packaging machinery, material and recommend appropriate measures to encourage small and medium rice mills to install sortex machinery and participate in the new programme.
In its maiden meeting held in August, the GOM  discussed the issues relating to supply of quality rice at the doorstep of beneficiaries in tamper-proof and weighment assured packets through village/ward volunteers and made a few recommendations that include usage of environment-friendly biodegradable packaging materials like paper and cloth should be explored for financial and operational feasibility.
It was finally agreed upon that an outturn ratio at 92.5 per cent will be fixed for reprocessing of existing custom milled rice (CMR) stocks. For every 100 kg of rice supplied by APSCSCL to the rice millers, the latter will provide 92.5 kg of rice in 5 kg, 10 kg, 15 kg and 20 kg bags.
Also, APSCSL will supply the packaging material and bear the transportation charges from buffer godowns to rice mill and from rice mill to MLS or village level stock point. The miller is allowed to retain the byproduct to cover its charges for sortex, grading, packaging, loading and unloading but they have to return the gunny bags to APSCSCL.
As a pilot project, the officials already launched the supply of quality rice in Srikakulam district in September this year. In all other districts, the distribution of quality rice will be taking place from April 2020. For the first time, the State government has developed an application like the tracking system in food delivery apps. Using it, customers can track their ration supplies through the app.
Note the points
  • For every 100 kg of rice supplied by APSCSCL, miller will provide 92.5 kg of rice in 5 kg, 10 kg, 15 kg and 20 kg bags
  • APSCSCL will supply packaging material and will bear the transportation charges from buffer godown to rice mill and from rice mill to MLS or village level stock point
  • Rice millers will deliver only Swarna and equivalent variety of rice to APSCSCL without mixture of varieties
  • APSCSCL will provide compensation at Rs 600 per metric tonne of CMR delivered to APSCSCL for sortex charges
  • APSCSCL will reimburse Rs 500 against every MT of improved quality balance CMR equivalent rice supplied by rice millers out of millers own paddy stocks
  • APSCSCL should recollect the used PP bags from the beneficiaries and arrange for reverse logistics of bags for recycling as a measure to curtail environmental damage

Modular rice mills, boost to SMEs -NIDO boss


By Muyiwa Omobulejo


The President of Nigerians in the Diaspora (Asia Group), Prof. Emenike Ejiogu has described the introduction of the modular rice milling machine into the nation’s market as “a blessing to the rice value chain and a boost to the small scale sector of the economy.”
Prof. Ejiogu stated this in his opening remarks at the seminar and awareness programme on the rice value chain organised recently by NIDO in collaboration with their Asian partners for stakeholders in Lagos.
Speaking at the event, which major highlight was the introduction of a compact modular rice milling machine into the market and demonstration of its usage to rice farmers, millers, sellers, businessmen and the media, Ejiogu said the Kanryu rice husking and milling machine was specifically made for the African market and targeted at the small scale farmers and rice millers.

READ ALSO: No loan defaulters among rice farmers—RIFAN boss

“The modular rice mill is small and compact. It is also rugged and durable. Its technology is easy and can be operated by one person. It has a capacity to produce five tons of rice per day. And it is affordable. This model by Kanryu industry, our Japanese partners, was developed in conformity with SON and NAFDAC standards, its coming into the Nigerian market will add value to the government policy on local rice production, create employment and boost SMEs,” Ejiogu said.
According to Mr. Shakin Agbayewa, deputy chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (Lagos State), the coming of the modular rice mill is timely and good for farmers.
For Mr. Bola Jimson, CEO, Afritrade, a rice processing firm, the rice milling machine is highly impressive. “With this development, we have no business with imported rice again. Very soon, Nigeria will get there,” he stated.

Waiting for Edo rice mill


Description: Waiting for Edo rice mill

Edo State rice farmers are now smiling to the banks, courtesy of the N5billion loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the Commercial Agric Credit Scheme, writes OSAGIE OTABOR


BEFORE now, rice, which is Nigeria’s major staple food used to be easily available and affordable. The price of the commodity was not on the high side as the poor could afford it. That was then. Now, the price of the commodity is literally out of the reach of the poor.
In Edo State, the price is skyrocketing, with a bag of local rice selling for between N19, 000 and N25, 000 while imported foreign rice goes for between N28,000 and N30,000 per 50kg. Before now, rice was grown on subsistence basis in the state and not much is made available for the market.
Last year, some rice farmers assisted by the Edo State government through the FADAMA 111 Additional Financing Project were in tears. Their rice fields, measuring over 300 hectares in Iguoriakhi, Agenebode and Warrake, were washed away by flood just as they were about to harvest. The farmers were expecting five tons per hectare. Some eventually got two tons per hectare due to the damage caused by the flood.
What compounded the farmers’ problems was that their businesses were not covered by insurance. That would have given them 70 per cent of the expected revenue. Moreover, the farmers did not plant early due to the delay in release of funds from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
To avoid a recurrence of the experience, the Edo State government, in its effort to ensure success of its agricultural programme, secured a N5billion loan from the CBN under the Commercial Agric Credit Scheme. Checks have shown that N2.2 billion of the loan was to be used for crop production, N2.3 billion for land development and about N100 million for irrigation.
The target was to harvest 17,000 tons of rice and 11,000 tons of maize by cultivating 6,600 hectares of land at the end of the planting season this year.
To ensure that the benefiting farmers understood the import of the loan, Special Adviser to Governor Obaseki on Agriculture, Food Security and Forestry, Prince Joe Okojie, embarked on a sensitisation tour of 200 farmers at Iguoriakhi, Iguomon, Illushi, Warrake, Agenebode Usugbenu, Sobe and Ekpoma.
Prince Okojie explained the Economics of Production (EOP) to the farmers and what they stand to benefit if they take proper care of the farms.
“We hope to produce millionaire farmers this year. We do not anticipate a drop in the price of rice. We are hoping that we are able to produce about 17,000 metric tons cultivating about 4,400 hectares of rice farm.
“We are not cultivating cassava now but maize. We are looking forward to cultivating about 2,200 hectares and we are hoping that we will be able to harvest approximately 11,000 metric tons.
“We have engaged a lot of agronomists. We have employed the services of Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) that is going to be our technical partner and they are going to bring on board a lot of agronomists that will help us.
“We are trying to see how we can deploy best practices for the cultivation of the crops this season and hope that we get better yield than the one that we got two years ago,” Okojie said.
Special Adviser to Governor Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, told The Nation that over 10,600 hectares of land were cultivated in different parts of the state in which not less than 2,000 farmers benefitted from the scheme.
Crusoe said the state provided inputs and technical support for the farming season to boost food sufficiency.
He explained that the scheme was a multi-faceted agricultural development backed by the NIRSAL, Elephant Group and a number of other off-takers.
He said: “We have an off-taker agreement and intend to harvest 17, 000 metric tons of rice by cultivating 4, 000 hectares of land and 11, 000 tons of maize by cultivating 6,600 hectares of land at the end of the planting season this year. Off-takers are on ground to buy off the produce, so farmers are assured of buyers for their produce.
“We are delighted at the bumper harvest in Warake, which follows the impressive performance of the farm at Agenebode. This is a testament to the fact that we are doing the right thing as regards rice farming in Edo State. We intend to expand the scope of what we have in order to accommodate more farmers.”
Investigation showed that the over 400 rice farmers, who benefitted from this year’s scheme, have harvested over 500 tons from the various locations of Agenebode, Warrake and Iguoriakhi.
Prince Okojie said the farmers are still harvesting the rice while trucks are on standby to take them to rice mills.
On when the rice would hit the market, Okojie explained that the state does not own a rice mill and, as such, sold the paddy rice to off-takers who would mill the rice and sell to the public.
“I assure you that the farmers are happy. We don’t have a rice mill and so cannot sell rice like Lagos State. We sell rice paddy to off-takers. As the farmers are harvesting, trucks have lined up to buy up the rice,” he said.

Farmers are smiling to the bank
Some of the farmers, who spoke to The Nation, said they are selling at the right price and hoped the government builds a rice mill so that Edo people could buy rice at cheap price. The farmers hailed the closure of the country’s borders, saying it made rice millers to buy their rice.
Suleiman Ibrahim, who was one of the farmers at Warrake said he has been a rice farmer for the past 10 years, but has never experienced state government’s intervention until Governor Obaseki assumed duty as the governor.
He said each farmer that participated in the programme is expected to make between N400,000 and N500,000 profits after each planting season.
He said: “This is a wonderful project. It is the type I have never seen in my life. You can see government helping us with full sincerity. The loan from the state government was a surprise to us and we are paying it with ease.
“In Warrake, we (31 farmers) cultivated 165 hectares. Each of us was given five hectares. Water stopped the tractors from clearing 250 for more farmers to benefit. Officials of NIRSAL were on ground to assist us apply fertilisers at the right time. We have harvested over 60 tons.
“We thank Governor Obaseki for this initiative. The least amount a farmer will get will not be less than N500,000. We pray God for more support. Trailers will be coming tomorrow to carry more rice.”
On the next planting season, Suleiman said they would start this December and they planned to clear 500 hectares.
“You know there are no rice mills in Edo. If the government will off-take the rice, then they can mill it and label it Edo State rice,” he said.
Mr. Shaibu Idatesaba in Agenebode said the flood affected the rice fields of 16 out of 42 farmers who cultivated 240 hectares. He, however, said the affected farmers insured their farms unlike last year when they suffered losses because they did not insure their farms.
“We are happy. We have harvested over 120 tons. The loan was soft and okay by us. Before, we used to source for loan ourselves, but now the Obaseki loan came as a gift.
“During the farming period, agronomists were on ground to support us and teach us how to do things. This time, we insured the farm because of our experience last year. The profit we made in four months was over N400, 000.”

Nigeria Mulls Banning Importation of More Items - Minister

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Photo: Pixabay
15 DECEMBER 2019

By Oge Udegbunam and Agency Report
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, says the federal government is considering banning the importation of more items being produced or with the potential of being produced in Nigeria.
"Any commodity Nigeria has the potential of producing or we are currently producing will be banned from being imported.
"This is to preserve the country's foreign exchange and ensure national development," he said.
Nigeria has put strong foreign exchange restrictions on the importation of many food items including rice and poultry.
The government has also shut Nigeria's land borders to stop the land importation of such items as well as check smuggling.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Nanono also said the closure of the Nigerian border does not in any way breach the free trade agreement in the West African sub-region.
The minister said on Sunday in Abuja that the measure was meant to protect the country and its citizens from the nefarious activities which take place at the borders.
"Free trade does not mean Nigeria has to be a dumping ground for everything imported by others. These products are not even from all these countries involved. So, why should they be feasting on us?
"Nigeria controls 60 to 70 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the West African sub-region.
"So, Nigeria's economy still remains a buffer zone for the West African sub-region.
"Besides, most of the people that come into this country and melt into the population from the West African su-region come in because this country is accommodating them.
"This happens to the extent that some of these people, when they migrate into this country, you do not even know that they are immigrants.
"Take for example, people from Niger Republic when they come into Kano State, what will differentiate them from the people from Kano, or those from Benin Republic who come into Oyo State or Osun. They look like us.
"This situation creates a problem, and the border closure is a measure that has gone a long way in solving the problem," he said.
The minister disclosed that the federal government was holding talks with the countries concerned to ensure that they kept to the terms of the free trade agreement.
He said the border closure was not meant to hurt anybody.
"It was a decision taken after careful deliberation and series of attempts by government to get the neighbouring countries to check the illegal activities at the borders."
Mr Nanono pointed out that a lot of activities were going on at the borders which were not in the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.
"Nigeria became a dumping ground for all kinds of imports, especially rice, which used to come from these neighbouring countries.
"The unfortunate thing about it is that most of the rice being imported are not healthy and 100 per cent of these rice were not produced in these countries. They were produced elsewhere.
"From what I gathered, some of the countries were even given some forms of assistance to curb these imports, but they refused to change.
"They went ahead, with their countries becoming routes to import rice and other things into this country.
"No country in the world can tolerate what we have tolerated over the years.
"This (Nigeria) is a country that can produce rice, not only to feed itself but also to export to other countries.
"Even before the closure of border, when the government changed policy from continuous importation of rice to restriction, the Nigerian farmers have showed that they can produce rice to feed this nation," he said.
The minister said one of the major impacts of the closure of border was that Nigerians have began to consume local rice and other locally-produced commodities.
"l am pleased to note that the consumption of local rice has now gone beyond our imagination.
"In the Southern part of this country, people do not eat foreign rice anymore. In Ebonyi and Bayelsa, you can hardly see somebody selling foreign rice.
"They now eat Abakaliki rice and they are happy about it. It is fresh, nutritious and healthy.

Border closure not breaching free trade agreement – FG

Sunday, December 15, 2019 6:39 pm | News
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Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, says the Federal Government’s closure of the Nigerian border does not in any way breach the free trade agreement in the West African sub-region.
The minister said on Sunday in Abuja that the measure was meant to protect the country and its citizens from the nefarious activities which take place at the borders.
“Free trade does not mean Nigeria has to be a dumping ground for everything imported by others. These products are not even from all these countries involved. So, why should they be feasting on us?
“Nigeria controls 60 to 70 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the West African sub-region.
“So, Nigeria’s economy still remains a buffer zone for the West African sub-region.
“Besides, most of the people that come into this country and melt into the population from the West African su-region come in because this country is accommodating them.
“This happens to the extent that some of these people, when they migrate into this country, you do not even know that they are immigrants.
“Take for example, people from Niger Republic when they come into Kano State, what will differentiate them from the people from Kano, or those from Benin Republic who come into Oyo State or Osun. They look like us.
“This situation creates a problem, and the border closure is a measure that has gone a long way in solving the problem,’’ Nanono told NAN.
The minister disclosed that the Federal Government was holding talks with the countries concerned to ensure that they kept to the terms of the free trade agreement.
He said the border closure was not meant to hurt anybody.
“It was a decision taken after careful deliberation and series of attempts by government to get the neighbouring countries to check the illegal activities at the borders.’’
Nanono pointed out that a lot of activities were going on at the borders which were not in the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.
“Nigeria became a dumping ground for all kinds of imports, especially rice, which used to come from these neighbouring countries.
“The unfortunate thing about it is that most of the rice being imported are not healthy and 100 percent of these rice were not produced in these countries. They were produced elsewhere.
“From what I gathered, some of the countries were even given some forms of assistance to curb these imports, but they refused to change.
“They went ahead, with their countries becoming routes to import rice and other things into this country.
“No country in the world can tolerate what we have tolerated over the years.
“This (Nigeria) is a country that can produce rice, not only to feed itself but also to export to other countries.
“Even before the closure of border, when the government changed policy from continuous importation of rice to restriction, the Nigerian farmers have shown that they can produce rice to feed this nation,” he said.
The minister said one of the major impacts of the closure of border was that Nigerians have begun to consume local rice and other locally-produced commodities.
“l am pleased to note that the consumption of local rice has now gone beyond our imagination.
“In the Southern part of this country, people do not eat foreign rice anymore. In Ebonyi and Bayelsa, you can hardly see somebody selling foreign rice.
“They now eat Abakaliki rice and they are happy about it. It is fresh, nutritious and healthy.
“In fact, you can perceive the local rice’s good aroma in the mill, as opposed to the one being imported into the country which does not even add value to our health and which is not even nutritious. So, why should we even bother ourselves about this?
“We have reached a level where in the next two years we will start exporting rice, based on what I saw when I visited the cluster of rice millers at Kura in Kano State, which is about a one-kilometre stretch,” he said.
Nanono also said the Federal Government had begun examining all issues surrounding all other commodities, apart from rice, being imported into the country.
“Any commodity Nigeria has the potential of producing or we are currently producing will be banned from being imported.
“This is to preserve the country’s foreign exchange and ensure national development.’’
He urged Nigerians to take advantage of the border closure to invest in any of the agricultural value chains, pointing out that opportunities for investment had been created.

Preparing for no QR

Is it really too late to ask for an extension of the quantitative restrictions (QR) on rice importations beyond July 2017? And will the lifting of QRs by then really negatively affect rice farming in the Philippines?
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol wants the Philippine government to go before the World Trade Organization and negotiate for another extension of the QR, its fourth if ever, after being awarded preferential treatment on rice importations in 1995.
The extensions were given purportedly to give Filipino farmers more time to prepare for free trade, which essentially meant that our local rice production would be able to squarely compete with imported rice that would not be subjected to import taxes or even import limitations.
The first extension was given until 2004, and extended two more times, with the second until 2014, and the third by July 2017. If ever the Philippine government would ask for a fourth extension, the reason would still be the same: to give Filipino farmers more time to prepare for free trade.

Nothing changed

It is understandable why there is reluctance on the part of our government planners, and even the President, to go for another pleading session. Even if the QR were extended by another two years, as Secretary Piñol is asking, what could really be accomplished towards getting our farmers prepared?
Secondly, with barely five months to go before the QR expires, there is not enough time for negotiations. It took the former administration two years to be given the last extension, which could now be regarded as a waste of time, money, and human resources since nothing really had changed.
Sure, we can go plead for another extension, but the chances of getting it would be slim – and even at the risk of the country losing face, time, money and resources during the negotiations.
More importantly, you and I know that Filipino rice farmers would not really be better prepared to face free trade if an extension of two years – even four or six years – were granted. There are just too many things needed, including government funds, to nurse back our rice production to a healthier state.

Tariff debates

It seems the National Economic Development Authority is thinking of taking a different route about how to handle the country’s rice production. By letting go of the QRs, why not increase the tax on imported rice so that local rice production will be priced lower?
Currently, the government allows 805,200 metric tons of rice to be imported at a tariff rate of 35 percent. Any importation above this minimum access volume is charged a higher tariff of 50 percent. With the QR removed, the NEDA is thinking of raising tariffs on all rice imports to 40 percent, even 50 percent.
There is a big debate on the merit of how much tariffs really should be imposed. Some contend that a 35 percent uniform tariff will do the job of increasing state revenues since some two million MT are imported by the country annually to augment local production. A 35 percent tariff would be consistent too with the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement.
A higher tariff of 40 to 50 percent would, of course, significantly increase importation revenues. And would likewise provide Filipino rice farmers with more protection from the forecasted flooding of imported rice as it would allow them to sell at better prices, and correspondingly, earn better.
But this would make rice smuggling a bigger temptation, especially if the National Food Authority’s rice importation role is diminished.

Uncertainties

There are worries too about adversely affecting global rice prices with the QR lifting. In 2008, when the Philippines had to urgently import two million MT, rice prices in the global market doubled to more than $1,0000 per MT from the normal $500 per MT level.
And with the expected unrestricted importation of rice, there are fears that Filipino rice farmers will even be discouraged from pursuing rice production, and would leave farming for good.
On the other hand, NEDA is saying that about 35 of the country’s rice producing provinces will be able to compete directly with their Vietnamese and Thai counterparts, and that even without tariff, about 13 rice-producing provinces would remain competitive.

Safety nets

With all of the uncertainties, it is best that Secretary Piñol now focuses on setting up all the necessary safety nets that Filipino farmers would need to get ahead should there be any negative effectives from the QR lifting.
If the flood of imported rice would really dent rice farmers’ incomes, as some government planners are forecasting, the Department of Agriculture should already prepare to supervise temporary relief programs, including conditional cash transfers.
Longer term measures could include training affected rice farmers to shift to high value crops, similar to what sugar farmers in Negros did when world sugar prices plummeted after new cheaper sources of sweeteners were used by confectionery manufacturers.
Likewise, measures are needed to ensure that rice prices would remain stable locally and globally, and this includes mitigating any sudden rice importation order that would cause abnormal international supply disruptions, even if temporarily.

Realistic program

More importantly, the DA should start putting together a realistic program that would revert the downward trend in agricultural productivity, and secure the country’s food supply for future generations.
With additional income to be derived from possible higher tariffs on imported rice, the DA must intervene to make sure that the collected money is spent for the improvement of agricultural infrastructure such as irrigation and drying facilities, better seeding varieties, expanded credit, research and development, and farm-to-market roads.
We laud Secretary Piñol’s enthusiasm and drive to find ways and means to help Filipino farmers. But at the end of the day, or his six-year term, he will be judged as to whether the contribution of agriculture to the country’s economic growth had actually increased.
He definitely cannot cite the QR lifting as a reason for not performing well.

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Rice import rules vs dummies, WTO told

By                              Jasper Y. Arcalas
MANILA has formally notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of its amended rules on rice importation that seeks to limit the entry of the staple by weeding out unscrupulous and dummy players through stringent registration requirements.
The Philippines submitted a notification to the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures on December 11, informing the body that it has implemented revised requirements for registration and renewal of importers of rice.
In its notification, the Philippines submitted Department of Agriculture (DA) Memorandum Order 28 which institutionalizes additional requirements for interested rice importers in a bid to remove unscrupulous players.
The order also requires importers to ship out their rice consignments from the country of origin within the prescribed date in their approved sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC).
The rice imports should also arrive not later than 60 days from the indicated “must ship out” date in their SPS-IC. The DA’s order last November 11 strengthened the current registration procedures for importers of rice and also prescribed a validity period for SPS-IC issued to eligible traders.
“There is a need to strengthen registration procedures for importers of planting materials and plant products, and specify the validity of the sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance, to safeguard from entry, establishment and spread of exotic plant pests and comply with food safety requirements,” the DA said in the MO.
The MO clarified certain provisions of Republic Act 11203, or the rice trade liberalization law, pertaining to the deadline on the arrival of imported rice in the country.


Tighter rules vs dummies

Under the MO, first-time rice importers and those renewing their registration are required to comply with the additional requirements that seek to determine their market capacity.
For initial registration and renewal of importers, they are now required to submit a proof of existence and authority to use warehouses that include proof of ownership, physical sketch and GPS of the exact location of the warehouse, 5R pictures of the warehouse with a dated newspaper and distributed areas of the imported rice.
Furthermore, rice importers are now also required to submit their annual income tax return with audited financial statement of the last three years. In a press briefing on November 21, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar pointed out that the additional rules are aimed at unmasking and weeding out unscrupulous players in the rice trade, particularly farmer cooperatives acting as dummies for bigger firms.
Aside from additional registration requirements, the DA has also implemented other nontariff measures to limit rice imports in the country, such as compliance with the government’s more stringent measures covering heavy metal content, pesticide residue, filth contaminants and microbial presence. (See “PHL to curb rice imports via nontariff measures,” November 22, 2019). The DA chief cited the BusinessMirror’s stories about “dummy” cooperatives edging out legitimate traders in rice imports as among the reasons for their decision to go after these groups (See “Farmer groups ‘top rice importers’—are they?” in the BusinessMirror, November 21, 2019, and “Pre- and post-rice trade liberalization law, big traders gaming farmer groups,” in the BusinessMirror, October 31, 2019).

RPT-FACTBOX-A LOT OF SOY, A LITTLE RICE: CHINA'S HISTORICAL U.S. AGRICULTURAL PURCHASES

12/15/2019
(Repeats story first published on Friday)
CHICAGO, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. government said on Friday China would buy an additional $32 billion in U.S. farm goods over the next two years as part of an initial trade deal.
China gave no firm commitment on an amount of U.S. goods, but said it may buy more wheat, rice and corn -- goods it has not traditionally bought. Soybeans made up more than half of China's agriculture purchases from the United States in 2017, at about $12.2 billion.
Below are agricultural goods China has bought from the United States in the past: SOY China bought about 60% of all exports of U.S. soybeans, the main U.S. export crop by value, before the trade war. Since the current marketing year started on Sept. 1, China has purchased about 10 million tonnes of soybeans worth some $3.5 billion, according to government data.
SORGHUM China began buying U.S. sorghum, which it uses for production of baiju liquor and animal feed, in 2008. Its purchases peaked at $2.115 billion in 2015, but fell by more than half to $1.030 billion in 2016. So far this year, it has bought $117.149 million worth. PORK China has increased pork imports after a fatal pig disease, African swine fever, devastated its herd. U.S. pork exports to China and Hong Kong were up 34% in value at $974.8 million from January to October. The shipments top full-year 2018 exports to the region of $852.5 million. Full-year exports to China and Hong Kong set a record of $1.1 billion in 2017.
BEEF China officially resumed U.S. beef imports in 2017 after a 14-year ban, but maintains restrictions on shipments. Exports of U.S. beef to China and Hong Kong from January to October were down 20% from a year earlier at $657.9 million. China and Hong Kong imported a record $1 billion in U.S. beef in 2018.
CORN China was a top five buyer of U.S. corn from 2011 to 2013 but has not been a major buyer since as domestic production increased. In 2017, it bought $142.036 million worth, and so far in 2019 it has bought $52.857 million.
RICE China, the world's largest rice producer, typically buys small amounts of U.S. rice. Purchases peaked at $5.311 million in 2010. In 2017, they totaled $759,000. So far this year, U.S. rice exports to China have been worth just $147,000.
POULTRY China in November lifted a nearly five-year ban on U.S. poultry that had been imposed in January 2015 because of a U.S. outbreak of avian flu. The market bought $500 million worth of American poultry products in 2013. WHEAT China is the world's No. 2 wheat producer after the European Union and holds roughly half of all global wheat inventories. In recent years it has been the No. 3 or 4 buyer of U.S. hard red spring wheat, a high-protein variety used to blend and improve the quality of lesser grades of wheat.
EQUIPMENT Some analysts had speculated that equipment might be counted in an agriculture component of an eventual trade deal. Farm machinery exports this year through October were a little over $200 million, according to data from U.S. Census Bureau. Beijing's biggest purchase in the past two decades was in 2015 when it imported about $430 million of machines.
(Reporting by Tom Polansek, Julie Ingwersen, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Mark Weinraub; Writing by Caroline Stauffer Editing by Leslie Adler)

Refined carbohydrates like white bread, pasta and rice may trigger insomnia

DECEMBER 14, 2019

High-GI foods cause blood sugar levels to spike, disturbing sleep. [Photo: Getty]
Refined carbohydrates may trigger insomnia, research suggests.
Scientists from Columbia University in New York looked at the food diaries of more than 50,000 women.
READ MORE…
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Ijeoma Ndukwe: Why doesn‘t Nigeria develop sufficient rice?

Rice is a big deal in Nigeria. People love eating it. So the ‘s Ijeoma Ndukwe asks: why don‘t they grow more of it instead of importing so much?
A long line of customers queue along a glass divide separating them from a rice food station at an eatery in Lagos, Nigeria‘s commercial capital. Diners can choose between white rice, fried rice and jollof at this popular local restaurant known as “The White House”.
A steady flow of customers is served in the main hall, and in two packed adjoining rooms diners are enjoying Nigerian dishes.
Rice is the basis of the popular national dish jollof and a staple across the country.
The problem is not a lack of land, or that there are not enough people to grow it in Africa‘s most populous country.
During the eight years ago, Nigeria experienced shortages in rice that made the country rethink its food security and ability to supply the local market.
As a result, President Muhammadu Buhari has made rice farming a priority.
Nigerians‘ appetite for rice means that the country imported nearly 17 million tonnes of it over the past five years. Duties for imported rice are currently 60% and consumers have seen the price of a bag of rice double in the past 12 months.
Many domestic players have been entering the market. Olam, a multi-national agribusiness, set up a rice farm in 2012 in response to government calls for local players to help feed the 170 million Nigerians.

Nigeria‘s rice in numbers

It is a bumpy journey to Olam‘s farm in Rukubi village close to the Benue River in Nasarawa State. The lush green fields of the farm are an oasis among miles and miles of dusty red road and bushes.
Large metal silos carrying 228,000 tonnes of rice rise up from the ground, gleaming in the scorching afternoon sun. Manager Anil Nair, drives us around 4,500 hectares of the farm and mill.
Most of the farm hands have finished work for the day. They usually work in the rice paddies from 07:00, before the sun gets too hot. Only a few women remain, standing ankle deep in the paddies, planting rice seedlings.
This is one of the largest rice farms in Nigeria and although it grows 50,000 tonnes each year, that is still just a small fraction of the country‘s demand.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the country imported 2.3 million tonnes in 2016, about half of the country‘s estimated requirements.
Minister of Agriculture Audu Ogbeh says that the culture of importation has to stop.
“We can‘t afford $5m a day for rice shipments in this country. It‘s gone on for 40 years. And I assure you that it‘s our reckless policy of importation that‘s brought Nigeria down to where she is now.
Those who keep talking of imports either don‘t mean Nigeria well or simply refuse to recognise the fact that we can‘t afford the imports.”
However, most farmers in Nigeria are small scale and struggle to get the financing they need to improve farming methods and boost their yield.
Members of the Rice Farming Association of Nigeria say they can only access high-interest loans from commercial banks.
Joseph Jatau Kudu has been farming near the town of Doma in Nasarawa State since 1982. He says the banks charge as much as 30% to lend money.
“It‘s too high. We end up earning nothing,” he says.
Without the capital to mechanise, workers must do everything on his 15-hectare farm by hand.
“Sometimes the tractors are not available. So now I‘m using manual labour. It‘s not as effective as in the case of using a tractor and it‘s one of the reasons I can‘t expand.”

‘Pipe dream‘

The agriculture minister claims that Nigeria will become self-sufficient in rice production by the end of the year.
However, critics of government policy not only point to a lack of spending on agriculture, but also to an under-investment in the entire value-chain for rice, from field to cooking pot.
Ninety two billion naira ($302m; £240m) was assigned to the sector in the 2017 budget – only 1.26% of the entire budget for the year.
AgroNigeria‘s Managing Director Richard Mbaram says that achieving self-sufficiency in the next couple of years is merely a “pipe dream”.
“Rice production isn‘t willed into existence. It is cultivated and systematically sown.
“There is research, there is mechanisation, there is warehousing and storage. There is market opening and market access.
“You cannot drive industrialisation or agro-industrialisation without connecting the farm gate where the production is happening. Do we have that? We‘re very far back in terms of achieving that.”
In the meantime, Nigerians‘ appetite for rice shows no sign of slowing down.

Medical News Today: Whole grains improve metabolism, could assist promote weight reduction

Whole grains have been shown to be superior in the diet when compared with refined grains, suggests new research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Whole grains increased calorie loss by decreasing the number of calories retained during digestion, while simultaneously speeding up metabolism.
Whole grains, such as brown rice, may help weight loss by decreasing calories retained during digestion.
Previous research has indicated that whole grains and high dietary fiber intake have several health benefits, such as for glycemic control and sensitivity. However, scientists have been unable to agree whether whole grains and fiber help to regulate weight.
The grain food group includes rice, oats, wheat, and barley. While whole grains contain the whole-grain kernel and include brown rice, oatmeal, and whole-wheat flour, refined grains are starches that are processed and milled to remove the bran and germ to prolong their shelf life. Examples of refined grains include white rice, white bread, and white flour.
Milling empties the starch of dietary fiber, iron, and B . Although iron and B vitamins can be added back into the refined grains, the fiber is not often reintroduced.
In the , investigators conducted a study over 8 weeks that included 81 men and women aged between 40 and 65. All food was provided to the participants over the course of the study and included either whole grains or refined grains. Participants were asked only to consume the food provided, return any uneaten food, and continue with their usual levels of physical activity.
“We provided all food to ensure that the composition of the diets differed only in grain source,” says senior author Susan B. Roberts, Ph.D., senior scientist and director of the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging.
For the first 2 weeks, all participants ate the same type of food, and the calorie needs of each individual were determined. The participants were then randomly assigned to either a group that included whole grains or a group with refined grains.
The differences between the whole-grain diet and refined-grain diet were mostly in grain and fiber content. Type of food, meal structure, and energy and macronutrient composition were similar in both groups.
The researchers compared the effects of whole grains and refined grains on resting metabolic rate and fecal energy losses, in addition to how full or how hungry the participants felt. Measures of the study included weight, metabolic rate, blood glucose, fecal , hunger, and fullness.

Eating fiber in whole grains increased calories lost per day

Results showed that the group that ate whole grains had increased resting metabolic rate and greater fecal losses compared with the refined grain group. Furthermore, the increases in fecal energy losses were not because of the extra fiber, but from the effect of the fiber on the digestibility of other food calories.
Participants who consumed whole grains – an amount that matched the recommended daily allowance for fiber – lost almost an extra 100 calories per day than the participants who consumed refined grains without much fiber.
“The extra calories lost by those who ate whole grains was equivalent of a brisk 30-minute walk – or enjoying an extra small cookie every day in terms of its impact,” says Roberts.
Roberts‘ colleagues included Phil J. Karl, Ph.D., first author of the study, an alumnus of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts, and a scientist at the United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, MA.
“Many previous studies have suggested benefits of whole grains and dietary fiber on chronic disease risk. This study helps to quantify how whole grains and fiber work to benefit weight management, and lend credibility to previously reported associations between increased whole grains and fiber consumption, lower and better health.”
Phil J. Karl
The study used commercially available products that used whole-grain flour. The team hypothesizes that using foods with whole-grain kernels might affect metabolic rate and fecal loss further. Fullness, hunger, and diet satisfaction did not appear to differ significantly between the two diets.

Cambodia sees 34 pct rise in rice export to China in 11 months

Source: Xinhua| 2019-12-15 17:11:44|Editor: mingmei
PHNOM PENH, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia exported 205,358 tons of milled rice to China during the first 11 months of 2019, up 34 percent over the same period last year, said an official report Sunday.
China is still the top buyer of Cambodian rice during the January-November period this year, said the report of the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export.
Export to China accounted for 40 percent of Cambodia's total rice export, it said.
Song Saran, president of the Cambodia Rice Federation, said China is a key market for Cambodian rice and the kingdom is expected to export a total of 250,000 tons to China this year.
Meanwhile, the Southeast Asian nation shipped 174,397 tons of rice to the European market during the period, down 26 percent, the report said.
The drop in the export to the European market came after the European Union imposed earlier this year duties on rice importing from Cambodia in a bid to curb a surge in rice imports from the country and to protect European producers.
According to the report, Cambodia exported a total of 514,149 tons of rice to 59 countries and regions during the first 11 months of this year, up 3.4 percent over the same period last year.

Bank management fee on P1-billion farmers’ credit fund assailed

Updated December 15, 2019, 9:06 PM
By Ellson Quismorio 
Pro-farmer party-list groups on Sunday assailed the 3.5-percent annual bank management fee on the P1-billion credit fund for small farmers under the controversial Republic Act (RA) 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL).
Description: Magsasaka Party-List Rep. Argel Cabatbat (Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
Magsasaka Party-List Rep. Argel Cabatbat
(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
“Given the huge amount of credit allowance given to the farmers, that management fee looks ostensibly disadvantageous to the farmers,” said Magsasaka Party-List Rep. Argel Cabatbat.
Cabatbat was referring to the management fee to be charged by state-owned banks on the P1-billion credit fund, which is one of the safety nets for small farmers in light of the effects of the RTL.
“The most prudent action is to investigate and order the responsible officials to justify and account for the fees,” he said.
“We should dig deeper as to the propriety of these charges/fees. After all, it is the season of questioning onerous provisions in the contracts which are disadvantageous to our people,” the rookie solon said, taking a dig at the law that he has challenged since day one.
The purported bane of some 2.5 million Filipino rice farmers is the RTL, which did away with the old quantitative restrictions on rice imports in exchange for tariffs. This liberalized the entry of imported rice to the county.
Since imported rice is cheaper, local farmers have found it difficult to sell the palay (unhusked rice) that they themselves planted and harvested.
Meanwhile, Butil Party-List described the bank management fee “unconscionable and cruel,” and called for its scrapping.
“The P1 billion is a pittance when viewed in the environment of almost zero credit for small rice farmers and their many other woes. Why would two government banks charge management fees for the elementary task of looking for conduits for that negligible P1 billion fund?” asked former Butil Rep. Cecil Chavez.
She asked President Rodrigo Duterte to intervene to force the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines to forgo the 3.5-percent management fee and eliminate the administrative cost on that small fund.
“The people in government corporate banking already enjoy decent salaries and other perks…In contrast, the three million rice farmers have been denied loans even by the institutions that were organized to help small farmers,” she claimed.
Chavez also slammed the two government banks for supposedly wanting to raise the yearly management fee to the standard level of 4.5 percent, since the 3.5 percent rate was inadequate.
Butil was the only party-list to vote against RA 11203 outside of the Makabayan bloc during the previous 17th Congress.

A ten-year plan for rice

(Conclusion)

Published December 14, 2019, 10:00 PM

Dr. Emil Q. Javier

Description: Dr. Emil Q. JavierThe opening up of our rice market to imports under the Rice Tariffication Act (RTA) will be good to our country in the long run. The retail price of rice will moderate in line with the world market price to the benefit of consumers and the economy as a whole. The rice farmers, on the other hand, will suffer an immediate decline in income. The more progressive among them who are cultivating rice under favorable conditions (i.e. with irrigation) will be able to hold their own against the low-priced rice inputs from Vietnam and Thailand. But the farmers cultivating the lands not favorable to rice growing (i.e. rainfed) will be obliged with government’s help to shift to other crops often more profitable than rice, and/or into livestock and fish culture. In fact, with market support, they may end up with higher income than those growing rice alone (rice monoculture).
Also as a consequence, we shall produce less rice and therefore be more dependent on imports. But we will produce more of the other commodities which are more valuable than rice and create more livelihood opportunities.
It is therefore in our country’s long-term interest to persevere and stay the course with the RTA. But to make RTA work, we have to embark in three complementary strategies/directions, namely: 1) direct decoupled payments to rice farmers to provide them immediate relief, 2) further intensification of rice efforts in productive irrigated lands, and 3) diversification of rainfed rice lands into other high value crops, livestock and fish culture.
This turn-around of the rice industry will easily take 10 years to attain. The burden of transition to an open market should not borne by the rice farmers alone. The farmers need help in the transition while Strategies/Directions 2 and 3 are being installed. Hence, the necessity to commit ALL the tariffs collected under the RTA as direct cash payments to farmers (Strategy/Direction1).
The second Strategy/Direction is fairly straightforward: 1) continuing investments in irrigation development, but tactically in the next five years, more attention to rehabilitation and more effective operation and maintenance of existing irrigation systems, 2) universal use of high-yielding inbred seeds and increasing adoption of hybrids and more fertilizers to ensure high yields, and 3) more mechanization to reduce labor costs and to minimize post-harvest losses.
However providing these inputs free, as provided for in the Rice Competitive Enhancement Fund (RCEF) of the RTA, has been proven time and again to be wasteful, graft-prone and expensive. The better way is to provide farmers easy access to credit with which to purchase these inputs. The government subsidy should be in the form of more dedicated credit technicians to be deployed by Land Bank of the Philippines, affordable low interest, crop insurance and loan guarantee for the banks. Credit support will be cheaper, more efficient and more sustainable in the long term. The RTA should therefore be amended accordingly.
Diversification of rainfed rice lands into high value crops, livestock and fish culture
Depending upon the terrain, soil type and access to market, the rainfed rice lands can be devoted to a wide range of annual crops, tree crops, as well as to livestock and fresh-water fish culture. Rainfed lands may be marginal for rice growing but perfectly suitable for these other commodities/enterprises.
For low-lying, poorly-drained areas, they can very well be converted into fish ponds for the culture of tilapia, hito and dalag. They can also be drained by digging a permanent network of canals and planting crops on the elevated portions much like the sorjan cultivation system widely practiced in Indonesia.
After the first crop during the rainy months which is usually rice, the second crops could be leafy vegetables like pechay and mustard; solanaceous crops like tomato, chili pepper and eggplant; beans like peanut, mungbean, and soybean; onion and garlic, and cucurbits like squash, and melons.
For the better-drained areas subject to occasional flooding, perennial fruits like pineapple, papaya, bananas (dessert and plantain), lanzones, durian, rambutan, jackfruit, tamarind, avocado, etc. can be grown. The trees can be planted in raised beds to enhance drainage and root aeration.
For the long-term, drip irrigation systems should be installed not only to provide timely, supplemental water during the dry months but also for efficient direct delivery of fertilizers and systemic pesticides and bio-stimulants into the root zones of the crops.
Drip irrigation units are modular and becoming cheaper to install than conventional surface irrigation systems. But even now drip irrigation units can pay for themselves in the commercial production of high value tree crops for domestic consumption and for export.
Alternatively, the rice fields can be converted into high yielding forage crops to feed dairy cows and buffaloes and small ruminants like goats and sheep.
Para grass, a water-loving tropical pasture grass grows exceedingly well under partly flooded conditions. A hectare of Para grass can support under grazing management 40 female goats (ewes) producing at least 60 kids a year. At ₱2,000 per weaned kid, the gross income is ₱120,000 per hectare per year with hardly any labor cost and little cash cost for dewormers and occasional feed concentrate. I have demonstrated this in my farm.
The same hectare of Para grass can support as many as 10 milking cows in a cut-and-carry system with moderate levels of fertilizers and manure recycling. The investments in dairy cows are of course very high but the income per hectare from 10 dairy cows will easily be 5–8 times that from two crops of rice.
The input requirements of these diversified farm lands will be varied and often higher than those required for rice. In the same manner, these inputs should not be given away free to the farmers but must be acquired through subsidized credit.
Market support — the key
Unlike grains which are relatively easy to store and transport, these other crops are perishable and require better organized supply chains. Before the farmers embark into planting these other crops, their markets must be assured through contract growing arrangements with local buyers, supermarkets and/or food processors and exporters.
Better yet, instead of just being raw material suppliers to the food processing plants, arrangements can be made for the farmers to become part owners in joint ventures through agreed deductions from the produce they deliver to the processing plants.
The farmers will have better leverage if they can produce in the volumes and times of delivery required by the market. This will require concentration of production in designated areas close to the processing plants not only to facilitate extension but also reduce the cost of assembly of produce and to minimize post-harvest losses. The adoption of the one-town-one-product approach and empowerment of farmers’ cooperatives will be crucial.
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Dr. Emil Q. Javier is a member of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and also Chairman of the Coalition for Agriculture Modernization in the Philippines (CAMP).
For any feedback, email eqjavier@yahoo.com

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NFA warned on rice imports schedule

 
MANILA, Philippines –  The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) has urged the National Food Authority (NFA) Council not to extend the deadline for the arrival of rice imports under the minimum access volume (MAU) mechanism, considering farmers are now starting to harvest their rice crops.
The MAV currently stands at around 800,000 metric tons of rice imports which the Philippines had promised to allow stands at every year at a reduced tariff, in exchange for the extension of quantitative restrictions or controls over rice imports.
According to FFF president Leonardo Montemayor, the NFA distributed last year quotas to private importers for around 600,000 MT of MAV imports on the condition the imports should arrive in the country on or before Feb. 28, 2017. 
Only 400,000 MT actually arrived on time, and quota holders are now lobbying the NFA Council to extend the deadline so that they can bring in the balance of 200,000 MT, he said.
Montemayor, a former agriculture secretary, pointed out extending the deadline will benefit only a few moneyed importers at the expense of millions of rice farmers who have started harvesting their dry season crop.  He added palay traders, who absorb up to 95 percent of farmers’ produce, will have to lower their buying prices if they know that cheaper imports of rice will enter the country and compete with their locally purchased palay.
“Around 8.5 million tons of palay are harvested during the first half of the year, most of it during the March to June period.  Every one peso decline in palay prices takes away up to P6 billion from small farmers.  This is equivalent to a reduction of 20 percent of the net income of farmers from their summer crop”, Montemayor explained.
At the same time, Montemayor expressed full support for moves to investigate corruption within the NFA.  However, he cautioned using corruption allegations as an excuse to allow MAV imports to harm farmers at harvest time.
 Ruben Presilda, FFF vice-president for Luzon, added:  “Rice farmers are still recovering from the long El Nino drought in 2015-2016 and the series of typhoons in 2016.  Now, they are in danger of facing another calamity, this time man-made, if the NFA Council gives in to the demand of rice importers.  This directly contradicts the instructions of President Duterte for government agencies to prioritize their support for the poor, including the rice farmers.”

GOCC subsidies climb in September

December 16, 2019

Subsidies extended by the national government to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) rose in October, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.
Twenty-eight state-run firms secured P7.23 billion, a 366.66-percent rise from P1.55 billion in the same month last year.
The National Food Authority (NFA) accounted for the bulk, or P2.77 billion, of total subsidies in the month. NFA is responsible for promoting the integrated growth and development of the grains industry covering rice, corn, feed grains and other grains like sorghum, mongo, and peanut.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) came in second with P483 million, and Local Water Utilities Administration with P276 million.
Also receiving assistance in October were the Light Rail Transit Authority, National Electrification Administration, National Power Corp., Philippine National Railways, Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Credit Information Corp., Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, Lung Center of the Philippines, National Dairy Authority, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Coconut Authority, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Rice Research Institute, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care, People’s Television Network Inc., Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Southern Philippines Development Authority, Sugar Regulatory Administration, Tourism Infrastructure, Enterprise Zone Authority, and Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority.

The October figure boosted the year-to-date government subsidies to surge by 25.60 percent to P158.73 billion from the year-earlier figure of P126.38 billion.
State-run companies with the biggest funding assistance in the first 10 months of the year were the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) with P61.55 billion, NIA with P32.05 billion, and Land Bank of the Philippines with P30.48 billion.
Subsidies fell under the national government’s disbursements program.
State spending in October rose by 1.37 percent to P310.8 billion from P306.6 billion a year ago, boosting the year-to-date tally by 5.05 percent to P2.93 trillion.
In 2018, the government gave away a record P136.652 billion in subsidies.

Andhra Pradesh government to supply quality rice under PDS from April 2020

A ministerial committee had suggested that the civil supplies department should negotiate with rice millers regarding the charges/incentives to be paid towards improving quality.
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Published: 16th December 2019 09:16 AM  |   Last Updated: 16th December 2019 09:16 AM  |  
Volunteers oversee supply of quality rice at the doorstep of the beneficiaries as part of a pilot project in Srikakulam district| Express
By Express News Service
VIJAYAWADA:  The State government on Sunday issued orders approving the recommendations made by the Group of Ministers for the supply of quality rice in the packaged form under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
In July, the government constituted the committee consisting of ministers Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, K Kanna Babu, Cherukuvada Sri Ranganatha Raju and Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao to examine various options to improve the quality of rice including sortex, bagging material and bagging machinery and also to come up with suitable recommendations needed to improve the quality of rice in the public distribution system and to start door delivery of rice to eligible households in packaged form.
In its recommendations, the committee suggested that the civil supplies department negotiate with rice millers regarding the charges/incentives to be paid towards improving quality including sortex, reduction of discoloured/broken grains etc, finalise appropriate packaging machinery, material and recommend appropriate measures to encourage small and medium rice mills to install sortex machinery and participate in the new programme.
In its maiden meeting held in August, the GOM  discussed the issues relating to supply of quality rice at the doorstep of beneficiaries in tamper-proof and weighment assured packets through village/ward volunteers and made a few recommendations that include usage of environment-friendly biodegradable packaging materials like paper and cloth should be explored for financial and operational feasibility.
It was finally agreed upon that an outturn ratio at 92.5 per cent will be fixed for reprocessing of existing custom milled rice (CMR) stocks. For every 100 kg of rice supplied by APSCSCL to the rice millers, the latter will provide 92.5 kg of rice in 5 kg, 10 kg, 15 kg and 20 kg bags.
Also, APSCSL will supply the packaging material and bear the transportation charges from buffer godowns to rice mill and from rice mill to MLS or village level stock point. The miller is allowed to retain the byproduct to cover its charges for sortex, grading, packaging, loading and unloading but they have to return the gunny bags to APSCSCL.
As a pilot project, the officials already launched the supply of quality rice in Srikakulam district in September this year. In all other districts, the distribution of quality rice will be taking place from April 2020. For the first time, the State government has developed an application like the tracking system in food delivery apps. Using it, customers can track their ration supplies through the app.
Note the points
  • For every 100 kg of rice supplied by APSCSCL, miller will provide 92.5 kg of rice in 5 kg, 10 kg, 15 kg and 20 kg bags
  • APSCSCL will supply packaging material and will bear the transportation charges from buffer godown to rice mill and from rice mill to MLS or village level stock point
  • Rice millers will deliver only Swarna and equivalent variety of rice to APSCSCL without mixture of varieties
  • APSCSCL will provide compensation at Rs 600 per metric tonne of CMR delivered to APSCSCL for sortex charges
  • APSCSCL will reimburse Rs 500 against every MT of improved quality balance CMR equivalent rice supplied by rice millers out of millers own paddy stocks
  • APSCSCL should recollect the used PP bags from the beneficiaries and arrange for reverse logistics of bags for recycling as a measure to curtail environmental damage

WATCH: Stop! We’ve been cooking rice the wrong way all this time

Manisha mentioned three things to prevent your rice from coming out starchy. Picture: Flickr.com
Cooking rice may seem as one of the easiest things to do in the world, right? It’s just a matter of filling a saucepan with some rice and water and leaving it to boil.
But according to one chef, this is the wrong way to cook rice. On an episode of BBC’s ‘Inside the Factory’, presenter Cherry Healey asked Chef Manisha Bhardwaj how to make the dinner table staple that’s been around for decades.
Manisha mentioned three things to prevent your rice from coming out starchy.
Step 1:
Rinse your rice before cooking it. This stops the rice grains from clogging together when you boil them.
Step 2:
Select the right saucepan. “You want to choose a pan that has a heavy bottom and has a tight fitting lid,” she advised.
Step 3:
Don’t boil it like you do with pasta. Chef Manisha made sure to cook her grains using the absorption technique.
What is the absorption technique?
Measuring out just the right amount of water, she said this allows the rice to soak it up without going to soggy or dry.
“One measure of rice and double the amount of water by volume. That’s crucial.”
If you still haven’t perfected the art of cooking rice, British chef Gordon Ramsay explains in the video below how to cook basmati rice – the king of all rices.
Like Manisha, Ramsay also starts off by rinsing off the dust and starch with cold water which he says “stops the rice from becoming clumpy in the pan”.

‘The new trend involves using simple ingredients’

It makes me sad when a proper recipe is not followed and due to this, consistent  results are not acquired.
Published: 14th December 2019 06:30 AM  |   Last Updated: 14th December 2019 06:30 AM  |  
By Express News Service
BENGALURU: When are you happiest at work?
As a chef when I am able to put my thoughts, imagination and flavours on a plate while creating a new signature dish and getting a fabulous feedback from my guest, these make me really happy at work.
What is your biggest disappointment as a chef?
It makes me sad when a proper recipe is not followed and due to this, consistent  results are not acquired.
What do you always avoid ordering on a menu?
I really avoid foods which are not sustainably sourced.
Of the dishes you prepare, which one would you never eat yourself? Why?
As a chef of western cuisine, I feel my dishes will never fill my stomach even if it tastes wonderful,
as my mind and my tongue always goes with home food.
Which is your favourite restaurant? What would you prefer to eat there?
I visit Thai or Mongolian restaurants often. The dining room in my sweet home is my most favourite restaurant, and my preference goes with desi ghee, basmati rice with one chilly and home style fish with potato.
Describe one incident when you messed up a recipe really bad.
In my early training days, I was told to take a measurement of white chocolate mousse. When I was chopping the white chocolate, unconsciously I ate some of white chocolate and the 1.5kg measurement became 1 kg, and definitely the product didn’t come perfect. My chef was not able to make out the problem till I revealed the truth with a very innocent face and with a promise of not repeating it again.
What is the best recent food trend?
Dishes made with simple and easily available ingredients, which you get in local markets.
Chef Debaditya Chakraborty,Chef De Cuisine, Hyatt Centric MG Road
Stay up to date on all the latest Bengaluru news with The New Indian Express

Asia Rice-India prices rebound, Vietnam sees uptick in demand

Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
December 12, 2019
7:04 AM EST
BENGALURU — Indian rice export prices rebounded this week from three-year lows as exporters increased rates to compensate for a rising rupee, while low supply and an uptick in demand from Cuba, Iraq and Philippines pushed up Vietnamese rates.
Top exporter India’s 5% broken parboiled variety was quoted around $358-$363 per tonne this week, up from last week’s $356-$361, which was the lowest since January 2017.
The appreciation in the rupee has been forcing traders to raise prices, but demand is still subdued, said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
The Indian rupee on Thursday rose to its highest level in more than a month, trimming exporters’ margin from overseas sales.
India’s rice exports in October fell 42% year-on-year to 485,898 tonnes, government data showed, due to weak demand from African countries for non-basmati rice.
In Vietnam, rates for 5% broken rice were quoted at $350 a tonne on Thursday, up slightly from $345 last week.
“Supply has run very low now as the harvest has ended while demand from exporters to fulfill shipments to Cuba and Iraq is still high,” said a trader in Ho Chi Minh City, adding demand from Philippines had also been picking up in the past two weeks.
Another trader said local supplies would increase from late next month when the winter-spring harvest begins.
Meanwhile, prices of 5% broken Thai rice were little changed at $397-$411 a tonne on Thursday versus $397-$410 the week before.
“We were expecting the price to drop with new supply this month but prices have not changed much,” a Bangkok-based trader said.
Prices for the Thai variety have been high relative to competitors throughout the year, largely due to the strength of the local currency.
“I have not been able to sell any for more than two months now because of the high prices,” another trader in Bangkok said. “My usual customers say they have been buying from Vietnam and Myanmar. Rice from those countries are of similar quality to ours and more importantly, their rice is cheaper.”
Bangladesh, the world’s fourth largest rice producer, could face severe damage to its growth in agricultural output due to climate change and rising sea-levels, the World Bank said in a report this week.
The country produces around 35 million tonnes of rice annually. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Phuong Nguyen in Hanoi and Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok; editing by Arpan Varghese and Jane Merriman)

Rice farmers to get P5,000 from gov’t starting Dec. 23

December 16, 2019 4:42pm
By JON VIKTOR D. CABUENAS, GMA News
Farmers affected the most by low palay prices due to the Rice Tariffication Law can expect a P5,000 cash grant by next week, the Department of Agriculture said Monday.
The government, through the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) will start releasing the cash grant through the Rice Farmer Financial Assistance (RFFA) Program on December 23, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said in a press conference in Manila City.
“To ensure that we efficiently do it, we meticulously crafted a guideline in selecting the first 33 rice-producing provinces and qualified farmers as beneficiaries,” he said.
“We conducted a comparative price analysis and considered the average marketable surplus and profit gains and losses in those provinces,” Dar added.
The guidelines were signed by officials of the DA, LandBank, and DBP in Manila City on Monday.
Dar said Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija are the priority areas as farmers there were the hardest hit by low palay prices after the law was enacted earlier this year. The government has identified 33 rice-producing areas that will be covered under the initial rollout of the program.
It mandated a P10-billion Rice Competitive Enhancement Fund, which includes P5 billion for farm mechanization, and P3 billion for seedlings procurement, to ensure that rice imports won’t drown out the agriculture sector and rob farmers of their livelihood.
“Unahin natin itong badly affected areas. We will have it relooked whether the same provinces (will be given cash assistance in the next batch),” said Dar.
This year, Dar said the program will be financed by the national government’s excess revenue.
“We understand the plight of our rice farmers, particularly the marginal ones who are experiencing the challenge of a liberalized rice trade,” said Dar.
“The RFFA is one way to help them cope with the rough competition they are facing in the market today,” he added.
LandBank and the DBP will each disburse P1.5 billion to 300,000 farmers nationwide.
“LandBank remains steadfast in fulfilling its mandate to our farmers. Together with the DA and DBP, we are committed to strengthening our partnership to provide as much financial support as we can to ease the challenges our farmers are currently experiencing,” said LandBank President Cecilia Borromeo. —VDS, GMA News

Adams, Williams help Rice rally past S Mississippi 73-65

by Denton Staff Contributor  December 15, 2019
HOUSTON (AP) — Ako Adams and Jack Williams combined for 22 of their 28 points in the second half and Rice rallied to defeat Southern Mississippi 73-65 on Thursday.
Williams, who also had 10 rebounds, scored all 12 of his points after halftime to help the Owls (6-9, 1-1 Conference USA) erase a 42-33 deficit. Adams, who had four 3-pointers, had 10 after the break. Chris Mullins and Trey Murphy III also had 12 points.
Tyree Griffin led the Golden Eagles (5-10, 0-2) with 17 points, 15 in the first half, and LaDavius Draine added 12.
Tim Rowe, who finished with 10 points, opened the second half with a jumper that put Southern Miss up 44-33. After Mullins answered for the Owls, Drew Peterson and Adams knocked down 3-pointers to cut the deficit to three. Rowe scored again but then Rice ran off 11 straight, capped by a Williams 3, for a 52-46 lead. Twice with less than seven minutes to play the Golden Eagles got within one but each time William answered, the second time with a 3 that started a 7-0 game-saving burst.