11th August, 2014
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Rice millers demand soft loans to modernise China prohibits cross-border rice imports from Vietnam For first time in 30 years, PHL exports 400MT of rice Rice bids below ministry's 'floor prices' Nigeria: The U.S.$1 Billion Rice MoU Between Dangote and the Federal Government GMO Golden Rice: The Scourge of Asia. Monsanto, Sygenta, Bayer Trigger Disruption of Peasant Economy LA rice farmers getting less money for sale of crops, no more help from feds QC implements “Half-Cup Rice Ordinance” Rice producers: make plans to attend the annual Rice Field Day on the 21st! Aug 08, 2014 -- 11:31am Farmers stick with old methods due to costs Antiwaste campaign is run by PhilRice, not IRRI PH ships 1st rice export in 30 years Enhanced Aus cultivation to attain food security underscored
News Detail…
Rice millers demand soft loans to modernise Ahmed Humayun Kabir Topu, Pabna
Millers can increase rice parboiling by 8 lakh tonnes and rice bran oil production by 15 lakh tonnes a year with implementation of the modern parboiling technology developed by Bangladesh Rice Research Institute in collaboration with the German aid agency GIZ .Almost 70 percent of fuel potential from rice husk is wasted in the traditional method of parboiling, speakers said at a discussion yesterday.The introduction of the new fuel-efficient parboiling system can easily halve the use of husk as fuel, and produce rice
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bran oil from the savings, said Taposh Kumar, additional secretary of the power and energy ministry as the chief guest.
Small and medium level rice producers are unable to introduce auto-milling because of fund shortage, said Md Abdul Aziz, a leading rice producer in the north.The new method can boost production capacity nearly 10 times, according industry estimates.Currently total 17000 rice mills including 450 automatic, around 1500 semi automatic, and the traditional rest produce 1 lakh to 1.25 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice every year.GIZ and the rice millers of Ishwardi jointly organised the discussion on government support for disseminating the improved parboiling system at Ishwardi Sugarcane Research Institute yesterday. “Introducing automation is too costly for the small and medium millers,” said Abdul Aziz, also the secretary of Ishwardi rice miller owners' group. He demanded soft loans from banks to assist millers automate.Bank officials should widen their loan disbursement services among the small and medium millers of the zone to increase production, said Md Masum Patwary, general manager of Bangladesh bank. “Bangladesh Bank is ready to assist the commercial banks in providing SME loans. The new system will create jobs and scope for female employment, which is why the central bank is encouraging it,” Patwary said. So far, GIZ has helped set up at least 50 such auto mills in parts of the country, said Al Mudabbir Bin Anam, component manager for energy efficiency at GIZ.Traditional boilers are accident-prone, costly and fuel-inefficient as compared to the newer method, which is also more environment friendly, according to GIZ Image: Taposh Kumar, additional secretary of power and energy, attends a discussion on government support for dissemination of modern rice parboiling technology organised by German aid agency GIZ and local rice millers association at Ishwardi Sugarcane Research Institute in Ishwardi yesterday. Photo: GIZ
China prohibits cross-border rice imports from Vietnam VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese enterprises that export rice to China across the border have said that China, as expected, has prohibited rice imports from Vietnam through unofficial channels. However, they say this will not affect the domestic market.Nguyen Cong Khanh, a merchant in Hai Phong City, who collects rice from farmers to sell to Chinese businessmen, said that Vietnam’s rice can be exported only through official channels, while imports that go through the border gates have been banned by the Chinese administration.
According to Khanh, China has prevented the rice imports across the border in order to tighten control over tax payments made by Chinese rice importers. “Many Chinese importers of rice have been found evading tax. So, the Chinese administration imposed the ban, and plans to have fixed tax rates for easier control,” he
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said.Nguyen Thi Tu, another merchant in Hai Phong City, who specializes in providing rice to Chinese businessmen, has also confirmed that the rice import ban was issued to prevent tax evasion. “However, they (Chinese) still have high demand for Vietnam’s rice,” she said.Observers said though China stopped buying Vietnam’s rice through the border gates, this will in no way affect the domestic market and rice production. According to Lam Anh Tuan, director of Thinh Phat Company in Ben Tre Province, Chinese businessmen mostly order fragrant rice, but there is no longer an abundant domestic supply of this rice.“I heard from some businessmen who directly export rice to China that the Chinese demand for rice is now weaker than several months ago,” he said.Meanwhile, Huynh The Nang, general director of the Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood 2), told the press on August 5 that he has not been told about the Chinese decision to prohibit rice imports from Vietnam.However, Nang said, even if this is true, the domestic market will not be badly affected. At this moment, China is not one of the major clients to whom Vietnam wants to sell rice at any cost. “The demand from countries other than China for Vietnam’s rice is very high now, while the domestic supply is declining,” he noted.“The Philippines wants to buy more rice from Vietnam. Meanwhile, Indonesia and Malaysia are considering importing more rice. I think the current conditions are very favorable for Vietnam’s rice,” he maintained.The rice price has been staying firmly high in the domestic market. In the Mekong River Delta, the rice granary of Vietnam, IR 50404 rice is sold at VND7,700 per kilo, while long-grain rice at VND7,800 per kilo.The export rice price offered by Vietnamese exporters have regained the previous high levels after they decreased slightly some days ago. Five percent broken rice is offered at $465-475 per kilo, while the 25 percent broken rice at $415-425 per ton.Dat Viet newspaper has quoted Oryza as saying that Vietnam’s rice price has hit a record high since October 2012, which is now even higher than Thai, Indian, Pakistani and Cambodian rice.
TBKTSG Tags:cross-border rice imports, China,border,rice export,
For first time in 30 years, PHL exports 400MT of rice Friday, August 8, 2014
THE Philippines has exported 400 metric tons of high quality rice for the first time in 30 years, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Friday.Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said that the country has already exceeded earlier projections on the volume of premium rice the country can export."Ang amin pong naunang projection ay ang maka-export ng 100 metric tons of premium rice, but we have already exported 400 metric
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tons of premium rice—red rice, black rice and organic rice—and the year is not yet over," Alcala said. He said that in the event the Philippines hit rice self-sufficiency and there is already adequate buffer stock, rice farmers will be encouraged to cultivate more premium rice for export. According to Alcala, Hong Kong and Singapore have large requirements for premium rice but they do not have any production.He added that it is a good sign that the country was finally able to export rice "because it has become somewhat embarrassing that for more than 30 years, we have been importing rice and among the world's top importers of rice."Earlier the DA said the Philippines saved not less than P147 billion on rice importation from 2010 to 2013 because instead of buying rice from the Vietnamese and Thai neighbors, Filipino farmers had a good harvest and were able to meet part of the demand.The country used to rely in imports to stabilize rice supply and price with an import dependency ratio of 13.57 percent from 2001-2010.The DA noted that the past administration spent more in National Food Authority imports than in production support from 2001-2010—P105.6 billion for production compared to P292.5 billion for NFA imports, making production grow at a rate of only 2.27 percent or a little over 313,000 MT annually. From 2008 to 2010, the amount paid for rice imports worth P176.18 billion was eight times the amount of P22.06 billion paid for the period 2011-2013. Payments for rice imports were 2.8 times the level of support for rice programs from 2001-2010. This was reversed from 2011 to 2013 with support for local producers at 3.9 times that of payments for rice imports, which drove the farmers to deliver the performance in the last three years with a higher annual average growth rate of 5.37 percent, equivalent to 889, 029 MT, the DA said. (SDR/Sunnex)
Rice bids below ministry's 'floor prices' Petchanet Pratruangkrai The Nation August 8, 2014 1:00 am Scores of traders queued at the Commerce Ministry yesterday to join the first rice auction of the year, but bid below the ministry's "floor prices" despite high demand during the off season and amid transparency in the bidding process.The working committee will need to ask the bidders who offered the highest prices to raise their prices and will propose the results of the auction to the Rice Policy Committee to decide whether to sell this lot of rice or cancel the sale," said Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department.Of the 49 traders applying, 46 passed the ministry's qualifications for participating in the auction. Exporters, packers, millers and others bid for 167,000 tonnes of various kinds of rice from the past three harvest seasons.
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The working committee did not expect the bids to be lower than floor prices, so it may need to ask for a mandate from the chairman of the Rice Policy Committee to adjust some floor prices in order to release rice from the government's stocks.If the prices are not satisfactory, the government will not be in a hurry to sell rice from its inventory, as pressure to do so has lessened because of a low supply in the market.The ministry says it is still confident it can reduce rice stockpiles and will continue holding auctions. It will give the result of this auction to the vice chairman of the Rice Policy Committee today. Charoen Laothammatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said many traders joined the government's auction because demand was high in the market. He said the bids were quite high and the government should agree to sell rice to increase supply. The market price for rice is rising gradually because of low supply in the world market.Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the association, said it was a good time to release rice from the stockpiles, but the government might have to accept low prices as some stocks had deteriorated in quality.For this round, many traders were willing to join because it was transparent and open to small outfits. It is hard for traders to conspire on bid rigging because of the high demand in the market, Chookiat said.A rice-miller source said the bids were quite high. Small traders may be unable to compete with large players, but they had to join the auction because of the shortage of rice in the market.
Nigeria: The U.S.$1 Billion Rice MoU Between Dangote and the Federal Government By Dele Sobowale "He gave it for his opinion, that whoever could make two ears of corn or two blades of grass to grow upon a spot where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential services to his country than the whole race of politicians put together. Jonathan Swift, 1667-1745.Last week the richest black man in the world, our own Alhaji Aliko Dangote, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the Federal Government of Nigeria for the establishment of a $1 billion integrated rice-producing company in Nigeria.Granted, it is still just an MoU, signed in an Aso Rock sitting on so many MoUs gathering dust, it would require a 30-ton trailer to evacuate them. Nigerians with any memory should remember the most recent examples: to establish a refinery or several refineries and to establish power plants - all of which should have been operating by now. The problem is, the con men who persuade government and build up our hopes would usually quietly forget the entire idea once the phony publicity had been generated and the media had withdrawn. One hopes this MoU is not heading for the same dusty shelves in the archives.In the belief that Alhaji Aliko Dangote means business, then the proposal deserves the commendation and the support of all Nigerians. To really win the war on rice importation, which is synonymous with self-sufficiency, we need BIG AND PATIENT capital. That is what has been lacking up till now. Hitherto, all our efforts have been based on na誰ve optimism and false hope. Now, one man has forced us to face reality and we now have a chance to actually win this war. For the umpteenth time, let me declare that I was once into integrated rice farming with defunct Haske Rice Mill, situated on Kalambina Road, next to Sokoto Cement, Sokoto. Haske was also an integrated riceproducing organisation. I visited the plant on May 8 of this year for personal reasons and I was sad that the mill closed
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down shortly after I left in 1990 and had remained closed since then.The mill, which was established by the President Shehu Shagari administration, along with two others at Makurdi and Badeggi, were designed to have made Nigeria selfsufficient in rice by 1990. The initiative failed because major importers of rice, names withheld, wanted it to fail. It was not in their interest at the time.The failure of our Rice Policy under Shagari, was repeated when importers, again, ensured the failure of our National Sugar Policy under the administration of military President Ibrahim Babangida. That policy was designed to make Nigeria self-sufficient in sugar production and ethanol - which is a bye-product.That we are still today not a nation of producers but "a nation of shopkeepers" (apologies to Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-1821) can be attributed largely to the importers in hot pursuit of their self-interest, legitimately, and complaisant governments at the federal level who allowed narrow private interests to override the national interest at all times. Certainly, given a Lee Kuan Yew, nobody would have been permitted to subvert the national interest for purely personal gain. All our Heads of State succumbed to temptation - both military and civil. It is still happening even now.It will be interesting to read the contents of the MoU to find out what concessions have been demanded, and granted, in exchange for the investment to be made. It will also be of interest to know if the concessions granted to Dangote will also be available to any organization willing to invest $1 billion - to ensure a level playing field. The on-going war in the cement sector is a pointer to what can happen when selective concessions are granted in exchange for "God knows what. "Private organisations are not charitable institutions - even when they "donate generously" during fund raising events. They are merely giving back a fraction of what they gained from the country and they hope to leverage the "donations" to benefit more in the future. Nobody should deceive us about that.Still the MoU, if it results in the investment of $1 billion (N167 million) is a significant step in the right direction - but it is still a drop in the bucket compared to the investments made by the major rice exporting countries. It will amount to monumental foolishness, a great error of judgment, if we assume that they will give up the Nigerian market so easily. For them, there is too much at stake. For us, there is a lot more at stake.With declining crude oil revenue, rapidly increasing population, our ability to pay for our food import bill is also taking a dive. Rice remains one of our major imports - despite the existing rice importation policy. Out there, thousands of people depend on Nigeria to consume their rice. Here, millions of Nigerians will continue for quite a while on cheaper imported rice - whether smuggled or not. Dangote's integrated rice company will not immediately close the price gap between imports and locally produced rice. It is even possible that a clause in the MoU might authorise the Dangote Mill to import paddy rice for milling locally. Without such a concession, the $1 billion venture will find it difficult to obtain enough paddy rice for its mills.I should know. When we started operations at Haske Rica Mill, Sokoto, we discovered that the Shagari administration had installed a most modern rice mill, ordered from Japan's SATAKE, which was capable of processing 10 tons of rice per hour, 24 hours a day and for 300 days straight. All the rice harvested in Nigeria then could not feed this mill alone. But, there were three mills to be fed.
GMO Golden Rice: The Scourge of Asia. Monsanto, Sygenta, Bayer Trigger Disruption of Peasant Economy
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Initiative of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) funded by Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Asia’s dependency on rice cultivation for both subsidence and income is intuitively understood. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates the agricultural population of lowland rice cultivation in Asia to be over 470 million - larger than the entire population of the United States. Improvements in rice cultivation would stand to lift hundreds of millions from debt and poverty.onversely, the disruption of rice cultivation would threaten to mire hundreds of millions in deeper debt, inescapable destitution, and all of the negative socioeconomic implications that follow. Asia’s rice farmers produce between 1-2 harvests a year depending on the climb and climate of any given region. They do so to sell their rice, generally to mills who in turn sell the final product to exporters or for domestic consumption. Out of each harvest, rice farmers keep a portion for their own consumption, but the vast majority of what they grow is for income.The UK-based Rice Association claims there are up to 40,000 species of rice, with a wide variety of characteristics suitable for different markets and uses. Rice farmers grow those which local, national and regional markets are best suited to move. In nations where subsidies are offered for rice crops, cheap, easy to grow varieties are chosen. More desirable or exotic species are grown by independent farmers who have developed their own cooperative with millers, marketers and exporters. The rice Asians eat depends on both economic and market realities. The impoverished eat what is cheapest and most easily available, but not necessarily that which is healthiest. Enter GMO: Problem, Reaction, Solution Poor diet leads to vitamin deficiencies, a persistent problem among the impoverished. A lack of basic healthcare and education allows the otherwise easily rectified problem to continue unresolved. The World Health Organization (WHO) states on their website, “an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 vitamin A-deficient children become blind every year, half of them dying within 12 months of losing their sight.” This statistic is global, not regionally specific to Asia, but Southeast Asia in particular suffers from such deficiencies. WHO prescribes cheap vitamin supplements and the promotion of local gardens to produce a variety of fruits and vegetables that can easily solve not only vitamin A deficiency, but other deficiencies as well.
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WHO states, “for vulnerable rural families, for instance in Africa and South-East Asia, growing fruits and vegetables in home gardens complements dietary diversification and fortification and contributes to better lifelong health.”Surely then, one would expect both regional governments and international organizations to focus on these recommendations. However, there is a vocal and growing cry to solve this problem with another, more radical solution, the implementation of genetically modified (GM) rice containing beta-carotene to target specifically vitamin A deficiency in Asia. Promoted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), directly funded by agricultural giants Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer and others, along with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) which is also partnered with big-business agriculture, genetically modified “Golden Rice” containing beta-carotene is promoted as the solution to saving “millions of children.”Golden Rice: Scourge of Asia In reality Golden Rice will do nothing of the sort. The promotion of Golden Rice is not unlike any given commercial endeavor. IRRI’s website links to articles like, “A senseless fight,” which asks, “how could anyone in good conscience seek to thwart technology that has even a remote chance of tackling the problem of vitamin A blindness?” The appeal to emotions and sickly children diverts from the real threat Golden Rice poses to the very people it claims to be helping. People who grow rice, grow it to sell to markets. These markets are well-developed, based on indigenous agricultural technology and tradition, and linked to export markets with stringent requirements (many of which restrict or outright ban GMO).The introduction of GM rice for any reason, would threaten or potentially destroy the livelihood of hundreds of millions of people. Proponents of Golden Rice suggest rice farmers replace their profitable crops with genetically modified rice that will treat only one of many vitamin and mineral deficiencies they may or may not potentially suffer from, deficiencies that could be easily solved through other methods. Clearly illogical in terms of “helping” the malnourished, Golden Rice must serve another purpose.The author of IRRI’s featured article, “A senseless fight,” suggests that “Golden Rice is being developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which is a not-for-profit institute, and the seeds will be distributed to farmers who can resow them as they wish. In these cases, the argument [against Golden Rice] switches to “Golden Rice is a Trojan horse”. In other words, by sneaking below the barriers of suspicion, it will open the floodgates to GMO technology and from then on to a slippery slope and the takeover of the world’s seed supply.” The author, in their attempt to defend Golden Rice, reveals the true agenda behind the otherwise useless crop. Governments, international organizations and the private sector (i.e. Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer) will flood Asia with Golden Rice, where it will intermingle and contaminate rice species that have been in use for centuries and form the foundation of Asia’s historical and modern agricultural industry.The livelihoods of some 470 million
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people who depend on rice farming in Asia (not to mention those that import and consume Asian rice beyond Asia’s borders) would be jeopardized by the proliferation of Golden Rice disseminated under the dubious guise of humanitarian concerns.The marketing machine behind Golden Rice doesn’t ever seem to address this critical fact. That Golden Rice seeds will be kept and sown each year by prospective cultivators only increases the dangers of cross-contamination with other, economically and culturally valuable species. It is in all regards a flagrant attempt to infiltrate, corrupt and overtake rice production at its very geographical and socioeconomic heart. It is akin to a plague openly being designed, tested and prepared to be unleashed on a population. The spread of Golden Rice too is a plague that will compound exponentially the challenges already facing millions of farmers across Asia. When all it takes to solve vitamin A deficiency is what WHO claims is ”supplementation” that costs “a couple of cents a dose,” and the growing of gardens that solve not only vitamin A deficiencies Golden Rice claims to target, but a whole host of other deficiencies Golden Rice most certainly does not address, the fact that Golden Rice is not what it is promoted to be is obvious. It is, as IRRI coined it, a “Trojan horse,” that will not only fail to stop malnutrition, but will expand the very destitution, poverty, and helplessness that causes malnutrition in the first place. Ulson Gunnar, a New York-based geopolitical analyst and writer especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.
LA rice farmers getting less money for sale of crops, no more help from feds KADN Staff
Brittany Bodden-KADN Friday, August 8, 2014 - 12:18pm
LAFAYETTE, LA (KADN) — With some rice farmers already harvesting their crop, we caught up with the Rice Research Station in Crowley to see how this year's crop is looking compared to years in the past. We hear the first yields coming out of the field are very good, despite the colder weather we endured earlier this year. Rice farmers are under pressure this year not because of production, but because prices have dropped and they are working under a new farm bill that has cut direct payments rice farmers were use to receiving.
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"Even with a good yield with the price we've got this year, you know, it might be a little bit of a struggle. But because of that we need to have the highest yield we possibly can," says Steve Linscombe, director of Rice Research Station.Linscombe says a big reason the price dropped this year is because of a huge increase in rice acreage in Arkansas, which has a significant affect on prices. But Farmers are optomistic the environment the crops grew under was effective enough to produce a good rice crop for this season.
QC implements “Half-Cup Rice Ordinance” Saturday 9th of August 2014
QUEZON CITY, 09 August (PIA)—The Quezon City government now implements an ordinance that requires all eating establishments in the City to offer customers the option of ordering a half-a-cup of rice. Under the “Half-Cup Rice Ordinance” introduced by Councilor Allan Butch Francisco and approved by Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista last month, first-time violators will receive a written warning from the city’s business permits and licensing office.Secondtime offenders will be meted out a fine of P1,000 while a third offense will mean a P2,000 fine on top of a month-long suspension of the establishment’s license to operate.The ordinance is in line with the campaign of the International Rice Research Institute to reduce rice waste at the consumer level. Based on data from the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute, each Filipino wastes an average of three tablespoons of rice daily, or 3.3 kilos per year. The ordinance covers all food establishments operating in the city, including fast-food chains, food courts, caterers and canteens in schools and hospitals. (QCPAISO/RJB/SDL/PIA-NCR)
Rice producers: make plans to attend the annual Rice Field Day on the 21st! Aug 08, 2014 -- 11:31am Advancements in agricultural technology and rice research will be highlighted at the Rice Field Day, hosted by the Missouri Rice Council in cooperation with Southeast Missouri State University and the University of Missouri, Thursday, the 21st at the Missouri Rice Research Farm off of Highway J west of Malden. Department of Agriculture Chair Dr. Mike Aide tells KZIM KSIM they will have presenters on every topic imaginable from marketing, weed control, production, and what’s new in technology as things are changing very rapidly. Especially when it comes to drones… "You can scout a field with a drone that if you had to walk through it, it would take you half a day. But like all technology in a few years as people start buying it and they get mass produced the cost will come down dramtically." Aide expects over 3-hundred to attend. Dunklin County is the
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third largest county for rice production in the USA. A perfect setting for this research farm. The day begins at 7:30am. Lunch is provided.
Farmers stick with old methods due to costs By Htoo Thant | Monday, 11 August 2014
Farmers are shunning more modern methods of planting rice as too expensive even though they admit the measures increase yields. A farm labourer uses the transplant method of sowing rice. It increases yields, but farmers say it is also more labour-intensive. Photo: Staff
The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation has promoted a more scientific take on rice farming, including initially germinating rice seeds in a nursery before transplanting them in the paddy fields.However, farmers say it is more costeffective to directly plant the rice in the ground without first germinating them in a nursery. Such direct planting requires less labour and the rice matures earlier, but it is more susceptible to pests and competition from other plants, according to an information sheet from the International Rice Research Institute. Farmers near Nay Pyi Taw said a shortage of rural labour is leading to rising wages for agricultural workers, which are pushed even higher if labourers are required to transplant rice sprouts from a nursery rather than seed the paddies directly.“If we [transplant rice] we will have to apologise profusely to the agricultural labourers before hiring them, because it is so much more work,” said U Kyi Aung, a farmer from Pyinmana township. Farmer Ko Myo Lin Aung said it costs K30,000 to 50,000 more per acre to use the transplanting method.“The ministry said it’s best to use the transplanting method, but we can’t afford the labour costs,” he said.Other farmers said that once the higher costs are factored in, profit margins are about the same as directly planting the rice.Direct planting costs about K150,000 an acre of paddy, while the ministry’s preferred transplanting methods cost about K200,000, said U Kyaw Wai, a farmer in Alyin Lo village. “The yield is better with the scientific [transplanting] method, but not a lot better,” he added. Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Department of Agriculture director general U Kyaw Win said that using more scientific planting procedures cuts down on wasted plants; It also avoids overcrowding as transplanted rice is usually grown in straight rows, instead of direct planting where rice often ends up irregularly planted.Myanmar must also follow modern methods if it wants to become a leading rice exporter, said U Kyaw Win. He added it is important to create labour opportunities for an estimated 70pc of the population dependent on the agriculture sector.However, the number of farmers following these improved methods is quite low even near the nation’s capital and ministry headquarters. A July 2014 survey said that out of the 7447 acres of paddy fields being cultivated in Pyinmana township only 273 acres are grown with transplanting rice.
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Translation by Thiri Min Htun
Antiwaste campaign is run by PhilRice, not IRRI Philippine Daily Inquirer 12:01 am | Monday, August 11th, 2014
On behalf of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), I am writing in reaction to the story titled “QC restos now required to offer half servings of rice at half the price” (Metro, 8/7/14).While the IRRI fully supports responsible rice consumption, we would like to point out that the campaign to reduce rice wastage should be credited to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). Reducing rice wastage is a component of the PhilRice’s 2013 National Year of Rice campaign. The IRRI continues to support the rice consumption advocacy of the Department of Agriculture and PhilRice, our long-time partners in the Philippines. —JULIAN LAPITAN, head of partnerships (on behalf of Dr. V. Bruce J
PH ships 1st rice export in 30 years By MST News | Aug. 10, 2014 at 12:01am
ALTHOUGH the country is expected to import 1.4 million tons of rice this year, the Philippines has also exported around 400 tons of red, black and organic varieties of the grain to Hong Kong and Singapore, according to the Department of Agriculture.“Our initial projection was that we would be able to export 100 metric tons of premium rice, but we have already exported 400 metric tons [of] red, black and organic rice and the year is not yet over,” Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said in a statement.Alcala said this was encouraging that the Philippines was able to export rice “because it has become somewhat embarrassing that for more than 30 years, we have been importing rice and among the world’s top importers of rice. ”The International Rice Research Institute had earlier said the Philippines posted the highest rice yield in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the past three years, but the country’ rice imports are likely to cross 2 million tons in 2014, including the balance imports from 2013. The country has already imported 800,000 tons in March and has invited tenders to import another 500,000 tons for buffer stocks and curtail prices which have surged 18% during the first half of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013.Former agriculture undersecretary Dante Delima has criticized the recent decision to import more rice as politically-motivated. “How can there be a rice shortage when the harvest season will start in September,” Delima said, referring to the projected arrival of 300,000 metric tons.“This is clearly political pressure on our leaders because of ambition. They are afraid to act against the rice giants because the elections are just around the corner,” Delima said.Delima resigned from his position as the director of the DA’s rice sufficiency program last June 1 after the
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appointment of former senator Francis Pangilinan as presidential assistant for food security and agricultural modernization.
Enhanced Aus cultivation to attain food security underscored RANGPUR, Aug 6 (BSS): Experts at a farmers' field day have stressed for enhancing cultivation of Aus crop during the off-season to gradually replace cultivation of more irrigation water consuming and costly Boro farming to ensure food security.RDRS Bangladesh organised the occasion for harvesting short duration BRRI dhan 43, BRRI dhan 48, BRRI dhan 55, BRRI dhan 28 and parija variety Aus rice on the trial plots set up in village Haridebpur Dakshinpara under Sadar upazila on Tuesday afternoon.The NGO organised the field day to determine actual difference in crop cultivation periods and grain yield rates of these five varieties of Aus rice suitable for farming on the fallow lands during the Aus season before Aman cultivation. Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Zulfiqar Haider attended the occasion arranged on the trial plots set up on the field of farmer Nawab Ali as the chief guest.With Programme Manager (Filed Coordination) of RDRS Bangladesh Marina Ahmed in the chair, over 200 male and female farmers, officials of the DAE and RDRS Bangladesh, public representatives, community leaders, journalists and elite attended.Principal Scientific Officer of Rangpur Regional Station of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) Dr Shahidul Islam, Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer Afzal Hossain, Scientific Officer of the On-Farm Research Division of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) in Rangpur Ekramul Haque, addressed as the special guests. Assistant Coordinator (Agriculture) of RDRS Bangladesh Syeda Nuhera Begum, its Senior Agriculture Officer Anup Kumar Ghosh, Agriculture Officers Shamim Ahmed and Sharifa Pasha, Sub-assistant Agriculture Officers of the DAE Anupam Chandra Roy and Ansar Ali were present.Agriculture and Environment Coordinator of RDRS Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid delivered welcome speech narrating objectives of arranging the field day for further expanding the most suitable short duration and high yielding variety Aus rice in future.Forty farmers have cultivated these five varieties of Aus rice on fallow lands in 40 trial plots all over Rangpur division with RDRS Bangladesh assistance after harvesting Boro, mustard, potato and wheat this season to determine difference in grain yield rate and duration of cultivation period, he said.Farmer Nawab Ali said he has cultivated these five varieties of Aus rice on his fallow lands set up on the trial plots with assistance of the NGO before cultivation of Aman on the same land this time."I have already completed harvest of parija variety Aus rice after 87 days of seedling transplantation and got 3.4 tonnes paddy yield rate per hectare," he said and hoped better production of the other varieties.The chief guest said farming of Aus crop at lower costs using unused seasonal rain waters must be increased during the off season as an additional and substitute cereal crop to costly Boro farming to increase rice production without hampering Aman cultivation.
Daily Rice E-Newsletter by Rice Plus Magazine www.ricepluss.com News and R&D Section mujajhid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell # 92 321 369 2874