16 May 2014, Daily Global Rice News

Why we need to go beyond corn, wheat and rice

Jude Isabella

Thursday, May 15, 2014 - 5:00am

What was the last grain you ate? Chances are very good it was wheat, corn or rice, the grain triad that directly contributes more than half of all calories consumed by humans worldwide. Early on, humans recognized food that was relatively easy to process, with high yields (and therefore high calories) and good taste. Each grain traveled far from its origins long before agricultural industrialization. Already familiar to most people, and aided by modern practices, the triad was in the perfect position to dominate the modern food grain market. But today's changing world brings with it questions around these dominant grains.

“Diversity is good for the human gut,” said Cynthia Harriman, director of food and nutrition strategies with the nonprofit Whole Grains Council, an advocacy group that educates the public about health benefits of whole grains, including uncommon ones. And it’s good for the land, too, she adds, pointing to modern-day “problems with monoculture,” such as vulnerability to pests, disease and severe weather.

As we face a world with a changing climate and unpredictable weather patterns, a concentrated food crop portfolio could be a risky thing. Diversifying the food system with uncommon grains could be a good step toward resiliency, but getting people to welcome something new into their diets is a tall task, and our current food system is geared against them — they’re uncommon, unknown and underappreciated.

Benefits and obstacles

Many uncommon grains come with environmental benefits. A grain such as teff, for example, is hardier, more drought tolerant and more nutritious than wheat. It can be grown in water-stressed and waterlogged conditions (depending on the cultivar). Similarly, from an environmental standpoint millet is preferable to rice, which depends heavily on water. In Asia, 20 percent of the rice-growing area is drought prone. Foxtail millet, one of several millet varieties, is the only cereal grain in nature that can produce grain with 4 inches or less of annual rainfall. And many uncommon grains can grow in less fertile soil than wheat, corn and rice require.

Dipak Santra, assistant professor in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, emphasizes Harriman’s point that diversity of grain is most important — for both the environment and nutrition. “A more diverse grain portfolio out in the fields is better for the environment because pest management is better when diverse crops are planted,” he said. Currently millet has few major disease problems and teff is relatively free of plant diseases compared with other grains.

Despite such advantages, there are many obstacles to bringing these uncommon grains to mass market.

Kantha Shelke, a food scientist and consultant for the Chicago-based Institute of Food Technologists, said that for mainstream food companies to be interested in alternative grains, they must have consistent access to large quantities of a crop. Even then, to invest in an uncommon grain such as millet, quinoa (a pseudo-grain) or teff as a food ingredient takes capital for new processing equipment — another factor that can inhibit the rise of uncommon grains. For example, North America lacks large facilities that wash saponin from quinoa before it can be used. Saponin is a bitter substance, an evolutionary adaptation to predation, and food companies want quinoa with the saponin removed.

“Tried and trusted trumps the new and uncertain,” Shelke said.

Government subsidies, too, tend to favor established grains over uncommon ones. The Indian government subsidizes rice and wheat, up to 86 percent of the cost for the lowest income families, and only recently included millet. In the U.S., from 1995 to 2012, the federal government’s agricultural subsidies totaled almost $300 billion, with corn ranking first, wheat second and rice seventh on the Environmental Working Group’s top 20 list of subsidized crops.

Because tastes are mostly learned, in one generation it’s easy for farm policies and practices to cement consumer relationships with specific grains. Producers rely on high yield and are obviously looking to make a living, so untried, unfamiliar crops are scary. And because most uncommon crops lack even a small market, farmers would be foolhardy to grow them. Besides that, consumers can harbor biases against certain foods. Today, for example, millet is used for bird feed in North America, while in the 1980s teff faced a stigma associated with Ethiopian famine.

So, how do you make a market for a crop no one grows?

It takes a village

Nurturing a new cereal grain market is a lot like raising a child — it takes a village to do it right. For a new food to thrive, it takes public education, financial security, infrastructure and opportunities to grow.

Wayne Carlson has done possibly more than anyone else in North America to bring teff to the marketplace. A biologist, Carlson was working in Ethiopia during the 1970s when a series of events hit the country — an influx of development aid, revolution and famine, the latter of which defined the East African country for years after. But what Carlson learned working in remote traditional farming communities led him to believe in the value of the country’s indigenous agriculture practices, and especially the value of teff. “I got to observe the local economy, the local farmers, and I started to appreciate the role of teff in their society,” he said. “I just thought there was a lot of value to the crop and it served them well for thousands of years.”

Seeing the value, especially after realizing the opportunities for improved pest management teff provided, he wanted to bring the grain to global consumers. But to survive outside remote Ethiopian communities, Carlson knew teff had to develop a cash value.

But Carlson’s efforts to bring teff to market in those days were difficult. “People thought it was a joke at first,” he said. “The only thing they knew about Ethiopia was that everyone was starving, which was totally wide of the mark of what was really happening. They thought growing Ethiopian food was stupid, so that was an early barrier.”

Starting in the 1980s, through the company he founded in Idaho, the Teff Company, Carlson slowly laid the groundwork for a teff economy. That meant developing seeds, working with farmers and finding a market — all at the same time. It also meant avoiding hype, which can destroy a crop, Carlson said. “People jump in, then they don’t know what to do with it, they dump it, and that destroys the market,” he said, pointing to Jerusalem artichoke as an innovative crop (ideal for alcohol production for fuel, which, on the heels of the oil crisis in the 1970s made it attractive) destroyed by hype — a pyramid scheme — in the 1980s. The scheme ruined farmers who had a crop and nowhere to sell it. (Today, quinoa also could face a hype crisis, with U.S. farmers clamoring to grow a popular food that lacks a large-scale domestic infrastructure).

Following the upheaval of the 1970s, thousands of Ethiopians immigrated to North America. Carlson rightly assumed they were the teff market — a small one, but one that valued and missed their traditional grain. Aunt Jemima pancake mix had been used to try to recreate injera, their traditional bread, but it proved to be a poor substitute.

Carlson’s efforts have met with success; he’s created a teff industry where there was none before. Despite still being relatively small, the market is growing in Turkey, and efforts in Europe are following Carlson’s lead. “We spent 30 years promoting teff, and it’s quite gratifying because it worked,” Carlson said, acknowledging that it was an effort that happened at the right time: Political instability forced people to move beyond borders, creating an opportunity for exposure. “There was a lot of serendipity. I think there’s a certain amount of luck and art involved.”

Farmers count on scientists

Scientists constantly fiddle with wheat, corn and rice. They ponder yields and disease, and they sequence genomes. At McGill University in Montreal, Valérie Orsat, chair of the Department of Bioresource Engineering, works with alternative grains. Her lab experiments with cultivars with farmers, develops recipes for consumers and has created a simple, mechanized de-hulling tool for millet in India. But Orsat’s lab is one of the outliers; uncommon grains more often than not get short shrift from the scientific community — in terms of funding and therefore research — because the market is too small. Yet farmers count on scientists leading the way by experimenting with new varieties before they’re willing to plant them in their fields.

“There’s a big disparity in funding, that’s for sure,” said Kevin Murphy, an alternative crop researcher at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. “It’s a chicken-and-egg thing.”

Research funding for crops such as wheat is abundant. In Washington state, for example, the Washington Grain Commission helps fund wheat research through a 0.75 percent assessment on each bushel at the first point of sale, which equals roughly $5.7 million per year. Meanwhile, Murphy writes a lot of grant applications to find funds for buckwheat, hull-less barley, millet, amaranth and quinoa.

Santra agrees that there is a huge funding disparity, saying the difference is likely a thousandfold or more. Tracking down specific data is difficult because there’s not an assessment put on uncommon grains such as the one put on wheat in Washington. But, to give some idea of the disparity, between 1988 and 2014, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave out $17,703 in funding to millet-related projects.

It can take about 10 years to breed a grain variety for a specific environment. For quinoa, Murphy built on seed research that began about 35 years ago by growers who, like Carlson, started their own companies: Wild Garden Seed in Oregon and White Mountain Farm in Colorado. Quinoa could be ideal for farmers in the relatively cool Pacific Northwest. Murphy’s research has led to successful field trials in 2013, and this year he launched more trials in Washington, Oregon and Utah, planting quinoa on plots from half an acre to two acres, typically testing 35 varieties at each location. He expects to commercialize his seeds next year.

“If we can grow food domestically, it can influence consumer eating habits,” Murphy said. Availability, after all, is an important part of the battle to bring uncommon grain to the market.

Tricky business

Beyond science, marketing is another way to bring uncommon grains to a broader consumer base. The Whole Grains Council promotes whole grains, including uncommon ones, through a slow, steady education. The organization supports an annual grain sampling day the first Wednesday of April each year, fanning out in supermarkets, schools, restaurants, food trucks and bakeries to offer consumers a taste of something new. It has a website that features a grain of the month, recipes and other information.

“The whole food system needs an overhaul if we want to prioritize healthy food,” Harriman said.

Although uncommon grains are a growth business, it’s a touch-and-go one, because everything has to be just right if these grains are to contribute to diversifying the world’s food economy in any meaningful way. Right now, gourmands are touting teff as the next superfood. But the Ethiopian government has banned teff exports to avoid price increases that shut out local consumers. Plus, the teff in Ethiopia is a multivaried stock, fine-tuned over thousands of years of feedback between farmers and the grain. One family might farm 15 or more varieties that flourish in specific terrain, relying on diversity to keep the larder full. Because of such factors, bridging that gap between a subsistence market and a commercial market is tricky. Still, even with a possibly difficult road ahead, in a world with a changing climate that brings with it unpredictable weather, getting alternative grains with traits such as drought and disease resistance to market may be an important step toward resiliency.

This story originally appeared on Ensia and is reprinted with permission. Top photo of corn, wheat and rice circle by nadyatess via Shutterstock.

Rice News Pakistan 28 March,2015

20th March (Friday) , 2015 Global Rice E-Newsletterby Riceplus Magazine

Farmers oppose to “Golden Rice”

Mar 20, 2015 | News 

TAGBILARAN CITY – Militant farmers belonging to Hugpong sa Mag-uumang Bol-anon (HUMABOL), an affiliate of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) have opposed to the genetically modified “Golden Rice.”Danilo Olayvar, HUMABOL chair, told “Sumada” program anchored by Alan Mangmang over DyTR recently that the based on research “Golden Rice” appeared harmful to human and to plants.He said that instead of Department of Agriculture’s endorsing the said “Golden Rice” to farmers, it would be better for the government to encourage the planting of local varieties of root crops, fruits and vegetables which are rich in Vitamin A.

These local varieties of crops are more sustainable than the genetically-modified “Golden Rice,” he said. “Golden Rice” is promoted since it contains Vitamin A, he added.“Amo gyud nang batukan,” (We will oppose it), he said. And this “Golden Rice,” if commercially viable, could also spur grain price changes, if not price increment, in the locality because this is business.The government appeared not looking for the benefit of the consumers but to the businesses, Olayvar said in vernacular. It was not immediately known if the “Golden Rice” has already penetrated discreetly in Bohol.

Earlier, the provincial government through the Sangguniang Panlalawigan has enacted an ordinance banning the entry and field testing of genetically-modified-organism (GMO) plants or seeds. Monitoring and vigilance activities had been conducted. But these efforts have been allegedly abandoned for unknown reason.According to the research, “The (golden) rice also displays an enhanced iron content and in the grain, the presence of such enhanced levels of beta carotene results in a yellow tint that has prompted the name of “Golden Rice.”The studies pointed out that “Vitamin A, by nature, is almost completely absent from rice. Diseases caused by this deficiency are widespread in many Asian countries in which the grain serves as dietary stales.

”“Through the use of gene technology, researchers have developed a variety of the plant that produces greater proportions of beta-carotene, a compound which may processed by human body into vitamin A.”“The lack of this vitamin increases the chances of blindness and susceptibility to disease. Vitamin A deficiency is a significant problem among children in developing countries.” It is estimated that one cup of golden rice, around 670,000 children will die each year from the problem, while 350,000 will go blind.

”Reports said that “Golden Rice” has been introduced since this variety is pest-resistant and have high yiled, ther report said.The need for more rice production appeared prompted the Philippines to pursue this since it has only 1.9 million hectares of irrigated rice fields available for local rice production. This is lower than Thailand with 9.9 million hectares and Vietnam with 7.5 million of rice fields.The project to develop Golden Rice started 20 years ago in 1993 by German researchers with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation. It is the brainchild of Professor Ingo Potrykus of Zurich and Peter Beyer of the University of Freiburg.

Their collaborative efforts they were able to show that “production of B-carotene could be turned on in rice grains using a minimum set of transgenes.”It was learned that the research of this “Golden Rice” at Syngenta (Nature of Biotechnology 2005) is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Philippine Dept. of Agriculture, HarvestPlus, European Commission, Swiss Federal Funding, and the Syngenta Foundation. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) together with PhilRice carriedout the field testing, the report said. (rvo)

http://www.boholnewstoday.com/201503/farmers-oppose-to-golden-rice.html

Two rice importers in smuggle raps

By Vito Barcelo | Mar. 20, 2015 at 12:01am

Two  rice  traders on Thursday were charged with smuggling for  the illegal importation of rice  valued at  P31 million, the Customs Bureau said on Thursday.Charged before the Department of Justice were  Elmer Caneta and Michael Abella owners of EC Peninsula Commercial and New Dawn Enterprises, respectively, Customs Commissioner John Sevilla said.The two  tried to import rice without   permit and misdeclared their shipments in violation of  customs law Sevilla said.

The rice shipments arrived December  last year at the Port of Cagayan De Oro. Both importers misdeclared the rice imports as kitchen wares and tiles.Both traders were also slapped with similar charges last January by the BOC after they were caught illegally importing over 1.3 million kilograms of glutinous rice worth P82.68 million in Cagayan De Oro Port last November 2014.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2015/03/20/two-rice-importers-in-smuggle-raps/

Japanese firm Yanmar forms JT venture with Ropali

By Louella D. Desiderio, The Philippine Star

Posted at 03/20/2015 7:40 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Japanese agricultural and construction equipment maker Yanmar Co. Ltd. has formed a joint venture with local firm Ropali Corp. to sell agricultural machinery for rice farmers with the aim of cornering at least 30 percent of the market by 2018.Naoki Kobayashi, managing director for agricultural operations business at Yanmar Co. Ltd., said in a press conference the firm decided to form the joint venture Yanmar Philippines Corp. given opportunities here as the country is among the biggest producers of rice in the world.“Our objective to establish Yanmar Philippines Corp. is not just to improve farmers’ income, but also the sustainability of the Philippine agriculture sector.

The Philippines is the eighth biggest producer of rice in the world, but it also relies on importing from other countries. By establishing the joint venture with Ropali, I think we can contribute to the agriculture sector,” he said.For his part, Ropali Corp. president and chief executive officer Roberto Alingog said the partnership is not only expected to increase farmers’ incomes, but also the country’s rice supply.“This will be a transformation very much like what happened in the 1970s but now attended by the higher levels of technology and comfort for the farmer. Higher yield too is expected with the use of the Yanmar tractors, transplanters and rice combine harvesters,” he said.

The joint venture, which has an invested capital worth P120 million with 60 percent accounted for by Yanmar Corp. and the balance coming from Ropali, would engage in the import, sale and service of various types of agricultural machinery.Yanmar Philippines Corp. president Hideaki Ikezawa said the target is to achieve sales worth 6.5 billion yen by 2018.“The earlier we achieve that target would be better,” he said.Yasuji Arima, executive officer and divisional manager for overseas business promotion division at Yanmar Co. Ltd. said the 6.5 billion yen worth of sales would translate to about 30- to 40-percent market share for the firm.While the firm would want to manufacture its products here, he said much would depend on the sales volume.“If sales volume get very big, of course, we wish (to manufacture products here),” he said.

In the future, Kobayashi said the joint venture may expand its business to vegetables and fruit production.Yanmar Group, which is engaged in business domains: agriculture; marine; power generation and air conditioning; construction; and industrial engine, has 66 companies worldwide.Apart from the Philippines, it has presence in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia in Southeast Asia.The Ropali Group, meanwhile, is engaged in banking, sales and distribution of agri-machineries and motorcycles, manufacturing as well as real estate.

Read more on The Philippine Star

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/03/19/15/japanese-firm-yanmar-forms-jt-venture-ropali

Farmers oppose to “Golden Rice”

Mar 20, 2015 | 

TAGBILARAN CITY – Militant farmers belonging to Hugpong sa Mag-uumang Bol-anon (HUMABOL), an affiliate of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) have opposed to the genetically modified “Golden Rice.”Danilo Olayvar, HUMABOL chair, told “Sumada” program anchored by Alan Mangmang over DyTR recently that the based on research “Golden Rice” appeared harmful to human and to plants.He said that instead of Department of Agriculture’s endorsing the said “Golden Rice” to farmers, it would be better for the government to encourage the planting of local varieties of root crops, fruits and vegetables which are rich in Vitamin A. These local varieties of crops are more sustainable than the genetically-modified “Golden Rice,” he said. “Golden Rice” is promoted since it contains Vitamin A, he added.

“Amo gyud nang batukan,” (We will oppose it), he said. And this “Golden Rice,” if commercially viable, could also spur grain price changes, if not price increment, in the locality because this is business.The government appeared not looking for the benefit of the consumers but to the businesses, Olayvar said in vernacular. It was not immediately known if the “Golden Rice” has already penetrated discreetly in Bohol.Earlier, the provincial government through the Sangguniang Panlalawigan has enacted an ordinance banning the entry and field testing of genetically-modified-organism (GMO) plants or seeds. Monitoring and vigilance activities had been conducted. But these efforts have been allegedly abandoned for unknown reason.

According to the research, “The (golden) rice also displays an enhanced iron content and in the grain, the presence of such enhanced levels of beta carotene results in a yellow tint that has prompted the name of “Golden Rice.”The studies pointed out that “Vitamin A, by nature, is almost completely absent from rice. Diseases caused by this deficiency are widespread in many Asian countries in which the grain serves as dietary stales.”“Through the use of gene technology, researchers have developed a variety of the plant that produces greater proportions of beta-carotene, a compound which may processed by human body into vitamin A.”“The lack of this vitamin increases the chances of blindness and susceptibility to disease.

 Vitamin A deficiency is a significant problem among children in developing countries.” It is estimated that one cup of golden rice, around 670,000 children will die each year from the problem, while 350,000 will go blind.”Reports said that “Golden Rice” has been introduced since this variety is pest-resistant and have high yiled, ther report said.The need for more rice production appeared prompted the Philippines to pursue this since it has only 1.9 million hectares of irrigated rice fields available for local rice production. This is lower than Thailand with 9.9 million hectares and Vietnam with 7.5 million of rice fields.

The project to develop Golden Rice started 20 years ago in 1993 by German researchers with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation. It is the brainchild of Professor Ingo Potrykus of Zurich and Peter Beyer of the University of Freiburg. Their collaborative efforts they were able to show that “production of B-carotene could be turned on in rice grains using a minimum set of transgenes.”It was learned that the research of this “Golden Rice” at Syngenta (Nature of Biotechnology 2005) is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Philippine Dept. of Agriculture, HarvestPlus, European Commission, Swiss Federal Funding, and the Syngenta Foundation. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) together with PhilRice carriedout the field testing, the report said. (rvo)

APEDA NEWS

http://www.boholnewstoday.com/201503/farmers-oppose-to-golden-rice.html

Market Watch

Commodity-wise, Market-wise Daily Price on 19-03-2015 Domestic Prices Unit Price : Rs/Qtl Product Market Center Variety Min Price Max Price Jowar(Sorgham) 1 Botad (Gujarat) Other 1055 2125 2 Kota (Rajasthan) Other 1411 1501 3 Manvi (Karnataka) Other 1000 1000 Maize 1 Amirgadh (Gujarat) Other 1535 1535 2 Bellary (Karnataka) Local 1173 1268 3 Kesinga(Orissa) Other 1500 1800 Mousambi 1 Aroor (Kerala) Other 2800 3000 2 Sirhind(Punjab) Other 2500 3500 3 Mechua(West Bengal) Other 2200 3000 Cabbage 1 Aroor (Kerala) Other 2400 2600 2 Banki (Orissa) Other 1200 1400 3 Surat(Gujarat) Other 600 1000 Source: agmarknet for more products Egg Rs per 100 No. Price on 19-03-2015 Product Market Center Price 1 Pune 305 2 Chittoor 293 3 Hyderabad 260 Source: e2necc.com International Benchmark Price Price on: 19-03-2015 Product Benchmark Indicators Name Price Apricots 1 Turkish No. 2 whole pitted, CIF UK (USD/t) 5875 2 Turkish No. 4 whole pitted, CIF UK (USD/t) 4625 3 Turkish size 8, CIF UK (USD/t) 3625 Raisins 1 Californian Thompson seedless raisins, CIF UK (USD/t) 2443 2 South African Thompson seedless raisins, CIF UK (USD/t) 2266 Sultanas 1 Iranian natural sultanas (Gouchan), CIF UK (USD/t) 1690 2 South African Orange River, CIF UK (USD/t) 2619 3 Turkish No 9 standard, FOB Izmir (USD/t) 1650 Source:agra-net for more products Other International Prices Unit Price : US$ / package Price on 19-03-2015 Product Market Center Origin Variety Low High Onions Dry Package: 40 lb cartons 1 Atlanta Mexico Yellow 17.50 20 2 Baltimore Peru Yellow 26 27 3 Detroit Mexico Yellow 22.50 26.50 Cucumbers Package: cartons film wrapped 1 Atlanta Mexico Long  Seedless 10 10.50 2 Baltimore Canada Long  Seedless 8 9 3 Detroit Canada Long  Seedless 7 8 Apples Package: cartons tray pack 1 Atlanta Virginia Red Delicious 22 22.50 2 Baltimore Washington

outh power rejuvenates paddy fields to harvest a bounty

A J VINAYAK

MANGALURU, MARCH 20:  

An initiative by a few youths to rejuvenate unused paddy fields in Dakshina Kannada district is bearing fruits now.Led by U Rajesh Naik, a progressive farmer from Dakshina Kannada district, a group of youths began paddy cultivation on five acres of land at Brahmarakootlu village in Dakshina Kannada district in November. The owners of the land had agreed to the request of the youths to rejuvenate it with paddy cultivation, as it was left unused for nearly two decades.Naik had two things in mind when he initiated this project.

First was to channelise the youth power to a productive purpose, and second to rejuvenate the unused paddy fields in the district.Naik told Business Line that the organic cultivation on five acres of land helped the group to harvest around 130 ‘muras’ of paddy in the first week of March. (‘Mura’ is a local unit for measuring the quantity of paddy. Each ‘mura’ is equal to around 40 kg of paddy).This pilot project yielded around 5000 kg of organically cultivated rice for this group of youths. Stating that there has been good demand for rejuvenating paddy fields through such collaborative farming, Naik said the Brahmarakootlu youths have already identified 50 acres of land in the nearby areas for cultivation.

Their target is to cultivate paddy on around 100 acres of unused land during the next cropping season, he said.Now these youths have gone a step ahead and have planted maize on these five acres of land to improve fertility of the soil and to produce fodder for dairying activities. Naik said that many temples in the district have paddy fields attached to them. In most of the cases, these fields are left unused for various reasons. His intention now is to rejuvenate such paddy fields through collaborative farming methods.According to Naik, nearly 40,000 acres of paddy fields in Dakshina Kannada district have remained unused over the years.

(This article was published on March 20, 2015)

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/states/youth-power-rejuvenates-paddy-fields-to-harvest-a-bounty/article7016089.ece

Nigeria: Elephant Group Partners Africinvest for Global Rice Production

Tagged:Food and AgricultureGovernanceNigeriaWest Africa

A LEADING player in Nigeria's agricultural commodities promotion drive, Elephant Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a global organisation, AfricInvest for the purpose of boosting the federal government's backward integration initiatives on rice, crude palm oil and fertilizer Supply Value Chain across the world.This is in line with the company's plan to showcase its products at the international market.At a meeting in Lagos during the week, Founder/Group Managing Director, Elephant Group, Mr. Tunji Owoeye, explained that the company has entered into deal with AfricInvest for an equity investment in Elephant Group. Our Correspondent reports that based on the deal, AfricInvest would acquire a minority equity interest in Elephant Group via issuing new shares.

A statement emanating from both parties indicated that "the fund raised will be used to boost Elephant Group's market share in agricultural commodities trading and deepen penetration of agricultural commodities exports across selected markets in Africa even as the Elephant Group will continue to strengthen its backward integration initiatives in the rice, crude palm oil and fertilizer value chain".Owoeye declared: "We are excited to partner with an African-focused investor with experience in the agricultural sector. The investment will enable the Company to benefit further from the federal government's drive to promote agricultural productivity in Nigeria. It would also allow Elephant Group to transform from an indigenous agricultural commodities company in Nigeria to a vertically integrated pan-African player.

This transaction will be the first ever private equity investment in the Nigeria agricultural commodities sector and we view it as a strong vote of confidence in the company".Senior Partner and Managing Director of AfricInvest in Nigeria, Abiola Ojo-Osagie said the partnership with the Elephant Group would enable the firm to take advantage of the opportunity to capitalise in Nigeria's agricultural transformation agenda."We have identified a company led by entrepreneurs and a management team with a good knowledge of the domestic market. Our goal is to build an enduring institution with a clear potential for growth and regional expansion," Osagie noted.Founded in 1994, Elephant Group is the largest and fastest growing indigenous agro commodities company in Nigeria, which imports, exports, markets and distributes rice, fertiliser and other agro-allied commodities.

The Company is currently ranked #4 in rice and fertiliser marketing with market share of 8% and 10% respectively. Elephant Group owns extensive distribution and logistics infrastructure in Nigeria and is a critical link in the supply of main staple foods in Africa's largest and fastest growing consumer market. The Company also has presence in Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, Niger and Cote d'Ivoire.Over the last three years, Elephant Group has focused on executing its backward integration strategy. Elephant Group is also a key player in the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme in Nigeria, supplying fertilizer in 36 states of Nigeria.Elephant Group's strategy is aligned with the renewed focus by many African governments on Agriculture towards ensuring food security.

As for AfricInvest, founded in 1994 and which today ranks among the leading private equity firms in North and Sub-Saharan Africa with about 1 billion USD of assets under management across 13 PE funds and sponsored by prestigious DFIs, private and institutional investors, it relies on a team of 50 highly skilled investment professionals with over 130 years of cumulative PE experience, operating in six offices in Tunis, Casablanca, Algiers, Lagos, Abidjan and Nairobi.The Firm is also a co-founder of the African Venture Capital Associations, the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association and member of the Euromed Capital Forum.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201503200453.html

Importer Wants To Penetrate Belize's Rice Market 
posted (March 19, 2015)

Belize produces enough rice to feed itself - but an Indian merchant wants to bring in rice from Guyana - where it's cheaper and because he can make a profit on it.The CEO in the Ministry of Agriculture Jose Alpuche met with the rice producers yesterday to apprise them of the situation. He told us today that he stressed that government has no intention of granting a license to the importer. But, it's not that simple.

Under the revised treaty of Chaguaramas which established the Caricom Single Market and Economy - Government cannot simply block the importation of products that come from the Caribbean to protect a local product - and you can ask Belikin about that.Still, government is holding its ground, but the importer has indicated that he may take dispute to COTED which is the council for trade and economic development. The merchant has indicated that he would present it as a trade dispute between Belize and Guyana.Belize's Ministry of Agriculture is standing firm and saying it is not a trade dispute. They intend to meet with producers again next week to keep them updated on the evolving situation.

Rabi rice acreage down 10%

NEW DELHI, MARCH 20:  

The area under rice in the Rabi season has dropped some 10 per cent to 38.27 lakh hectares (lh) compared with 42.56 lh during the corresponding period a year ago, data released by the Agriculture Ministry on Friday which showed.Preliminary data on the sowing of summer pulses showed that 0.18 lh had been covered in Gujarat, 0.14 lh in Karnataka, 0.10 lh in West Bengal, 0.09 lh in Uttar Pradesh and 0.05 lh each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.The area under summer oilseeds had been reported as 2.19 lh in Karnataka, 1.26 lh in Odisha, 1.22 lh in West Bengal and 0.87 lh in Gujarat.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Agriculture Mohanbhai Kundaria informed Parliament that Rabi crops, such as mustard, wheat, potato and pulses had been hit in numerous parts of the country due to the unseasonal rain and hailstorms. Foodgrains production will likely to decline by 3.2 per cent to 257.07 million tonnes (mt) in the current season to June.The Minister said that according to reports, around 27 lh under Rabi crops had been affected. Around 614.69 lh has been sown for the Rabi seasons, 535.35 lh under foodgrains and 79.34 lh with oilseeds.Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh will visit Maharashtra and Kundaria is undertaking a visit to Gujarat while Sanjeev Balyan, also Minister of State for Agriculture, is already in Uttar Pradesh to assess crop damage.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture Ministry has assigned officials to different States for assessing the damage to crops .RP Singh, Director, Directorate of Cotton Development, will assess the damage in Maharashtra; AK Tiwari, Director, Directorate of Pulses Development in Madhya Pradesh; MC Diwakar, Director, Directorate of Sugarcane Development in Uttar Pradesh; Narender Kumar, Director-in-charge, Directorate of Wheat Development in Haryana; A Ansari, Statistical Investigator, Directorate of Millets Development in Rajasthan; Subhash Chander, Joint Director, Directorate of Millets Development in Gujarat.Mahesh Kumar, Assistant Director, Directorate of Wheat Development will survey Punjab.

(This article was published on March 20, 2015)

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/agri-biz/rabi-rice-acreage-down-10/article7016102.ece

Rice exports to Nigeria slip as shippers turn cautious

VISHWANATH KULKARNI

Reuters

Presidential poll results awaited; insurgency, currency depreciation add to concerns

BENGALURU, MARCH 20:  

A sharp decline in crude oil price coupled with a fall in currency in the violence-hit Nigeria has made the Indian non-basmati rice exporters turn cautious. As a result, shipments to the African nation have slowed in the recent past. Indian exporters are keenly watching the forthcoming presidential elections on March 28, after which they expect shipments to pick up.Nigeria, where insurgency in the form of Boko Haram is on the rise triggering violence in the recent past, is one of the largest buyers of par-boiled rice. Indian exports account for close to half of the 2.5 million tonnes that the African nation imports. Nigeria accounts for close to a fourth of India’s non-basmati rice shipments. Thailand is the other major exporter of rice to Nigeria.

Slow exports

“Shipments are slow in the first half and it is a kind of uncertain situation. There is distress in the market as developments in Nigeria are influencing prices. We expect shipments to pick up once the elections are over,” said BV Krishna Rao, Managing Director of Pattabhi Agro Foods Pvt Ltd, a large exporter.Rao said the non-basmati rice exports to Nigeria are estimated at around a lakh tonnes so far this calendar year, against about 2-3 lakh tonnes in corresponding period a year ago.

Sliding currency

Grains trade analyst Tejinder Narang said the biggest problem being faced by Nigeria is the fall in crude oil prices and a huge depreciation in the currency. Nigerian Niara has depreciated by 25-30 per cent in the last few months. Also, the availability of foreign exchange is an issue for the traders. These issues coupled with the delayed elections and politics associated with it have slowed rice exports, Narang said.However, S Venkatesh, Head-Rice Desk at Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd, sought to downplay the slowdown in shipments to Nigeria.“Their currency has depreciated by about 25 per cent and oil prices are down. But rice, the cheapest cereal, is what they cannot avoid,” Venkatesh said, adding that there was a general slowdown in offtake.He said the main issue was the forthcoming presidential elections after which shipments could pick up.

Global competition

Rao said Indian exporters have not faced any payment issues so far in Nigeria. India this year is facing stiff competition from Thailand, which is dumping the old cargo in market, while Vietnam has turned aggressive, Rao said.According to Apeda, non-basmati rice shipments have increased 14 per cent in rupee terms at ₹16,670 crore for the April-January period of the current financial year against ₹14,614 crore in the year-ago period.In quantity terms, shipments for the April-January period stood at 6.64 million tonnes against 5.87 million tonnes.In the same period, basmati shipments, impacted by a ban imposed by the largest buyer Iran, were down by about 3.28 per cent valued at ₹22,740 crore against ₹23,510 crore in corresponding last year.

(This article was published on March 20, 2015)

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/agri-biz/rice-exports-to-nigeria-slip-as-shippers-turn-cautious/article7016103.ece

 

Commerce delays third rice auction

20 Mar 2015 at 16:04

WRITER: ONLINE REPORTERS

A farmer in Suphan Buri use a harvesting truck to harvest rice from their field on March 16, 2015. (Photo by Thanarak Khunton)

The Commerce Ministry has delayed the next auction of rice from the government stockpile to avoid bringing down the price during the second-crop harvest.Commerce Minister Chatchai Sarikulya said the domestic paddy price had declined during the harvest, so the ministry had delayed the third auction to prevent it sliding even lower.According to the Office of Agricultural Economics, the price of ordinary white rice (15% moisture content) in Phitsanulok was 7,800 baht a tonne on Friday, and Hom Mali rice in Surin was at 13,000 baht. 

He said the ministry expected the price would rise in the near future, because Thailand has an order to deliver 200,000 tonnes of rice to the Philippines and the Foreign Trade Department is in the process of selling  two million tonnes to China. Gen Chatchai said the ministry had ordered the setting up of 60 central farm markets nationwide to provide a direct marketing channel for farmers and ensure they get fair prices.  Get full Bangkok Post printed newspaper experience on your digital devices with Bangkok Post e-newspaper. Try it out, it's totally free for 7 days.

Rice exports up 6 pc at 8.44 million ton in Apr-Dec 2014

By PTI | 20 Mar, 2015, 05.16PM IST

"The balance in the INR Vostro Account of Iranian Commercial Banks with UCO Bank as on March 16, 2015 is Rs 17,895.50 crore," she added.New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) India's rice exports rose by 6.1 per cent to 8.44 million tonnes during the April-December period of current fiscal compared to 7.95 million tonnes in the same period of 2013-14.In value terms, rice exports stood at Rs 35,157.38 crore during the period this fiscal against Rs 33,647.45 crore in the year ago period, Parliament was informed today.Export of basmati rice during the nine-month period of this fiscal declined by 6.19 per cent to 2.57 million tonnes from 2.74 million tonnes in the same period last year, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Iran is the largest importer of basmati rice from India. "During the current year, Iran had significant carry over stocks from domestic production and heavy imports in past two years and hence has imposed a restriction on issue of import permits from October 2014," she said.

Exports to Iran during the nine-month period declined to 705.52 thousand tonnes as against 1.18 million tonnes during the same period last year.Other major export destinations for basmati rice are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE. Major export destinations of non-basmati rice include Benin, Bangladesh, Senegal, South Africa and Liberia.Replying to a separate question, the Minister said India's automobile exports have increased by 16.92 per cent at 3,322,581 units during April-February this fiscal.

In 2013-14, it was 3,107,893 units as against 2,898,907 units in 2012-13."There is no significant fall as such in passenger vehicle exports," she said.In a separate question on third country export to Iran, she said the government has issued guidelines for allowing third country export of humanitarian goods (food, medicines and medical equipment) to Iran as part of oil payments due to that country.

"Ministry of Finance has decided that payments to the extent of USD 100 million per month for such third country exports to Iran would be allowed from the 45 per cent INR (domestic currency) vostro account (a kind of payment settlement mechanism) held with the UCO Bank," Sitharaman said.Payment over and above USD 100 million per month would be met from 55 per cent Euro component, the Minister said."The balance in the INR Vostro Account of Iranian Commercial Banks with UCO BankBSE -1.21 % as on March 16, 2015 is Rs 17,895.50 crore," she added.

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20th March (Friday) , 2015 Global Rice E-Newsletterby Riceplus Magazine