World pledges 250 million euros for Lebanon's people
A soldier stands at the devastated site of the explosion in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, August 6, 2020. (Photo: AP)
PARIS, France (AFP) — World leaders on Sunday pledged more than 250 million euros for disaster-struck Lebanon, conference host France said, with the emergency aid to be delivered "directly" to a population reeling from the deadly port blast in Beirut.
Fifteen government leaders including US President Donald Trump took part in the virtual conference hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and the UN, pledging solidarity with the Lebanese people and promising to muster "major resources" in the coming days and weeks.
A joint statement issued after the meeting in which representatives of nearly 30 countries as well as the EU and Arab League participated, did not mention a global amount.
But Macron's office said the total figure of "emergency aid pledged or that can be mobilised quickly" amounts to 252.7 million euros (US$298 million), including 30 million euros from France.
Macron was the first world leader to visit the former French colony after Tuesday's devastating explosion of a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate which killed more than 150 people, wounded some 6,000 and left an estimated 300,000 homeless.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told ZDF broadcaster that "more than 200 million euros of emergency aid have been collected," including 20 million euros from Germany.
- 'Utmost efficiency and transparency' -
The joint statement from the world leaders and their representatives underscored concerns about Lebanese government corruption.
"The participants agreed that their assistance should be timely, sufficient and consistent with the needs of the Lebanese people, well-coordinated under the leadership of the United Nations, and directly delivered to the Lebanese population, with utmost efficiency and transparency," it said.
USAID acting administrator John Barsa also said in a conference call Sunday that American help, some $15 million announced so far, "is absolutely not going to the government".
The donor nations urged Lebanon's authorities to "fully commit themselves to timely measures and reforms" in order to unlock longer-term support for the country's economic and financial recovery.
And they said assistance for "an impartial, credible and independent inquiry" into Tuesday's explosion "is immediately needed and available, upon request of Lebanon".
The UN said some US$117 million will be needed for an emergency response over the next three months, for health services, emergency shelter, food distribution and programmes to prevent further spread of COVID-19, among other interventions.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who was also on Sunday's group call, thanked Macron for the initiative.
"Much is needed to rebuild what has been destroyed and to restore Beirut's lustre," the Lebanese presidency quoted him on Twitter as saying.
"The needs are many and we need to address them quickly, especially before the arrival of winter, which will accentuate the suffering of homeless citizens."
- Calls for calm -
At least 21 people are still missing from the huge blast, and the Lebanese army said Sunday hopes of finding survivors are dwindling.
Lebanese people enraged by official negligence blamed for the explosion have taken to the streets in anti-government protests that have resulted in clashes with the army.
Macron said it was now up to the authorities of Lebanon "to act so that the country does not sink, and to respond to the aspirations that the Lebanese people are expressing right now, legitimately, in the streets of Beirut".
"We must all work together to ensure that neither violence nor chaos prevails," he added. "It is the future of Lebanon that is at stake."
Trump also called for calm, according to the White House, which said he agreed with other leaders on the group call to "work closely together in international response efforts".
"President Trump also urged the government of Lebanon to conduct a full and transparent investigation, in which the United States stands ready to assist," it said.
"The President called for calm in Lebanon and acknowledged the legitimate calls of peaceful protestors for transparency, reform, and accountability."
- 'Generous help' -
Apart from heads of state and government ministers, Sunday's conference was attended by UN aid coordinator Mark Lowcock, representatives of the World Bank, the Red Cross, the IMF, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Israel, with whom Lebanon has no diplomatic relations, did not participate, though Macron said it had expressed a wish to contribute, nor did Iran which wields huge influence in Lebanon through the Shiite group Hezbollah.
Key Arab states in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and the UAE were represented, as were Britain, China, Jordan and Egypt.
Macron said Turkey, with which France's diplomatic ties have been icy over the Libyan conflict, and Russia had indicated their support for the initiative, though they did not take part in the conference.
According to the UN, at least 15 medical facilities, including three major hospitals, sustained structural damage in the blast, and extensive damage to more than 120 schools may interrupt learning for some 55,000 children.
Thousands of people are in need of food and the blast interrupted basic water and sanitation to many neighbourhoods.
Pope Francis called Sunday appealed for "generous help" from the international community.
France has been sending tonnes of medical and food aid, dozens of search and rescue personnel and forensic experts to aid the investigation, as well as reconstruction materials.
On top of cash aid pledged so far, Egypt and Qatar have promised field hospitals, Brazil said it would send 4,000 tonnes of rice, and Spain 10 tonnes of wheat.
"In these horrendous times, Lebanon is not alone," concluded the conference statement.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/World_pledges_250_million_euros_for_Lebanons_people
policies needed to promote mechanical engineering in agriculture
Vietnam needs policies to promote mechanical engineering in
agriculture to increase added value and quality for the farming sector, experts
have said.
Monday, August 10, 2020 15:23
Illustrative image (Photo: congthuong.vn)
Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam needs policies to promote mechanical
engineering in agriculture to increase added
value and quality for the farming sector, experts have said.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, agricultural mechanisation
still had very low levels of adoption in Vietnam with an average of 1.6
horsepower (HP) per hectare, much lower than 4HP per hectare of Thailand, 8HP
of China and 10HP of the Republic of Korea,
Vietnam must now import about 70 percent of its agricultural machinery, mainly
from China. Domestically-produced agricultural machines cost 15-20 percent
more than those imported from China.
Phan Tan Ben, Director of Phan Tan Agricultural Machinery Company Limited, said
the local agricultural machinery industry was outdated and was about to come to
a dead-end compared to the rapid development of other regional countries.
Agriculture mechanisation was taking place but the machinery was mostly
imported while domestically-produced machines were losing their position in the
market, Ben said.
The main reason for this situation was that Vietnam had not developed
spearheads in mechanical engineering and agricultural mechanism in
particular, lacking strategies for the industry's development.
He added there was also a lack of resources for investment in the industry,
outdated technologies and a shortage of raw materials. In addition, competition
from imported machines from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea was
also an issue, he said.
According to Nguyen Chi Sang, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam
Association of Mechanical Enterprises, market demand for
each type of agricultural machine remained small, which would not ensure
an economy of scale.
Another factor was that mechanical projects required very huge investment, Sang
said, adding that most Vietnamese firms lacked such huge capital while the
Government’s support remained limited. In addition, the part-supplying industry
for the mechanical industry had not been developed.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development forecast Vietnam had
significant demand for agricultural machinery by 2025, including 500-1,000 rice
planting machines per year and 2,000-3,000 rice combine harvesters
annually.
Demand for harvester machines for sugarcane, coffee, corn, been and peanuts
would be three to five times higher.
Nguyen The Ha, Director of Bui Van Ngo Technology Institute, said that the
Mekong Delta had a large demand for agricultural machinery which was
estimated to amount to billions of dollars.
According to Ben, the Government’s support in terms of capital, tax and land
policies and human resources was critical for the development of the
agricultural machinery industry.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade said to develop the mechanical industry, it
was necessary to develop policies to encourage large-scale agricultural
production.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said it was studying a
special credit package for the purchase of agricultural machines which would
accelerate agricultural mechanisation. The package will be proposed to the
Government for consideration./.
NFA cites excuses
for slow palay procurement
August 9, 2020, 10:00 PM
While the country is assured that the
National Food Authority (NFA) will have enough subsidized rice to distribute
when needed, the state-run grains agency’s chief said their palay procurement
has been slowed down by lack of rice milling facilities and government’s low
buying price.
In a text exchange, National Food
Authority (NFA) Administrator Judy Carol Dansal said it’s not the supply, but
the lack of rice milling facilities that impedes the agency’s palay
procurement.
Under a liberalized regime, NFA’s sole
mandate has been reduced to buffer stocking for calamities and emergencies.
To perform this task, the agency buys
locally produced palay from farmers, which it sells to local government units
(LGUs) and partner agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD).
“We are not in a bad situation [in
terms of stocks]. We continue to procure stocks now [but] it is not in big
volumes yet because the main harvest will start by September or three weeks
from now,” Dansal said.
Right now, Dansal said that NFA’s rice
milling warehouse could only cater to 25 percent of its palay inventory,
forcing the agency to keep its contract with private millers.
“On the milling aspect of our inventory, we
still have several rice mills located in different parts of the country and we
are still using them,” Dansal said.
“[But] we cannot avoid contracting milling
to private sectors to convert our palay stocks into rice in order to address
the volume of the daily requirements nationwide. During the past
administrations, NFA did not to buy rice mills because of government policy not
to compete with the business of private sector,” she added.
She also said that the change to limit
NFA’s mandate to “merely buffer stocking has the negative effect of removal of
40 percent of our personnel complement, which we will implement in a few months
from now”.
“Further, the budget being given by
the national government is only to buy palay. Hence, we have no budget to buy
rice mills,” Dansal further said.
NFA currently has an annual budget of P7 billion for palay procurement.
Dansal also said that the government’s Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) program is “clear in so far as the
beneficiaries are concerned and NFA is not among them.” RCEF is the collection
of rice import tariffs.
“However, [Agriculture] Secretary William
Dar is doing his best to look for funds to support our present post-harvest
facilities,” the NFA chief further said.
Meanwhile, Dansal likewise said that
another reason NFA could not buy big volumes of palay as of now is the still
relatively low buying price for palay at P19 per kilogram.
“The market dictates the price. So if the
farm-gate price of palay is high, higher than the P19/kg buying price of the
government, the farmers sell their produce to the private traders.
Latest data from the Philippine Statistics
Authority (PSA) showed that as of the second week of July, the average farmgate
price of palay stood at 18.49/kg, rising by 3.9 percent from the 17.79/kg price
recorded in the same period last year.
Dansal’s statement came as some groups
expressed concern against the alleged dwindling NFA inventory that is
good to last for seven days only.
“This is alarming as the next big harvest
is still in October. It pays to be prepared especially with this pandemic still
hovering in the picture,” Omi Royandoyan, representative of Nagkakaisang Grupo
Laban sa RTL or Rice Tariffication Law, said.
Dansal was quick to defend the agency,
saying that NFA only supplies to 5 percent of the market given its new mandate
and amid falling purchases from LGUs and government agencies.“Our current
buffer stock, if NFA will feed the 109 million Filipinos daily, will only last
for days. But that is not the situation anymore because we only share a maximum
of 5 percent market participation. We have the private sector and the household
stocks to help the government stocks,” Dansal said.
She also said that NFA’s sales from LGUs
and other government relief agencies have been reduced from 10 percent during
the first few months of COVID-19 pandemic to 2 percent as of now.
https://mb.com.ph/2020/08/09/nfa-cites-excuses-for-slow-palay-procurement/
West Ham 'may
be forced to sell £70million Chelsea target Declan Rice' as manager David Moyes
looks to raise funds to bring in new signings this summer
·
David
Moyes wants to bring in reinforcements after leading West Ham to survival
·
However,
the Hammers lack the funds amid the costly coronavirus pandemic
·
The
east Londoners will have to sell to raise cash, with Rice a potential outgoing
·
West
Ham want to keep him but may not be able to reject £70m from Chelsea
·
Moyes
is targeting QPR's Eberechi Eze and Brentford striker Said Benrahma
West Ham's
summer business could hinge on the future of Declan Rice, who the Hammers may be forced to sell in
order to fund new signings.
Rice was crucial in midfield as David Moyes
masterminded a late charge out of the relegation zone, finishing the 2019-20
campaign in 16th, five points clear of the drop.
The
21-year-old didn't miss a minute of the Premier League season and has
attracted attention from boyhood club Chelsea, who are weighing-up a bid for the
£70m-rated midfielder.
While they
would prefer to keep the England international, the Hammers may be forced to
let the youngster leave in order to fund bids for Moyes' transfer targets,
according to the Sun.
Manuel Lanzini, Felipe Anderson and Fabian
Balbuena are reportedly also up for sale, with Championship talents Eberechi
Eze and Brentford's Said Benrahma both being eyed-up as Moyes looks to add more
firepower to his squad.
West Ham fans would be gutted at the sight of
Rice leaving, after the youngster broke into the first-team and established
himself as a top-flight star following his first-team debut in
2017.
Chelsea are favourites to sign Rice, with
Frank Lampard's side representing a serious step up for the Londoner after
qualifying for the Champions League.
Rice is also close friends with breakout
Blues sensation Mason Mount, having rose through the age groups together at the
west Londoners' academy.
The midfielder has seven caps in Gareth
Southgate's England side and could be played at centre-back in Lampard's Blues
system, attempting to solve their leaky back-line
Locust swarms sprea reduced from 61 to 2
districts
By
August 10, 2020
Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Owing to untiring efforts of
joint teams for combating desert locust attacks, the threats were minimized
from 61 districts to only two districts including Tahr Parker and Bahwalpur.
The joint teams of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research,
provincial agriculture departments and the Pakistan Army were conducting a
comprehensive survey and control operation against the locusts in different
districts to overcome the threats.
According to National Locust Control Centre (NLCC), during last 24 hours,
survey was conducted over 267,770 hectares, operation was performed over 1,266
hectares in effected areas of Tahr Parker. During last six months anti-locust
operation was completed over 1,103,870 hectares, it added. It further said that
the desert locust threats from South West Asia and Iran had reduced, whoever
the threats of attack were still existing from the swarms coming from India and
Africa.
Secretary Agriculture Punjab, Wasif Khursheed, said reduction in crops
production would be compensated through ‘Beema Takaful’ programme. Around
254,482 crops of cotton and rice growers having five acres land at 18 districts
of Punjab were affected due to environmental changes, natural calamities and
locust attack, adding that the Punjab had provided them financial protection
through Beema Takaful programme.
The 18 district included Multan, Khanewal, Lodhran, DG Khan, Muzaffargarh,
Rajanpur, Layyah, Bahawalpur, Bahawal Nagar, RahimYar Khan, Bhakkar, Sahiwal,
Okara, Faisalabad, Qasoor, Sheikhupura, Narowal and Mandi Bahauddin. While more
districts would be included in phases, he said.
In a statement issued here on Sunday, Secretary Agriculture said that policy
certificates have been issued to cotton and rice growers who get beema
registration while they were also informed through SMS. The insurance company
would contact with beema registered growers and wold be bound to compensate the
losses, he informed. Secretary informed that Rs 500 subsidy on DAP, Rs 200 on
NP, Rs 200 on SSP.
Need for innovation in agriculture
Nasir JamalUpdated 10 Aug
2020Facebook Count
Pakistan’s population is forecast to
almost double in the next 30 years. That means we will have another 200 million
mouths to feed by 2050. On top of rapid population growth, the changing climate
or global warming is bringing new challenges to the nation’s food security — a
total of 21m people in the country are already estimated to be acutely food
insecure at present.
Being among the 10 countries
affected most by climate change, Pakistan is on track to become the most
water-stressed nations in the region by 2040. This will result in significant
shortages of surface water availability for irrigation, industry and human
consumption. According to the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural
Organisation (FAO), the number of extreme climate-related disasters have more
than doubled since the 1990s with an average of 213 of these events occurring
every year from 1990 through 2016, affecting agricultural productivity and
causing harvest losses. For example, unusual temperature and humidity during
the summer of 2019 had resulted in widespread harvest losses across cotton,
rice and maize crops across much of Punjab and Sindh.
Leveraging drone technology alone
will enable farmers to increase their productivity through improved pest
management
Agriculture is the mainstay of
Pakistan’s economy, accounting for almost a fifth of the economy and 42 per
cent of the workforce in 2019. The total cropped area amounts to 23.4m hectares
and is primarily worked by smallholders averaging 6.4 acres per farm. Of all
arable land, 52pc is irrigated, accounting for more than 90pc of overall
agriculture productivity. However, in spite of being a substantial part of the
national economy, agriculture productivity is declining, impeding economic
growth and causing food security concerns. Faced with these challenges, it is
critical that Pakistan starts embracing modern agriculture technology and
innovation to protect and enhance the natural resource base while increasing
productivity.
Globally, the agriculture sector is
at the cusp of a technology revolution. Modern farms and agricultural
operations work far differently than those a few decades ago owing to the use
of technologies including sensors, devices, machines and information
technology. Today agriculture routinely uses sophisticated technologies such as
robots, drones, temperature and moisture sensors, advanced gene editing,
digital agriculture, etc. These advanced devices and precision agriculture
allow businesses to be more profitable, efficient, safer and environmentally
friendly. These technologies are ready to fuel the next wave of innovation in
agriculture around the world and help farmers meet challenges posed by climate
change, water scarcity and the burgeoning population.
The FAO estimates that the Internet
of Things (IoT) can help increase agricultural productivity by 70pc by 2050.
The technology, when scaled across Pakistan’s smallholder geography, can help
farmers optimise the use of inputs and scarce resources they have for improved
yields and greater profits, says Dr Muhammad Awais, a professor from the Lahore
University of Management Sciences. “Similarly, a gene-editing technique using
Crispr has untapped potential for greater crop productivity, enhanced
nutritional value, reduce food wastage and climate resilience. In Pakistan’s
context, small farmers are significantly more affected by insufficient
information, unpredictable weather changes, soil erosion, yield loss due to
pests and insects, and increase in input and cultivation costs. Therefore,
technology adoption is even more essential for the transformation of
agriculture. The use of high-yield crops resistant to disease, pests and
adverse weather conditions can potentially help alleviate poverty, conserve the
environment and ensure food security.”
Pakistan, unfortunately, has dragged
its feet when it comes to embracing new technologies. While other developing
economies have embraced innovation in agriculture, we are still rooted in
traditional farming. The recent locust attack highlights this widening gap
between Pakistan and progressive economies; while the world has shifted to
unmanned aerial vehicles to combat these situations, Pakistan hasn’t been able
to keep up with the pace of modern technology. Even with biotechnology, despite
heavy public-sector investment for research and education of the technology,
formal commercialisation of biotech crops remains a distant reality due to
policy disconnects at various levels of the government.
Dr Yousuf Zafar, former chairman of
the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC), stresses the need for
adopting a more sustainable and technologically advanced approach to
agriculture. “We must adopt practices involving sustainable use of our natural
resources, allowing farmers to grow more with less. Technologies such as laser
land levelling, solar-powered high-efficiency irrigation systems, smart water
grids and drones need to be promoted for precision agriculture and higher
productivity. Leveraging drone technology in agriculture alone will enable
farmers to increase their productivity through improved pest management and
increased precision owing to their increasing applications, such as aerial
mapping, plant health monitoring, soil analysis and weed detection.”
Experts argue that the potential of
technological advancement in agriculture remains untapped owing to the absence
of an overarching legislative and policy framework and an outdated regulatory
regime. The changes in technology have far outpaced changes in the regulatory
and legislative frameworks, and the regulatory regimes are inefficient and lack
adequate resources. This has discouraged private sector investment in research
and development and enhanced barriers to entry for new agriculture
technologies. Public sector institutions lack financial and technical resources
for research and development and are ill-equipped to keep pace with rapidly
changing industry landscape, says Dr Zafar.
Moreover, the rate of technology
adoption has been slow and lacks innovative approach towards local adaptation
with archaic marketing systems and subsidy operations incentivising subsistence
farming practices, limiting investment in commercial agriculture due to such value
chain distortions. “Sadly, the importance of sustainable agriculture has not
been a mainstream theme in the prevailing policy discourse, resulting in
overall neglect by policymakers,” the former PARC chairman argues.
With the pace of technological advancements
in agriculture reaching an unprecedented level, an enabling business
environment must be created in the country for timely adoption of new and novel
technologies to boost agriculture as well as encourage innovation and attracts
meaningful investments in research.
A strong and stable policy, legal
and regulatory framework would provide an environment to facilitate long-term
investment and technology transfer by firms and other innovation actors. The
government must ensure that the prevailing legal framework is evolving with new
innovations and technologies.
Published in Dawn, The Business and
Finance Weekly, August 10th, 2020
Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, August 10th,
2020
https://www.dawn.com/news/1573496/need-for-innovation-in-agriculture
Rice looking good in Louisiana
and Mississippi
Updated
CROWLEY, La. (AP) — Agriculture experts in Louisiana and
Mississippi say the rice crop is looking good.
“It’s a big contrast from last year,” Jeremy Hebert, AgCenter
agent in Acadia Parish, said in a news release Friday from the Louisiana State
University AgCenter. “Things actually worked out in farmers’ favor.”
Louisiana is about halfway through its harvest, and its yield —
the amount per acre — could at least tie for second-highest ever, said Dustin
Harrell a rice specialist at the AgCenter.
Mississippi’s harvest is about to begin and the state's
estimated 150,000 acres (about 60,700 hectares) of rice look very good, said
Mississippi State University Extension Service rice expert Bobby Golden.
U.S. Agriculture Department statistics show Louisiana planted
about 430,000 acres of rice this year. Arkansas, with 1.4 million acres, leads
the nation and California is second at 507,000 acres. Missouri farmers planted
219,000 acres, and those in Texas 184,000.
“Conditions were almost perfect for growing rice” this year —
unlike last year, when bad weather left Louisiana farmers only about 6,300
pounds of rice per acre, Harrell said in a news release Friday.
He estimated the current crop at 7,250 pounds per acre, just 50
pounds an acre below the record set in 2016.
There also is far less disease, said plant pathologist Don
Groth.
Golden, based at the Delta Research and Extension Center in
Stoneville, said the first Mississippi farmers to plant rice may be able to start
draining their fields the second week of August.
“There is some extremely good-looking rice out there, but it’s
too early to tell where our yields will be,” Golden said in a news release
Friday.
Louisiana only planted about 5,000 more acres of rice this year
than last. Mississippi State extension row-crop economist Will Maple noted that
the total was up more than 30% in Mississippi and 15% nationally.
That likely will hurt prices, he said.
“The national average farm price for long-grain rice is projected
down this year at $11.60 per hundredweight from $12 last year,” Maples said.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without
permission.
Korea
promotes home-developed rice varieties amid boycott of Japanese products
Posted : 2020-08-09 09:39
Updated : 2020-08-09 09:39
129
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Gettyimagesbank |
By Jung Min-ho
Japanese rice cultivars such as Koshihikari have become increasingly popular
among Koreans in recent years as more consumers seek new varieties of this
staple food.
In a bid to compete with them in "the luxury rice market," a
government research agency has recently developed and released two rice
varieties ― Haedeul and Alchanmi ― which aim to overtake their Japanese rivals
over the next few years.
"Japanese rice cultivars are overpriced and overrated," a senior
researcher, surnamed Roh, at the Rural Development Administration (RDA), told
The Korea Times Thursday. "Our task is to challenge the popular perception
that Japanese rice is tastier, which is not true. Blindfolded, I bet you would
choose Korean rice over Japanese."
In fact, in a blind test last year, 48 percent of participants picked Haedeul
over Koshihikari ― a Japonica rice cultivar internationally known for its good
taste ― which received 28 percent of votes.
In some regions, especially Gyeonggi Province, Korean rice varieties have
already started replacing Japanese ones.
According to the RDA, the cultivation area for foreign rice varieties here,
most of which are the three Japanese varieties (Akibare, Koshihikari and
Hitomebore), was estimated at nearly 66,000 hectares (about 9 percent of Korea's
total rice cultivation area) in 2018. That is thought to have decreased to
about 56,000 hectares this year. The RDA's goal is to reduce it to less than
10,000 hectares by 2024.
Meanwhile, land for Haedeul and Alchanmi production increased to 1,020 hectares
from 131 hectares, and to 947 hectares from 10 hectares, respectively. The RDA
thinks the combined cultivation area for the two will reach 7,500 hectares by
2022.
Haedeul and Alchanmi are considered among the best home-developed rice
cultivars. But they are not the only options. Since 2003, the National
Institute of Crop Science under the RDA has developed 18 rice varieties,
including Samkwang, Haiami, Haepum and Haedamssal.
Today, the land used for premium rice accounts for about 25 percent of the
total, from only 1.2 percent in 2006. The RDA says the market is expected to
continue growing.
But not everyone is happy with the RDA's aggressive marketing. Some consumers
here worry that their favorite rice brands will disappear from the market
because of what they see as an extension of the ongoing boycott of Japanese
products, which was triggered by political issues such as sexual slavery and
forced labor during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The movement
has intensified under the Moon Jae-in administration.
Asked whether the RDA's project is politically motivated, Roh said no.
"The timing is interesting. But the RDA started working on this project
long before the start of the Moon administration," he said.
"I understand the concern that consumer rights may be curtailed as a
result. But no one will force Korean farmers to cultivate certain crops. If
consumers continue to seek Japanese rice and farmers know it, then it will
still be on the market."
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2020/08/694_294066.html
A tale of two billionaires
MacKenzie Scott parted amicably last year from former husband
Jeff Bezos, the richest American and the also world’s richest person, with the
largest settlement ever in the history of divorce proceedings, estimated at $35
billion. The Amazon founder just required one thing — the former wife would be
without voting rights on her Amazon shares. The wealth tracker of Forbes listed
her as the fourth wealthiest American woman.
According to written accounts, this was how the global
behemoth started. The rough draft of Amazon’s business plan, selling books
online, was written as the couple left the investment house D. E. Shaw for the
adventure in the Seattle area, with MacKenzie at the wheel and Jeff Bezos at
the passenger side jotting down business notes and operational plans.
Amazon, from the initial online book selling, is now an online
juggernaut (consistently in the Top 3 global companies in terms of market
cap), with Bezos’ wealth piling up even during
the coronavirus pandemic. Mackenzie Scott is preoccupied with another
thing — giving money to worthy causes such as racial justice, climate
change and global health.
Last year, Miss Scott gave away a total of $1.7 billion to
116 organizations, including two historic Black colleges. There was one
divergent point from the usual philanthropy work of American billionaires — she
would rather leave it to the leaders of the beneficiary institutions on how to
best use the money, a rare hands-off approach to large-scale-giving work.
Miss Scott has also signed the Giving Pledge, the Bill
Gates-Warren Buffet initiative that commits the bulk of the
billionaires’ wealth to worthy causes, with little to be left to their
families. She said she would give everything away “until the safe is
empty.”
The Princeton-trained MacKenzie Scott is a novelist.
Her out-of-the-box philanthropy work was the reason she was in
the news recently. Let this sink in: she will give away her wealth “until
the safe is empty.”
In the Philippine context, a Philippine senator, Cynthia Villar,
wife of the country’s richest Filipino, was recently in the news and on
the contentious, free-wheeling space called social media.
It was about her reaction to a call of Philippine health
workers, burdened to the last sinew of their bodies by the heavy load
of caring for the country’s sick during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But before going to that, let us first go to the
pivotal role of Senator Villar in the Senate.
She is the chairman of the Senate Committee
on Agriculture and the head of the congressional oversight on all
important matters related to agriculture. I am a small farmer, a part of her
natural constituency.
Senator Villar was the main sponsor of the Rice
Tariffication Law (RTL), which to small rice farmers like this typist
is the worst law passed in the 21st century. The scrapping of the
quantitative restrictions on rice imports paved the way for massive rice dumps
that were unprecedented in the history of the country’s rice production.
For less than 10 months of frenzied, non-stop importation of
rice last year, around 3 million metric tons of rice were dumped through
the local ports, 2.1 million MT of which came from Vietnam. The
surge of rice imports depressed farm gate prices of palay (unhusked
rice) to historic levels. In remote areas far from private buying
stations, palay prices went down to as much as P8 per kilo. The wide-scale
depression the massive rice dumps dealt on small rice farmers is too depressing
to recollect.
Palay prices recovered a bit this year but not enough to reverse
the miseries of last year for the country’s 3 million small rice farmers.
In lieu of the quantitative restrictions, the RTL imposed
tariffs on imported rice, 35 percent on imports from the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations and 50 percent on imports from
outside the region. The tariff collection is to be pooled under an amelioration
program for small farmers. Again, greed, corruption and bureaucratic
incompetence failed to make the most out of the tariff collection to maximize
the money pool for the amelioration program.
According to the Federation of Free Farmers, total tariff
collection from last year to May this year could have been P2.7 billion higher
had the authorities imposed the proper valuation on the rice imports. Having
passed a brutal law that wrecked the lives of the voiceless and neglected small
rice farmers, the oversight work — a mandate of Senator Villar — should have
exercised the oversight function to push the authorities into doing the proper
valuation of the rice imports to at least shore up the money pool for the small
rice farmers.
No oversight function was exercised. The suffering small rice farmers were
dealt a second blow by the undervaluation of the rice imports.
Under Senator Villar’s chairmanship of the ever-critical
committee on agriculture, the Land Bank of the
Philippines (LandBank) lent billions of pesos in unsecured loans to
bankrupt South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industry Co. Ltd. while
starving Filipino agrarian-reform beneficiaries and small farmers of
their much-needed loans. If the LandBank lent at all, it was to agri-business
corporations, Big Ag, giant grains entities and local government units
acquiring dump trucks and bulldozers. I don’t think a Senate investigation was
conducted to inquire into why the LandBank, whose charter was to
lend to small farmers and agrarian-reform beneficiaries, lent money to a
bankrupt South Korean shipbuilder while failing to serve its reason for being.
No inquiry into a shift of priorities at the Department of
Agriculture was also ever conducted, with the department more
focused on rolling out sham programs mostly for propaganda than doing the
brick and mortar work to help the neglected small farmers and the long-suffering
agriculture sector.
Of course, Mrs. Villar gets into the news not because of
agriculture. When asked for her reaction to a recent clamor from the
overburdened health workers to place Metro Manila and other virus-stricken
areas under modified enhanced community quarantine or MECQ,
her reaction was this. “Huwag na siguro. Pagbutihin na lang trabaho nila.”
After that display of unalloyed insensitivity fired up netizens, she
clarified that she was not referring to the health workers in
particular but to the health authorities.
Too late. I was reading the accounts of MacKenzie Scott’s
generous giving during the time Mrs. Villar was flogged
by netizens for unfathomable indifference. You can see the contrast
between the two billionaires: extreme humanity versus extreme insensitivity.
You can sanitize your N95
respirator mask in an Instant Pot or rice cooker, study finds
Researchers say
1 cooking cycle in the electric cooker will decontaminate the mask from 4
different classes of viruses
If you own an
Instant Pot, rice cooker or any other electric cooker, you now have another way
to sanitize your N95 respirator mask. (University
of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
WARNING: Do NOT use the oven or microwave to sanitize masks. It is a fire
hazard.
If you own an
Instant Pot, rice cooker or any other electric cooker, you now have a way to
sanitize your N95 respirator mask.
According to a study by the University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign, if you apply 50 minutes of dry heat to your
mask in an electric cooker, the N95 mask will be decontaminated inside and out
while maintaining its filtration and fit.
Researchers
said this method of sanitization could allow N95 mask wearers to safely reuse
respirators that are originally intended for one-time use.
N95 respirator
masks are one of the most-effective masks in preventing the spread of COVID-19
droplets and particles, according to U of I researchers.
“A cloth mask
or surgical mask protects others from droplets the wearer might expel, but a
respirator mask protects the wearer by filtering out smaller particles that
might carry the virus,” U of I Professor Thanh “Helen” Nguyen said in a
statement.
If you do utilize this method to sanitize your N95 respirator mask,
the study suggests putting a towel inside of the cooker before placing your
mask inside to separate it from the heat source at the bottom of the cooker.
One cooking cycle in the electric cooker at around 100 degrees Celsius
or 212 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes will decontaminate the mask from four
different classes of viruses, including coronaviruses, researchers said.
Watch an instructional video from the University of Illinois
explaining how to do the decontamination with an electric cooker:
The study was supported by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
Do NOT use a microwave or oven to sanitize a face mask because it
could be a serious fire hazard.
To learn more about the study, click here.
Customs officer allegedly shoots NURTW member over bag of rice in
Oyo
Published
By
A yet to be idetified officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)
Oyo/Osun command has allegedly shot a member of the proscribed National Union
of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Oyo State.
DAILY POST gathered on Saturday that the incident occurred at
Moniya park in Iseyin town, one of the towns in Oyo State, Friday evening.
It was learnt that the officer shot the executive member of the
proscribed NURTW, identified as Mr. Lateef Aboki at the Moniya park in Iseyin.
The said officer was among three others in mufti and in a private
Lexus Jeep.
They were said to have gone to the park while chasing a public
transport vehicle to the park on suspicion of the vehicle carrying a bag of
foreign rice.
The customs officers immediately left the scene when Aboki was hit
by a bullet.
Aboki was later rushed to an undisclosed hospital for treatment.
The Lexus Jeep belonging to the Customs Officer has been towed to
the Police station in Iseyin by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the town
for further investigation, DAILY POST learnt on Saturday.
DAILY POST gathered that the shot NURTW member is responding to
treatment at the hospital as of the time of filing this report on Saturday.
Head of the park, Mr Lateef Shittu, confirmed the incident to
journalists on Saturday.
Shittu said that he got a call that one of his executive members
was shot by a customs officer at the park.
He said that he immediately contacted the Divisional Police
officer (DPO) in Iseyin, who got to the spot immediately to take control of
situation before it degenerated to chaos.
Shittu said, “I was called around 4pm that some customs officers
in mufti chased a vehicle which they believed was carrying a bag of rice to our
park and in the process, hit one of our buses.
“They were asked to identify themselves as they wore no uniform
and were in a private Lexus Jeep and instead of doing that, they started
shooting, unfortunately one of the bullets hit one of my executive members,
named Lateef Aboki in the chest.
“We thank God that he is responding to treatment and we also call
on the authority to warn the Nigerian Customs officers to apply decorum and
professionalism when doing their job.
“The vehicle they chased did not carry any rice when they
eventually searched it, why chasing vehicles with private vehicle and in mufti?
Do they even need to chase vehicles in the town and be shooting when they know
there are many people walking by or those unknowingly driving by”.
However, all efforts made by DAILY POST to get reaction of the
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Oyo/Osun Command of the NIS, Mr. Abdullah
Lagos proved to be abortive as several calls made through his telephone lines
were not answered.
Similarly, an SMS sent to Mr. Lagos by DAILY POST reporter, asking
him for reaction has not been replied as of the time of filing this report on
Saturday.
"Great Taste, Aroma": Why Shivraj Chouhan Wrote To
Sonia Gandhi On Rice
Madhya Pradesh basmati rice GI tag: Shivraj Singh Chouhan has written
to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi over the matter
Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Madhya
Pradesh basmati rice should get GI tag
New Delhi:
After Punjab asked the centre not
to give geographical indication or GI tag to basmati rice grown in Madhya
Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has written back to Congress
chief Sonia Gandhi complaining against her party leader and Punjab Chief Minister
Captain Amarinder Singh.
A GI tag recognises a product as distinctive to a particular
locality or region. For example, several varieties of "Darjeeling
tea" have GI tags and they can hold that title only if grown in
Darjeeling.
"It saddens me to tell you
that the Chief Minister of Congress-ruled Punjab Amarinder Singh has written to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking not to give GI tag to basmati rice grown
in Madhya Pradesh… That letter is unfortunate. What Amarinder Singh ji asking
is anti-farmer and it shows the Congress's anti-farmer nature," Mr Chouhan
said in the letter.
"You must be aware that
Madhya Pradesh's basmati rice has a great taste and is known in the country and
the world for its good aroma. Giving GI tag to Madhya Pradesh basmati rice will
enhance the value of Indian basmati in the international market and will also
benefit the whole country in trade," said Mr Chouhan, who recently tested
positive for COVID-19. He has been discharged from hospital now.
In his letter to PM Modi, Amarinder
Singh said proliferation of GI tags to any more state will dilute the market
value of basmati rice and harm the interest of exporters. Other states that
have GI tags for basmati are Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi,
and some parts in western Uttar Pradesh and a few districts in Jammu and
Kashmir.
Amarinder Singh said any dilution
of GI tag registration may end up with Pakistan taking advantage in the
international market. Pakistan also grows GI tagged basmati rice for sale in
the global market.
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Countering this argument, Mr Chouhan said, "The case of APEDA
(Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) with
Pakistan has no relationship with Madhya Pradesh's claim as it is under the GI
Act of India. It is not connected to inter-country claims of basmati
rice."
The Madhya Pradesh government and
a basmati growers' association have already lost two separate court cases filed
in 2016 to challenge the exclusion of districts from a map submitted by the
APEDA for getting GI tags.
Uphill Task to
Get Nigeria Producing Again
Minister of Finance,
Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab AhmedArmsfree Ajanaku
The existential threat confronting Nigeria on account of its
ballooning population is one reality proving to be a big puzzle. Even for the
most creative policy czars, one difficult question has to do with how best to
engage such a big population at a time when industrial production, and other
economic activities, which generate massive employment, have seriously
declined. Another dimension of the problem confronting those who understand the
severity of this threat is: how will a country, which is currently borrowing on
a massive scale to fund supposed development priorities cater for a very
youthful population, which continues to grow at an exponential rate? According
to the World Bank, as at 2018, Nigeria annual population growth rate was of
2.603 percent. In its country overview on Nigeria, the very ominous point is
made about how despite expansion in some sectors, employment creation in
Nigeria remains weak and insufficient to absorb the fast-growing labour force,
resulting in high rate of unemployment (23 percent in 2018), with another 20
percent of the labour force underemployed.
A further scrutiny of figures on Nigeria would lead to an
extrapolation that nearly half of the national population made up of the
unemployed and underemployed, is clearly not contributing in terms of
development, growth and national progress. It further implies that this huge
chunk of the population that has been excluded from economic activity neither
contributes meaningfully to the national tax net, nor does it propel the wheel
of economic progress by spending to support economic activities as it most
likely does not have the purchasing power. While these worrying indices make
some fret about the danger, which lies ahead, given such a disengaged
population, that has not strategically equipped with the right skill set, and
put to work through massive job creation, there are others who try to look at
the sunny side of things. These optimists argue that there are countries, which
are more populous than Nigeria, which have successfully used their huge
population number as a key element to project national power. China is an
example; with around 1.4 billion people as 2019. Not minding its pre-eminent place
as the country with the most human beings on earth, China has managed to
strategically harness its massive population to achieve the feat of becoming
the industrial and production hub of the world.
Little wonder, China’s unemployment rate, notwithstanding
reservations that the figures are too low to reflect the true state of its
situation, still has a considerably low unemployment rate for its huge
population. So what is China doing right that Nigeria is not doing? The short
and simple answer is that countries like China and the rest of the Asian Tigers
are producing, while Nigeria has been stuck in its very bad habit of compulsive
and conspicuous consumption. As things stand, the national currency is fast
losing ground, and has consistently lost its value. This is happening as the
fiscal authorities demonstrate no sufficient grasp about what to do to salvage
the national currency. With unstable earnings from oil exports continuing to
dominate most of the country’s fiscal plans, many citizens wonder why the long
winding discussions about the imperative of diversifying the economy, have not
been translated to real action on the ground. Beyond, the talk-based activity
of policy articulation, the desperate fiscal situation Nigeria is currently
stuck in, requires it takes important first steps to shed its anti-production
toga by producing some of the basic things consumed in the country.
Considering the severity of the economic crisis, which has in no
small measure contributed to the many manifestations of national instability
Nigeria continues to experience, there is a dire need for bold new thinking and
policy execution to Make Nigeria Produce Again (MANPA). Such a radical
programme with the objective of resetting national policy priorities towards
production should take inspiration from some milestones recorded in the past.
There was indeed a time Nigeria was so productive that the same national
currency, which is currently in tatters exchanged for 80Kobo to $1 (United
States Dollar) in 1980. This feat, which would sound very impossible at the
moment, was achieved at the time because there was a lot of local production
going on within the country. In the automobile sector, Nigeria assembled its
cars, and even locally produced the car parts with such companies as Peugeot,
Volkswagen, ANAMCO and Steyr blazing the trail. Companies like Exide produced
car batteries while Dunlop in Lagos and Michelin in Port Harcourt, produced
tryes which raw materials were sourced from the rubber plantations of the Niger
Delta.
In the textile sector, Nigeria produced clothes from textile
made in mills in Kaduna and Lagos. There was the shoe company, Bata, which made
the footwear Nigerians needed. It is an indicator of the wasteful, prodigal and
dream-killing kind of political leadership Nigeria has produced over the years
that these businesses were eventually made prostrate, and finally collapsed.
When these major drivers of industrial production in the country were allowed
to go into coma, Nigeria replaced vibrant production with unbridled
importation. The fact that Nigeria has over the years cemented its place as a
dumping ground for finished goods, is at the heart of the fiscal crisis the
country is engulfed in. To worsen things, Nigeria runs a parasitic federal
system wherein 36 wobbly states go to Abuja every month to collect monies they
have not worked for. Since free money breeds laziness of the most extreme type,
the result of Nigeria’s “feeding bottle” federalism has breed indolence,
corruption and a most dysfunctional country, where nothing matters except
compulsive consumption. It is therefore no coincidence that the Naira continues
to take a beating.
Despite this very bleak outlook, there are a few institutions
piloting innovative ideas, which suggest some sort of understanding of what
needs to be done. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for instance has been
pushing in the direction of using financing mechanisms to stimulate local
production. Under the Governorship of Godwin Emefiele, supply of finance to the
real sector to encourage local production has been ramped up. This approach
reflects in such programmes as the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), which data
from 2018 shows 188.96 billion being disbursed through 19 participating
financial institutions to 646,213 small holder farmers who reportedly
cultivated 640,422 hectares. Other are the Commercial Agriculture Credit
Scheme, the Paddy Aggregation Scheme rice millers, the Non-oil Export
Stimulation Facility and the Export Development Facility. There is also the
Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund, which saw N6.37billion
being disbursed as loans and grants in 2018.
Despite the good intentions of institutions like the CBN, what
it has been doing is largely to ignite a small spark, which could serve as
promising practice, for the fiscal authorities with the primary responsibility
policy implementation to replicate. Ultimately, the fiscal authorities have to
closely study some of the ideas, which have been piloted, and then scale them
up for long lasting impact. If for instance the core ideas discussed in the
government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of 2017 are followed
through, the country could be on the road anchoring the economy on production.
The plan for instance focuses on achieving macroeconomic stability and economic
diversification. These it hopes to achieve by undertaking fiscal stimulus,
ensuring monetary stability and improving the external balance of trade.
To achieve economic diversification, the policy had looked at
giving attention to key sectors driving and enabling economic growth, with
particular focus on agriculture, energy and MSME led growth in industry,
manufacturing and key services by leveraging science and technology. The ERGP
in its approach had enthused that the current administration was not lacking
the “strong political determination, commitment and will at the highest level.”
Three years after the plan was put forward, the results in the short term do
not look promising. Nigeria continues to retain its ignominious distinction as
the poverty capital of the entire world. It will take exceptional political
will, backed by visionary leadership to take up the cause of “making Nigeria
produce again.” Again, this uphill requires an informed, enlightened and
transformative political leadership, which would look squarely at the
precarious state of the country and make the right decisions.
It is not the kind of political leadership as recently
exemplified by the National Assembly, which will blatantly decline to patronise
made in Nigerian cars, but prefers to use scarce financial resources to import
exotic Japanese brands, while exporting precious jobs overseas.
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/08/09/uphill-task-to-get-nigeria-producing-again/
Rice exporters oppose plan on MP basmati rice
in GI taggingPosted: Aug
08, 2020 07:28
AM (IST)
Parveen Arora
Tribune News Service
Karnal, August 7
Following the Madhya Pradesh
government’s attempts for a Geographical Indication (GI) tag to basmati rice
for its 13 districts, the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) said
that the GI tag to MP’s basmati would give advantage to Pakistan, which produced
basmati as per GI tagging in 16 districts.
Exporters feared that it might
lead to a fall in exports and India losing its global platform. “We have
requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar
to intervene as the inclusion of new states will dilute the purpose of GI
demarcation. The move will help other countries to expand the area of basmati
under GI tagging. Pakistan will grab that opportunity to start sowing basmati
all across the country. Thailand will be equally benefited,” said Vijay Setia,
former president of AIREA.
He said as per GI of Goods
(Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, a GI tag could be issued for
agricultural goods that originated in an area of a country based on its
quality. “The GI tag to basmati has been given on the basis of traditionally
grown areas falling under the Indo-Gangetic plains due to special aroma,
quality and taste of the grain. Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh and select districts of Jammu and Kashmir have GI
tagging for basmati,” Setia maintainedNathi Ram Gupta, president of AIREA,
condemned the attempt and said it would have a serious negative impact on the
Indian exports. “India is the world’s largest exporter of basmati, which it exports
to over 150 countries. We have recently met the Chief Minister to raise the
issue with the Union government,” he said.
Anil Mittal, founder-president of
AIREA, said inclusion of Madhya Pradesh in the traditional basmati GI area
would be against national interest.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/haryana/rice-exporters-oppose-plan-on-mp-basmati-rice-in-gi-tagging-123553
Crops thrive under latest spell of rains
Moderate showers may help improve agri economy during current
fiscal year
Salman SiddiquiAugust
07, 2020
There are light rains
in the cotton belt in Sindh. The soil has absorbed the rainwater instead of it
standing in the fields. A similar quantum of rains is needed for a good output
of cotton this season. PHOTO: REUTERS
The current spell of widespread rainfall has
been largely beneficial for the standing crops in the fields - including major
ones like cotton, sugarcane, paddy (raw rice) and maize in Pakistan. The
moderate showers may help improve the agriculture economy and increase its
share in the challenging gross domestic product (GDP) in the current fiscal
year 2020-21.
Experts and growers said cotton and maize are
rain-sensitive crops. The current downpour is, however, moderate and not too
heavy. So it is yet beneficial. Moreover, sugarcane and paddy are
water-resilient crops. Moderate and slightly heavy rains can increase their
output. Extremely heavy rains can be destructive, but this is not the case as
per the rainfall forecasts.
Questioning the hue and cry regarding the
rainy season, Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) Vice President Syed Mahmood Nawaz Shah
told The Express Tribune, “The forecast reports we received do not suggest
heavy rainfall and flooding in near future. They are yet favourable.”
“The rains would prove beneficial for cotton,”
Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association (PCGA) former vice chairman Prem Chand
Khiyatni said. “There are light rains on the cotton belt in Sindh. The soil has
absorbed the rainwater instead of standing in the fields. A similar quantum of
rains is needed to take good output of cotton this season.”
Meanwhile, Agri Forum Pakistan (AFP) official
Dr Ibrahim Mughal said there are a few reports of cotton damage due to the
current raining in Punjab. The province’s share in total production of all the
major crops stands at around 65-70% of Pakistan.
Khiyatni said more rainfall of the same
quantum may improve cotton output by 10-15%.
Cotton is a major cash-crop of the country.
Unfortunately, the country has continued to produce less and low quality cotton
for the past four to five years mainly due to non-availability of quality
seeds, he said.
The government has set the target of cotton
production at 11 million bales (of 170kg each) for FY21. The country produced
around 8.5 million bales against total requirement of around 15-16 million
bales from textile exporters in the previous year (FY20).
Water was available in good quantity at the
start of the current Kharif (summer) season. However, the rainfall has ensured
sufficient availability, especially in the water canals’ tail-end farming areas.
“Farmers in the district Badin (one of the
tail-end areas) had staged protest against non-availability of water outside
the local press club about 10 days ago. The rainfall should have irrigated
their crops these days,” Shah said.
“The rainfall has advanced crops production by
30-40 days,” he said, adding that this is the peak summer season when water
requirements and evaporation both stand at a high rate. “The rains have washed
away pest and other diseases and health for leaves as well,” he said.
He added that sugarcane and paddy are
water-resilient crops. “Availability of more water would be good for them.
Paddy can grow better with 2.5-3 inch rainfall and sugarcane with 8-10 inch
water,” he said.
“The sugarcane yield may improve by 10-20%
(this season) depending upon the quantum rainfall,” he said.
Pakistan produces sugarcane and paddy in
surplus, which is usually exported to earn foreign exchange.
Paddy crop is expected to be better than the
last year. Farmers faced extreme temperature issue, which hurt the crop last
year. “This issue has yet not come again and hopefully the rains will help
taking better output this year,” he said.
On the flipside, the rainfall may slightly
impact cotton ready to be picked. Farmers take multiple picking of cotton in
each season spreading up two to three months.
Moreover, farmers have picked almost all the
grown dates this season. The rainfall, however, may hurt the remaining dates on
the trees. “Dates are highly sensitive to rain,” he said.
Mughal added that the rainfall may prove
highly dangerous for cotton. “The rainfall has started damaging cotton and if
the spell of the rainfall is extended it can prove to be devastating for the
crop,” he said.
“The months of August and September are highly
crucial for cotton production. These are the months which generate estimate for
the total cotton production in the season,” he said.
The rainfall would, however, improve paddy
production by about half a million to 6.5 million ton and sugarcane by five
million ton to 65 million tons this year in Pakistan. “The production would
improve as farmers are making more efforts to take high productions,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 8th, 2020.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on
Twitter to stay informed and
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2258489/crops-thrive-under-latest-spell-of-rains
In
July 2020, the export proceeds grew by 5.8 per cent to $1.998 billion as per
the data released by the Ministry of Commerce this week. Whereas, the import
bill fell by 4.2 percent to $3.54bn, over the corresponding month of last year.
The start of the fiscal year, with exports up by 5.8 percent and imports down
by 4.2 percent is a positive start in view of the fact that COVID-19 has
severely hit the exports of all countries around the globe and majority of them
are still struggling for a comeback. Accordingly, the country's trade deficit
also dipped by 14.7percent in July from a year ago, mainly due to a fall in
imports and growth in export proceeds. In absolute terms, the trade gap
narrowed to $1.542bn in July, as compared to $1.808 billion over the
corresponding month of last year.
وزارت تجارت
کی جانب سے رواں ہفتے جاری کردہ اعدادوشمار کے مطابق جولائی 2020 میں برآمدات میں
5.8 فیصد اضافے سے 1.998 بلین ڈالر کا اضافہ ہوا۔ جبکہ درآمدی بل میں گذشتہ سال کے
اسی مہینے کے مقابلے میں 4.2 فیصد کمی واقع ہوکر 3.54 بلین ڈالر رہ گئی ہے۔ مالی
سال کا آغاز ، برآمدات میں 5.8 فیصد اضافے اور درآمدات میں 4.2 فیصد کی کمی واقع
ہونا ایک مثبت آغاز ہے جس کے پیش نظر COVID-19 نے دنیا بھر کے تمام ممالک کی برآمدات کو
شدید متاثر کیا ہے اور ان میں سے بیشتر اب بھی جدوجہد کر رہے ہیں۔ واپسی کے ل. اس
کے مطابق ، ایک سال پہلے کے مقابلے میں جولائی میں ملک کے تجارتی خسارے میں بھی
14.7 فیصد کمی ریکارڈ کی گئی ، اس کی بڑی وجہ درآمدات میں کمی اور برآمدات میں
اضافے کی وجہ ہے۔ مکمل شرائط میں ، تجارتی فرق جولائی کے مہینہ میں 1.542 بلین
ڈالر ہو گیا ، جبکہ پچھلے سال کے اسی مہینے کے دوران 1.808 بلین ڈالر تھا۔
However,
imports may spin out of control in the coming months following abolishing of
regulatory duties on imports of raw materials and semi-finished products meant
primarily to support the industry. If this trend is maintained over the next 11
months, the country may achieve export target of $ 25 billion in the current
fiscal year compared to the actual of $ 21.4 billion against a target of $ 26.2
billion in the last fiscal year. The challenge is to maintain, if not improve,
this growth trajectory.
تاہم ، خام مال اور نیم تیار مصنوعات کی درآمد پر ریگولیٹری ڈیوٹی کے خاتمے کے بعد آئندہ مہینوں میں درآمدات قابو سے باہر ہو سکتے ہیں جس کا مقصد بنیادی طور پر صنعت کی حمایت کرنا ہے۔ اگر اگلے 11 ماہ کے دوران یہ رجحان برقرار رہا تو ، ملک رواں مالی سال میں target 25 ارب ڈالر کا برآمدی ہدف حاصل کرسکتا ہے جبکہ گزشتہ مالی سال کے 26.2 بلین ڈالر کے ہدف کے مقابلے میں یہ 21.4 بلین ڈالر ہے۔ چیلنج یہ ہے کہ اگر اس نمو کو بہتر نہیں کیا جا maintain تو اس ترقی کو برقرار رکھنا ہے
However,
Pakistan's volumes of exports are still nowhere near other countries' in the
region.
تاہم ،
پاکستان کی برآمدات کی مقدار خطے میں دیگر ممالک کے قریب اب بھی نہیں ہے۔
Bangladesh's
exports for last fiscal year stands at around $40 billion of which $ 34 billion
comes from textile and clothing and the country is rated as the second largest
exporter in the said sector - with China being No 1.
India
exports 7500 products to 90 countries with export value of $ 320 billion of
which $ 5billion is in rice exports. Pakistan's exports in value are low even
by its own benchmark of having achieved export value of over $ 40 billion in FY
2007-8. The country's export focus, in all these decades, has not moved out of
textile and apparel. The export volume and business segments need to be
diversified to position the country in the ranks of noticeable exporters.
Pakistan's
strongest competitor in textile and clothing is Bangladesh, although the
latter, unlike the former, imports cotton. Bangladesh must be doing something
right. India, last year, exported around $ 5.3 billion worth of rice as against
over $ 2 billion by Pakistan, which is rated as one of the largest growers of
quality rice. The country can do better than this.
These
are few sectors, among many, where we have lost out and whose answers the
taxpayers of the country need to know. One is unsure whether or not our export
industry or planners ever sincerely conducted the competitive analyses of our
competitors in textile and commodities and worked out gap analyses and a
meaningful strategies to be at least at par with our competitors . What one
sees and hears in media are the endless bouts of negotiations and disputes
between government and exporters, year after year, on subsidies, duty
concessions, export rebates which eat away government's meager revenues and
maximize exporters' bottom line.
These
best of concessions by former governments or their withdrawal by the incumbent
government did not have a significant effect on exports in either case. There
is something more than the regime of incentives that matters and drives the
performance of exports. This is what needs to be truly identified and
addressed. Furthermore, the competing countries in the regions have
significantly supplemented imports with local produce - limiting their exports
largely to high end technology and products. Pakistan lags behind in this field
and our imports are liberal.
In
the early 50s, Ministry of Science and Technology was established with the
mandate to supplement imports with local produce. Pakistan Council of
Scientific & Industrial Research (PCSIR) was established to conduct
research and development in support of the budding industry. With hundreds of
PhDs on its payroll and many complexes across the country the entity has not
delivered. For decades the ministry went into oblivion and only recently
surfaced in the media after developing a ventilator and working out a lunar
calendar.
Be
that as it may, the country has tremendous export potential - someone committed
has to put its act together. And now is the time to do so. Due to Coronavirus,
there is a supply gap and the ones equipped with smart strategies and
innovative mindsets can fill the gap.
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40010629
New
state-driven business opportunities for rice farmers
SATURDAY
AUGUST 08 2020
Joel Tanui, a senior scheme manager at the Ahero Research Station
of the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) in Kisumu. He says the government
has provided great opportunities for farmers to add value to their rice through
the presidential directive on purchase of local produce. PHOTO | ELIZABETH
OJINA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
·
The biggest setback has been the
high cost of production but with the presidential directive setting better
local prices, the sub-sector is set to change for the better as net margins
improve.
·
Birds and mostly the quelea have
been dominant in the rice fields due to the proximity of their natural habitat
(swamps and riverine bushes).
·
The presidential directive came in
at the most desperate time in the rice sub-sector, where brokers and importers
dictated prices and quality.
·
Reducing or banning rice imports is
not an immediate solution since our production is low as compare to
consumption.
Joel Tanui is a senior scheme manager at the
Ahero Research Station of the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) in Kisumu. Elizabeth Ojina spoke to him on why the crop is yet to change many
farmers’ fortunes and the existing opportunities for growers
Kenya gets nearly all its rice
from the Far East, specifically Pakistan, which accounts for 74 per cent of the
total imports. With the high importation, is rice growing a profitable venture
in the country?
It is a very profitable venture and still boosts of the highest
net margins per hectare compared to other cereals.
The biggest setback has been the high cost of production but
with the presidential directive setting better local prices, the sub-sector is
set to change for the better as net margins improve.
As climate change effects unfold,
rice farmers have found themselves battling quelea birds more regularly. What
can be done to address the menace besides use of chemicals, which is
discouraged?
Birds and mostly the quelea have been dominant in the rice
fields due to the proximity of their natural habitat (swamps and riverine
bushes).
Their numbers have tripled over the last four years due to
abundance of food (grains) and limited control measures.
Our research department is currently testing acoustic stimuli
methods, including motorised scaring devices as an alternative to chemical spraying.
As that continues, we are now cropping the schemes between July
and February to avoid high birds’ seasons.
President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered
government institutions like prisons to purchase rice from local farmers. Is
this happening?
The presidential directive came in at the most desperate time in
the rice sub-sector, where brokers and importers dictated prices and quality.
The directive has been taken up by all farmers and stakeholders.
Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) is currently buying milled rice from
our cooperatives across all the schemes and paying promptly.
This is what was lacking before the directive. Prices are
equally competitive with a kilo of unprocessed rice selling at Sh45 for Sindano
and Sh85 for pishori.
Most rice farmers complain of
poor prices, perhaps due to increase in imports. Is it time the government put
a quota on the imports?
Reducing or banning rice imports is not an immediate solution
since our production is low as compare to consumption.
We consume 600 metric tonnes (MT) per annum yet we produce
120MT. NIA continues to expand the area under rice irrigation, we hope with
time the gap will reduce. We estimate that by 2030, Kenya will be rice
sufficient.
What are the available options
for farmers when it comes to value addition?
The government has provided great opportunities for farmers to
add value to their rice through the presidential directive on purchase of local
produce.
KNTC is currently buying rice and distributing to various
government institutions. It only buys milled rice from farmers and not paddy as
was the case earlier.
This has made farmers, through their cooperatives, add value to
their produce, pack and sell a finished product.
Farmers are now accessing milling services from government-owned
factories namely Western Kenya Rice Mills, Lake Basin Development Company,
National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) and Mwea Rice Mills.
Apart from rice, are there any
other crops farmers can grow at the schemes?
Yes, in 2016, we came up with crop intensification and
diversification programmes across the schemes, with the aim of introducing
alternative off season crops that can be planted after the main crop (rice)
with the objective of utilising the schemes up to 200 per cent intensity.
This has picked well and farmers care currently growing seed
maize, green grams, soya, sorghum and fresh vegetables.
Eating too much rice with your meals could be fatal, experts
claim
A
plate of rice. (Photo/Pika Chakula)
After a long day at work,
sometimes there's nothing better than coming home and tucking into some food in
front of the TV.
But if your dinner contains rice, you might want to reconsider
reaching for seconds or thirds.
That's because experts have warned that eating too much rice
could prove fatal in the long run.
Rice contains low-levels of arsenic and it is now thought that
prolonged exposure to this could be contributing to thousands of avoidable
premature deaths per year.
According to research by two Manchester universities, prolonged
exposure to low-levels of inorganic arsenic can be linked to health problems
such as cancers and cardiovascular diseases.
The researchers from The University of Manchester and The
University of Salford have been exploring this relationship and their findings
were recently published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
Their results show that once the major factors known to
contribute to cardiovascular disease have been accounted for, there is a
significant association between elevated cardiovascular mortality and the
consumption of inorganic arsenic bearing rice.
Professor David Polya from The University of Manchester said:
"The type of study undertaken, an ecological study, has many limitations,
but is a relatively inexpensive way of determining if there is plausible link
between increased consumption of inorganic arsenic bearing rice and increased
risk of cardiovascular disease.
"The study suggests that the highest 25 percent of rice
consumers in England and Wales may plausibly be at greater risks of
cardiovascular mortality due to inorganic arsenic exposure compared to the
lowest 25 percent of rice consumers."
He adds: "The modelled increased risk is around six percent
(with a confidence interval for this figure of two percent to 11 percent). The
increased risk modelled might also reflect in part a combination of the
susceptibility, behaviours and treatment of those communities in England and
Wales with relatively high rice diets."
More robust research is still needed to confirm these findings.
Currently more than three billion people worldwide consume rice
as their staple food.
Experts haven't warned people to stop eating rice, but instead
suggest consuming different types of rice, which are known to contain less
inorganic arsenic - such as basmati and polished rice.
As well as this, they recommend eating a balanced variety of
staples, not just predominantly rice.
Chinese scientists find new evidence of ancient
domestication of plants
Source:
Xinhua| 2020-08-10 09:18:37|Editor: huaxia
BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese paleontologists have found
new evidence of how ancient humans domesticated wild plants, according to the
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The discovery was made at the Yahuai Cave site, in south China's
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where plant remains dating back 30,000 years
have been examined by researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology
and Paleoanthropology under the CAS, the Institute of Archaeology under the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and several other institutes.
Researchers at the site examined phytoliths -- microscopic
silica bodies that persist long after the plants have decayed -- and found that
ancient humans living at the site used and domesticated different plants during
different periods. These included elm trees, bamboo, palm trees and Oryza -- a
genus within the grass family that includes rice.
The 16,000-year-old Oryza phytoliths provided key evidence for
the domestication of wild rice by ancient humans.
The stoneware discovered at the site showed that the region, due
to its mild climate at that time, was a refuge for people from the north
seeking to survive extreme climate events.
The study was published in the journal Science China Earth
Sciences. Enditem
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-08/10/c_139278525.htm
Science communication should be priority during
pandemic: DOST
August
10, 2020, 1:52 pm
MANILA – With the pandemic caused by
the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), reliable and well-researched content
and materials have become more imperative to be able to explain science facts
in simple terms that even non-scientists will understand, an official of the
Department of Science and Technology-Science and Technology Information
Institute (DOST-STII) said.
“Due to Covid-19, we learned to adapt
and to fully embrace technology so that we, as an agency involves primarily in
science communication, can continue to deliver science to more people and
preserve their right to be informed, to be educated, to be inspired, to be
engaged and to take action,” said DOST-STII Dir. Richard Burgos during the
department’s virtual flag-raising ceremony last week.
Aside from the threat of Covid-19,
the country is also confronted by another enemy, the widespread disinformation
and misinformation about the pandemic, causing people to be anxious and panic,
and make wrong decisions.
Burgos said in addressing the issue
of proliferating “fake news”, the DOST-STII played a proactive role not only in
promoting the efforts and noble works of Filipino scientists and researchers,
but also providing the needed clarification and explanation at a critical time
so that Filipinos would understand the crisis better and respond appropriately.
Virtual Pressers and Digital
Broadcasting
Burgos said virtual pressers have
become the new normal and tools for the department to give the public
up-to-date information about Covid-19.
Since April 30, 2020, the DOST-STII
has been broadcasting the weekly online news program “DOST Report” every Friday
at 4 p.m. in DOSTv Facebook page.
Through the program, DOST Secretary
Fortunato de la Peña provides updates on the various efforts of the science
department on research and development, technical services and consultancies.
Burgos said the information
institute organized special pressers for the launching of some of the major
programs of DOST for repatriated overseas Filipino workers called the iFWD
Program; OneStore.ph online platform with mobile app; and Handa Pilipinas, a
disaster resiliency campaign.
Incidentally, a mobile application
called “DOST: Science for the People” was launched on April 8, 2020 to provide
news updates about the agency’s efforts against Covid-19, S&T innovations
and development programs that address major socio-economic problems of the
country.
STARBOOKS: The first digital
science library in a box
STARBOOKS, popularly referred to as
the library-in-a-box, is an award-winning knowledge and learning resource of
the Institute that provides students and teachers with greater access to the
latest science, technology, and innovation (STI) information to supplement
textbooks and other learning tools.
Burgos said during the first
semester, there were 320 STARBOOKS sites that were deployed all over the
country, bringing the total to 4,800 since the program started in 2011.
He added that several partnerships
have been formed by STARBOOKS with different organizations to promote STI. It
includes the Department of Education, Philippine Rice Research Institute,
FlipSciene.ph, Unilab Foundation, TripplesPH, and Carl Balita Review Center.
Increasing DOST’s online presence
thru official Facebook pages
The information director also
shared the significant spikes of two major Facebook pages of DOST.
For DOST-Philippines, its page
followers increased by 195 percent from August 2019 (7,541) to July 2020
(22,261). For DOST-Science and Technology Information Institute, its page
followers increased by 77 percent from August 2019 (26,300) to July 2020
(46,600).
#ScienceJournoAko webinars
Since 2015, the DOST-STII visited
different schools in the country to bring its #ScienceJournoAko writeshop, an
advocacy program aimed at capacitating aspiring journalists and communicators
to write compelling S&T stories.
Despite the prohibition in
face-to-face training, the Institute brought this service through the digital
world by conducting a series of webinars during the quarantine period.
Burgos said the three webinars
conducted by DOST-STII focused mainly on science blogging, harnessing the power
of Twitter and Instagram, and popularizing science stories.
All three webinars have gathered
more than 300 participants composed of senior high school and college students
as well as elementary and high school teachers nationwide, and even from
abroad.
Gandingan Awards
The DOST: Science for the People,
the broadcast platform of DOST-STII, that aired over PTV-4, recently won three
recognitions from the Gandingan Awards of the College of Development
Communication, University of the Philippines Los Baños: Most
Development-Oriented Livelihood Program; Most Development Oriented Feature
Story for the episode “Bakery sa Jail” and; the highest award Gandingan ng
Kaunlaran: Most Development Oriented Radio/TV Station/Online Platform.
“The pandemic caught us by surprise
but we quickly shifted to the new normal and became the channel for the world
to feel the heartbeat, the vital signs of the DOST championing Science for the
People. The winds of digital fate blew in our favor as our main sails,
STARBOOKS, DOSTv, are digital native,” Burgos said. (Allan Mauro V.
Marfal, DOST-STII/DOST PR)
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1111747
Low NFA rice buffer stock hit
posted August
09, 2020 at 11:50 pm by Willie Casas
Advocacy
groups have raised the alarm over a recent National Food Authority’s statement
that the country’s rice buffer stock is only good for seven days, especially as
the country enters the typhoon season.
The
NFA said it based the seven-day supply on a daily consumption of at least
33,000 metric tons. Under the Rice Tariffication Law, NFA’s role has been
reduced to maintaining bufferstocks that is supposed to be bought from local
farmers.
“This
is alarming as the next big harvest is still in October. It pays to be prepared
especially with this pandemic still hovering in the picture,” Omi Royandoyan of
the Nagkakaisang Grupo Laban sa RTL said during a public online forum.
During
the height of enhanced community quarantine in the past months, NFA
Administrator Judy Dansal said that the agency did not see a need for a
buffer stock larger than one million bags as was the practice in the last 20-30
years. But she said that the NFA’s biggest rice released happened during
the pandemic.
“Since
we are not out of the woods yet in this COVID-19 plus the threat of disasters
is highest during this semester, our past experiences should have already given
us enough lessons more or less on the definition of what a ‘sufficient
buffer-stocks’ should be during rainy days,” Royandoyan added.
Meanwhile,
Raul Montemayor of the Federation of Free Farmers, said that “the pandemic
reveals the weaknesses of the RTL when it downgraded NFA’s role but continued
to rely heavily on the agency for the country’s food security during this
protracted health disaster situation. We urge the government to review the law,
particularly NFA’s role and installing some form of regulation over private
traders considering our present situation. We also call on the government to
provide additional palay procurement budget to NFA.”
While
rice imports continue to come in, private traders cannot be expected to provide
lower-priced rice to local governments and other agencies that are distributing
rice supplies to vulnerable people during this extended lockdown period and
when climate-related disasters hit the country, Montemayor said.
https://manilastandard.net/news/national/330992/low-nfa-rice-buffer-stock-hit.html
Vietnam sees hike in rice exports to Africa
|
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Monday, 2020-08-10 10:54:37 |
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NDO – Vietnam’s exports of rice to the African market
increased sharply in the first half of 2020 and are expected to keep rising
over the following months and even into next year, according to Vietnamese
Trade Counsellor to Algeria Hoang Duc Nhuan, who is also in charge of trade
affairs in Mali, Niger, Senegal and Gambia. |
|
In 2019, Vietnam exported rice to 35 out of 55 African
countries, with a combined turnover of approximately US$630 million, of which
the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal, Mozambique, Cameroon, Gabon, Tanzania and
Egypt were among the major importers. For the markets covered by the Vietnamese trade mission in
Algeria, the revenue from Senegal was US$32.6 million, while the value was
US$6.3 million for the Algerian market. This year, the outbreak of locust swarms and the COVID-19
pandemic, together with high population growth and competitive rice prices in
the international market, have caused governments and people of African
nations to increase their storage of foods and foodstuffs, including rice. According to the US Department of Agriculture, Africa’s rice
demand in 2020 is estimated at 15.7 million tonnes, with Senegal expecting to
import 1.25 million tonnes, up 13.6% year-on-year, and Mali aiming to buy
350,000 tonnes, up 16.6%. It is forecast that the region’s rice imports will
continue to rise next year. In the first six months of 2020, Vietnam exported 41,149
tonnes of rice to Senegal, raking in US$14.58 million, a 28.5-fold increase
in volume and a 19.5-fold rise in value over the same period last year. Performing the assigned functions and tasks, the Vietnamese
trade mission in Algeria has been monitoring changes in trade policies and
updating the demand for rice imports and relevant regulations in the
countries that it is in charge, especially regarding the aspect of payment in
the context of COVID-19, in order to promptly provide information on the
Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT)’s website, as well as to introduce
Vietnamese companies to the business opportunities and the list of rice
importers in the African nations. So far this year, the Asia-Africa Market Department under the
MOIT has coordinated with Vietnam’s regional trade missions to organise
virtual seminars to advertise the potential of the African-Middle East
market, attracting the participation of hundreds of Vietnamese enterprises. Since mid-July, African countries, including Mali, Niger and
Senegal, have reopened their land and air borders after bringing the pandemic
under control. These are the positive signals that help these nations to
restore trade and investment exchanges with foreign partners, including
Vietnam. |
Heart attack: Eating too much of
a certain food could raise your risk of the condition
HEART attacks can prove life-threatening,
so doing what you can to prevent the condition is very important. A new study
has warned eating too much of a certain food could raise your risk of one
happening.
21:29, Sun, Aug 9, 2020
Heart attacks occur when the supply of blood to
the heart suddenly becomes blocked, usually by a blood clot. A leading cause of
this is coronary heart disease. The NHS advises a person is at increased risk
of developing heart disease if they smoke, eat a high-fat diet, have diabetes,
high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, or if they’re overweight.
TRENDING
READ
MORE
Heart attack: The simple
move that could protect you against condition
A new study has now linked eating too much rice to the
potentially deadly condition.
Arsenic is naturally occurring in rice as it soaks into the crop
when it’s grown.
The study found Britons in the top 25 percent of rice
consumption are at six percent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular
disease than the bottom quarter.
The findings were part of a study carried out by the University
of Manchester and The University of Salford, published in the journal Science
of the Total Environment.
READ MORE: How to live longer: A fruity smoothie that may boost your life
expectancy
Heart attack: Eating
too much of a certain food could raise your risk of the condition (Image: GETTY)
Professor David Polya, from The University of
Manchester, said: "The type of study undertaken, an ecological study, has
many limitations, but is a relatively inexpensive way of determining if there
is a plausible link between increased consumption of inorganic arsenic bearing
rice and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
"The study suggests that the highest 25 percent of rice
consumers in England and Wales may plausibly be at greater risks of
cardiovascular mortality due to inorganic arsenic exposure compared to the
lowest 25 percent of rice consumers."
He added: “The modelled increased risk is around six percent
(with a confidence interval for this figure of two percent to 11 percent).
“The increased risk modelled might also reflect in part a
combination of the susceptibility, behaviours and treatment of those
communities in England and Wales with relatively high rice diets."
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Globally it’s been estimated arsenic in rice is to blame for
more than 50,000 avoidable premature deaths a year.
Arsenic occurs naturally in the soil. As rice is grown under
flooded conditions, arsenic is drawn out of the soil and into the water.
Eventually this is absorbed by the rice plant.
The researchers concluded their study is limited but is
inexpensive to conduct and more specialist investigations are needed to confirm
any link.
Other ways to prevent a heart
attack
There are three main steps you can take to help prevent a heart
attack, according to the NHS.
These are:
·
Eat
a healthy, balanced diet
·
Do
not smoke
·
Try
to keep your blood pressure at a healthy level
Heart attack: Consider
eating basmati rather than whole grain rice (Image: GETTY)
When it comes to diet, the health body states: “Eating an
unhealthy diet high in fat will make hardening of the arteries worse and
increase your risk of a heart attack.
“Continuing to eat high-fat foods will cause more fatty plaques
to build up in your arteries. This is because fatty foods contain an unhealthy
type of cholesterol.
“You should aim to follow a Mediterranean-style diet. This means
eating more bread, fruit, vegetables and fish, and less meat.
“Replace butter and cheese with products based on vegetable and
plant oil, such as olive oil.
“Oily fish, such as herring, sardines and salmon, can form part
of a Mediterranean-style diet, but there's no need to eat this type of fish
specifically to try to prevent another heart attack.”
AfricaRice,
Partners Harvest First Phase of ‘DeSIRA’ Rice
-
AfricaRice Country Director, Dr. Inoussa Akintayo and NAFAA
official, Johnson Yarkpawolo, launch the DeSIRA Rice harvest at the project
site in Suakoko, Bong CountyCOVID-19 might have brought the world to its knees, devastating
every aspect of humanity with the agricultural sector being no exception. But
in Liberia, while the virus has diminished agricultural activity, the sector is
surely not dead.
As a way of keeping the agric sector alive, the government of
Liberia, with support from the European Union, brought into being DeSIRA, a
smart and innovative agricultural initiative intended to spur productivity in
the sector.
And gladly, the dividends from this initiative are now visible,
as the project implementer, AfricaRice, last week performed its maiden harvest
of the rice at its demonstration site at the Central Agriculture Research
Institute (CARI) in Suakoko, Bong County.
The Africa Rice Center, popularly known
as (AfricaRice), a pan-African intergovernmental association and a
Research organization, and WorldFish have been implementing the project,
which is aimed at transforming high risk climatic traditional production system
into more climatic resilient, high-yielding resource use efficient system. It
is to last for a period of 36 months, at a budget of 3.5 million Euros.
AfricaRice Country Director, Dr. Inoussa Akintayo, said at the
launch of the harvest on Thursday that he is grateful the project is being
implemented smoothly as it achieves its goals. “I’m glad that we have reached
this level. It has not been easy. Liberian farmers deserve better and this
project will ensure that they get the best,” he added.
The rice, fish and vegetable crops, which are being integrated
at the site, are doing well and the first harvest, according to Dr. Akintayo,
is a sign of better things to come.
DeSIRA, which is geared towards improving food security,
nutrition and income in rural Liberia, came into being through an MOU between
the government, represented by the Ministry of Agriculture and the National
Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) and AfricaRice. It focuses on rice,
fish and vegetable integration. The MOU was cemented months ago in Monrovia
with the signatures of the heads of MOA, Madam Jennie Cooper; NAFAA, Emma
Metieh Glassco and AfricaRice, Dr. Inoussa Akintayo.
Dr. Akintayo disclosed that the integrated rice and fish farmers
are the primary direct beneficiaries of the project and will benefit directly
through access to research, innovations and technologies that will improve the
sustainability and productivity of their products.
The project is to be implemented in five counties, namely Grand
Gedeh, Maryland, Gbarpolu, Margibi, and Rivergee counties and will target three
hundred sixty-five rural smallholder farmers. The seedlings from the
demonstration site at CARI will be distributed to farmers in the project
counties, the AfricaRice boss noted at the launch of the harvest.
The DeSIRA Rice fieldSixty percent targeted farmers
will be women inclusive householders/families to build on their roles as food
producers and ensuring food and nutrition of their families.
This project will draw on the initial lessons learned from the
FAO AfricaRice, WorldFish, and other research organizations. The project
implementers also aim to adapt improved rice-fish systems technologies and
better management practices in Liberia, together with the National Agriculture
Research Extension Systems (NARES), the private sector and other donor-funded
projects.
According to Dr. Akintayo, farmers are to benefit from climate
change, resilient rice varieties and modern land preparation techniques and
technologies.
An official of NAFAA, Johnson Yarkpawolo, helped to launch the
harvest. He expressed gladness that the project is being implemented
successfully. “This is meant to improve food security in our country and we are
happy that it is going on smoothly despite the distraction from COVID-19.”
Mr. Yarkpawolo called on the farmers to take advantage of the
new innovation and technologies that are being introduced as those would help
to improve their outputs and family incomes. “DeSIRA is a great way to make
money and we are hoping that our farmers will take advantage of it. If you want
to increase your yield and your income, you’ve got to take advantage of this,”
he said.
The launch of the “DeSIRA” rice harvest was graced by scores of
local farmers from Bong County who had come to get abreast of the new
technologies that are at work at the CARI demonstration site. The farmers were
invited by AfricaRice to see new innovations that they could take back home and
help improve their farming systems for better yields.
“This is my very first time seeing what the people are doing
here. I have never seen rice, fish and vegetables to be grown together,” Leemu
Kpadeh of Gbartala said. “This is a new and a good idea and I think I need to
take it back home.”
She said it is an efficient way of making a livelihood. “With
this system, we can grow what all you want together. You can get your fish,
soup and rice right on the same farm; you don’t have to struggle to go places
in search of each. I think we the rural farmers need to take advantage of this
system. It will help us,” Madam Kpadeh noted.
Some of the farmers who graced the launch of the AfricaRice
DeSIRA harvestJackson Kollie of Suakoko was
more grateful to AfricaRice for always bringing new farming ideas to farmers in
the country. “AfricaRice is really helping farmers in this country. They are
helping to reduce the level of hard work that we do from day to day. Dr.
Akintayo and his team continue to bring new ideas that are helping to improve
our farm work
Formerly known as the West Africa Rice Development Association
(WARDA), AfricaRice has been active in the agriculture sector from the 1980s.
Since the end of the Liberian civil crisis, the organization has been more
focused on innovation and technology in the agriculture sector in Liberia.
They have since been involved in the production of labor saving
equipment such as rice seeders/planters, rice reapers, harvesters, threshers,
weeders and parboilers. “The equipment are produced by local technicians for
our farmers. You know agriculture is labor intensive so there is a need that
the country transitions to mechanized farming and this is the process that we
are on,” Dr. Akintayo added.
A thresher, threshing some of the harvested riceThe introduction of these
technologies, according to AfricaRice, has been to unlock the potential of
sector so that farmers can produce more food, especially rice, which is the
country’s staple.
Meanwhile, the project also intends to increase household
incomes by next year and increased gender equality outcomes, such as increase
in the number of women owning ponds, cultivating fish and rice, as well as
controlling the incomes generated from rice and fish sales.
This new smart and innovative approach to agriculture is also
serving as an enrichment program for both lecturers and students of both
secondary and tertiary learning institutions. Instructors and students from
Cuttington University and nearby high schools troop here in their numbers to
get a glance of the new innovation—here they get a favorable reception from
staffs who drill them through the processes.
Some of the students told the Daily
Observer that they are planning to implement the new
innovation on their various campuses the next academic school year.
https://www.liberianobserver.com/news/africarice-partners-harvest-first-phase-of-desira-rice/
Monday, August 10, 2020
Rice Crop Stakeholders Stresses Need
For Modern Research Facility
Other top three things to improve
productivity/income for rice farmers are the use of certified seeds, mechanical
transplanting and rice specific harvesters.
Rice crop, There is also a need to
discuss Agri-machine production with the engineering department of the
Agriculture Universities in Pakistan and Ministry of Science and Technology.
This was the crux of a debate
arranged by the Agriculture Republic, a think tank, to discuss issues being
faced by the farming sector impeding the way of increased agricultural
productivity in the country.
Participants noticing the
government emphasis on increasing rice exports and taking it to US$ 5 billion
in next five years averred that it all depends on increasing the rice
production through the introduction of quality Basmati and non-basmati seeds
having more per acre yield, controlling the post-harvest loss which stands at
35 percent at present.
Aamer Hayat Bhandara, a progressive
farmer and founder of Agriculture Republic, platform told Business Recorder
here on Saturday that the debate noticed that Pakistan Basmati export from July
2019 to June 2020 was 890,207 tonnes as compared to last a year’s 659,571
tonnes, a phenomenal growth of 40 percent.
Total rice export including
non-basmati again crossed 4 million tonnes mark (4.166 million tonnes) in
current 19/20 year. Pakistan’s total export in 19/20 year is 21.39 billion
Dollars and rice sector contribution is 10.20 percent, second largest
contributor after textile.
Participants of the discussion
observed the profit earned from exports does, to some extent, trickle down to
the farmers since the devaluation has made our rice quite competitive and
prices have risen. Since prices are driven by the export market and that does
benefit the farmer 8/10 times.
Rice crop, Maize is not directly
competing with rice due to the fact that the majority is grown in spring.
However, the major challenge in
rice crop is its lack of primary seed and upgraded varieties. Hybrid coarse
varieties in Sindh have given very good production. Thanks to China and some
local experiments and a new Chinese sewing machine. However, it will cause loss
of area of cultivation for Basmati rice which was an advantage for Pakistan.
Among other concerns, factors influencing rice export of Pakistan to the world
market involve geopolitical concerns, tariffs and pricing, import substitution
policy. Pakistan has captured some market share in Europe as Indian basmati was
showing really high pesticide residue levels. “We need to continue to make sure
we produce high-quality products to keep market share,” stakeholders of rice
sector observed.
Issues of lack of cheap farmer
finance, poor harvesting tech, no storage etc. are needed to be addressed in
order to improve rice cultivation.
There should be no trade-off
between the long grain of Sindh and Basmati of Punjab.
Rice crop, Both should be promoted.
Pakistan needs value addition and brands. Also, try to get GSP+ status for Rice
in the EU like textile.
The private sector should be
involved not only in hybrid as lucrative business but also in Basmati by
intention not by amending seed act.
Discussing recent key developments
in agriculture innovation that include plant selection and breeding, continuous
improvement in farming equipment, digital farming as
well as plant biotechnology, participants said that all of these are important
innovations that are vital to support farmer’s ability to mitigate on-farm
challenges presented by weed, insects, pests and the environment (heat, drought
etc.).
They observed that the government
should fix the prices of different varieties of rice while farmers can increase
their productivity by choosing better land, better seed, enhancing number of
plants per acre and application of the required amount of fertiliser and in
time usage of balanced and best pesticides to tackle diseases.
Technical support is not provided
by the government and hence achieving high production without technical support
is quite difficult, the debate concluded.
Policies needed
to promote mechanical engineering in agriculture
Vietnam needs policies to promote mechanical engineering in
agriculture to increase added value and quality for the farming sector, experts
have said.
Illustrative image (Photo: congthuong.vn)
Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam needs policies to promote mechanical
engineering in agriculture to increase added
value and quality for the farming sector, experts have said.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, agricultural mechanisation
still had very low levels of adoption in Vietnam with an average of 1.6
horsepower (HP) per hectare, much lower than 4HP per hectare of Thailand, 8HP
of China and 10HP of the Republic of Korea,
Vietnam must now import about 70 percent of its agricultural machinery, mainly
from China. Domestically-produced agricultural machines cost 15-20 percent
more than those imported from China.
Phan Tan Ben, Director of Phan Tan Agricultural Machinery Company Limited, said
the local agricultural machinery industry was outdated and was about to come to
a dead-end compared to the rapid development of other regional countries.
Agriculture mechanisation was taking place but the machinery was mostly
imported while domestically-produced machines were losing their position in the
market, Ben said.
The main reason for this situation was that Vietnam had not developed
spearheads in mechanical engineering and agricultural mechanism in
particular, lacking strategies for the industry's development.
He added there was also a lack of resources for investment in the industry,
outdated technologies and a shortage of raw materials. In addition, competition
from imported machines from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea was
also an issue, he said.
According to Nguyen Chi Sang, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam
Association of Mechanical Enterprises, market demand for
each type of agricultural machine remained small, which would not ensure
an economy of scale.
Another factor was that mechanical projects required very huge investment, Sang
said, adding that most Vietnamese firms lacked such huge capital while the
Government’s support remained limited. In addition, the part-supplying industry
for the mechanical industry had not been developed.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development forecast Vietnam had
significant demand for agricultural machinery by 2025, including 500-1,000 rice
planting machines per year and 2,000-3,000 rice combine harvesters
annually.
Demand for harvester machines for sugarcane, coffee, corn, been and peanuts
would be three to five times higher.
Nguyen The Ha, Director of Bui Van Ngo Technology Institute, said that the
Mekong Delta had a large demand for agricultural machinery which was
estimated to amount to billions of dollars.
According to Ben, the Government’s support in terms of capital, tax and land
policies and human resources was critical for the development of the
agricultural machinery industry.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade said to develop the mechanical industry, it
was necessary to develop policies to encourage large-scale agricultural
production.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said it was studying a
special credit package for the purchase of agricultural machines which would
accelerate agricultural mechanisation. The package will be proposed to the
Government for consideration./.
NFA cites excuses
for slow palay procurement
August 9, 2020, 10:00 PM
In a
text exchange, National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Judy Carol Dansal
said it’s not the supply, but the lack of rice milling facilities that impedes
the agency’s palay procurement.
Under a
liberalized regime, NFA’s sole mandate has been reduced to buffer stocking for
calamities and emergencies.
To perform
this task, the agency buys locally produced palay from farmers, which it sells
to local government units (LGUs) and partner agencies like the Department of
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
“We
are not in a bad situation [in terms of stocks]. We continue to procure stocks
now [but] it is not in big volumes yet because the main harvest will start by
September or three weeks from now,” Dansal said.
Right now,
Dansal said that NFA’s rice milling warehouse could only cater to 25 percent of
its palay inventory, forcing the agency to keep its contract with private
millers.
“On the
milling aspect of our inventory, we still have several rice mills located in
different parts of the country and we are still using them,” Dansal said.
“[But] we
cannot avoid contracting milling to private sectors to convert our palay stocks
into rice in order to address the volume of the daily requirements nationwide.
During the past administrations, NFA did not to buy rice mills because of
government policy not to compete with the business of private sector,” she
added.
She also
said that the change to limit NFA’s mandate to “merely buffer stocking has the
negative effect of removal of 40 percent of our personnel complement, which we
will implement in a few months from now”.
“Further,
the budget being given by the national government is only to buy palay. Hence,
we have no budget to buy rice mills,” Dansal further said.
NFA currently has an annual budget of P7 billion for palay procurement.
Dansal also
said that the government’s Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) program
is “clear in so far as the beneficiaries are concerned and NFA is not among
them.” RCEF is the collection of rice import tariffs.
“However,
[Agriculture] Secretary William Dar is doing his best to look for funds to
support our present post-harvest facilities,” the NFA chief further said.
Meanwhile,
Dansal likewise said that another reason NFA could not buy big volumes of palay
as of now is the still relatively low buying price for palay at P19 per
kilogram.
“The market
dictates the price. So if the farm-gate price of palay is high, higher than the
P19/kg buying price of the government, the farmers sell their produce to the
private traders.
Latest data
from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that as of the second
week of July, the average farmgate price of palay stood at 18.49/kg, rising by
3.9 percent from the 17.79/kg price recorded in the same period last year.
Dansal’s
statement came as some groups expressed concern against the alleged
dwindling NFA inventory that is good to last for seven days only.
“This is
alarming as the next big harvest is still in October. It pays to be prepared
especially with this pandemic still hovering in the picture,” Omi Royandoyan,
representative of Nagkakaisang Grupo Laban sa RTL or Rice Tariffication Law,
said.
Dansal was
quick to defend the agency, saying that NFA only supplies to 5 percent of the
market given its new mandate and amid falling purchases from LGUs and
government agencies.“Our current buffer stock, if NFA will feed the 109 million
Filipinos daily, will only last for days. But that is not the situation anymore
because we only share a maximum of 5 percent market participation. We have the
private sector and the household stocks to help the government stocks,” Dansal
said.
She also
said that NFA’s sales from LGUs and other government relief agencies have been
reduced from 10 percent during the first few months of COVID-19 pandemic to 2
percent as of now.
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