11th september,2017 daily global regional & local rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

Daily Global Rice

E-Newsletter

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September 11,2017 Vol 8 Issue VIII

Rice News Headlines...                 

Pakistan seeks changes in free trade agreement with China Call her Spider Woman Rice Ridge fire crews brace for winds as blaze moves toward Lincoln No water at the end of canal for rice zone farmers TN university to help Nepal in integrating cultivation of rice with fish, poultry rearing Marawi soldiers receive rice supply, letters of support TN university to help Nepal in integrating cultivation of rice with fish, poultry rearing Agri scientists call for effective adaptation strategy Rice imports from Myanmar will be cheap Govt considers importing two million tons of rice Government moves to crash price of local rice Kushtia millers raise rice prices again A General Introduction to Pancakarma Treatment PH needs more investments for rice R&D Rice imports from Myanmar will be cheap Food minister tells parliament MP govt and APEDA in Basmati rice geographical indication registry row Add zinc-enriched rice in safety net schemes: HarvestPlus

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News Detail...

Pakistan seeks changes in free trade agreement with China Mubarak Zeb KhanUpdated September 09, 2017

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will try to convince Chinese authorities to revise the existing free trade agreement (FTA) on the less-than-equal reciprocity principle, Commerce Minister Pervaiz Malik told Dawn on Friday.The move is aimed at overcoming the trade imbalance that exists between the two countries. ―We will demand an early-harvest programme in the existing FTA that will cover 100 items of Pakistan‘s export interest,‖ Mr Malik said.

Negotiation teams briefed the minister about the trade agreements with China and Thailand. The briefing was part of the preparation ahead of the eighth round of negotiation on the second phase of the FTA to be held in Beijing on Sept 14-15.

Commerce Secretary Younus Dagha will lead a technical team to represent Pakistan in the secretary-level talks.

Eighth round of negotiation on the 2nd phase of trade pact to begin next week Mr Malik said China signed several bilateral and regional FTAs, which limited the benefit of preferences to Pakistan. China‘s FTA with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries has also made the preferential treaty for Pakistan mostly irrelevant. For example, China charges 3.5 per cent duty on the import of yarn from Pakistan under the FTA while it also charges the same duty on imports from India without any treaty.

This shows the FTA has become mostly irrelevant for Pakistan. The minister said his ministry has worked out various proposals that will be presented during the upcoming round of negotiations.

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The minister said Pakistan will urge China to enter into the early-harvest programme. ―We also raised this issue with Pakistan‘s foreign minister before his visit to China,‖ he said, adding that the ministry also sought help from the Foreign Office to make the treaty beneficial.

But another official told Dawn that Pakistan may not sign the second phase of the FTA as it fears that the move will further increase imports from China. Authorities in Beijing are unwilling to accept Islamabad‘s demand for the revival of the preferential treatment for exportable products under the FTA, the official added.

As per the original plan, the second phase was supposed to be implemented from Jan 1, 2014.

Both countries started negotiations for the second phase in 2011. The FTA covers more than 7,000 tariff lines at eight-digit tariff code under the Harmonised System (HS). Both sides have held seven rounds of negotiation on the second phase to break the deadlock.

An official statement issued after the meeting said the commerce minister showed satisfaction over the progress of the FTA negotiations. He directed the negotiating team to work vigorously to conclude the agreement in the best interest of Pakistan.

Currently, Pakistan has reduced the duty on 35pc products to zero per cent while China has reciprocated by reducing the duty on 40pc products of Pakistan‘s exports to zero per cent. The official said Islamabad was also reviewing the services agreement with the Chinese authorities.

A commerce ministry report revealed that Pakistan could not utilise the concessions granted by China under the first phase. It only exported in 253 tariff lines, where the average export value was $500 or more, which was around 3.3pc of the total tariff lines (7,550) on which China granted concessions to Pakistan.

Pakistan‘s key exports to China were raw material and intermediate products, such as cotton yarn, woven fabric, grey fabric etc. Value-added products were missing despite the fact that some of these products, like garments, were included in the concessionary regime.

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On the FTA with Thailand, the minister said it was still in the early stage. However, he said interests of local industries will be protected under the proposed FTA. Thailand demands market access for the auto sector and rice.

Call her Spider Woman Her parents are renowned Filipino scientists whose studies centered on spiders and their genetics. No wonder Dr. Aimee Lynn Barrion Dupo got bitten early on by the same bug By: Maricar Cinco - Correspondent / @maricarcincoINQ Philippine Daily Inquirer / 07:20 AM September 10, 2017

AWARDEE Dr. Aimee Dupo‘s ―Faces of the Teacher‖ award recognized her as a ―force that shaped a nation.‖—CHRIS QUINTANA/ CONTRIBUTOR LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — Along with their ABCs and nursery rhymes, Dr. Aimee Lynn Barrion Dupo drilled into her two boys, aged 8 and 4, what she considers a basic fact of life — spiders are not insects. As far as the Barrion family is concerned, the arachnids might well be family members.

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That her parents are renowned Filipino scientists Dr. Alberto and Dr. Adelina Barrion, whose studies center on spiders, explains why Dupo herself got bitten by the same bug. Alberto, 63, is a retired taxonomist of the International Rice Research Institute (Irri) whose studies focused on spiders in ricelands. Wife Adelina, a former faculty member of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), specialized in spider genetics. Because there is no specific course on arachnology, the Barrions resorted to ―self study‖ on spider taxonomy using their training in entomology. ―Spiders have really become a family affair,‖ Dupo said.

ADVERTISEMENT But aside from an interest in spiders, Dupo‘s parents bequeathed her something else that came with their being achievers: a lot of pressure. ―It‘s either people expected (me) to be as good as (my) parents, or they‘d say (I) only achieved this much because of (my) parents. It‘s like ‗damned if you do, damned if you don‘t,‘‖ she said.

Ads by Kiosked Still, the 39-year-old entomologist proved once again that she is more than her parents‘ daughter.

Prestigious award On Sept. 1, Dupo, a UPLB professor and curator of the UPLB Museum of Natural History, was among the awardees of ―Faces of the Teacher,‖ a prestigious award given by Bato Balani Foundation Inc. and Diwa Learning Systems Inc. to Filipino teachers for ―becoming a force that shapes the nation.‖ The second of five children, and the only one who followed their parents‘ career path, Dupo recalled tagging along with her father to the Irri and ―playing with forceps and microscopes in the lab.‖ In college at UPLB, Dupo took up agriculture and majored in entomology. Her thesis was about derby spiders or spiders used in spider fights or spider wrestling, a pastime and form of gambling in the Philippines. She studied the fighting behavior of these ―eensy weensy‖ creatures, trying to decipher if they are fiercer when famished or when they had just hatched their eggs.

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―After classes, I‘d go home to watch spiders fight each other,‖ she recounted, adding that unlike in Japan where ―spiders do not fight to the death,‖ here, ―once the fighter is maimed, it is fed to the other spiders.‖ Her parents apparently took an inordinate interest in her undergraduate thesis as well. It was like having two more thesis advisers at home, Dupo said. ―There was no avoiding it. From breakfast to dinner, (my parents) talked about (my) research,‖ she recalled.

―WE ARE FAMILY.‖ Dr. Aimee Dupo shows a preserved spider specimen inside a vial. — KIMMY BARAOIDAN ‘Underdogs’ After graduation, Dupo decided to set aside her spider research to focus on moths and other arthropods. Like spiders, moths are considered the ―underdogs‖ in entomology, with only a handful of studies done on them. Most people think of moths as pests, she said.

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Her plans changed when her mother passed away in 2010, and so did the elder woman‘s idea of a pictorial guide on Philippine spiders, a reference material that can be used by younger scientists interested in studying spiders.

It set her father thinking that ―he might not live long enough and that we should start working on the pictorial guide,‖ she said, adding that she plans to release the pictorial guide in time for her birthday in March.

The father-daughter tandem is currently the only Filipino scientists studying spiders. So far, they have named and provided information in the scientific database of 45 spider species from China and 27 species of rice black bugs.

Dupo herself has so far described five species of derby spiders that she named after her father and siblings. ―In the Philippines, we have so far documented about 532 to 534 spider species, most of them from the rice-agro system. Those from the forest system we have only come to know recently. There are too many of them (to be discovered) and that number can double in a few years‘ time,‖ she said.

Hopefully, her recent award would encourage more people to study spiders and other insects, Dupo said. ―Before we can protect any place, we have to know what‘s inside it. For instance, we know that spiders are predators, but are they active hunters? Are they day hunters? Who feeds on them?‖ she asked.

‘Jigsaw puzzle’ For Dupo, studying biodiversity is like working on a ―jigsaw puzzle.‖ ―There might be irreplaceable relationships (in the ecosystem) that could be gone before we document them. That has always been the battle,‖ she said.

As a teacher and a scientist, Dupo juggles her time between teaching and studying spiders and moths. She would spend the day collecting spiders and at nightfall, would be catching moths for

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her research. One of her recent fieldwork was on Mt. Guiting Guiting on Sibuyan Island in Romblon. ―My eldest once told me that he wanted to burn down the forest. That was the time when we had to go on fieldwork almost weekly,‖ she said.

Eventually, her children got used to her bringing home vials that contained spiders and tarantulas.

Even her room at home is filled with cobwebs, she added.

She doesn‘t mind, Dupo said. ―Those cobwebs, courtesy of the comb-footed spiders — those little creatures we often see at home — trap dirt and dust, making household cleaning easier.‖ This eight-legged creature that people often regard with disgust actually have practical uses, she added. For one, those palm-sized spiders hanging around the shower feed on cockroaches. ―So it now becomes a dilemma — are you keeping the spider or the cockroaches?‖ she asked. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/929294/aimee-lynn-barrion-dupo-adelina-barrion-alberto-barrionspiders-arachnology

Rice Ridge fire crews brace for winds as blaze moves toward Lincoln Posted: Sep 09, 2017 9:45 PM PSTUpdated: Sep 09, 2017 9:45 PM PST

By Augusta McDonnell SEELEY LAKE - Critical fire weather in the forecast has firefighters bracing for a big day on the Rice Ridge fire -- and in Lincoln, there are fears that the big fires in the Upper Blackfoot could merge.

Crews are prepping lines to contain expected Rice Ridge fire activity north of Highway 200 with back burning and fuel removal."The next bunch will be over the next couple of days, we're looking at a cold front that may come in, and this is the leading edge of it," said fire supervisor Phil Oosahwe.

"So we would like to keep the fire low intensity, start here, and work it down. And when it gets closer to the road, we will start doing -- what we call hand firing," he explained during a Friday tour of the fire.

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Between 4,500 and 6,000 acres will be back burned down to the 477 road. Depending on conditions, they may use hand or aerial ignition to back the fire down to the road. This could happen before early next week.

Seven homes and multiple other buildings are in the area, and crews are taking precautions to protect those structures.

Fire managers are using heavy machinery to create a fuel break on the side of the road, along 19 miles of the 477 Road in order to prevent the fire from making a run and potentially jumping the road and heading toward structures.

The Monture Creek Guard Station and Monture Campground are also in the path of a southeast running fire. flames approached within 200 feet of the cabin -- which is about eight miles north of Ovando.

Meanwhile, crews continue to mop up areas that were torched over the weekend.

http://www.kpax.com/story/36327023/rice-ridge-fire-crews-brace-for-windsas-blaze-moves-toward-lincoln

No water at the end of canal for rice zone farmers

HYDERABAD: Muhammad Ramzan Jatt, a farmer from village Abdul Rehman Jatt, is totally blissed out because he’s looking forward to a long-awaited rub of the green after

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being able to cultivate his 14 acres of fertile land that had been lying barren for many years owing to scarceness of irrigation water. ―We collected an amount of Rs3,60,000 from farmers from a dozen of villages to hire excavation machinery to clean the water body up to seven kilometers,‖ said Ramzan sharing the success story of the initiative that made it possible. ―This is how the farmers at the tail end of Raj Wah (canal) in Badin district had the watercourse de-silted after 32 years with their joint interventions.‖ Ramzan said farmers in this area depend on irrigation water for cultivation without which there would be no crops to cultivate or livestock to raise that means suffering and hardship.

Ramzan‘s family was one of the few lucky ones, which got a piece of state land on lease during 1960s. At that time the area was abandoned and the government had designed a comprehensive plan to bring farmer families from different areas, offered them pieces of land to cultivate and settled there. Around 0.4 million acres of land was given to the farming families that now live in scattered villages. ―We have managed to cultivate a decent crop of rice after a gap of 15 years,‖ said he hoping to have enough water through the recently de-silted canal.

This dream of theirs, however, was shattered when heavy monsoon that jumpstarted in June forced the irrigation department to minimise the flow of water into the canal to avoid breaches.

As a result, farmers lost their investment on the cultivation of water-intensive crops like rice and sugarcane. ―Since Badin district is a rice belt, the water shortage adversely affected the yield this year,‖ he added.

Raj Wah is a tributary of Akram Wah (canal), which was built in 1962 with 4100 cusec capacity.

It covers a distance of 80 kilomters from Kotri barrage to the coastal area in Badin district.

Ramzan, who is also a community elder, said when the government had leased out the land five decades ago, it was very fertile and their forefathers used to cultivate almost all food and cash crops. ―They had more graains, milk, and butter because of adequate water supplies. But after many years the political maneuvering in agriculture sector the tail-end farmers were left to suffer because powerful landlords starting stealing water thus,‖ he added.

Reportedly, major landlords from Hyderabad and Tando Muhammad Khan districts also laying claim to the irrigation water of canals and watercourses, including Raj Wah. Initially there were 137 watercourses registered with irrigation department on Akram Wah. Currently hardly 82 watercourses are functional, while the rest neither get their proper share of water, nor any attention from the government.

The farmers depending on Raj Wah still fear reversal of the situation after temporary relief due to the ―different‖ approach of authorities.

The responsibility of dealing with water courses, distribution and maintenance is shifted from irrigation department of the provincial government to Sindh Irrigation Drainage Authority (SIDA).

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SIDA has formed farmers‘ organisations (FOs) to work independently with the powers to deal with problems in their areas. These FOs generate funds on their own by collecting water tax from landlords to utilise the same on the maintenance of watercourses.

A SIDA spokesman told The News that the main problem at watercourses is illegal direct outlets made by influential landlords, who operate lifting machines for 24 hours and deprive the tail-end farmers of their due share of water. ―Akram Wah has now lost its capacity and can carry only 2000 cusec instead of its original capacity of 4100 cusec,‖ said the spokesman. To ensure supply to tail-end users, the SIDA representative said, the authority and the provincial government were trying to secure funding from World Bank to improve capacity of Akram Wah. Nazir Ahmed Jatt, vice president of Sarsabz Ittehad, a representative body of 12 villages in UC Kadhan, informed The News that they were mobilising farmers, including peasant women to take initiative to resolve local problems on their own instead of waiting for the government‘s help.

Sarsabz Ittehad is a brainchild of Indus Consortium, a national support organization, which has mobilised the community people in two union councils of the district Badin. ―We convene joint meetings with heads of local bodies‘ institutions for the resolution of water supply and drainage schemes,‖ said Nazir adding that actually Sarsabz Ittehad, which means green alliance, is the driving force behind the recent de-siltation of Raj Wah canal. He said its members are continuously approaching area legislators, political parties and government authorities, sensitising them to extend the help to farmers, who are facing problems, specifically acute water shortage.

Abdul Wahid Brohi, popularly known as Jumma Khan in the area and owner of 32 acres of family land, said the area has been declared prone to disaster. ―We have seen disasters like breaches in Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) after devastating rains in 2011, earthquake in 2001, prolonged drought-like-situation due to the closure of canal and continuous sea intrusion, which has played a major role in polluting underground water.‖ Presently, Brohi disclosed, the underground water was heavily contaminated with arsenic. ―Recently 80 people, including children and women of neighbouring village Fazal Jatt were brought to hospitals in Badin and other smaller towns. They were all diagnosed with arsenic poisoning,‖ Brohi said. The incident, he added, had created panic in the area. Badin district health department officials visited the area and found the hand-pumped groundwater unfit for human consumption because it was tainted with arsenic.

He said the government teams dealing with health matters responded to the crisis by bringing in thousands of bottles of safe mineral water for the villagers, but it can hardly be called a solution. ―They are ready to provide stopgap solutions but are not willing to touch the influential landlords, who control the watercourses, leaving not a single drop of water for the tail-end villagers,‖ said he lamenting the government‘s apathy towards tail-end farming communities

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TN university to help Nepal in integrating cultivation of rice with fish, poultry rearing Bosco Dominique| TNN | Updated: Sep 10, 2017, 00:11 IST Cuddalore: A project that integrates rice cultivation and rearing of fish and poultry, evolved

by Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Cuddalore district, will be replicated at Nepal at a cost of Rs1.2 crore, thanks to the initiatives undertaken by USAID of the USA and Knowledge park of India (IKP). The Project was successfully experimented in four districts between 2008 and 2015 Annamalai University director (research and development) R M Kathiresan will supervise the implementation of the project in association with Commercial Agriculture A, a non-government organization in Nepal, from 2017 to 2019. Annamalai University registrar K Arumugam formally launched the project in a simple function on Friday.

Kathiresan said the project involves rearing fish (Katla, Common corp, Mrigal and Rahu) in a 1m trench surrounding the farm measuring not more than an acre and 20 poultry cages (with 20 broiler hens in each cage) erected four feet above the paddy crops.

"The fish feeds on the insects and worms in water that affect crops, while poultry droppings are rich manure for the crops. We have experimented the project involving more than 1,200 farmers in Cuddalore, Villupuram, Nagapattinam and Tiruvannamalai districts and found that the income of farmers went up three-fold by adopting integrated farming and rearing techniques," said Kathiresan.

He said farmers, who used to earn between Rs20,000 and Rs25,000 by cultivating paddy in one acre in a season have reaped a profit of more than Rs60,000 per acre by integrating cultivation of paddy with rearing fish and poultry.

Kathiresan said the university undertook the research with the help of assistance from World

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Bank (Rs9 crore) and biotechnology research assistance council — Birac (Rs70 lakh) and other funding agencies and partners including The Bill and Melinda Gates' Foundation, Dhan Foundations and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).

"We worked on different and diversified farming and rearing techniques. We experimented integrating farming and rearing of fish, broiler chicken, Japanese quail, duck and rabbits and finally found that rice-fish-broiler chicken yielded the maximum profits," said Kathiresan.

"Poultry droppings are rich in nitrogen content (1.25%) when compared to cattle droppings (0.5%). The manure is so rich in minerals that chemical fertilizers will not be required (barring initial stages of the project)," he said.

There are more than 100 countries in the world cultivating rice and more than 200 million families involved in cultivation of rice. "More than 70% of rice growing families own land less than one acre. Small land holders land are the predominant growers of rice. This integrated farming and rearing technique is most suited at farms less than an acre," said Kathiresan.

A delegation of scientists from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) nations will soon visit India to study the project implemented by the Annamalai University and replicate it in their respective nations http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/puducherry/tn-university-to-help-nepal-in-integratingcultivation-of-rice-with-fish-poultry-rearing/articleshow/60443610.cms

Marawi soldiers receive rice supply, letters of support

By Roel Pareño (philstar.com) | Updated September 9, 2017 - 6:40pm

Marawi soldiers stand in full-gear reading letters addressed to them under the #loveformarawi initiative by Kapatid Zarah Juan. The letters were part of care packages that were sent to the soldiers through Go Negosyo‘s Kapatid for Marawi effort. File photo ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Government troops battling the Islamic State-inspired Maute group received rice supply, chocolates and letters for their patriotism in defending Marawi City, according to military official.

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Capt. Jo-Ann Petinglay, spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command and Joint Task Force Marawi, said 100 sacks of rice were donated Saturday by the government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao led by Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman.

Petinglay said the sacks of rice were delivered in Camp Ranao, Marawi City and received by soldiers of the Joint Task Group "Ayuda," the unit in charge of logistical goods and supplies.

She said the bags of rice will be brought to different military units inside the main battle area on Sunday.

Brig. Gen. Rolando Joselito Bautista of the Joint Task Force Marawi expressed his gratitude for the support provided by Hataman and the ARMM regional government. ―Rest assured our troops are more motivated to bring back peace and stability in Marawi City,‖ Bautista said. Meanwhile, soldiers in the main battleground also received on Saturday letters and chocolates from the the Zamboanga Council of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines.

Petinglay said the troops read the letters from BSP with mixed emotions, recognizing that the letter senders are young yet know how to appreciate the sacrifice of soldiers for the country.

Westmincom chief Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. said the goodies and letter artworks further inspire his men to fight the Maute group in Marawi City, which is now in its 110th day.

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"It is so heartwarming to know that these young boys are well aware of the sacrifices our soldiers are doing here in Marawi," said Petinglay as quoted by Galvez.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2017/09/09/1737361/marawi-soldiersreceive-rice-supply-letters-support

TN university to help Nepal in integrating cultivation of rice with fish, poultry rearing Bosco Dominique| TNN | Updated: Sep 10, 2017, 00:11 IST Cuddalore: A project that integrates rice cultivation and rearing of fish and poultry, evolved

by Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Cuddalore district, will be replicated at Nepal at a cost of Rs1.2 crore, thanks to the initiatives undertaken by USAID of the USA and Knowledge park of India (IKP). The Project was successfully experimented in four districts between 2008 and 2015 Annamalai University director (research and development) R M Kathiresan will supervise the implementation of the project in association with Commercial Agriculture A, a non-government organization in Nepal, from 2017 to 2019. Annamalai University registrar K Arumugam formally launched the project in a simple function on Friday.

Kathiresan said the project involves rearing fish (Katla, Common corp, Mrigal and Rahu) in a 1m trench surrounding the farm measuring not more than an acre and 20 poultry cages (with 20 broiler hens in each cage) erected four feet above the paddy crops.

"The fish feeds on the insects and worms in water that affect crops, while poultry droppings are rich manure for the crops. We have experimented the project involving more than 1,200 farmers in Cuddalore, Villupuram, Nagapattinam and Tiruvannamalai districts and found that the income of farmers went up three-fold by adopting integrated farming and rearing techniques," said Kathiresan.

He said farmers, who used to earn between Rs20,000 and Rs25,000 by cultivating paddy in one

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acre in a season have reaped a profit of more than Rs60,000 per acre by integrating cultivation of paddy with rearing fish and poultry http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/puducherry/tn-university-to-help-nepal-in-integratingcultivation-of-rice-with-fish-poultry-rearing/articleshow/60443610.cms

Agri scientists call for effective adaptation strategy SIVASISH THAKUR GUWAHATI, Sept 10 - With floods hitting the State with increasing frequency and causing substantial crop damage, agriculture scientists have called for an effective adaptation strategy to mitigate the flood-induced damage.As the floods occur in multiple waves and the nature and extent of damage varies, the adaptation approach and contingency plan may also accordingly vary.

The problems that arise during flood time range from deficit of seedlings for planting sali rice and rice seedlings (surviving the flood damage) getting over-aged due to the farmers‘ inability to transplant the seedlings within the stipulated time to damage of the transplanted rice at different stages of growth. ―Depending on the time of flood occurrence, the farmers can choose high-yielding improved rice varieties with appropriate duration, including early-maturing varieties. The duration of the varieties should be such that the varieties must come to flowering within October,‖ Dr PK Pathak, Associate Director of Research, Assam Agricultural University (AAU), told The Assam Tribune.

In situations where flood water may submerge the rice plants for not more than two weeks, the farmers should opt for submergence-tolerant sali rice varieties like Ranjit Sub 1, Bahadur Sub 1, Jalashree, Jalkuwari (all AAU-developed varieties), Swarna Sub 1, etc.

In flood-prone areas, the farmers can choose Gitesh for sali rice crop as this is suitable for staggered planting with aged seedlings. ―We need to maintain a buffer stock of seeds of early and mid-early rice varieties such as Luit, Disang, Kolong, Dikhow, Lachit, IR50, etc., every year as a matter of policy by the State government and with participation of AAU, Assam Seeds Corporation, and the Department of Agriculture,‖ Dr Pathak said.

Having a contingency plan with thrust on crop care during flood time can also ease the situation for the farmers.

According to Dr Pathak, post-flood, in the event of non-availability of seedlings and constraints of transplanting rice crop due to shortage of man and animal power, the farmers may opt for

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growing rice following direct sowing of seeds on the puddled field with sprouted seeds depending on the suitability of the field conditions. ―It is always advisable to arrange sowing of the seeds in line to facilitate better management and also to ensure optimum plant population. It is also advisable to use herbicide for weed control.

Under no circumstance, direct sowing can be delayed beyond the first week of September even with the shortest-duration varieties,‖ he said.

In upland and medium lands where farmers fail to grow rice, they should be guided and duly supported for growing blackgram and green gram during end of August to mid of September with provision of surface drainage. ―A massive programme for encouraging farmers to grow rabi crops is another option. For this, the farmers should be supplied free seeds of appropriate crops (based on land suitability/farmers‘ choice),‖ Dr Pathak said, adding that expanding irrigation facilities, particularly through installation/renovation of shallow tube-wells can compensate the farmers for their loss in the sali season.

Expanding the area under Boro rice can also compensate the farmers‘ loss in rice production during the sali season.

Sources in the agriculture department said that steps taken by it in the aftermath of the floods included raising of community nurseries for sali paddy over 700 hectares of land, distribution of 2,300 quintals of kharif black gram seeds to cover 11,500 hectares of land. ―Flood-affected families are being given first priority for subsidized inputs under different ongoing schemes,‖ sources said.

The floods this year affected a total of 3.823 lakh hectares of cropland in 30 of the 33 districts in the State. The total area of crop damage was 2.79 hectares and the total number of affected farm families was 6.19 lakh

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=sep1117/at060

Rice imports from Myanmar will be cheap 12:00 AM, September 11, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 03:31 AM, September 11, 2017 Food minister tells parliament Staff Correspondent

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The government would import rice from Myanmar considering the cheap prices and short shipping time, Food Minister Qamrul Islam told the Jatiya Sangsad yesterday."Rice is being imported from Myanmar considering the cheap prices there. Besides, it will be possible to import the item within a short time,‖ Qamrul told parliament while responding to a supplementary question of lawmaker Nazmul Haque Prodhan.

Nazmul said the food minister recently visited Myanmar to import rice from there at a time when Bangladesh was experiencing a serious crisis due to the Rohingya influx to the country. ―Does the minister get special discounts?‖ he asked.

In his reply, the minister said trade and diplomatic efforts would go side by side with Myanmar.

"I went to Myanmar to buy rice from there following the prime minister's permission. The PM said diplomatic efforts will continue to resolve the Rohingya issue. But our trade with Myanmar will also continue,‖ Qamrul said.

Highlighting the facilities of importing rice from Myanmar, he said it would take only three days to import the rice from the country.

"We can buy the rice at a cheaper rate in comparison with Thailand and Vietnam. It takes 15 to 20 days to import rice from Thailand and Vietnam. We are buying rice from Myanmar as we will be able to import quickly,‖ he said.

The food minister added that the government signed an agreement with Myanmar to import 3 lakh tonnes of rice. "We will get 1.20 lakh tonnes of rice in the first phase."

Answering another question, the minister said the price of rice remains stable at present. ―The rice price remains within the purchasing capacity of the people."

http://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/rice-imports-myanmar-will-be-cheap-

Govt considers importing two million tons of rice Bilkis Irani Published at 12:22 AM September 11, 2017

Up to eight million tons of Boro paddy had been destroyed by the latest bout of monsoon floods that inundated several districts The government is thinking of importing two million tons of rice, to compensate for the shortage caused by the recent rain and flood in various parts of the country.Planning Minister AHM

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Mustafa Kamal announced it during a meeting at the National Economic Council conference room in Agargaon, Dhaka on Sunday.He further mentioned that up to eight million tons of Boro paddy had been destroyed by the latest bout of monsoon floods that inundated several districts.

He estimated that a total of 12-14 million tons of rice had been damaged as well, causing a rather significant deficiency.

As the flood has dispersed many families out of their homes, the demand for food and shelter has increased.The government is aware of this situation and hopes to make up for the shortage of food, sources in the Ministry of Planning said. http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2017/09/11/govt-considers-importing-two-milliontons-rice/1460488

Government moves to crash price of local rice

By Joke Falaju, Abuja | 11 September 2017 | 4:13 am

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, has hinted of plans to reduce the price of 50kg bag of local rice from N18,000 to N13,000.

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In this respect, he said talks were ongoing with the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria to crash the N150,000 per ton price tag of paddy rice to N120,000 to enable millers sell the commodity at N13,000 per bag.

Ogbeh, who was speaking at the weekend in Abuja on the upcoming national conference on the transformation of the country‘s livestock industry, lamented that local rice were becoming costlier thatn imported ones.

He regretted that a ton of paddy rice that sold for N65,000 in July 2015 had suddenly jumped making it extremely difficult for millers to sell a 50kg bag of rice less than N17,O00.

The minister said: ― To Nigerians, I‘m sorry that the prices of food are too high. We are not too happy about it, but we are not going to turn around and bully the farmers. We will persuade them, but with the increase in food production, prices will go down. Then non-farmers can eat

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very well. We don‘t want any Nigerian to go hungry because he or she is an end user of farm product.

Ogbeh alleged that farmers in Katsina and Kano states were hoarding their grains, thereby inducing an artificial scarcity, as a ton of maize rose from N85,000 to N130,000 with its adverse effects on poultry which need them as feeds.

He clarified that government had not banned the importation of any food commodity, saying: ―You can still bring in rice as long as it comes in through the ports and you pay levy. It is smuggling we do not want.‖ The clarification comes in the wake of protests by local farmers over the importation of a large vessel of maize into the country by a certain big company.

He, however, promised to persuade the firm from the act beginning from next year https://guardian.ng/news/government-moves-to-crash-price-of-local-rice/

Kushtia millers raise rice prices again  

Al Mamun Sagor Kushtia Published at 05:58 PM September 10, 2017

In late August, mill owners raised the prices of all rice varieties by Tk3 per kg Dhaka Tribune

The prices rose for the second time in just two weeks amid widespread allegations of price manipulation against the rice mill owners Rice millers in Kushtia have once again raised rice prices, this time by Tk1-Tk4 per kg.

Fine rice, otherwise known as Miniket, was selling at Tk58 per kg at the wholesale market on Saturday, whereas the price was Tk54 per kg on Thursday. The prices of coarse rice varieties, such as BR-28, also went up by Tk1-Tk1.5 per kg during this period.

They rose for the second time in just two weeks amid widespread allegations of price manipulation against the rice mill owners.In late August, the millers had raised the prices of all rice varieties by Tk3 per kg.Media reports on the price anomaly prompted Kushtia Deputy

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Commissioner Md Zahir Raihan to call an emergency meeting with officials concerned on August 30. He gave an ultimatum to the mill owners to rein in the soaring prices within 24 hours.

However, the mill owners did not take heed to the warning, instead claiming that they were compelled. They noted that paddy prices at the growers‘ level have been high due to low production in the preceding Boro season.

Kushtia Rice Mill Owners Association President Jainal Abedin Prodhan said: ―The mill owners have nothing to do with this. The farmers don‘t have the paddy. There is a huge paddy crisis across the country. Thus, the millers do not have bargaining power while buying paddy.‖Meanwhile, a recent intelligence agency report has revealed that major rice mills in Kushtia are sitting on huge stocks of rice.The report mentioned that at least 70 mills in Kushtia have abnormally high stocks.Among them, six of the top mills have a total stock of 1 million tonnes of rice http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/2017/09/10/kushtia-millers-raise-rice-pricesagain/

A General Introduction to Pancakarma Treatment FPJ Bureau | Sep 10, 2017 09:00 am Pancakarma, as the name specifies, includes five types of actions or processes which eliminate vitiated dosas and malas from the body. Pancakarma is an important part of Ayurvedic treatment

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because several times disease aggravation recurs, in spite of using different types of medicines.

The methods of purification and detoxification for the prevention as well as eradication of disease, by the elimination of aggravated dosas and malas from the body, is Pancakarma treatment. The processes before the initiation of Pancakarma treatment are premonitoring procedures, carried out with the help of palliation and purification therapies, which especially includes oleation and fomentation. These five basic processes are as follows: 1.

Vamana (Emetic therapy)

2.

Virecana (Purgative therapy)

3.

Nasya (Inhalation therapy or Errhine)

4.

Anuvasana basti (A type of enema)

5.

Niruha basti (Another type of enema) Acharya Susruta and other scholars described rakta moksana (blood-letting therapy) in place of nasya (errhine) as a part of pancakarma. Before administering all such treatments, it is necessary to find out whether the patient is capable, physically and mentally, to bear such treatments. Otherwise it may get harm instead of them benefitting a patient. The preparations before pancakarma treatment, after examining the mental condition of the patient, are ‗premonitoring procedures,‘ and some precautions and compatible diet must be followed along with and after the treatment which are ‗post-treatment measures.‘ Special types of medicines and procedures are selected according to the patient and diseases. These pancakarma procedures are described here in brief.



For elimination of Kapha – Emesis is the best.



For elimination of Pitta – Purgation is the best.



For elimination of Vata – Enema or basti (both anuvasana and asthapana basti) is the best.



For tenderness in the body – Fomentation is the best.

1) Vamana: Emetic therapy 2) The treatment where emetic drugs are used to induce vomiting for detoxification of the abdomen is emetic therapy or therapeutic vomiting. This treatment can be followed throughout the year except in severe winter and extreme summer.

Emetic medicines are used to expel toxic substances or wastes from the body.

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•

Use

Emesis is beneficial for all those suffering from Kapha and Pitta disorders. Therapeutic vomiting is also useful when there is congestion in the lungs causing cough, bronchial asthma, fever due to Kapha, tonsillitis, cold, inflammation of the nose, sinus and suppuration in the nose, palate and lips, and otorrhea (suppuration from the ears). It is also indicated in nausea, loss of appetite, indigestion, sprue syndrome, diarrhea, fat accumulation or diseases due to obesity, anemia, poisoning, intrinsic hemorrhage from lower channels of the body, dermatitis and other skin diseases (itching, erysipelas, etc.), boils, glandular swelling, edema, urinary disorders, excessive sleeping, drowsiness, hydrocele, epilepsy and insanity.

• Indications Therapeutic vomiting is useful for those who are suffering from the above-mentioned diseases, who have strong vision, who have no problem while vomiting and have patience.

• Contra-Indications Therapeutic vomiting is contraindicated in childhood, old age, debility, emaciation, hunger, heart patients, those having cavities in the lungs, bleeding from the upper body channels, during menstruation, during pregnancy, while in grief, in obesity or in any sort of disorders, intoxicated people, those having fear of vomiting, those who face difficulty in vomiting, those with eye diseases (cataract, blindness, pain in the eyes and so on), and those with a dry body constitution, jaundice, worm infestation and Vata disorders.

Even in contra-indications if a person suffers from Kapha aggravation, indigestion or poisoning, emetic therapy can be administered in a mild form using a decoction of liquorice root. But in childhood, debility and in fragile and fearful persons this therapy is not feasible.

•

Pre-emesis measures

Before emesis, measures should be taken to aggravate Kapha in the patient‘s body. For this 1-3 days prior to emesis, a person is provided with medicated oils to drink 2-3 times a day until the feces become oily and he feels nauseated. A day before initiation of the treatment, oleation (oil massage) followed by fomentation on the chest and back are administered to liquefy Kapha. To vitiate Kapha, a Kapha facilitating diet such as thin gruel, Basmati rice, milk, buttermilk, and yogurt should be eaten with adequate salt in it. Emesis should be conducted in the morning (the time when Kapha is active).

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•

Emetic substances

Rock salt and honey are importantly used. Besides emetic nut, licorice root, margosa, bitter sponge gourd, bitter bottle gourd, long pepper, bitter oleander, and cardamom are the main emetic substances. In Kapha provocation pungent, penetrating and hot potency substances; and in Pitta provocation sweet and cool potency substances are used as emetics. In case of Vata and Kapha aggravation sweet, salty, sour and hot potency substances are useful. All these medicines are used as decoctions, boiled and reduced to half the amount (in the ratio 170g in 3 liters of water).

•

Method

During emesis a person should sit at ease on his legs with folded knees or on a chair of kneeheight and drink the decoction in high, moderate or low doses of 7, 4.5 or 1.5 liter(s) respectively. After the intake, the person will feel nauseated. At this time the person should use his middle and index finger or use a tender and smooth castor twig to rub the tongue up to the throat to induce vomiting, continuing the process until it causes elimination of Pitta and Kapha followed by medicine taken, and finally Pitta is expelled in vomiting. If a person feels detoxified with lightness in the heart, throat, head and in the whole body, then emesis is successfully performed. The degree of success is determined by the number of vomits. Eight, six and four vomits are maximum, moderate or minimum respectively.

• Post-emesis measures When hungry, give vegetable soup, boiled rice and green gram to eat. For at least one day avoid cold drinks and cool substances, physical exercise, coitus, anger, ghee or oil massage. Be careful of getting indigestion.

• Result of the therapy The symptoms observed after every treatment help to analyze the degree of success, whether it is successfully perfomed, less than required or more than required. The aim of the treatment is to pacify the disease. If the disease gets pacified, the body feels light, fresh and energetic, and the dosas get expelled from the body. If all the medicine taken is vomited and this results in the carmination of Vata, it can be considered that the procedure has been satisfactorily performed.

• Minimal effect

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If more vitiation of dosas is seen as compared to before and there is heaviness in the body, lethargy, oiliness, smoothness, nausea and itching then the dosas have not been eliminated properly. The effect of the therapy is then below normal.

• Over-effect On the contrary, excessive dryness in the body, syncope, pain, excessive weakness, anorexia, stiffness, excessive thirst and excessive elimination of dosas indicates the over-effect of the procedure.

PH needs more investments for rice R&D September 10, 2017, 10:00 PM

By Madelaine B. Miraflor Despite the Philippine government‘s intense campaign towards rice self-sufficiency, investments to make the country‘s yield more globally competitive are still not enough.Economist Emmanuel Esguerra said there is still a need for the government to invest more in agricultural research and development (R&D) to achieve rice competitiveness.

To recall, after giving the agriculture sector a significant boost in the first half, the country‘s main staples — palay and corn — are now expected to yield unprecedented production results by the end of this year, thanks to ample water supply and availability of planting materials.

The probable production of both palay and corn crops for July to December 2017 is now seen to rise to 6.76 percent and 6.11 percent, respectively.

For the entire calendar year, palay and corn outputs may even accelerate by 9.06 percent and 11.08 percent, respectively, compared with 2016 levels.

These projections came after these staples yielded impressive production in the first half of the year.

Despite higher yields, Esguerra pointed out that farmers across the country still struggle under the weight of high production cost.

He pointed out that producing rice in the Philippines is more expensive than in our neighboring exporting countries such as Vietnam and Thailand. Some of the factors that contribute to the higher cost of rice production include labor cost and machinery, low yield per hectare, and high marketing costs. ―High prices harm poor Filipino households more than anyone else. These households spend around 20 percent of their incomes on rice alone,‖ said Esguerra, who serves as a professor at the UP School of Economics (UPSE), said

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Rice imports from Myanmar will be cheap Food minister tells parliament The government would import rice from Myanmar considering the cheap prices and short shipping time, Food Minister Qamrul Islam told the Jatiya Sangsad yesterday. "Rice is being imported from Myanmar considering the cheap prices there. Besides, it will be possible to import the item within a short time,‖ Qamrul told parliament while responding to a supplementary question of lawmaker Nazmul Haque Prodhan. Nazmul said the food minister recently visited Myanmar to import rice from there at a time when Bangladesh was experiencing a serious crisis due to the Rohingya influx to the country. ―Does the minister get special discounts?‖ he asked. In his reply, the minister said trade and diplomatic efforts would go side by side with Myanmar.

"I went to Myanmar to buy rice from there following the prime minister's permission. The PM said diplomatic efforts will continue to resolve the Rohingya issue. But our trade with Myanmar will also continue,‖ Qamrul said. Highlighting the facilities of importing rice from Myanmar, he said it would take only three days to import the rice from the country. "We can buy the rice at a cheaper rate in comparison with Thailand and Vietnam. It takes 15 to 20 days to import rice from Thailand and Vietnam. We are buying rice from Myanmar as we will be able to import quickly,‖ he said. The food minister added that the government signed an agreement with Myanmar to import 3 lakh tonnes of rice. "We will get 1.20 lakh tonnes of rice in the first phase." Answering another question, the minister said the price of rice remains stable at present. ―The rice price remains within the purchasing capacity of the people." http://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/rice-imports-myanmar-will-be-cheap-1460488

MP govt and APEDA in Basmati rice geographical indication registry row 12:00 AM, September 11, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:00 AM, September 11, 2017

The geographical indication (GI) registry over Basmati rice has sparked a row between the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and the Madhya Pradesh government, following the latter‘s application for the GI registry of the central Indian state for Basmati rice production. B M Sahare, additional director, ministry of agriculture, government of Madhya Pradesh, said, ―Thirteen or fourteen districts of the state are currently producing Basmati rice.‖ ―There is a formidable basis for our application, and even the GI Registry, which is based in Chennai, has recognised our claim. But this was challenged in the court, and the matter is now

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sub judice,‖ he added. Sahare stated that the state government applied for GI Registry after conducting several of the mandatory tests at accredited laboratories to prove the claim.

However, a senior official dealing with the issue stated that APEDA‘s position was open and clear. Only seven states are a part of the GI registry for Basmati Rice, and the authority will oppose any move to include any other state for it. APEDA also fears that this will open a Pandora‘s box, and Pakistan and China can also claim the GI tag for Basmati rice.

Currently, eleven districts in Pakistan, under a treaty with India, enjoy GI registry for Basmati rice. India, meanwhile, has a 85 per cent share in the global basmati rice trade. It exported basmati rice worth Rs 21,604 crore in 2016-17. In a previous statement, the ministry of commerce and industries reported in Parliament that the National Agricultural Research System, under the ministry of agriculture and cooperation has recognised only the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Uttarakhand, the western part of Uttar Pradesh and two districts of Jammu and Kashmir (namely, Jammu and Kathua) as the traditional geographical indication for Basmati rice cultivation.

This means that the basmati rice produced in these regions are considered an intellectual property and will be acknowledged as Basmati rice, while the Basmati rice produced in other places will not be considered Basmati rice, as APEDA does not consider areas other than those with the GI tag for Basmati rice production. http://www.fnbnews.com/Top-News/mp-govt-and-apeda-in-basmati-rice-geographicalindication-registry-row-41107

Add zinc-enriched rice in safety net schemes: HarvestPlus Howarth E Bouis, founding director of HarvestPlus, speaks at a press briefing at its Bangladesh office in Dhaka yesterday. HarvestPlus Star Business Report HarvestPlus, a biofortified food crop development initiative, yesterday urged the government to distribute zinc-enriched rice in social safety net schemes to fight malnutrition.Biofortification is the idea of breeding crops to increase their nutritional value.The distribution will encourage people to purchase of biofortified paddy and encourage farmers to grow the biofortified rice, said Md Khairul Bashar, country manager of HarvestPlus, at a press meet at its Dhaka office.HarvestPlus Founding Director and Ambassador-at-Large Howarth E Bouis, also spoke.

Bouis will leave Dhaka tomorrow after completing his four-day visit.In Bangladesh, 44 percent of children below five years of age and 57 percent of women suffer from various complications for zinc deficiency, according to HarvestPlus.

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The organisation said every one kilogram of biofortified rice has up to 24 milligram of zinc which can fulfil up to 70 percent of daily zinc requirement of a person.HarvestPlus said regular consumption of zinc enriched food can prevent stunting, increase appetite, and helps in physical growth and brain development.Zinc is very essential for adolescent girls and pregnant women while children require 3-5 milligram of zinc and women need 8-9 milligram daily, HarvestPlus said, adding that zinc prevents risk of disease.

The non-governmental organisation in collaboration with Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) developed the world's first biofortified zinc rice variety in 2013.So far, BRRI has released four zinc-enriched rice varieties -- BRRI Dhan-62 and BRRI Dhan-72 for the aman season and BRRI Dhan-64 and BRRI Dhan-74 for the boro season.

A hybrid zinc-enriched variety, BU Aromatic Rice 1, has also been released by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University with support from HarvestPlus, the NGO said.HarvestPlus said to have distributed 908 tonnes of seed of zinc rice varieties to 498,400 farming households in over 350 upazilas of 62 districts.

Bashar said biofortification is done through conventional breeding processes and addressing micronutrient deficiency in this manner is sustainable and cheaper.―Taste of the rice of the zincenriched varieties is also good,‖ he said.With the progress in biofortification and cultivation, he said mainstreaming biofortification in crop development, seed multiplication and delivery of staple food has become important.

He said the government should have a policy for biofortification in agricultural and nutrition related strategies and initiatives.Bangladesh is one of the countries where most of the population suffer from micronutrient deficiency, said Bouis, who is also a World Food Prize laureate.HarvestPlus said it aims to further develop and widely disseminate high-yielding, comparatively disease and pest tolerant biofortified rice varieties in Bangladesh.

In the next five years, HarvestPlus targets to mainstream biofortification in agricultural research, extension and involve private sector actors for a sustainable value chain establishment for all biofortified crops, the organisation said. http://www.thedailystar.net/business/add-zinc-enriched-rice-safety-net-schemes-harvestplus1460257

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