Friday, March 06, 2020

6th March,2020 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter



STEM Competition Adds an "R" for Rice  

ROCKVILLE, MD -- Students from the Charles E. Smith (CES) Jewish Day School here recently got their brains in high gear for an academic competition that married U.S. rice and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).  After learning all about U.S.-grown rice from curriculum provided by USA Rice, the middle school students participated in four activities that studied the relationship between the structure and function of different types of rice.

The students collected qualitative and quantitative observations about each type of rice and then compared that data with written descriptions of the different varieties to determine the accuracy of their observational skills.  At the conclusion of the competition, students had even more fun making sushi rolls using rice donated by USA Rice.

"This is one of the most unique incorporations of rice in a classroom that I have come across," said Cameron Jacobs, USA Rice director of domestic promotion.  "It just goes to show that the versatility of rice cannot be understated, and even a single grain can serve as an educational resource."

In addition to the donated rice and curriculum materials including Registered Dietitian guides to U.S.-grown rice, USA Rice also provided students with Think Rice pens and notepads.

"I commend the teaching staff at the Jewish Day School for developing such an interesting intersection between rice and STEM," said Jacobs.  "These students not only learned what they should within the STEM disciplines, but also left with a newfound appreciation of U.S.-grown rice."
There’s science to making great fried rice
Chefs make the dish often without realizing the physics behind it

Science underlies what chefs in Chinese restaurants do to cook rice quickly and completely — without burning.
SERGE_BERTASIUS/ISTOCK /GETTY IMAGES PLUS
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March 4, 2020 at 6:45 am
To make fried rice like a pro, use science. That’s what two physicists now advise.
Chefs typically toss the frying food into the air from deep, rounded pans or woks before catching it again. Launching rice and its fixings allows a chef to cook it over really hot flames without burning. At times, temperatures in a pan can reach 1,200° Celsius (2,192° Fahrenheit). This helps create the tastiest stir-fried fare. Now, Hungtang Ko and David L. Hu have analyzed videos of five chefs cooking up fried rice in Chinese restaurants. By doing this, Ko and Hu uncovered the repeated motions used to toss that rice. Both Ko and Hu work at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
The scientists found that the chefs relied on a specific pattern of motion. And they repeated those motions about three times a second. Ko and Hu described those movements February 12 in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. Each repetition included sliding a wok back and forth at the same time it was rocked to and fro. The chefs used the rim of the stovetop as a fulcrum on which to balance their pan as they rocked it.
Cooking fried rice like a pro requires tossing it in the air to avoid burning. Physicists analyzed details of chefs’ movements. They now report that sliding and rocking motions repeat about three times a second, launching the food from a wok. Blue lines track the edges of the pan, with the left side moving clockwise and the right side counterclockwise. The red line notes the motion of the wok’s center.
Cooks use similarly complex patterns of movement to cook up other foods. They will tilt and rotate batter in a pan, for instance, to get smooth, flat crepes
Ko and Hu used a computer to simulate the trajectories of rice that would occur in a wok moved in various ways. Along the way, the scientists hit on some key culinary tips. The rocking and sliding motions shouldn’t be totally in sync. If they are, the rice won’t mix well and could burn. Also, the wok’s movements should repeat rapidly. Moving the wok even faster could launch the rice higher. That might allow cooking at higher temperatures, they say, and perhaps a quicker meal.
But faster shaking may be hard on a cook. Chefs at Chinese restaurants can struggle with shoulder pain, studies have shown. Rapidly shaking their heavy woks could be part of the problem. One solution, Ho and Ku suggest, might be a stir-frying robot. It could be built based on their newfound results, they say, to take the weight off chefs’ shoulders.

East Chinese province to plant over 660 hectares of rice in saline-alkali soil

Source: Xinhua| 2020-03-05 18:54:41|Editor: huaxia
QINGDAO, March 5 (Xinhua) -- A team led by Yuan Longping, the renowned agronomist known for developing the first hybrid rice strains, launched an ambitious program for planting 10,000 mu (about 660 hectares) of rice in saline-alkali soil in east China's Shandong Province on Thursday.
Workers have started to level 330 hectares of saline-alkali soil in Qingdao, a coastal city of Shandong. Rice seedlings will be transplanted in May.
According to Zhang Guodong, deputy director of Qingdao's saline-alkali tolerant rice research and development center led by Yuan, they will plant the other 330 hectares of saline-alkali tolerant rice in Dongying and Weifang, also coastal cities of Shandong.
Yuan did not visit the program site due to the coronavirus epidemic, but he sent a letter conveying his support.
The team will plant Chaoyou 1000, a promising super hybrid rice combination, in the saline-alkali soil. The team planted 500 mu of Chaoyou 1000 in Dongying last year, and the yield reached 600 kg per mu, according to Yuan's letter.
Researchers on Yuan's team tested growing rice in saline-alkali soil last year in six bases across China, including Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the provinces of Heilongjiang, Shandong and Zhejiang.
They also succeeded in planting saline-alkali tolerant rice in Dubai of the United Arab Emirates.
The total testing areas amounted to 20,000 mu and the yield reached over 500 kg per mu.
China has about 100 million hectares of saline-alkali soil, of which about one-fifth could be ameliorated to arable soil.

Major rice research platform to be built in northeast China

Source: Xinhua| 2020-03-05 11:44:48|Editor: huaxia
BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- A major rice research platform will be built in northeast China with a total investment of about 90 million yuan (about 13 million U.S. dollars) to promote the upgrading of the rice industry in the northern part of the country.
The construction of the northern rice research center of the China National Rice Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has recently been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
The center will be built in Baoqing County, Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province. As a national science and technology innovation platform, the center is expected to significantly improve the contribution of science and technology in the rice industry in northern China, and promote the development of a high-quality rice industry.
The center will focus on rice resources innovation, new variety selection, ecological research, cultivation technology innovation and soil fertilization and remediation research


East Chinese province to plant over 660 hectares of rice in saline-alkali soil

Source: Xinhua| 2020-03-05 18:54:41|Editor: huaxia
QINGDAO, March 5 (Xinhua) -- A team led by Yuan Longping, the renowned agronomist known for developing the first hybrid rice strains, launched an ambitious program for planting 10,000 mu (about 660 hectares) of rice in saline-alkali soil in east China's Shandong Province on Thursday.
Workers have started to level 330 hectares of saline-alkali soil in Qingdao, a coastal city of Shandong. Rice seedlings will be transplanted in May.
According to Zhang Guodong, deputy director of Qingdao's saline-alkali tolerant rice research and development center led by Yuan, they will plant the other 330 hectares of saline-alkali tolerant rice in Dongying and Weifang, also coastal cities of Shandong.
Yuan did not visit the program site due to the coronavirus epidemic, but he sent a letter conveying his support.
The team will plant Chaoyou 1000, a promising super hybrid rice combination, in the saline-alkali soil. The team planted 500 mu of Chaoyou 1000 in Dongying last year, and the yield reached 600 kg per mu, according to Yuan's letter.
Researchers on Yuan's team tested growing rice in saline-alkali soil last year in six bases across China, including Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the provinces of Heilongjiang, Shandong and Zhejiang.
They also succeeded in planting saline-alkali tolerant rice in Dubai of the United Arab Emirates.
The total testing areas amounted to 20,000 mu and the yield reached over 500 kg per mu.
China has about 100 million hectares of saline-alkali soil, of which about one-fifth could be ameliorated to arable soil.

₱520M rice fund empowers farmers in Caraga Region
By DA CaragaPublished on March 5, 2020
Description: https://files.pia.gov.ph/source/2020/03/05/da-2.jpgBUTUAN CITY, Mar. 5 -- March 5, 2020, marks the first anniversary of the implementation of the Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tarrification Law (RTL).
Over a year, the Department of Agriculture  (DA) – Caraga together with its implementing agencies took the challenge to pursue a more efficient implementation of the four component programs of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).
As a result, a total of ₱520 million agri support has been poured to the rice farmers in the region. This includes the provision of farm machinery, quality seeds, credit, and training and extension services.
Today, DA-Caraga Regional Executive Director Abel James I. Monteagudo together with Engr. Rene Q. Morales lead the turn-over of farm machinery to eligible farmer associations held at DA-Caraga ILD Grounds, Brgy. Taguibo, Butuan City.
"You are now receiving the fruit of the implementation of RTL. The rice tariff revenues are allocated to programs that will make Caraga rice farmers globally competitive. Rest assured that more interventions are coming and sooner will be realized. We just need your support and your cooperation," Monteagudo said.
Description: https://files.pia.gov.ph/source/2020/03/05/da-1.jpgIn support of agricultural modernization, DA-Caraga distributed a total of ₱350 million worth of farm equipment. Around 280 farmer associations and cooperatives received their proposed farm equipment such as mechanical rice transplanters, four-wheel-drive tractors, rice combine harvesters, hand tractors, rice threshers, rice reapers, seed spreader, and pump and engine set.
Robert "Datu Bantiles" Tagalogon, tribal leader of Manobo Farmers Sectoral Tribal Council Inc. in La Paz, Agusan del Sur is very grateful from the five pump and engine set they received.
According to Datu Bantiles around 3,000, Manobo rice farmers will benefit easier access to the water supply.
"We are now ready for the next cropping season through the help of the pump and engine. We are looking forward to an abundant harvest," said Datu Bantiles.
On the other hand, the DA – Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) – Agusan distributed ₱65.5 million worth or an equivalent of 86,243 bags of inbred rice seeds to 34,258 farmers in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur for the November – December 2019 planting season. This corresponds to an estimated planted area of 44,852 hectares.
Another round of seed distribution worth ₱72.96 million will be done this month for the wet cropping season that will benefit more than 40,000 farmers.
In addition to RCEF credit assistance, the DA together with the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, Landbank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines open more windows for financial aids such as loan programs intended to eligible beneficiaries.
Under the Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance (SURE-Aid) Program, a total of 6,596 rice farmers from the provinces of Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Agusan del Norte including Butuan City received a ₱15,000-loan at zero interest payable in eight years.
Meanwhile, the release of cash grants to 1,210 qualified rice farmers under the Rice Farmer Financial Assistance (RFFA) Program provided unconditional ₱5,000 cash assistance to farmers with one-half to two hectares of rice land. Another 16,000 rice farmers will receive the said assistance not later this month.
For the training and extension component, DA-Agricultural Training Institute – Caraga together with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority – Caraga is closely working to conduct more refresher courses, training, accreditation programs, and scholarships.
The department aims that on the next six years as a result of RCEF, it will effectively reduce the average production cost of palay by ₱4 kg, from the current ₱12 kg, increase the average yield by at least two tons per hectare from the current four metric tons per hectare, and double the income of rice farmers. (DA Caraga/PIA Caraga)

Ilocos Norte rice farmers urged to diversify crops
By Leilanie Adriano  March 5, 2020, 12:57 pm
Description: https://files.pna.gov.ph/category-list/2020/03/04/img7047.jpg
TRY AGRI-BUSINESS. Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc is one with rice farmers whom he urged to shift to high-value crops and engage in agribusiness to increase productivity. Manotoc attended a farmers’ festival in Barangay Cataban, Laoag City on Wednesday where 34 farmer-cooperators harvested an average of 8.6 tons per hectare at the 10-hectare hybrid rice model farm sponsored by hybrid rice companies. (PNA photo by Leilanie Adriano)
LAOAG CITY – The disruptive effects of global climate change and rice tariffication among other social issues make farming more challenging during these times thus the need for farmers to consider adding crops that can be resilient under different weather conditions.
During a harvest festival on the 10-hectare hybrid rice model farm in Barangay 61 Cataban, this city on Wednesday, Provincial Agriculturist Norma Lagmay said Ilocos Norte continues to be one of the country’s Top 12 rice-producing provinces but time has come that farmers need to strategize so that they will not only depend on rice planting for income.
“We produce more rice than we consume. And with the effect of the rice tariffication law, I hope that we will shift to other crops such as fruits and vegetables as additional source of income,” Lagmay said.
At present, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is in the process of drafting a national crop diversification program to support rice farmers who are struggling in the face of competition from rice imports. In Ilocos Norte, Lagmay said there are areas that are no longer suitable for rice production and these can be utilized for crop diversification.
Crop diversification refers to the addition of new crops other than rice on a particular farm which can help increased revenue, creating new markets and improved rural communities’ quality of life.
Backing this move, Laoag Mayor Michael Marcos Keon told farmers the city government is ready to support farm mechanization and the restoration of soil fertility programs in every barangay to ensure sustainable agriculture.
Meanwhile, the provincial government of Ilocos Norte is also assisting farmers by giving them farm machinery, seeds, and fertilizer subsidy to reduce farming inputs. Other crops being promoted in the province include garlic, shallot, corn, moringa (malunggay), tobacco, mango, and dragon fruit among others.
The Department of Agriculture through the Provincial Veterinary Office is also distributing livestock dispersal to all interested farmers to increase their income. (PNA)

. This includes the provision of farm machinery, quality seeds, credit, and training and extension services.

Where have all the workers gone?

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:20 AM March 06, 2020
It’s not easy anymore to find workers for our farm operations,” I’ve been hearing many farmers tell me lately. I’m making the rounds again talking to various farmers in different parts of the country in the course of a research study. Whether they are tilling less than a hectare or operating hundreds of hectares of consolidated farms, a persistent clamor our research team keeps hearing is for easier access to farm machinery, because farmworkers are getting hard to find or costly to hire.
One thing is very different about our farm sector now compared to the 1970s. Back in 1977, I lived among rice farmers in Bicol, Panay, and Central Luzon studying the various farm machines being used in threshing and drying harvested palay. My masteral thesis research was on the appropriate choice of technology for Philippine rice farms, and with abundant farm labor then, I noted that the large McCormick threshers (tilladora) found in Central Luzon made little economic sense. With cheap and abundant farm labor, savings in labor cost simply could not offset the large capital investment the machine entailed. Similarly, the kerosene or rice hull-fueled flat bed palay dryers developed by UP Los Baños agricultural engineers proved unattractive to farmers. The capital cost was simply too high, whereas sun drying on available pavements or mats had minimal capital cost even if it required more labor.
Fast forward to 2020, and we’re finding farmers in Mindanao, Visayas, and Luzon all clamoring for farm machines. “The problem is 4Ps!” is a cry we hear wherever we go. The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the Philippine version of targeted conditional cash transfers, is designed to incentivize poor parents to keep their children in school, thereby investing in their family’s long-term welfare. But farmers swear that their workers are no longer inclined to work as hard, or not at all, because “the 4Ps cash doleout has made them lazy.” One sugar farmer observed that “they might come to work in the field in the morning, but in the afternoon, they’d rather be drinking.”
People also point to BBB (Build, build, build) as another problem. Farmers say they are forced to match the wages being paid to construction workers, which is higher than the minimum wage for farmworkers, if they are to get workers at all. There’s apparently so much demand for workers in both government and private construction projects now that farmworkers are being siphoned off the farms.
“Many agrarian reform beneficiaries would rather lease their piece of land to a large farm consolidator, buy a motorcycle, and be a ‘habal-habal’ (motorcycle taxi) driver instead,” our research team heard more than one sugar planter point out. It made me recall the doctoral research of Danielle Guillen, where she found that farmers are drawn into driving tricycles and habal-habal because it provides them cash daily, even if total income from farming would actually be higher. But cash flow, she found, is often more important to the poor than the level of income, which leads them to leave farming in favor of occupations that put cash in their pockets every day.
All told, various farm machines are now commonly seen in our farms, and for a logical reason. In rice farms, combine harvesters that mechanically harvest and thresh palay as they pass through the rice fields earned the name “halimaw” (beast) from farmworkers who earlier saw them to be eating up their jobs; it seems that resistance to them has since become muted. In sugar farms, mechanical grabbers that load harvested cane into trucks are now common, especially because this task cannot be done by women, who can still be relied upon for the work of cutting cane in the fields. Even so, sugar planters attest that tapaseros have become much harder to find, especially since the traditional sacadas have become small landowners after agrarian reform.
It has taken us so much longer to get here than the Thais and Vietnamese did—because we seem to love making babies much more than they do—but now the direction is unmistakable: We must pursue wide farm mechanization vigorously now, or else.
cielito.habito@gmail.com
March 06, 2020 at 12:40 am by Macon Ramos-Araneta
A total of P100 billion worth of assistance, aside from the  P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, was released to Filipino farmers during the transition to rice tariffication, said Senator Cynthia Villar.
Villar, chairman of the Senate agriculture and food committee, said the farmers started last year to receive the benefits of the law through seed distribution, credit and extension programs. 
Soon, Villar farm machinery will be distributed to rice-producing towns under the law’s mechanization program.
She noted that this is also provided under Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law.
The senator, however, admitted a delay in the distribution of farm machinery due to the  change of leadership in the Department of Agriculture—from Emmanuel Piñol to William Dar although  SARO-BMB-E-20-001084 was already received for the amount of P5 billion.
Aside from the P10-billion RCEF, LandBank and the DA Agricultural Credit Policy Council implemented the P4.8-billion Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance Program or SURE AID which provided a one-time loan assistance of P15,000 at percent interest for eight years. 
This program, Villar said, helped rice farmers with farms measuring one hectare and below whose income were affected by the drop in the farmgate price of palay.
She said P3-billion unconditional cash assistance was implemented  to benefit the small farmers. The program was funded by the Department of Finance and provided P5,000 each to 600,000 farmers owning one hectare and below.
To ensure that the palay produce of local farmers will be bought at a reasonable price, P7-billion was allocated under the National Food Authority to procure palay from local farmers.
The P31 billion budget for rice subsidy under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program was also used to procure rice from local farmers and distributed to beneficiary households.
Farmers also received assistance under the P7 billion National Rice Program which included provision for hybrid seeds, fertilizer for inbred seeds, irrigation support and rehabilitation and improvement of small scale irrigation projects; agriculture, machinery, equipment and facilities support services; extension services; and research and development.
Assistance to farmers was also funded in the National Irrigation Administration worth P36 billion; P1 billion allocation to the PhilMech/PhilRice; and Farm to Market Roads worth P9.9 billion.
Villar said improvement of our country’s credit rating was also attributed to the enactment of the law which allowed us to save about P35 billion in interest payments of our government’s loans from other countries.

New study shows CRISPR can be applied to produce biofortified rice

Description: rice harvesting
Credit: Lominda Afedraru
This article or excerpt is included in the GLP’s daily curated selection of ideologically diverse news, opinion and analysis of biotechnology innovation.
A team of California plant scientists has taken a CRISPR-Cas9 approach to develop more nutritious varieties of rice.Their research, published today in Nature Communications, demonstrated that CRISPR-Cas9 can be successfully used to biofortify rice with carotenoid, a precursor to the essential nutrient vitamin A. Previous research has demonstrated that biofortification of rice can help prevent blindness, weakened immune systems and other health problems associated with vitamin A deficiency, which is especially prevalent among children in developing nations.
The study was led by Prof. Pamela Ronald and Oliver Dong, a post-doctoral fellow in the Ronald laboratory at the University of California, Davis, and members of the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) in Berkeley. Other collaborators included scientists from the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute and the Joint Bioenergy Institute, both in Northern California.
The research team used CRISPR-Cas9 to insert marker-free DNA fragments, or cassettes, into the rice genome at two targeted locations. Though other CRISPR researchers had previously achieved targeted insertions in plants, they used relatively small fragments of DNA, which restricted the amount of genetic information that could be introduced into the genome. The Ronald team inserted a 5.2 kb cassette that was more than twice the size of previous similar targeted insertions, resulting in carotenoid-enriched rice with a golden-colored grain.

Previous biofortification work in rice relied on conventional agrobacterium- or particle bombardment-based plant transformation, which integrates transgenes at random locations in the plant genome. This can disrupt gene function, sometimes resulting in reduced yield.
In this new approach, Ronald and her team identified genomic “safe harbors” that could accommodate insertion of the carotenoid cassette without disrupting desirable agronomic traits. They also demonstrated the lack of off-target mutations in the carotenoid- enriched plants, as evidenced by whole-genome sequencing.
The results suggest that CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing offers a promising strategy for making genetic improvements in rice — a staple food for more than half the world’s population — and other crops. The study also suggests that targeted gene insertion could facilitate stacking multiple genes with desired traits in a specific location in the genome — a process that is currently challenging using conventional plant breeding.
This article originally ran at the Cornell Alliance for Science and has been republished here with permission. Follow the Alliance for Science on Twitter @ScienceAlly. Follow Joan Conrow @joanconrow
https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2020/03/05/new-study-shows-crispr-can-be-applied-to-produce-biofortified-rice/

Geo-economics of Basmati rice to play inevitable role in India, Pak relations: Book

05 MARCH 2020  Last Updated at 5:38 PM | SOURCE: PTI
New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) The geo-economics of Basmati rice is going to play an "inevitable" role in Indo-Pak relations in the future, according to a new book.
Citing a likely decrease in the flow of Indus waters from India to Pakistan, the book titled "Basmati Rice: The Natural History Geographical Indication" noted that Pakistan will push for aggressive posturing in future as more than 80 per cent of its crops (including Basmati paddy) depend on this water for irrigation.
"The geo-economics of Basmati rice is going to play an inevitable role in determining a number of new agendas in both sides of borders in relation to security and peace," the book penned by S Chandrasekaran said.
According to the book, over 80 per cent of water under the Indus Water Treaty (that was signed between the two countries in 1960) is utilised by Punjab and Sindh provinces of Pakistan.
"The Indus river is extremely sensitive to factors of climate change. An estimated 70 to 80 per cent of its flow derives from glaciers, the highest proportion of any river in Asia. For this reason, the Indus river is expected to see high flow in the first half of the century as glaciers melt down, then receding flow later in the century, then no flow at all," it said.
The Indus covers a distance of around 1,800 miles from source to sea. Apart from flooding in 2010, it has mostly run dry for its last few hundred miles to the sea, the book said.
Chandrasekaran also noted that the Basmati rice could become an "economic tool" for India.
"India has not approached the subject of Basmati rice in such larger economic interest, even though it could provide additional economic benefits to millions of farmers in India if appropriate measures were taken. The current geo-economic trends explicitly indicate that Basmati rice could become an economic tool for ''Bharat''," the book said.
The legal and historical facts provide ability to register Basmati rice as an exclusive Geographical Indication (GI) of India, it said.
"Such exclusive ownership position of India has ability to claim penalty or royalty on infringement of use of word ''Basmati rice'' by Pakistan in international court or WTO, which could run several billion dollars of compensation to India," the author wrote.
Chandrasekaran, who hails from Tamil Nadu, has spent substantial period of his career working upon Geograhical Indication and Basmati rice’s evolution, trade and on its future aspects.
Prior awareness and knowledge about "Indications of Origin" for British and British-India policy makers, and non-inclusion of Basmati rice in the list of "other than physical assets" (Partition Proceedings: Volume II –Assets and Liabilities (Expert Committee No II), Annexure I) emphasise the fact that the implicit right of Geographical Indication of Basmati rice is exclusively vested with India, the book said.
Chandrasekaran suggested that India may need to reshape her trade diplomacy on Basmati rice in the context of "New Trade Agreements" and Pakistan policy.
"It could be firmly concluded that the labelling of rice grown in Pakistan, as Basmati is infringement based on historical reputation of West Punjab, particularly because agriculture never existed in that region," he wrote.
If any trading partner of India recognises and imports rice grown from Pakistan as Basmati rice, India may need to impose compensatory import tariff or such measures, on such value of imports of the trading partner destining to India, to recoup the export loss in order to protect and exercise the rights accrued through appropriate historical reputation under global trade agreements, the book claimed.
Grown in North West of India, especially in Indo-Gangetic Plain and Sivalik Hills, the Indian domestic market of Basmati rice is estimated over Rs 10,000 crore for packaged and organised sector as per published data. The price band of various Basmati rice brand varies from Rs 100 to Rs 225 per kilogram.
"The increase in disposable income and branding has significantly increased the consumption of Basmati rice. No other Indian Geographical Indication (GI) has grown to such size of volume and value like Basmati rice," the book said.
"In our constitution, a new section could be introduced under fundamental rights ensuring – ''Right to Nature''," it suggested.
Geographical Indication is a public right combination of quality-linked geography with reputation in common parlance.
"Geography is nothing but nature. The Basmati rice provides livelihood for millions of farmers and this heritage is to be protected as public rights with larger ''public policy instrument''.
Such combination of livelihood and heritage forms culture of India since immemorial time not only in Basmati rice but also in a number of products," it said. PTI AKV AKV TRS TRS

Vietnam eyes growing demand for rice in Senegal

·       VIETNAM
·       Thursday, 05 Mar 2020
6:44 PM MYT
Vietnam exported 96,665 tonnes of rice to Senegal in 2019, up 13 times year on year. - VN
HANOI (Vietnam News/ANN): Vietnam this year would have opportunities to continue increasing rice exports to Senegal, as well as Africa as a whole, due to high demand from those markets, the Vietnam Nam Trade Office in Algeria said.
This year, Senegal's demand for imported rice is forecasted to be high because people are storing more food, including rice, during the serious outbreak of locusts in East Africa – which has destroyed crops – and the Covid-19 epidemic, it said.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, Africa's rice demand in 2020 is estimated at 15.7 million tonnes. Of which, Senegal may have to import 1.3 million tonnes, it said.
In 2019, Vietnam had strong growth in rice exports to Senegal compared to 2018, the trade office said. The exports reached 96,665 tonnes of rice, earning US$32.6 million, up 13 times in volume and 10.2 times in value year on year.
In this market, Vietnamese rice has to compete with rice from India, Pakistan, Thailand, China, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, the US, Malaysia and Cambodia. - Vietnam News/Asia News Network

Barter trade deal with Iran; Ministry restarts consultative process
By MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN on March 6, 2020
Commerce Ministry has restarted consultative process for a barter trade deal with Iran as normal bilateral relations are not possible between the two countries till removal of US sanctions.

For this purpose, Prime Minister's Advisor on Commerce, Industries and Production and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, on Thursday presided over an internal meeting meant to formulate a comprehensive strategy for this purpose.

Recently, Pakistan's embassy in Tehran had communicated Iranian concerns regarding delay in fulfillment of Pakistan's commitment for finding a workable solution to US sanctions against Iran by establishing a mechanism for transactions and resumption of banking channels.

In this regard, Pakistan's embassy in Tehran has proposed the following: (i) establishing credible banking channels by opening bank branches of non-sanctioned Iranian banks in Pakistan and vice versa; (ii) signing of Free Trade Agreement (FTA); and (iii) trade mechanism as proposed by the Iranian side to settle outstanding payments for electricity being imported by Pakistan. The Iranian side is willing to import Pakistani rice (and other commodities) against cost of electricity being imported from Iran in Balochistan.

Official sources told Business Recorder that the meeting presided over by the Prime Minister's Advisor on Commerce discussed different scenarios with respect to commencement of bilateral trade through land route and sea.

However, the main issue being faced is non-availability of payment mechanism due to which trade is negligible. Nevertheless, informal trade is continuing which is hurting local industry.

The sources said it has been decided to convene another meeting which will be attended by the Ministry of Finance, State Bank of Pakistan, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry so that the decision on barter trade should be taken after due diligence with the stakeholders.
Previously due to security issues along the Pakistan-Iran border, negative public statements against Pakistan emanated from Iran, and the government, as part of its principled approach to strengthen its relations with neighbouring countries, is eager to explore all avenues of strengthening bilateral relations with Iran particularly in the economic areas.

The sources said Pakistan has pursued a policy of balanced engagement with Iran vis-à-vis Arab countries for the past several years. Given Pakistan's financial compulsions, recent warming of its relations with Saudi Arabia and UAE has created an impression of a tilt in this balanced approach towards the Arabs, at the expense of Iran.

The sources said Pakistan can apply for waiver on the following grounds: (i) Pakistan's economy is highly dependent on import of oil while Iran is an oil producing country and can offer oil to Pakistan at a comparatively cheaper price; and (ii) there has always been demand of medical/surgical instruments and of Pakistani rice and fruits in Iran. Pakistan is quite capable of meeting Iranian needs for these products by improving the requisite logistics/infrastructure in this regard.
According to sources, in case legal means of trade are not explored between Iran and Pakistan, the population in border areas is likely to be involved in exploring illegal means/channels of trading goods, which may ultimately give rise to the greater risks of money-laundering and terror financing.

Iranian authorities are charging a fee from Pakistani drivers and business community of Rs3,750 as compared to Pakistan visa fee of Rs2,750 being charged by Pakistan from Iranian citizens. The visa fee and visa can be cancelled any time by Iranian authorities without assigning any reason.
The export consignments from Pakistan to Iran are required to be attested by the consulate of Iran at Quetta with attestation fees of Rs100,000 for consignment of million tons of rice and it takes around 2-4 days.

Pakistan has not imposed any such condition on Iranian imports. Load tax is charged at the rate of 10 percent of the fare of the transport company. If a truck is charged Rs40,000 for travel from Quetta to Zahedan the transporter has to pay Rs4,000 even though the distance from Taftan border to Zahedan is 80 kms.
According to sources, there is a wide difference between trade data released by Iran Customs and Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The Iranian customs data shows that the bilateral volume crossed $1 billion in 2017 while data reported by FBR shows the total trade of $392 million. Pakistan will emphasize the need of reconciliation of trade data.
The government of Iran has imposed a ban on import of a number of agricultural goods including fruits and vegetables, seasonal ban on rice and the country specific ban on wheat from Pakistan. The ban on import of kinoos since 2011-12 is seriously affecting Pakistani fruit exporters and Pakistan is losing on average $30 million per annum.
Talking about Pak-Iran Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the sources said, in order to finalize the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Iran, three or four meetings of the Technical Negotiating Committee (NNC) have been held since 2016. The third meeting of the TNC was held in Tehran in 2017. Draft of FTA in goods and Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and sanitary and phytosanitory have been shared.

US sanctions on Iran were categorized into primary sanctions and secondary sanctions. The primary sanctions prevented US citizens or entities from engaging in transactions with Iran and its government. The secondary sanctions were applicable on non-US persons and entities.

After GCPOA, the USA lifted the secondary sanctions on Iran with effect from January 26, 2016 while primary sanctions remained enforced. However, following US decision to withdraw from JCPOA, the secondary sanctions were re-introduced partly on August 7, 2018 and partly on November 5, 2018. The US issued 180-day waivers for relaxation of some of the sanctions with effect from November 5, 2018.
Recently, the US imposed further sanctions on Iran after tensions rose between the two counties over killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Iraq.
The secondary sanctions pertain to the following: (i) financial and banking institutions; (ii) insurance related issues; (iii) Iran's energy and petrochemical sectors; (iv) shipping sector; (v) trade in gold and other precious metals; and (vi) supply of goods and services related to the auto sector.
In order to trade with Iran in the presence of US sanctions, countries have employed different methods. Countries including China, Japan and South Korea have been granted a waiver by the US for import of oil as the economies of these countries are largely dependent on oil imports from Iran. Similarly European countries have devised a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for trade with Iran. SPV facilitates European-Iran trade while reducing the need for transactions between the European and Iranian financial systems. It will do this by allowing European exporters to receive payments for sales to Iran from funds that are already within Europe and vice versa. Further details are being worked out. However, this mechanism will include only trade in food and medicines. Petroleum products will be kept outside this mechanism.The sources further stated that Pakistan is also considering various options for engaging in trade with Iran. Currently, trade with Iran is conducted mainly through Dubai. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, although a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between SBP and Bank Markazi Jamhouri Islami Iran (BMJII) on April 13, 2017 in Tehran, Pakistani banks are still reluctant to do business with the Iranian banks and have adopted a risk averse approach. Another reason is comparatively low volume of trade with Iran compared with USA.

A committee under the chairmanship of the then Minister of State for Revenue, Hammad Azhar, comprising public and private sector (Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry) representatives had been constituted.
SBP, however, maintains that since the entire banking sector is under sanctions, it is not possible to open branches of Iranian banks in Pakistan. Following deliberations, the committee has come up with the following proposals to overcome the payment problem with Iran: (i) seek waiver from the US on sanctions; (ii) establish a mechanism for barter trade; and (iii) set up a dedicated bank to do business with Iran.

Major Rice Research Platform To Be Built In Northeast China

Description: Major rice research platform to be built in northeast China

A major rice research platform will be built in northeast China with a total investment of about 90 million yuan (about 13 million U.S. dollars) to promote the upgrading of the rice industry in the northern part of the country

BEIJING, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Mar, 2020 ) :A major rice research platform will be built in northeast China with a total investment of about 90 million Yuan (about 13 million U.S. Dollars) to promote the upgrading of the rice industry in the northern part of the country.
The construction of the northern rice research center of the China National Rice Research Institute of the Chinese academy of Agricultural Sciences has recently been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
The center will be built in Baoqing County, Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province. As a national science and technology innovation platform, the center is expected to significantly improve the contribution of science and technology in the rice industry in northern China, and promote the development of a high-quality rice industry.
The center will focus on rice resources innovation, new variety selection, ecological research, cultivation technology innovation and soil fertilization and remediation research.



Ban on rice import still in place to boost production: Tanzanian minister
·       Devdiscourse News Desk

The ban on import of rice and other food crops hasn't been lifted by Tanzanian government, a media report by Xinhua said on Wednesday quoting a deputy minister.
"To protect local farmers from a competitive market suffocated by cheap imports, the government will continue to make sure that there are no imports of rice in the country," said Deputy Minister for Agriculture Hussein Bashe.
He was addressing a meeting on boosting rice production.
"Tanzania is currently producing one million tonnes of rice annually and our strategy should focus on producing three to four million tonnes of rice annually," Bashe told the meeting.
He also acknowledged the need for "heavy investment" in irrigation farming and the production of high-quality seeds, according to the report.
Rice is the second most cultivated food and commercial crop in Tanzania after maize, with a cultivated area of about 681,000 hectares, which represents 18 percent of the cultivated land.
However, yields are generally very low, at between one and one and a half tonnes per hectare, due to the use of mostly traditional farming methods.

World Bank Invests Over 22 Billion in Agriculture
Memory Harold March 5, 2020
World bank coordinating with the ministry of Education in past projects.
Ministry of Education and Sports in partnership with the Worldbank is investing over 22 billion towards skills training for the Agricultural Sector in the country.
This investment is being made through the Uganda Skills Development Project (USDP) aiming at improving the sector and boosting the country’s economy.
The training is aimed keeping participants abreast of the latest trends in skills upgrading and fostering technological advancement.
Through this investment, the country will witness a revamp of the 100 year old Bukalasa Agricultural Institute, as well as construction of new Infrastructure at Sesefarm Insitute Kalangala, Rwentanga Farm Institute in Mbarara and Kaberamaido Technical and Vocational Institute.

Bukalasa Agricultural Institute, one of the scho

MARCH 5, 2020 / 7:21 PM / UPDATED A DAY AGO
Asia Rice-Drought-hit Thailand's rates soar to 6-1/2 yr peak on supply dearth
Sumita Layek
3 MIN READ

* Vietnam rates rise to $390-$400/tonne this week from $365-$375

* More orders coming from Malaysia, Cuba, Africa-Vietnamese trader

* Indian rupee falls to lowest in 16 months

* Bangladesh sets ‘Boro’ production target of 20 mln tonnes

By Sumita Layek
BENGALURU, March 5 (Reuters) - A supply crunch in drought stricken Thailand pushed rice export prices to their highest in 6-1/2 years this week, while Vietnamese rates bounced back to a more than one-year high on firm demand.

Thailand’s benchmark 5% broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1 prices jumped to $460-$467 per tonne on Thursday, their highest since August 2013, from $430-$452 last week.“Most of the demand is from domestic buyers who are stocking up rice amid fears of shortages,” a Bangkok-based trader said.
The protracted drought in many rice producing areas caused market concerns over possible supply shortages and is the main reason for the price hike as overseas demand remained flat, traders said.
The dry season, which usually starts in November and lasts until April, could persist into June, the Thai government said.
In Vietnam, rates for 5% broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 rose to $390-$400 on Thursday, their highest since December 2018, versus $365-$375 a week earlier on strong demand.
“The Philippines remains the largest buyer, and we have seen more orders coming in from Malaysia, Cuba and Africa,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.
Vietnam’s rice exports in the first two months of this year likely rose 11.5% from a year earlier to 811,000 tonnes, the government’s General Statistics Office said on Saturday.
“The strong demand has outpaced the rise in supplies as local farmers are still harvesting rice from the winter-spring crop,” another trader in the city said, adding that farmers have harvested 60%-70% of the crop.Meanwhile, in top exporter India, rice export prices extended losses due to weak demand and as rupee fell to the lowest level in 16 months.
India’s 5% broken parboiled variety rates RI-INBKN5-P1 inched lower to $367-$371 per tonne this week, from last week’s $369-$373.“Weak rupee is allowing us to lower prices in dollar terms, but still demand is not picking up,” said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Weak rupee increases exporters margin from the overseas sale.Neighbouring Bangladesh has set a production target of 20 million tonnes for summer variety rice crop “Boro”, for the current year, a senior agriculture ministry official said.Boro contributes more than half Bangladesh’s typical annual rice output of around 35 million tonnes.

In 2019, the country produced a record 20.4 million tonnes of Boro, up from 19.6 million tonnes the previous year, the agriculture ministry says. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok; editing by David Evans)

Vietnam eyes growing demand for rice in Senegal

·       VIETNAM
·       Thursday, 05 Mar 2020
·       HANOI (Vietnam News/ANN): Vietnam this year would have opportunities to continue increasing
·       rice exports to Senegal, as well as Africa as a whole, due to high demand from those markets, the Vietnam Nam Trade Office in Algeria said.
This year, Senegal's demand for imported rice is forecasted to be high because people are storing more food, including rice, during the serious outbreak of locusts in East Africa – which has destroyed crops – and the Covid-19 epidemic, it said.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, Africa's rice demand in 2020 is estimated at 15.7 million tonnes. Of which, Senegal may have to import 1.3 million tonnes, it said.
In 2019, Vietnam had strong growth in rice exports to Senegal compared to 2018, the trade office said. The exports reached 96,665 tonnes of rice, earning US$32.6 million, up 13 times in volume and 10.2 times in value year on year.
In this market, Vietnamese rice has to compete with rice from India, Pakistan, Thailand, China, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, the US, Malaysia and Cambodia. - Vietnam News/Asia News Network
Rice prices expected to fall further
March 5, 2020 | 12:30 am
Description: https://www.bworldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/rice-farmers-020420.jpg
THE Duterte administration expects the price of rice to decline further on the second year of the law lifting import restrictions that brought prices to a seven-year low.
During a Palace briefing on Wednesday, Socioeconomic Undersecretary Mercedita A. Sombilla said the price of rice could fall to around P34 to P35 per kilo this year, from the current price of around P36 per kilo — the lowest since 2013.
She said prices are seen to drop with the implementation of the Rice Tarriffication Law (RTL) and measures to boost production of rice farmers, particularly through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).
Ngayon pumalo na tayo at P36…The lowest one that we saw was in 2013 which was P33.70 and ito ngayon ang pinakamababa after six years, seven years. Hopefully, talagang bababa pa rin tayo with the intercession of the RCEF that will increase production of rice… We are hoping that the retail price will go down,” Ms. Sombilla said.
“It depends on how all of these will work out, but we are hoping it could still go down to P34 or P35 this year. There are so many factors, including how the world market will be evolving in the coming months.”
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said during the same briefing that P2.3 billion for the RCEF has already been approved by President Rodrigo R. Duterte and is expected to be released soon in order to assist farmer beneficiaries under the RTL.
“P2.3 billion is awaiting to be fully accessed and through the program’s steering committee of the rice competitiveness enhancement fund, We are going to request the allocation of P1.3 billion for crop diversification and P1 billion for crop insurance….Again, for the very purpose of helping rice farmers increased their levels of productivity, competitiveness and profitability,” Mr. Dar said.
The Agriculture secretary assured that the rice inventory is currently good for 80 days, and no shortage in rice is expected. — Gillian M. Cortez

China grain output must stay stable amid coronavirus outbreak, provinces told


Description: https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/grain%20photo%2001.jpgChina must not let grain output decline this year, a government working group said, amid worries that measures to contain the ongoing coronavirus outbreak could hurt food security in the world’s most populous country.
Just weeks away from the start of spring planting, the central government’s work group on managing the coronavirus ordered provinces to mobilise farmers and guarantee that planted acreage and grain output remain stable.
A lockdown on the movement of people to contain the spread of the coronavirus has raised fears that farmers will be unable to plough their fields and sow crops.
Hubei province, the virus epicentre with the strictest lockdown, produced 9% of China’s rice crop in 2019.
In a statement posted on the government’s website, the group also said that regions with good growing conditions should restore double-cropping of rice, reversing recent years’ policy that had sought to target higher quality grain over quantity.
It also said they should expand the planted acreage of early crop rice and reduce the amount of land left fallow.
It urged officials to help farmers facing a labour shortage to avoid the risk of arable land being left untended.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton, editing by Louise Heavens and Nick Macfie)


Major rice research platform to be built in northeast China

BY BRINKWIRE ON MARCH 5, 2020
BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) — A major rice research platform will be built in northeast China with a total investment of about 90 million yuan (about 13 million U.S. dollars) to promote the upgrading of the rice industry in the northern part of the country.
The construction of the northern rice research center of the China National Rice Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has recently been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
The center will be built in Baoqing County, Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province. As a national science and technology innovation platform, the center is expected to significantly improve the contribution of science and technology in the rice industry in northern China, and promote the development of a high-quality rice industry.
The center will focus on rice resources innovation, new variety selection, ecological research, cultivation technology innovation and soil fertilization and remediation research. 

China to reach 2020 grain targets despite coronavirus outbreak: ministry
BEIJING (Reuters) - China can attain this year’s grain targets despite a coronavirus outbreak, agriculture officials said on Thursday, adding that a recovery of the pig herd was also on track.

More than half of China’s grain area is planted in the spring, Pan Wenbo, director of planting administration at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, told a media briefing, but roadblocks intended to curb the spread of the virus have also served as an obstacle to planting.

Hubei province, an important rice-growing region and the epicenter of the outbreak, had suffered the most severe problems, said Zhang Yanqiu, director of the ministry’s seed management bureau.The ministry is working to get extra supplies to farmers in the central province, who also face a shortage of key inputs such as fertilisers, he added.“If we can solve Hubei’s problem, the country’s problem will be solved,” said Zhang.

China’s fertilizer makers are operating at more than 60% of capacity, he added.

Nationwide planting progress is comparable to regular years, however, Pan said, adding that he had confidence China could reach its annual grain target.

Spring planting will be an important key performance indicator for local government officials this year, he added.
A higher price paid by state reserves for rice this year will also send a signal to farmers to grow more grain, Pan said.China is also trying to encourage farmers to plant two crops of rice each year, a trend that has been in decline as costs have risen.
“To ensure the absolute safety of rations, rice production must be stabilized, and in particular the area of ​​double-season rice cannot continue to decline,” said Pan.
Curbs on people’s movement have caused a shortage of staff working to prevent disease in livestock, said Yang Zhenhai of the ministry’s animal husbandry department, although he added that this year’s bird flu situation was “generally stable”.

Yang added, “We are also confident that the annual production capacity of pigs will be basically restored to a level close to normal years.”China is rebuilding its huge hog herd after an epidemic of African swine fever nearly halved the number.Reporting by Tian Lun Yew and Dominique Patton; Editing by Pete