15 august 2017 rice daily newsletter

Daily Global Rice Rice News Headlines....

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August 15,2017 Vol 8 Issue VIII

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Pakistan committed to free trade agreement with GCC states Government issues rules for MAV rice importation Why Asian workers no longer seek “iron rice bowls” Facility at ILRI to monitor rice blast outbreak Kingdom courts rice deal with Bangladesh Govt hints GST on packaged food awaiting trademark, MSMEs say much needed Greens oppose commercial release of Golden Rice In Delta, governor calms on NAFTA Bangladesh’s import grows by 10.47% in FY 17 Missouri Rice Field Day to Offer Growers Updates on Markets, Crop Management, Global Testing FAO to boost rice production in Africa Arkansas Rice: Late Season Rain Exacerbates Disease Problems Rice industry complains cauliflower "rice" is misleading Saving water a vital part of rice profitability formula Spread the word about the great South Indian flavors at Kathakali in Kirkland S.Korea buys 77,222 T of rice for Sept-Nov arrival Rice imports under MAV opened to private traders Egypt rice production to cover local needs until Oct 2018 Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open-August 11 Govt to further slash duty on rice import Guess what? Rice prices are ruling steady BD,Thailand to ink-MoU on rice import today Rice import duty to see another 5% cut Nation’s food self-sufficiency rate hits 23-year low as rice consumption decline continues Blocking pathogens in rice "unming scientist works to change world with perennial rice Indian Scientists Devise Novel Method to Extract Silver From Paddy Asia Rice-Bangladesh in new deal talks, Indian prices rise again Bangladesh to import 1.0m tonnes of rice from Thailand Arkansas Rice Farm Tests the Waters WASDE Report Released Ghana now has an official ‘Jollof Rice Festival’ and here are the details SunRice seeks new opportunities to increase returns for growers Rice yield competition in Punjab

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How to identify fake rice

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News Detail... `

Lack of news from the field may be good news for rice growers

By Kathleen Phillips Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Aug 14, 2017

Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Kathleen Phillips Harvest time is approaching for Texas rice fields.

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BEAUMONT -- As Texas rice farmers gear up for harvest, no news from the field means potentially good news at the mill.

"We're on the front end of the harvest, still about two weeks from the peak, and we're not hearing of any serious problems with insects or horrendous disease problems," said Ted Wilson, center director at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center-Beaumont, in late July. "It's too early to know what yields will be like, but we will probably have a normal year."

Weeds have been the biggest issue this year, but were not too bad unless a field was in an area with a lot of rainfall, Wilson said.

The rice-growing region -- more than 20 counties mostly along the upper Gulf Coast and near the Oklahoma-Arkansas border -- has different soils and rainfall amounts each year, which impacts yields, he said.

"East of Houston, the rice growing area gets an average of 60 inches of rain a year and the soils are heavier, so the moisture lingers," Wilson said. "West of Houston, the rice fields get about 37 inches a year and the soil is lighter."

Texas rice farmers planted 158,000 to 172,000 acres, Wilson estimated, and may be able to see improving prices stemming from the overall U.S. and world rice situation.

Overall, Wilson noted, the U.S. rice crop may have decreased about 500,000 acres from 2016 levels.

"Most of the drop this year is in Arkansas due to the heavy rains and flooding that happened too late for them to replant. Acreage in Texas may be down from 10-17 percent, which is largely due to suppressed prices," Wilson said.

He explained that the huge carryover of rice internationally -- especially in Thailand where the government had purchased large stocks from farmers and then dumped it on the global market -has been selling down to more manageable levels.

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"As a result, prices are expected to soon rebound to the levels they should be," he said. "Barring a tropical storm developing during harvest, we should have a normal year. We have phenomenal growers in Texas."

Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Kathleen Phillips Harvest time is approaching for Texas rice fields http://www.theeagle.com/landandlivestockpost/lack-of-news-from-the-field-may-be-goodnews/article_0df09412-58d2-5a19-8042-c27778e00994.html

Rice stocks dwindle in July

By Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star) | Updated August 13, 2017 - 12:00am

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5 The country‘s rice inventory stood at 2.3 million metric tons in July, down 14 percent year-on-year. File MANILA, Philippines - The country‘s rice inventory stood at 2.3 million metric tons in July, down 14 percent year-on-year.Stock inventory of Filipinos‘ main staple will be sufficient for 69 days, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

Stocks held by households are sufficient for 29 days while those in commercial warehouses are good for 35 days.The National Food Authority, meanwhile, has depositories enough only for five days when it is supposed to have a 30-day buffer stock since it is the lean season.Commercial warehouses held half of total inventories while households held 42 percent. Supplies from NFA depositories cornered seven percent of the total.

On a monthly basis, rice stocks in all sectors went down in households at eight percent, commercial at seven percent and NFA depositories at 24 percent.Stocks are expected to increase next month with the arrival of 250,000 MT of rice imports this month.Meanwhile, corn stock inventory reached 684,000 MT, up by more than 200 percent.

Of the total, 90 percent was in commercial warehouses, nine percent in households and one percent in NFA depositories.Month-on-month, corn stocks in households, commercial warehouses and NFA decreased 29 percent, 30 percent and 13 percent, respectively. http://www.philstar.com/business/2017/08/13/1728244/rice-stocks-dwindle-july

Govt rethinks rice tax reduction as market ignores intervention Published : 12 Aug 2017, 22:55:42 | Updated : 13 Aug 2017, 13:03:52

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18pc import-duty cutback causes Tk 1.35b loss to exchequer for little benefit to consumers

A symbolic picture.

Doulot Akter Mala Authorities have decided to reconsider the idea of further reducing duty on rice import as the tax incentives caused the exchequer substantial loss to little benefit for consumers.

Sources said such dilemma cropped up as an impact analysis by a wing of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) found out that market largely ignored the government intervention that came in the wake of price spiralling of the staple.

The fact-finding study, conducted by the NBR's customs wing, found 18 per cent cut in the import duty caused around Tk 1.35 billion loss to the public exchequer since the duty cutbacks with effect from June 21 last.

The customs cut down the duty on the main staple to 10 per cent in a bid to rein in its galloping prices on the local market.

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Official sources said India and Thailand revised prices of their exportable rice upward close on the heels of the duty cut by the NBR.

"Initially, rice prices had decreased up to Tk 5.0 per kilogram but took an upturn again," said one official following the impact analysis.

Import duty on rice was the highest at 28 per cent earlier as a protective measure to ensure fair price for local farmers.

Recently, the NBR received a request from the food ministry for waiving the import duty on rice.

An NBR official said they are yet to receive any directive from the government high-ups to cut the import duty on rice in a second phase.

"The NBR is not in favour of further reduction in duty unless any instruction comes from the high-ups," he added.According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), as of June 21, prices of coarse varieties of rice increased 46.88 per cent in a year.

Prices of fine and medium varieties of rice like Najir, Miniket and Paijam had also increased 20.65 per cent.Neither the prices of coarse nor of fine varieties of rice did show any impact of duty reduction although the government expects a Tk 6.0 decrease per kg after 18 per cent rate cut.

According to the TCB data, coarse rice sold Thursday at Tk 43-45 a kg. It was Tk 46-48 per kg before the lowering of duty to encourage import.Also, prices of fine and medium verities of rice sold almost at similar prices as before--ranging from Tk 48 to Tk 60 per kg.

The country saw a twofold import of rice in recent times compared to that of the fiscal year 2015-16.Both public and private sectors imported 2.88 lakh tonnes of rice between July 1 and August 8, 2017.Despite import of a large quantity of rice prices of the item remained high as earlier, the official said.

Customs officials said many of the importers held up release of their imported rice anticipating further cuts in dutySome importers have piled up imported rice in the customs port, waiting for government decision on further duty cuts, they added.

doulot_akter@yahoo.com

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4th rice grower Bangladesh now major importer Iftekhar Mahmud | Update: 13:35, Aug 13, 2017 | Print Edition

Facing another food crisis after a decade, the Bangladesh government is trying to import rice from major exporting countries.Bangladesh, the 4th rice-growing country globally, has thus turned into a major importer, though the government did not import rice over the past four years.In fact, the government measures confirm, rice import has now been the only way out for the government in order to keep the prices of foods, especially the staple, in the local market stable.

The rice crisis emerged this year after the crops in the haor areas (marshlands) were damaged by heavy rainfall and floods.Apart from official procurement of rice from international market, the government has reduced import tariff by 18 per cent as an incentive for the private sector importers.Still, market data suggest, the efforts made over the past two months have failed to resolve the rice crisis.In two months, 57,000 tonnes of rice were procured from the international market. The government‘s silos, that have a capacity of storing 1.7 million tonnes, have only 2,73,000 tonnes of rice, government data show.

The Directorate of Food has not yet started selling rice in the open market, a programme to distribute food at cheaper rate. Other social safety programmes have been cut.

The food ministry has recently requested the National Board of Revenue to cut import tariff by 5 per cent more in the second phase. As a result, the import price of rice will drop by Tk 1.5 per kg.

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Following the latest move, the traders suddenly halted rice import to benefit more although the government is yet to take the final decision.Unloading of imported rice at land ports has also halted.On condition of anonymity, officials close to the government said the food ministry delayed in taking the decision to import rice when prices went up in May and June.

NBR delayed till June to take its decision to reduce import tariff. Taking opportunity of the tariff cut, traders started importing rice. Unloading of rice at Chittagong and Mongla ports was delayed due to heavy rains in Chittagong and Khulna and so there was no impact of rice prices on the market.Speaking to Prothom Alo, former adviser to the caretaker government MM Shawkat Ali said the government has to pay some price if it delays in taking a decision to tackle the crisis. A major crisis may arise out of a minor food crisis due to one natural calamity after another, he said, adding the food ministry has to be made accountable to tackle such crises.

According to the food ministry, the government signed agreements with Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia to import 3 million tonnes of rice. Discussions are also on to import rice from Myanmar and India.

A contract has been signed with Vietnam to import 2,50,000 metric tonnes of rice.

In a move to import 4,00,000 metric tonnes of rice, the government made a contract to import 3,00,000 metric tonnes of rice through an international tender. Another tender process is about to finish to import 1,00,000 metric tonnes of rice.

Despite so many Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and contracts, only 53,000 tonnes of rice imported from Vietnam under the state to state agreement were unloaded at the port in two months. Some 4,700 tonnes of rice through the international tender were unloaded at the port during the same period. As a small amount of rice is imported, it has no impact on the rice market.

According to the food ministry, there is no crisis of rice. The market is under control. The price will fall if the import increases in the days ahead. The government made many agreements to import rice although it earlier claimed that it has a deficit of only 1 million tonnes of rice.

Food minister Quamrul Islam has said, ―We are keeping all avenues open so that there will be no crisis in future.‖ Rice import under the private sector increased following the decision to cut import tariff from 28 per cent to 10 per cent in June. A number of importers from Dhaka, Khatunganj of Chittagong and Noapara of Jessore, started the import process.

Importers from Chittagong imported rice from Myanmar and Thailand and the traders the other two other areas have also started importing rice.

Crisis after 10 yrs A similar crisis emerged in 2007-08. Then the price of rice went up to Tk 40 per kilogram as 2.5 million tonnes of rice was damaged by floods. A major cyclone, Sidr, also dealt a blow to the national economy.

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This time, the price of coarse rice rose to Tk 48 to 50 per kilogram. But it is now being sold at Tk 43 to Tk 45 as import taxes have been relaxed recently while fine rice is being sold at Tk 52 to Tk 60, according to the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).

The price of coarse rice increased 38 per cent in just one year.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), some 20, 47, 000 metric tonnes of rice were imported in 2007 which is the highest in the country‘s rice import history. In 2008, it decreased to 7,32,000 tonnes. Only 70,000 tonnes rice was imported in 2016. However, as much as 7,00,000 tonnes of rice have already been imported during the first half of 2017.

Some 3,45,00,000 tonnes of rice were produced in 2016-17 and it may decrease to 3,41,00,000 tonnes in the current fiscal.

Former director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, M Shahabuddin, told Prothom Alo that the government delayed in deciding how much rice would have to be imported after crop damage in the haor floods.

The food ministry must increase its efficiency in view of possible rice crises in future, he added http://en.prothom-alo.com/bangladesh/news/156193/4th-rice-grower-Bangladesh-now-majorimporter

Auditor-General rejects complaints about rice sales

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• • • • politics August 14, 2017 01:00

By The Nation THE Office of Auditor-General has insisted that there have been no irregularities in recent sales of state-owned rice totalling 2.8 million tonnes as the government clears up its huge inventory resulting from the previous government‘s rice-pledging scheme.

Auditor-General Pisit Leelavachiro-pas said the government‘s rice-quality grading and bidding methods used in selling off the final stock of 2.8 million tonnes was credible based on the office‘s observations, since experts from other trade and industry bodies were also involved in the process.

His remarks followed Pheu Thai Party complaints that the process had been manipulated, resulting in low prices for the rice sold. High-grade rice, which was fit for human consumption and would bring higher prices, had been graded with lower-quality rice for feedmill and energygeneration use, Pheu Thai members said.

Yuttapong Charassathien, a former deputy agriculture minister of the Pheu Thai Party, said the complaint was officially submitted to the auditor-general on July 14, but there was no response so the party would follow up on the issue.

Yuttapong added that the party‘s action was not related to the upcoming Supreme Court verdict due on August 25 regarding former premier Yingluck Shinawatra‘s alleged negligence of official duties while implementing the rice-pledging scheme and resulting in corruption and massive financial losses to the state.

Yuttapong said the party‘s move should not be seen as politically motivated. During the tenure of former premier Yingluck, a total of 18 million tonnes of rice was pledged by the government.

Over the past several years, the huge rice inventory has been sold to the private sector at significant losses since the government paid farmers up to Bt15,000 per tonne against the thenprevailing price of Bt7,000-8,000 per tonne.

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Learn More The last 2.8 million tonnes of rice have been sold via bidding this year, of which 2.1 million tonnes were classified as C-grade rice, not suitable for human consumption, and bringing a low price for feedmill and energy use.

Pisit said he was not sure if it was feasible for the government to grade the rice more specifically since the volume was huge. In addition, he said, new rice harvests were coming onto the market, so farmers could be affected in terms of pricing if there was a large supply of old rice for human consumption.

The poultry industry also disposes of baby chickens in the sea when there is an oversupply of chicken in order to ease downward pressures on domestic chicken prices, Pisit said.

However, Yuttapong said the Pheu Thai Party would not stop exposing alleged irregularities in the government‘s handling of rice sales

PHL to buy more imported rice–report

By Jasper Y. Arcalas AUGUST 13, 2017

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Philippine rice imports this year could double to 1.6 million metric tons (MMT), from 800,000 metric tons (MT) in 2016, according to the latest report of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In its latest report, titled ―Grain: World Markets and Trade‖, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS) attributed the increase to efforts of Manila to prop up the dwindling rice stockpile of the National Food Authority.

The latest projection of the USDA-FAS is 14.28 percent higher than its July forecast of 1.4 MMT. With this, along with the expected increase in demand for rice by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the USDA also revised upward its earlier forecast for global milled-rice production this year to 483.922 MMT, from 483.807 MMT. ―For 2016-2017, global production is raised even further to a new record. Trade is revised up on increased demand from Bangladesh, the Philippines and Sri Lanka,‖ the USDA-FAS said.

Data from the USDA-FAS showed that global rice imports this year would reach 43.322 MMT, 7.12 percent higher than the 40.440 MMT traded globally in 2016.

Philippine milled-rice production this year could reach 11.5 MMT, higher than the 11 MMT produced in 2016, according to USDA-FAS data. This is due to the expansion in areas planted with rice.

Figures from the USDA-FAS showed that rice harvest area in 2017 would expand to 4.6 million hectares, from 4.52 million hectares last year. The average rough rice (palay) yield this year could reach 3.97 MT per hectare, 2.84 percent higher than the 3.86 MT per hectare recorded in 2016.

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The Philippine Statistics Authority said the country‘s unmilled-rice output in January to September could go up by 10.16 percent to 11.69 MMT, from 10.61 MMT recorded in the same period last year.

Harvest area during the nine-month period is projected to expand to nearly 2.9 million hectares, from 2.67 million has a year ago. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FNSG3IxnboIJ:www.businessmirror.com.ph/phl -to-buy-more-imported-rice-report/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk

Rice basmati strengthens on rising demand Sat, 12 Aug 2017-02:19pm , PTI Rice basmati prices advanced by up to Rs 200 per quintal at the wholesale grains market today on increased demand from stockists.However, barley slipped on reduced offtake by consuming industries.

Traders said increased demand from stockists against restricted supplies from producing belts mainly kept rice basmati prices higher.

In the national capital, rice basmati common and Pusa-1121 variety strengthened to Rs 6,3006,400 and Rs 4,950-5,025 from previous levels of Rs 6,200-6,300 and Rs 4,800-4,825 per quintal, respectively.

On the other hand, barley fell by Rs 25 to Rs 1,450- 1,460 per quintal.

Following are today's quotations (in Rs per quintal): Wheat MP (desi) Rs 2,100-2,350, Wheat dara (for mills) Rs 1,780-1,785, Chakki atta (delivery) Rs 1,785-1,790, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) Rs 260-300, Shakti Bhog (10 kg) Rs 255-290, Roller flour mill Rs 970-980 (50 kg), Maida Rs 1,010-1,020 (50 kg)and Sooji Rs 1,040-1,045 (50 kg).

Basmati rice (Lal Quila) Rs 10,700, Shri Lal Mahal Rs 11,300, Super Basmati Rice Rs 9,800, Basmati common new Rs 6,300-6,400, Rice Pusa (1121) Rs 4,950-5,025, Permal raw Rs 2,150-

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2,175, Permal wand Rs 2,200-2,225, Sela Rs 2,300-2,400 and Rice IR-8 Rs 1,825-1,850, Bajra Rs 1,170-1,175, Jowar yellow Rs 1,400-1,450, white Rs 2,800-2,900, Maize Rs 1,310-1,320, Barley Rs 1,450-1,460.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.) http://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-rice-basmati-strengthens-on-rising-demand-2527735

National Rice Month Scholarship Contest - Produce a Video and Earn Scholarship Money

By Deborah Willenborg ARLINGTON, VA -- The annual National Rice Month (NRM) Scholarship contest received a major update last year, and while the focus is the same - creating awareness for U.S.-grown rice the methods moved into the 21st Century.

"The contest went to an all video format last year and competition was fierce," said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. "The creativity and quality of the student videos telling the story of U.S. rice was astounding, and I know the judges struggled to choose a winner out of the field of eighteen entrants."

Scholarship contest entrants are encouraged to use video and photography to tell the story of U.S. grown rice. Creative students can also use PowerPoint, Prezi, or any visual presentation tool, so long as the total run time of the piece does not exceed three minutes.

High school graduating students from rice-growing states -- Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas -- are eligible for the three scholarship prizes, sponsored by Dow AgroSciences, totaling $8,500.

The grand-prize winner will receive a $4,000 scholarship and a trip with a chaperone this December to the awards ceremony at the 2017 USA Rice Outlook Conference in San Antonio, Texas. The second-place winner will receive $3,000 scholarship, and third-place $1,500.

Contest entries will be judged on creativity, quality, popularity, and effectiveness in promoting U.S.-grown rice, NRM, and the importance of rice in the student's state. Total run time of the video should not exceed three minutes. Sample topics include: rice production, nutrition,

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sustainability, and marketing/promotion.

Entries are due October 31.

The 70 erratic years of Pakistan‘s agriculture sector Amjad MahmoodAugust 14, 2017

WITH a rich and vast natural resource base covering various climatic and ecological zones, Pakistan ranks eighth in the world in farm output.It is one of the world‘s largest producers and suppliers of food and crops: chickpea (3rd), apricot (6th), cotton, rice and mango (4th), milk sugarcane and date palm (5th), kinnow or citrus (6th), and wheat and onion (7th).

The country‘s agricultural sector has three major roles in the national economy: provides food to consumers and fibre to the industry, earns foreign exchange, and provides a market for industrial goods/machinery.

However, the share of agriculture in gross domestic product (GDP) has declined since independence, falling from 53 per cent in 1949-50 to 19.8pc in 2016-17.

From 1947 to 1950, the country produced raw materials for the rest of the subcontinent as well as some other world markets.

But farm products then were compulsory procured at rates less than in the global markets. Interdistrict movement and the export of major crops were banned, while wheat and sugar were subsidised for urban consumers.

The sector benefited from the Korean War (1950-53), but an overvalued rupee adversely affected agricultural exports.

Then came the ‗Green Revolution‘ of the 1960s that saw agricultural policy considerably relaxed. The Ayub regime introduced land reforms putting a ceiling on individual holdings, the first agricultural university in the country was set up, liberal subsidies were offered for the

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import of tractors, and tubewells were installed to overcome water scarcity in the wake of Indus Basin Treaty. Moreover, compulsory procurement of farm produce was replaced by voluntary sales.

“Ours is one of the most blessed countries, but those who lead us lack vision as they haven’t come forward on merit” The average annual growth rate during the decade was 5.07pc. A major water reservoir, Mangla Dam, was also developed which helped bring more area under cultivation. Link canals were constructed for supplying irrigation water to the command areas of the three rivers given to India under the treaty.

The growth rate declined to 2.37pc during the 1970s when nationalisation programme of the government kept production and distribution of key farm products to itself. The benefit of the rupee‘s devaluation in the form of higher prices was not transferred to the agricultural sector hampered by export duties and government monopolies. The government also introduced second and third stages of land reforms.

In the 1980s, farm growth rate went up again, posting an annual average of 5.4pc. A new agricultural policy was introduced to bring domestic farm prices on a par with global rates. The Agricultural Price Commission was formed to help the government set support prices.

Through the World Bank‘s Structural Adjustment Programme, the farm input and output prices were brought to the prices prevailing in the world markets. Fertiliser subsidies were phased out.

In the 1990s, the growth rate fluctuated between 5.9pc and 4.4pc, as from now on the sector went into major structural changes. Livestock emerged as an important subsector contributing around one-third of the agricultural GDP. Fisheries and forestry also grew rapidly. In the crop sector, cotton became as import as wheat in terms of value-addition, accounting for one-fifth share of total earnings.

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The share of rice and sugar cane, however, fell from 20pc in 1970s to around 15pc in 2014.

Export taxes were reduced, better support prices were introduced while efforts were made for timely provision of farm inputs.

In short, the sector covered many milestones as production of various crops — grains, fruit, vegetables — increased manifold in the past 70 years.

For instance, wheat output rose from 3.301m tonnes in 1947 to 25m tonnes in 2014, cotton 0.188m bales to 2.374m bales, mango 0.13m tonnes to 1.716m tonnes, citrus 0.088m tonnes to 2.396m tonnes, and onion from 0.056m in 1947 tonnes to 1.671m tonnes in 2014.

But this performance fails to satisfy some quarters who believe much could have been achieved through better policies.

Senior economist Prof Dr Faisal Bari argues that Pakistan‘s agricultural performance has been poor in comparison with neighbouring India, which has conditions similar to ours. ―We‘re lagging behind the Indian Punjab though the condition of soil, climate and other factors is almost same,‖ he says. ―Similarly, we have large produce of citrus and milk and many multinational companies in the domestic market, but we couldn‘t translate these factors into the export of processed or value-added by-products of the farm produce.‖ Prof Bari counts policymakers‘ apathy, poor institutional framework, unpredictable official policies, undue pressure by donor agencies and privatisation as major reasons behind the current situation.

Prof Dr Zafar Iqbal Randhawa of the Faisalabad Agriculture University asserts that a system that discourages talent and merit is the main factor, as the minds who work wonders abroad fail to deliver or get dispirited here. ―Ours is one of the most blessed countries in terms of climate, fertile land and other natural resources. But, unfortunately, those who lead us lack vision because they haven‘t come forward on merit,‖ he says.

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Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, August 14th, 2017 https://www.dawn.com/news/1351486/the-70-erratic-years-of-pakistans-agriculture-sector

PHL imported more food in 2016–PSA

By Cai Ordinario AUGUST 14, 2017

In Photo: Wheat was one of the top agricultural imports of the Philippines in 2016, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

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The Philippines continued to purchase more food from abroad last year, as agricultural imports rose 10.6 percent to $12.52 billion in 2016, from $11.32 billion in 2015, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Data from the PSA showed that the increase in food imports widened the country‘s agricultural trade deficit to $7.24 billion in 2016, from $6.17 billion in 2015.

The country‘s top 5 imports included wheat, soya bean oil/cake meal, milk and cream products, coffee and frozen meat of bovine animals with a share of 9.8 percent, 8.4 percent, 5.1 percent, 3.9 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.

However, rice imports declined by 54.71 percent to $278.87 million in 2016. In terms of volume, shipments fell by 58.87 percent to 609,360 metric tons.

Rice is included in the list of the country‘s top 10 imports in 2016. The country‘s top rice sources were Vietnam, Thailand, India, China, and Singapore, with a share of 52.83 percent, 32.3 percent, 7.25 percent, 6.95 percent and 0.63 percent, respectively.

PSA data showed that total agriculture trade increased 8 percent to $17.8 billion in 2016, from $16.48 billion in 2015.

Among the major trading partners, the Philippines‘s trade surplus with Japan reached $417.07 million last year. The figure is 12.9 percent lower than the $478.89 million recorded in 2015.

The country, however, posted agricultural trade deficits with its other major trading partners. The deficit with Australia stood at $486.37 million; the US, $1.21 billion; Asean, $3.31 billion; and the European Union (EU), $296.83 million.

Among the Asean member-countries, Malaysia emerged as the top destination for agricultural exports. Receipts reached $168.52 million, or 30 percent of the total.

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Indonesia was the country‘s largest supplier of agricultural commodities, accounting for nearly 26 percent of payments. Imports from Indonesia amounted to $995.04 million last year.

Among the EU member-countries, PSA data showed that the Netherlands was the top destination of Philippine farm goods. Export receipts reached $524.18 million, or 51.3 percent of the total shipments to EU member-countries.

Germany was the top source of food imports for the Philippines among EU member-countries.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/phl-imported-more-food-in-2016-psa/

MSU Extension Service/Kenner Patton Mississippi rice harvest totals may eclipse early forecasts

Bobby Golden, a rice and soil fertility agronomist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, speaks to attendees of the MSU Delta Research and Extension Center Rice Producer Field Day in Stoneville, Mississippi, on Aug. 2, 2017.

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Rice yields are expected to be favorable when fields are dry enough for harvest, though overall Mississippi acreage will be down this year.Combines began rolling in Mississippi Delta rice fields as soon as growers marked the beginning of August, but wet weather soon shut down early harvest attempts.

Bobby Golden, a rice and soil fertility agronomist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said yields are expected to be favorable when fields are dry enough for harvest, though overall acreage will be down this year. ―Our early crop, most of which was planted in late March and early April, looks good so far,‖ he said. ―Most rice was planted between April 15 and May 1, and that crop may be especially good with the low nighttime temperatures we saw in early August.‖ Golden, who is based at the MSU Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, said the three-year average rice yield is about 159 bushels per acre. He said he expects producers will harvest that much or a little more. ―Most of the crop was planted on time, but we had a lot of

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early-season weather issues that delayed preparatory work such as levee construction and fertilizer application,‖ Golden said. ―We had enough good weather in the weeks leading up to the early August rains to make up for the issues we had early on.‖ Mississippi producers grew 194,000 acres of rice last year. They planted an average of 180,700 acres from 2010-15, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service. Golden said this year‘s harvest will be in the range of 100,000 to 115,000 acres.

The Aug. 7 USDA Crop Progress and Condition Report indicated that 91 percent of the rice crop was headed, with 20 percent mature. According to the report, 64 percent of the state‘s crop was either in good or excellent condition, with 35 percent classified as fair.

Rice market improves The rice market outlook is also sunnier now than three months ago, as futures have climbed steadily since they were trading for less than $10 per hundredweight in May. ―September rice futures are currently trading for around $12.20 per hundredweight, which is quite a bit higher than a year ago when they were trading for around $9.65 per hundredweight,‖ said Extension agricultural economist Brian Williams. ―The most recent estimates are expecting national rice production of around 186 million hundredweight this year compared to 224 million hundredweight a year ago.‖ While the 2017 U.S. rice harvest will be down from 2016, global production is up, which could keep prices from increasing for the rest of the year. The value of last year‘s production in Mississippi was $139 million. ―A big part of what is driving markets higher is a significant reduction in acres due to spring flooding in Arkansas and Missouri,‖ Williams said. ―Harvested acres were reduced by 123,000

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acres as a result. With that being said, global production is expected to be at near-record levels this year.‖ http://www.deltafarmpress.com/rice/mississippi-rice-harvest-totals-may-eclipse-early-forecasts

Pak-Saudi trade ties: Potential and prospects Dr. Amir Husain | Published — Monday 14 August 2017

A photo taken on August 13, 2017 in Lahore shows decoration lights to mark Pakistan's Independence day. (AFP)

Ever since its establishment in 1947, Pakistan has enjoyed close relations with Saudi Arabia. The two sides have established time-tested strategic ties.Saudi Arabia has always extended economic cooperation to Pakistan in the hour of need. Workers remittances from this brotherly Islamic country play a substantial role in strengthening the balance of payment of Pakistan. When seen in the backdrop of this overall picture, one aspect of the ties i.e. bilateral trade seems relatively less pronounced and depicts a story of unrealized potential.

Pakistan mainly imports oil and oil products from Saudi Arabia, which accounts for 90 percent of our total import bill for the Kingdom. In turn, Pakistan supplies rice, meat, meat products,

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spices and fruit, home textile products, chemicals, footwear and leather goods. The total value of the merchandise being traded between the two countries is around $2.5 billion. Pakistan‘s exports to Saudi Arabia are worth about $0.5 billion whereas the rest comprises the value of items imported by Pakistan.

Pakistan‘s exports to Saudi Arabia have seen consistent growth and have tripled in value during 2001 and 2014. There has been a slight downward trend since 2014, which may be partly attributed to somewhat slowing down of economic activities in Saudi Arabia due to falling oil prices.

However, even if one disregards the phenomenon of temporary slow growth in Saudi Arabia, it is still palpable that the magnitude of trade relations between the two countries is not in sync with their long-established close-knit ties.The fact of the matter is that Pakistan caters to a merely 0.3 percent of the import market of Saudi Arabia. Considering the manufacturing base of Pakistan and our thriving services sector, Pakistan has much more to offer to Saudi Arabia and actually, there is a huge potential of bilateral trade lying unrealized between the two countries.

Due to Pakistan‘s geographical location, bilateral trade is comparatively feasible both through air and sea routes.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia hosts the largest expatriate community of Pakistan in the world.

Pakistani citizens are employed in almost all the large business groups and companies where they are offering valuable services and are ultimately contributing to the strengthening of the local economy. The presence of this large expatriate community can play a significant role in furthering the bilateral trade relations.

There are a number of areas in which the trade volume can be possibly enhanced. Pakistan specializes in textiles products, which account for more than half of our total global exports. But in the case of Saudi Arabia, textiles comprise merely 20 percent of our export mix. The share of textiles especially value-added garments can see a big jump if circumstances are aligned.

Similarly, Pakistan manufactures state-of-the-art surgical instruments and world-class sports goods, which can easily find their place in the Saudi market.

There is also a great scope for food products. Pakistan can easily cater to the rapidly growing sector of organic foods in Saudi Arabia. Similar potentials exist in the services sector be it financial services, insurance sector, facilities management, IT services, entertainment industry etc.A free-trade agreement between Pakistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is already on the cards. The agreement will help boost trade between Pakistan and the entire Gulf region.

The signing of a bilateral investment treaty between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is also a possibility in near future.

This agreement will liberalize, promote and reciprocally protect investments made by companies of the two countries and will help them capitalize on the opportunities arising on both sides i.e. the Vision 2030-related investments opportunities in Saudi Arabia and projects related to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Pakistan.

Apart from this, bilateral business bodies are warranted to play an active role. Frequent exchange

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of business delegations and enhanced business-to-business interactions are guaranteed to accelerate the commercial relations.

Liberalized business visa regimes on both sides will greatly facilitate such interactions.Pakistan and Saudi Arabia both understand the significance of enhanced economic and trade relations and the two sides are already making progress in various areas. Pak-Saudi Joint Ministerial Commission exists since 1970, which serves as the apex body to discuss all bilateral matters relating to trade and commerce. The commission is slated to meet this year.It is sincerely hoped that coming days shall see Pakistan emerging as a major trading partner of Saudi Arabia.• The writer is Commercial Secretary at the Pakistan Consulate in Jeddah

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1144331/saudi-arabia

PHL to buy more imported rice–report

By Jasper Y. Arcalas

AUGUST 13, 2017

Philippine rice imports this year could double to 1.6 million metric tons (MMT), from 800,000 metric tons (MT) in 2016, according to the latest report of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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In its latest report, titled ―Grain: World Markets and Trade‖, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS) attributed the increase to efforts of Manila to prop up the dwindling rice stockpile of the National Food Authority.

The latest projection of the USDA-FAS is 14.28 percent higher than its July forecast of 1.4 MMT. With this, along with the expected increase in demand for rice by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the USDA also revised upward its earlier forecast for global milled-rice production this year to 483.922 MMT, from 483.807 MMT. ―For 2016-2017, global production is raised even further to a new record. Trade is revised up on increased demand from Bangladesh, the Philippines and Sri Lanka,‖ the USDA-FAS said.

Data from the USDA-FAS showed that global rice imports this year would reach 43.322 MMT, 7.12 percent higher than the 40.440 MMT traded globally in 2016.

Philippine milled-rice production this year could reach 11.5 MMT, higher than the 11 MMT produced in 2016, according to USDA-FAS data. This is due to the expansion in areas planted with rice.

Figures from the USDA-FAS showed that rice harvest area in 2017 would expand to 4.6 million hectares, from 4.52 million hectares last year. The average rough rice (palay) yield this year could reach 3.97 MT per hectare, 2.84 percent higher than the 3.86 MT per hectare recorded in 2016.

The Philippine Statistics Authority said the country‘s unmilled-rice output in January to September could go up by 10.16 percent to 11.69 MMT, from 10.61 MMT recorded in the same period last year.

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Harvest area during the nine-month period is projected to expand to nearly 2.9 million hectares, from 2.67 million has a year ago. http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/phl-to-buy-more-imported-rice-report/ Is food security under threat?

Is food security under threat

If farmers fail to plant Aman seedlings in time due to floods latest by the middle part of next month, the production of Aman is likely to suffer a serious setback this year. And in that case, the country, in all probability, would face a tough situation as far as its food security is concerned, observes Shamsul Huq Zahid 'A stitch in time save nine', the age-old adage proved right again in the case of rice import by the Ministry of Food. Indifference and delayed action on the part of the ministry have made the food price situation complex. The recurrent floods this year have again posed a serious threat to a rather stable food situation that has been in place for nearly six years.

The food ministry honchos, who were in a deep slumber until the government food stock depleted to a dangerously low level, are now moving heaven and earth to procure rice in sufficient quantities and help lower soaring rice prices. In last two months, 57,000 tonnes of rice imported from Vietnam have reached the government silos. The government has a plan to import more than 1.2 million tonnes of rice immediately to replenish its stock. The overall import might shoot up to 3.0 million tonnes in the next few years.

The entry of Bangladesh in the global rice market with a plan to import a substantial quantity of rice has somewhat changed the scenario. The global rice market had been dull until recently with demand for the staple remaining at low level. But when approached by Bangladesh, a number of rice exporting countries, including India and Thailand, have raised their export prices.

The food ministry has signed a deal for importing 250,000 tonnes of rice with Vietnam. The directorate of food has also floated tenders for importing 400,000 tonnes more and has already signed deals to import 300,000 tonnes until now. With domestic production of rice remaining quite satisfactory in recent years, the government preferred to be oblivious of the fact that the situation may take a reverse course following the failure of a major rice crop such as Aman or Boro.

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The government did not import any rice during the past four years. The private import of the staple had been substantial in 2013 and 2014 following withdrawal of duty on its import. But the re-imposition of duty again had a negative effect on private rice import and traders reduced the level of their import to a very low level in the years 2015 and 2016.

Since the beginning of this calendar year, the price of rice in the domestic market started soaring.

But the government's intervention though open market sale or safety net programmes was well below the normal level. The low level of food stock in government storages could be the main reason. Yet there was no move on the part of the food ministry to import rice. Nor was there any decision to lower duty on rice import by the private sector traders.

The loss of substantial quantity of Boro rice to flash floods in haor areas made the situation even worse as rice prices climbed to a record level. Only this time around the food ministry woke up to ground realities. It found that that its food stock was too low to handle a difficult situation.

While embarking on an emergency procurement drive, both at home and abroad, it wrote to the Ministry of Finance to waive duty on rice import. The latter, after some foot-dragging, obliged and cut the duty by 18 per cent.

Private importers taking advantage of reduced duty have started importing rice, mainly from neighbouring India and Myanmar. According to a report published in this paper last Sunday, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has already incurred a revenue loss of Tk 1.39 billion due to duty slash on rice.

But the rice prices in the domestic market are still in their highs despite increased import of the staple. Under the circumstances, the NBR is unlikely to reduce further the duty on rice import, said the FE report.

However, the fact remains that nature has been very unkind to Bangladesh this year. Floods in the first phase caused substantial damage to crops this year. For the last couple of days, a number of major rivers have crossed the red mark again and inundated a vast area in many northern and eastern districts of the country, causing damage to seedbeds for next Aman crop. If farmers fail to plant Aman seedlings in time due to floods latest by the middle part of next month, the production of Aman is likely to suffer a serious setback this year. And in that case, the country, in all probability, would face a tough situation as far as its food security is concerned.

Natural calamities are nothing new in this part of the world. The nation has showed time and again its resilience in case of devastations. But it is expected that the policymakers would do their part of job in due time to help the nation withstand the effects of calamities, natural or

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otherwise. The food ministry, it seems, has not been adequately alive to its duties and responsibilities.

zahidmar10@gmail.com http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/08/13/79718/Is-food-security-under-threat?

NFA restructuring would have to wait’

By Cai Ordinario AUGUST 13, 2017

The President‘s economic managers decided to remove provisions calling for the restructuring of the National Food Authority (NFA) in proposals to amend Republic Act (RA) 8178 to convert the quantitative restriction (QR) of rice into tariffs.

National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Assistant Secretary Mercedita A. Sombilla told the BusinessMirror that the Economic Development Cluster (EDC) of the Cabinet said the Tariffication Act, or RA 8178, would be easier to pass sans the NFA provision.

The NFA provision would restructure the agency so it could focus on buffer stocking. The primary mandate of NFA is to ―ensure national food security and stabilize the supply and prices of safe staple cereals both in the farm and consumer levels‖.

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―The tariffication [of rice], more or less, is accepted by the public and legislators. As for the NFA, there are still some congressmen, some senators who do not see the wisdom of restructuring the agency,‖ Sombilla said. ―If the NFA‘s restructuring will be included in the tariffication bill, its passage could be delayed,‖ she added.

The removal of the NFA provision would be recommended to lawmakers who are currently working on a consolidated bill for converting the rice-import caps into tariffs. The consolidated bill would be subjected to scrutiny by various House panels.

The House of Representatives has already conducted a technical working group (TWG) committee hearing on the bill but a similar hearing has not been held at the Senate of the Philippines.

The Philippines wants to fast-track the amendment of RA 8178 so it could convert the rice QR and comply with its commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO). ―We really need to put that [tariff] in place. There‘s a WTO meeting in October, so by that time we should already have a clear direction on the tariff,‖ Sombilla said. ―I have also asked the EDC to help us push the bill at the Senate.‖ The Philippines is being pressured by fellow WTO member-countries to honor its commitment to implement a rice-tariffication scheme. The waiver to extend the special treatment on rice granted by the WTO expired on June 30.

The QR has allowed the government to limit the volume of rice that enters the Philippines every year, preventing a possible influx of cheap rice imports.

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The government could not immediately convert the QR into tariff because RA 8178 did not specify a termination date for it. This means that even if the Philippines‘s waiver expired on June 30, the government is bound to implement the QR on rice, as mandated by RA 8178.

The Duterte administration vowed to allocate all the proceeds from tariffs collected from rice imports to cut farmers‘ production cost, according to the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022. http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/nfa-restructuring-would-have-to-wait/

Declining agri budgets won‘t entice youth to go into farming

BY TITA VALDERAMA ON AUGUST 14, 2017ANALYSIS

TITA C. VALDERAMA

AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel Piñol wants agriculture subjects to be taught to elementary and high school students. He said it is part of his department‘s plans to encourage young people to go into agriculture.

If Piñol would have his way, he also wants the agriculture sector‘s budget for 2018 increased to P213 billion, up from this year‘s P46 billion that Congress allocated.Piñol is an agriculturist, and he is also a politician. He was a public relations man and a media person, too.As an agriculturist, Piñol‘s plans and dreams may be what the country needs to boost its agriculture sector. As a politician, he must be aware that he has to use some tricks to convince his fellow politicians in Congress that his ambitious plans would also be beneficial to their districts, and probably to their pockets as well.

As a public relations and media person, Piñol should know that he has to sell his bright ideas to the public, too, to gain support and the needed push for congressional and executive action.

The agriculture chief has taken initial steps to push his plan to include agricultural subjects in basic education. He said he has directed Fred Serrano, the agriculture undersecretary for policy and planning, to work on it with his counterpart in the Department of Education (DepEd).

Well, if foreign languages like Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Korean are included as elective subjects in basic education, why not agriculture? The Philippines is still primarily an agricultural country despite plans to make it an industrialized economy.

Piñol said government has to develop Filipino children‘s interest in agriculture.

Under the K to 12 curriculum, which was adopted in the Philippine educational system two years ago, the senior high school‘s technical-vocational-livelihood track already has specializations in agri-fishery.

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Piñol said fisheries and agriculture graduates all over the country could become very successful agri-entrepreneurs given the knowledge they gained from their courses. ―We can help them, we can actually provide them financing if they want to go into onion farming, garlic farming, and other agricultural activities,‖ he was quoted in a recent interview. ―Be agri-entrepreneurs. We will support you financially. You come to us, you organize yourselves, we will help you financially, and we will assist you in the marketing of your products,‖ he said.

However, as plans for the agriculture sector become bigger, the budget allocations get smaller. In 2014, the Department of Agriculture (DA) had a P80 billion budget. It went up to P85.63 billion in 2015.

Ironically though, when the national government budget breached the P3-trillion mark in 2016, the DA budget was slashed to P48.45 billion, and further reduced to P46 billion this year.

In the budget proposal for 2018, the House of Representatives is poised to raise the DA budget to P60 billion, which is still way below Piñol‘s proposed P213 billion. Piñol said the bulk of the increase he was seeking would go to Easy Access Financing and construction of more farm-tomarket roads.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the agriculture sector employs 11.29 million Filipinos, or a substantial 29 percent of the country‘s total labor force of 41.34 million as of 2015.

This shows the significant contribution of the agriculture sector in the growth of the economy.

The agriculture sector needs a dramatic budget increase if the government wants to push its competitive edge in the international market.

Sadly, the Philippines has continued to record negative agricultural trade balances, with trade deficits with major trading partners Australia, the United States, Asean, and the European Union.

PSA data showed that earnings from agricultural exports decreased by 21.57 percent in 2015.

Farmers‘ earnings also decreased as prices for their produce were lower by 5.96 percent from 2014.

Without adequate budget and infrastructure support to agriculture, government would have difficulty enticing the young people to go explore the good prospects in farming.

I grew up in a farming village and my parents raised 11 children from a meager income from the farm. As the years went by, farming had become costly due to the high prices of inputs and lower volume of produce.

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My brother, who was tending the farm after our parents died, has given up farming because of the increasing costs. None of our nephews and nieces are interested in going into farming if the return on investment is too little for the hard work under the sun.

When I travel to the provinces, I see vast tracts of land that are idle. Some have been converted into residential or industrial sites. That could be the reason for the declining figures in agricultural exports and steadily rising imports.

The Philippines is said to have been the No. 1 exporter of rice in the 1970s but we have since slid down to become the No. 1 importer from countries whose rice scientists and agriculturists have been trained at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, Laguna, since the 1960s.

Its website describes IRRI as ―the world‘s premier research organization dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger through rice science; improving the health and welfare of rice farmers and consumers; and protecting the rice-growing environment for future generations.‖ IRRI is an independent, nonprofit, research and educational institute, founded in 1960 by the Ford and Rockefeller foundations with support from the Philippine government.

We hardly hear about the IRRI nowadays. Perhaps, the government could again boost its support for the IRRI by sending more trainees to spur renewed interests in the agriculture sector http://www.manilatimes.net/declining-agri-budgets-wont-entice-youth-go-farming/344302/

Agro import bill close to hitting Rs200b mark The country’s dependency on imported food has been ballooning out of control - SANGAM PRASAIN, Kathmandu

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Aug 13, 2017Nepal‘s raw and processed agricultural import bill is close to hitting the psychological level of Rs200 billion, way higher than what the country spends on oil imports on which it is totally dependent.

According to the Department of Customs, Nepal imported farm products worth Rs196 billion in the last fiscal year, up 11.36 percent year-on-year, setting off concern that the country‘s dependency on imported food was ballooning out of control.

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The share of agro products in the total import bill has swelled to 20 percent. The country‘s total import bill amounted to Rs984.06 billion in the last fiscal year.

The department‘s statistics show that agro imports have surged more than fourfold during the last eight years. The food import bill in 2009-10 amounted to Rs44.43 billion. The import bill jumped to Rs76.05 billion in 2011-12 and to Rs99.35 billion in 2012-13. It further ballooned to Rs127.51 billion in 2013-14.

In 2014-15, Nepal imported agro products worth Rs137.12 billion, pushing agro commodities to the top of the list of imports and knocking petroleum products from the number one spot.

Experts said that a swelling middle class, expanding population and stagnant local agricultural production were driving up Nepal‘s food imports.

The growth is unlikely to stop due to increased migration of farm labour to foreign job destinations as the agriculture sector has started to lose its shine due to a low rate of return.

Former vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission Min Bahadur Shrestha pointed to three factors behind the ballooning imports: rising food consumption, growing food processing industry and expanding livestock industry. ―In the past, people used to consume a small amount of food whether they were from a lower or middle-class background. Consumption patterns have now changed,‖ he said. ―Currently, people are eating larger amounts and they are eating higher quality food due to a rise in income levels. On the optimistic side, we can describe it as good; but the main concern is that consumption has outstripped supply,‖ said Shrestha. ―We are unable to produce enough food.‖ He said the scenario was ‗alarming‘. The primary cause behind low output is labour shortage and traditional farming practices. Farm mechanization and modernization is the only answer, he added. ―When mechanization and modernization increases productivity, it automatically increases the wage rate of farmers which encourages them to continue farming.‖

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Second, a growth in the food processing industry has also increased the import bill. Shrestha said that expansion in the livestock industry was another reason for the increase in the agro product import bill.

The department‘s statistics show that imports of materials needed by food industries, animal fodder and oil seeds totalled more than Rs26 billion. Cereal tops the list of agro imports followed by edible oil, vegetables and nuts and fruits.

As per the figures, the cereal import bill amounted to Rs40.14 billion in the last fiscal year, up from Rs39 billion in the previous year. Agro experts say that Nepal started importing cereals seven to eight years ago, and now imports have risen to alarming levels. Agro expert and scientist Bhola Man Singh Basnet said it was not surprising that last year‘s record paddy output did not result in a reduced import bill.

This is mainly because the expanding population of middle-income Nepalis prefer to eat basmati rice, and Nepal doesn‘t grow such fine rice in sufficient quantities. ―So the shortfall in production is met by imports,‖ says Basnet.

He added that there seemed to be a direct link between remittance and food habits in Nepal. ―Nepalis have been earning more from the last couple of years, and demand for basmati rice has grown accordingly.‖

http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2017-08-13/agro-import-bill-close-to-hitting-rs200b-mark.html

Is food security under threat?

13 Aug 2017, 21:10:43 If farmers fail to plant Aman seedlings in time due to floods latest by the middle part of next month, the production of Aman is likely to suffer a serious setback this year. And in that case, the country, in all probability, would face a tough situation as far as its food security is concerned, observes Shamsul Huq Zahid

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'A stitch in time save nine', the age-old adage proved right again in the case of rice import by the Ministry of Food. Indifference and delayed action on the part of the ministry have made the food price situation complex. The recurrent floods this year have again posed a serious threat to a rather stable food situation that has been in place for nearly six years.

The food ministry honchos, who were in a deep slumber until the government food stock depleted to a dangerously low level, are now moving heaven and earth to procure rice in sufficient quantities and help lower soaring rice prices. In last two months, 57,000 tonnes of rice imported from Vietnam have reached the government silos. The government has a plan to import more than 1.2 million tonnes of rice immediately to replenish its stock. The overall import might shoot up to 3.0 million tonnes in the next few years.

The entry of Bangladesh in the global rice market with a plan to import a substantial quantity of rice has somewhat changed the scenario. The global rice market had been dull until recently with demand for the staple remaining at low level. But when approached by Bangladesh, a number of rice exporting countries, including India and Thailand, have raised their export prices.

The food ministry has signed a deal for importing 250,000 tonnes of rice with Vietnam. The directorate of food has also floated tenders for importing 400,000 tonnes more and has already signed deals to import 300,000 tonnes until now.

With domestic production of rice remaining quite satisfactory in recent years, the government preferred to be oblivious of the fact that the situation may take a reverse course following the failure of a major rice crop such as Aman or Boro. The government did not import any rice during the past four years. The private import of the staple had been substantial in 2013 and 2014 following withdrawal of duty on its import. But the re-imposition of duty again had a negative effect on private rice import and traders reduced the level of their import to a very low level in the years 2015 and 2016.

Since the beginning of this calendar year, the price of rice in the domestic market started soaring.

But the government's intervention though open market sale or safety net programmes was well below the normal level. The low level of food stock in government storages could be the main reason. Yet there was no move on the part of the food ministry to import rice. Nor was there any decision to lower duty on rice import by the private sector traders.

The loss of substantial quantity of Boro rice to flash floods in haor areas made the situation even worse as rice prices climbed to a record level. Only this time around the food ministry woke up to ground realities. It found that that its food stock was too low to handle a difficult situation.

While embarking on an emergency procurement drive, both at home and abroad, it wrote to the Ministry of Finance to waive duty on rice import. The latter, after some foot-dragging, obliged and cut the duty by 18 per cent.

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Private importers taking advantage of reduced duty have started importing rice, mainly from neighbouring India and Myanmar. According to a report published in this paper last Sunday, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has already incurred a revenue loss of Tk 1.39 billion due to duty slash on rice. But the rice prices in the domestic market are still in their highs despite increased import of the staple. Under the circumstances, the NBR is unlikely to reduce further the duty on rice import, said the FE report.

However, the fact remains that nature has been very unkind to Bangladesh this year. Floods in the first phase caused substantial damage to crops this year. For the last couple of days, a number of major rivers have crossed the red mark again and inundated a vast area in many northern and eastern districts of the country, causing damage to seedbeds for next Aman crop. If farmers fail to plant Aman seedlings in time due to floods latest by the middle part of next month, the production of Aman is likely to suffer a serious setback this year. And in that case, the country, in all probability, would face a tough situation as far as its food security is concerned.

Natural calamities are nothing new in this part of the world. The nation has showed time and again its resilience in case of devastations. But it is expected that the policymakers would do their part of job in due time to help the nation withstand the effects of calamities, natural or otherwise. The food ministry, it seems, has not been adequately alive to its duties and responsibilities.

zahidmar10@gmail.com http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/08/13/79718/Is-food-security-under-threat?

Pakistan: Food Assistance Fact Sheet - August 11, 2017 from US Agency for International Development Published on 11 Aug 2017

Download PDF (170.09 KB) Situation  In Pakistan, the poorest and most vulnerable members of the population cannot afford a sufficient and nutritious diet. Ongoing conflict between the Government of Pakistan

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(GoP) and militant groups, recurrent natural disasters—including drought and floods—and a lack of basic health and nutrition education complicates household access to food and livelihood opportunities. 

Malnutrition is prevalent in Pakistan and causes excess disease and deaths among children.

According to the UN, 45 percent of Pakistani children under 5 are stunted, 32 percent are underweight and 15 percent suffer from acute malnutrition. 

In the tribal areas in the northwestern region of the country, government security operations and ongoing violence have caused large-scale displacement. As of June 2017, more than 46,100 families remained displaced in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPk), according to the UN.



Two consecutive years of strong harvests have bolstered Pakistan‘s food supply, resulting in stable prices for staple commodities, including wheat, wheat flour and rice. However, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) reports that an ongoing drought has aggravated food insecurity in Pakistan‘s southeastern region.

According to the UN World Food Program (WFP), more than 113 million people—60 percent of the country‘s total population—remain food insecure.

Response  In Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 USAID‘s Office of Food for Peace (FFP) has contributed $38 million to WFP for ongoing food assistance to approximately 1.6 million conflict-affected households—including 300,000 malnourished children and pregnant and lactating women—in FATA and KPk. This contribution supports the milling and distribution of GoP-donated wheat, provision of locally and regionally procured food aid and cash transfers for food

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Green revolution poised to boost agriculture production in Pakistan Salim Ahmed Lahore

A declining economy and growing food insecurity in the country, Vice President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik has called for Green Revolution since one of the best solutions would be heightened research and investments in the agricultural sector to boost yields.

He also demanded the government to grant interest free agricultural loans on soft terms and conditions to farmers at their doorsteps besides especial relief in water and power consumption.

Iftikhar Ali Malik, who is also Chairman United Business Group and veteran trade leader, has made this observation in context with the 70th Independence Day during his meeting with a delegation of progressive farmers headed by Muzaffar Ali Sial here at his residence on Friday.

He asked farmers to adopt scientific methods to enhance food grain production and reduce imports by using one-fifth of their farming land to cultivate lentils.

Underlining the greater readiness to take the bold steps needed to build a prosperous future of Pakistan he has given the call for ―Green Revolution‖, in the country ―which implies productivity improvement in perpetuity without ecological and social harm.

He said our farmers are still lagging behind in terms of availability of good quality seeds, adequate water, power, availability of proper price and market for their produce. ―We need to deal with not only the way the world produces food but the way it is distributed, sold and consumed, and we need a green revolution that can boost yields by working with rather than against nature,‖ he added.

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Ricegrowers' Association of Australia 2017 conference has many highlights in Leeton Talia Pattison

13 Aug 2017, 11:30 a.m.

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LEETON was far and square the centre of attention during an important conference recently.

The Ricegrowers‘ Association of Australia (RGA) held their annual conference in town on August 3 and 4, with the shire welcoming many visitors as a result.

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The conference proceedings were run over two days with guest speakers and gala dinner on the first day followed by the annual general meeting and presentation of reports and financials on day two.

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RGA president Jeremy Morton was pleased with attendance, with abut 200 taking part. "(Murray-Darling Basin Authority chief executive officer) Philip Glyde‘s presentation, in particular, hit a chord with growers in the room,‖ he said.

Mr Morton was also excited about the industry‘s future, with a number of new younger faces attending the event. ―This shows younger farmers are returning to our communities, and that they want to be involved in their communities and their industries, and that is a good thing,‖ Mr Morton said. http://www.irrigator.com.au/story/4850913/young-faces-highlight-leeton-conference/

Rice elevation

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Source:IC Published: 2017/8/13 17:33:39

Wang Huayong, head of a super hybrid rice research base in Longhui County, Central China's Hunan Province, stands in the middle of a paddy field to compare height with the newly bred Super Rice. The new type, cultivated by the research team of Yuan Longping, known as the "http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1061059.shtml

Arkansas Department of Information Systems Adds Two (Movers & Shakers)

by Arkansas Business Staff

on Monday, Aug. 14, 2017 12:00 am 2 min read

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Carder Hawkins, Yessica Jones and Richard Wang of the Arkansas Department of Information Systems. (Arkansas DIS) Carder Hawkins has been named deputy director of the Arkansas Department of Information Systems, and Richard Wang has been named chief data officer.Hawkins returns to DIS after nearly five years as deputy commissioner for information services at the Arkansas Insurance Department. He succeeds Yessica Jones, who was named acting director of DIS in November and subsequently made permanent director.The chief data officer position was created by the Legislature earlier this year. Wang is the executive director of the Institute for Chief Data Officers at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and director of the MIT Chief Data Officer & Information Quality Program, and he will continue in that role.

Nick Bateman has joined the University of Arkansas System‘s Division of Agriculture as an assistant professor and extension entomologist based at the Rice Research & Extension Center in Stuttgart.

Bateman earned his bachelor‘s degree in plant and soil science from the University of Arkansas at Monticello and a doctorate in agriculture and life sciences with a concentration in entomology from Mississippi State University.

Curtis Osier has been promoted to branch manager of Building & Earth‘s Little Rock branch, and Michael Evans has been promoted to manager of the construction materials testing department of the engineering firm‘s Springdale branch.

Osier, who joined the company more than three years ago, has a master‘s degree in soil classification from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and more than 20 years of experience in the industry.

Evans, previously an assistant project manager, has more than 20 years of experience in construction materials testing and construction management.

Jeremy Thornton has joined Alexander Open Systems in Little Rock as a design architect responsible for consulting and designing network and voice systems for clients. He previously worked as a solutions architect for General Datatech.

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Jim Jones has been promoted to vice president of operations for Southeastern Freight Lines‘ south-central region, which includes Arkansas.

Jones will be based in Dallas http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/118296/arkansas-department-of-information-systemsadds-two-movers-shakers

Don't sell off future of rice industry to one company Gooi Hsiao Leung Published Today 12:30 pm

Updated Today 1:00 pm

On Aug 9, 2017, I filed a motion in Parliament that read: ―That this House urge the Agriculture Minister to immediately explain how BERNAS had could make a public assumption that its agreement with the government upon its expiry on Jan 10,

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2021 will be 'renewed in perpetuity', which if true, would have colossal and devastating effects on the national paddy and rice industry for generations to come‖.

I was compelled to file this motion after being horrified by the discovery of the above fact disclosed in a letter issued by Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd (appointed by Padiberas Nasional Bhd, or BERNAS) dated March 2, 2017 in relation to its corporate exercise carried out in March this year.

It was highlighted in the above letter to BERNAS shareholders, which was reviewed and approved by the board of BERNAS, that the BERNAS agreement with the government which will expire on Jan 10, 2021 ―will be renewed into perpetuity‖ and BERNAS will continue to be the sole permit holder to import rice from overseas.

If what is stated above is true (that BERNAS‘s agreement will be renewed in perpetuity) – the impact of such an agreement would be devastating on the entire paddy and rice industry.

We are not talking about franchising of some nasi lemak business, we are talking about handing over the rights in regulating the entire country‘s rice industry – in which all stakeholders especially the farmers must be consulted beforehand.

It is rotten enough today that the government has allowed BERNAS to be become wholly privately owned and controlled by Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary‘s companies, straying away from its original structure when up to 45 percent of BERNAS‘s shareholding was held by the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA), Kemubu Agricultural Development Authority (KADA), National Farmers' Organisation (NAFAS) and National Fishermen's Association (NEKMAT) (when BERNAS was privatized in 1996) in order to protect and look after the interests of farmers.

Neither the government nor the board of BERNAS (in which the government has representation by virtue of its ―golden share‖) has the moral authority or the right to sell off or gadaikan (pawn) the future of the entire rice industry in perpetuity to an individual or company.

Any such move would clearly be against our national interest, as it would not only tantamount to theft against the people, it would be theft against whole generations to come.

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Today there are already endless public grievances that BERNAS, now a commercial entity, is focused entirely on profits in its monopoly of rice import business, and has neglected its role in protecting the interests of farmers, bumiputera rice millers and the rice industry at large.

With BERNAS concentrating on generating profits for its shareholders (with a recorded revenue of RM3.188 billion for the 9 month period until 30 September, in 2016 alone), the national dream of achieving 100 percent self-sufficiency level in terms of driving up local rice production for the country will never be realized.

Although my motion above was rejected by the Speaker on August 10, 2017, I am calling upon the agriculture minister to explain this matter of public importance outside Parliament, on how BERNAS could have made such a statement that its agreement with the government will be renewed in perpetuity.

Was it done with the government‘s blessings? Any such preposterous plan, if true, must be put to a stop and nipped in the bud immediately https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/391975

Food import to double Govt to raise the volume to 17 lakh tonnes to improve food reserve amid flooding in northern region

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Reaz Ahmad

The government is going to double the amount of food grains it planned to import a few months ago amid high rice prices, fast depleting stocks and a flood ravaging crop fields in the north.

Ahead of a stocktaking meeting of Food Planning and Monitoring Committee on the tight food situation tomorrow, officials told The Daily Star that public sector import for 2017-18 fiscal year would be increased from nine lakh tonnes to 17 lakh tonnes of food grains.

They told The Daily Star that the meeting is likely to approve rice import target of 12 lakh tonnes, instead of the existing plan of six lakh tonnes, and five lakh tonnes of wheat, instead of the previously set three lakh tonnes.

Six ministers and 10 senior secretaries would sit for a meeting of the committee tomorrow to decide how to tackle the situation.

The country's food security took the first hit this year when flash floods devastated paddy fields in the north-eastern haor regions, wiping out 10 lakh tonnes of potential Boro harvest.

The matter was further complicated with fungal attack (rice blast) that ruined harvests of many farmers.

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However, the government was slow to respond. It took over two months to reduce the riceimport duty.

With granaries not replenished fast enough, rice prices increased by 47 percent than that of last year, ministry sources said.

The Food Planning and Monitoring Committee is comprised of ministers for food, finance, commerce, agriculture, LGRD, and disaster management and relief, and 10 secretaries, including the cabinet secretary.

It is the committee's responsibility to monitor food security with secretarial and policy support from the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU) of the food ministry.

Worried over food security and feeling the need for an urgent stocktaking ahead of what appears to be a devastating flood, the FPMU held an appraisal session yesterday, a government holiday for Janmashtami.

After the June 20 decision to cut rice import duty to 10 percent from 28 percent, as much as 2.5 lakh tonnes have been imported by traders.

It is projected that until the next rice crop (Aman) is harvested in November, private traders would import up to 15 lakh tonnes, the sources said.

The prime minister also hinted more imports. Speaking on Sunday at the Bangladesh National Nutrition Council meeting in Dhaka, Sheikh Hasina said the government was procuring food grains from the international market to face the challenges caused by the ongoing flood.

"We've already procured food grains from various countries and more are coming ‌ ," she said.

Tomorrow's meeting would review the current flood situation. Rice-price volatility would largely depend on the next harvest of the staple and if the flood prolongs, Aman crops would be hurt, sources said.

Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury told this correspondent on Sunday that a good harvest of rain-fed Aus rice is expected to make at least 27 lakh tonnes of rice available in the market soon.

She hoped for a good Aman harvest as well, provided floods do not do major damages.

Director General of the FPMU, Naser Farid, told The Daily Star that if the floodwater receded by August and the deluge did not drag on beyond the first week of September, farmers planting Aman would get a scope for recovering from earlier losses.

The decision to increase food grains import is being taken at a time when the government has a stock of 2.7 lakh tonnes of the staple but would have to distribute 4.5 lakh tonnes between September and November among 50 lakh ultra-poor under a programme.

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Under the programme initiated late last year, the underprivileged are sold rice at Tk 10 per kg.

A food official said, "We're lining up rice and wheat imports in a way that allows us to deliver the 4.5 lakh tonnes to the ultra-poor, at least 50,000 tonnes more to people in the haors, and one lakh tonne as gratuitous relief [GR] to flood victims."As the government's Boro procurement drive fell flat with only a fifth of the targeted 10 lakh tonnes achieved so far, the official said, it now needs to import more rice to keep a sufficient carryover stock for the future.

The sources said learning from 2016-17's low food stock, the food ministry was vouching for a better reserve so that year-end stock in public granaries remain close to 10 lakh tonnes. Last fiscal year, the year-end rice stock dropped below three lakh tonnes, the lowest in six years.

Market sources said prices continuously showed an upward trend since the flash flood in the haors. Traders and rice millers further pushed the prices up by refraining from importing rice with 28 percent duty.The government then could not go for market intervention because of low food stock.

Bangladesh, the world's fourth-biggest producer of rice with over 3.4 crore tonnes output, uses almost all its production to feed its population. It often requires imports to cope with shortages caused by natural disasters such as floods and droughts.But since 2011, the government did not need to import rice although rice traders have done so, mostly from India.

However, since May, the food directorate has floated international tenders to buy 3.5 lakh tonnes of rice and had also made a deal with Vietnam government to bring in 2.5 lakh tonnes more.The government has also signed two more memorandums of understanding (MoU) with Cambodia and Thailand but has not finalised the prices yet.

Sources yesterday told The Daily Star that the food ministry was expecting to strike a deal with Cambodia in the next 10 days http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/food-import-double-1448695

Government directs support to rice farmers Tue, 15 August 2017 Cheng Sokhorng

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A farmer harvests rice at a paddy field in Phnom Penh‘s Russey Keo district in 2015.Vireak Mai The government announced yesterday that it would ―intervene‖ to support the price that farmers receive for their paddy rice, though without instituting a price floor or direct subsidies that would jeopardise a free market.Vongsey Vissoth, secretary of state at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), told representatives of the private sector and agricultural cooperatives that the government would take action to prop up the price that local rice farmers receive for their harvest.

He said even though Cambodian farm-gate prices on paddy rice were cheaper than those of neighbouring countries, the price that farmers actually received for the paddy was very low.

Moreover, the market price tends to drop off just ahead of the harvest, pressuring desperate farmers to sell their paddy at a slim margin.―Whenever the harvest season is approaching the price of paddy rice always slumps,‖ he said.

Chan Sophal, executive secretary of Farmers and Water Net, a Kampong Thom-based agricultural NGO, said rice was a challenging sector for farmers, even when they followed the government‘s guidelines on cultivation. ―We cannot understand why local rice millers reject to buy our paddy rice from us, while brokers are ready to buy it,‖ she said, adding that the brokers are able to purchase the paddy at a lower price because local millers reject to buy it.Cambodia produced about 5 million tonnes of surplus paddy rice last year, with an estimated 3 million tonnes exported through informal channels.Vissoth said poor infrastructure and high transport costs resulted in a high mark-up on rice paddy, though hinted that ―price-makers‖ – including millers, brokers and traders – could be ―playing with prices‖ to take higher profits at the farmer‘s expense.

He said the government has already approved a $50 million package of low-interest loans to rice millers for purchasing rice paddy and has earmarked an additional $30 million to provide loans

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to millers for the construction of storage and drying facilities. The measures support Cambodian rice millers and exporters so that they can offer better prices to local farmers, he noted, but now the government will focus on supporting the farmers themselves.

As part of a new initiative, the government will act as an intermediary in negotiating rice prices and will facilitate transport to help farmers lower their logistics costs. ―Provincial governors and authorities will actively intervene in the market failure,‖ he said. ―Authorities will be responsible for keeping tabs on price-makers to ensure that the price they offer is fair to farmers, and also to provide assistance in transportation, building new infrastructure and preventing unofficial fees from being charged on transport.‖ Vissoth said provincial authorities could dip into the provincial budget to provide these facilities to farmers, and should also provide free transport to help farmers get their rice paddy to local buyers or markets.―This is a short-term intervention in order to stabilise prices for farmers,‖ he said. ―The policy will put pressure on price-makers to raise the prices they offer farmers.‖

Song Saran, CEO of rice miller and exporter Amru Rice, said he welcomed the government‘s announcement as it would address some of the factors that were depressing rice prices. ―It is the right direction to address the real issues of the sector to prevent a market failure,‖ he said, adding that reducing transport costs would improve margins.―We [millers] cannot control the price of paddy rice as it is based on the market‘s supply and demand,‖ he added. http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/government-directs-support-rice-farmers

Fool’s gold: The case of Golden Rice Aug. 15, 2017 LEO XL Y. FUENTES, JR. Growing up in gold-rich Compostela Valley was an adventure filled childhood. We used to play in the rivers, collecting and inspecting stones to look for gold, mimicking old people looking for fortune. One very popular mineral back then that we were so fascinated was pyrite. It has the appearance of a polished gold, more of a fancy jewelry with all its luster. However, pyrite is known as fool‘s gold.

Earlier this month I received an invitation from the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) calling for a consultation through a dialogue about Golden Rice between the proponents and various civil society organizations. It was an honor to take part in the consultation last July 11, 2017 as this is very important for me as a rice eater and as a development worker working in agricultural and remote communities. It was also interesting to be reunited with friends from the university and in the mass-movement.

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The initiative of NAPC calling for this consultation was commendable. A breakthrough: the very first time that the issue on Golden Rice as a genetically modified crop will be open to public scrutiny, which for the longest time the proponents did not offer such venue.

According to the presentation by one of its proponents Dr. Roel Suralta from the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), Golden Rice can contribute in addressing malnutrition, in particular the Vitamin-A Deficiency (VAD), as it contains Beta-Carotene which is a precursor of Vitamin A. The prevalence of VAD in the Philippines and in global scale poses a great threat to people especially children and lactating mothers.

There are several points I wish to share from that consultation. First is the need to have an equal understanding on basic concepts of consultation. We had enough of the ―SOPs‖ that mere information dissemination can be equated as a genuine consultation. Moreover, assertions like ―we already satisfied the Public Information Sheet (PIS)‖ and ―we already posted in our website…‖ were kind of reasoning in the context of public participation as a lazy man‘s way of engaging the public on issues that concern every Filipino. This is a clear departure on the basic principle of what our government is telling us about participatory governance. Anyway, that‘s just an opinion from me as a rice-eater.

One of the important stakeholders of this issue are the indigenous peoples (IP) and the poor farmers in the countryside. After we received the invitation, we took time to conduct three consultations in Mindanao: for the farmers, farm-workers, and for the Lumads (IP of Mindanao).

We did our homework.

When we asked them if they are familiar about golden rice, none of them have knowledge about it. After all, most of the Lumads and poor farmers do not have access to any of the government‘s websites, as they are occupied to look for means in order to survive in this savage capitalist world.

Why is it really important to involve them? They are not ―experts‖ as the reductionists assert. A brief revisit of history in agriculture might be needed here. The last time these ―experts‖ and reductionists promoted some HYVs (high yielding varities) and GMOs the poor farmers and Lumads lost their heirloom seeds, and even lost their lands due to debts to the landlords and compradors.

Another dimension worth discussing is the scientific soundness of this technology. Until now, there‘s a very loose categorization and very confusing point whether Golden Rice is a drug or a food as it claims to be a solution for Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD). Dr. Gene Nisperos from the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) and UP Manila College of Medicine pointed out that the claim of the proponents that GR being safe were not backed by in vivo or outside laboratory experiments and cannot pass the rigors of science. Some of the studies being presented were based only in literatures of individual protein characters.

Talking about amino acids or proteins, elementary knowledge on pleiotropy and proteomics suggest that we cannot simply claim that these proteins are ―safe‖ without any solid scientific

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experiment on the interactions of these proteins in vivo. The proponents failed to present studies of toxicity in vivo.

Now let us be more scientific about the problem of VAD in the Philippines. According to the data presented by the National Nutrition Council, there was a significant decrease in VAD cases between 2003- 2008. NNC noted that incidence of VAD on children ages 6 months to 5 years old dropped from 40.1% in 2003 to 15.2% in 2008. For pregnant women from 17.5% to 9.5% and for lactating mothers from 20.1% to 6.4%. The decline occured without Golden Rice. Thus, the question on the necessity of Golden Rice as a solution or VAD becomes irrelevant.

Moreover, Golden Rice only contains 3,670 mg/100g b-carotene, and there are vegetables that are better sources of b-carotene. These include malunggay (Moringa oleifera) at 6,780 mg/100g b-carotene, squash (Cucurbita maxima) at 4,680 mg/100g of b-carotene, carrots (Daucus carota) at 10,023 mg/100g of b-carotene. And of course, orange camote, one the Lumads‘ staple food, containing 20,000 mg/100g of b-carotene. Far golden than Golden Rice.

Also, b-carotene is fat-soluble, so the absence of fat or oil in diet will still result to a low absorption rate of b-carotene. Therefore, Golden Rice is not the solution to VAD. It is only through diverse diet.

But then again, VAD as a social problem that stems from hunger cannot be solved in vitro or inside laboratories. It is timely now for various agencies like the Department of Agriculture, PhilRice, and Bureau of Plant Industry among other government agencies to depart from compartmentalized and fragmented solutions to complex social problem.

If the proponents are serious enough to address hunger and malnutrition, it is imperative for them to come up with a resolution to put a moratorium on the expansion of big agri-business plantations that for the longest time way back during the hacienda system are responsible in the decrease of the diverse diet of poor Filipinos.

This perceived ―hi-tech‖ solutions of GM crops are similar to that of pyrite: Golden Rice is nothing but a fool‘s gold in agriculture. Let us remind ourselves and these ―experts‖, not all that glitters is gold http://davaotoday.com/main/blog/fools-gold-the-case-of-golden-rice/

PARC trained 100,000 rice, wheat, maize farmers in 4 years Islamabad Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) has trained about 100,000 farmers of rice, wheat, maize and sugarcane across the country during last four year.

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The farmers were trained under USAID funded Agriculture Innovation Programme (AIP),which would be concluded by the end of current year, said an official of PARC. Under the programme the farmers of wheat, rice, maize and vegetables were provided different training of soil testing, seed selection, water management and adoption of innovative technologies to enhance crop peracre crop yield, he added.

He said under the programme latest technology of crop sowing including zero tillage wheat and ridge planting of wheat were disseminated among the farmers. In order to enhance the rice output, direct seeding for rice (DSR) technology were also provided to farmers, where as field extension, research institution and universities were also involved in the programme.

Under AIP agronomy project, CIMMYT, in collaboration with national partners had reached to 12,000 farmers and disseminated zero tillage, ridge planting and better nutrient management techniques.

For the programme, he said that USAID had provided USS$ 15 million for 4 years programme, which was implemented through CIMMYT, PARC and other stakeholder. The agriculture professionals from various provincial and federal research institutes, agriculture extension, universities, private companies and international research centers involved in agronomy research and dissemination of technologies among the farming community were also trained.

Besides, 15 students from leading agriculture universities of the country were selected for Phd in US universities under the programme, he added.—APP http://pakobserver.net/parc-trained-100000-rice-wheat-maize-farmers-4-years/

India celebrates an inspiring freedom struggle Update: August, 15/2017 - 09:00

As India celebrates its Independence Day (August 15), Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish reflects on a movement that inspired the world as well as two millennia of India-Việt Nam ties untainted by any vested interest.

It gives me great pleasure to greet Indian citizens and friends of India on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of India‘s independence, a momentous event in the history of the 20th century and which was a result of the efforts of millions of patriotic freedom fighters led by Mahatma Gandhi. It heralded the liberation of the long suppressed peoples of Asia and Africa and provided inspiration and encouragement to freedom movements worldwide, including the Vietnamese freedom struggle led by President Hồ Chí Minh.

His Excellency Mr. Ram Nath Kovind, in his speech last month on assumption of office as President of India, remarked that for India, our endeavors are not for ourselves alone because we

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believe that the world is our family – Vasudaiva Kutumbakam. He noted that it is very appropriate that the land of Lord Buddha should lead the world in its search for peace, tranquility and ecological balance.

We also celebrate 2017 as the Year of Friendship commemorating the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Việt Nam, the 10th anniversary of our Strategic Partnership as also the 25th anniversary of India-ASEAN Dialogue Partnership.

India and Việt Nam have, over two millennia, shared geographical, historical and civilizational ties. We evolved a common cultural matrix of Buddhism and Hinduism, exchanged traders and monks, learnt each other‘s languages including Sanskrit, and intermingled without conquest or colonization. Our friendship has strengthened during the phase of national reunification of Việt Nam and the relationship has diversified during the current phase of national reconstruction and development. image: http://image.vietnamnews.vn//uploadvnnews/Article/2017/8/14/Diwali%E2%80%93festivaloflig hts!51251420PM.JPG

Dispelling darkness: Lamps lit for Diwali, India‘s festival of lights. -- Photo courtesy of the Embassy of India

The landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year had upgraded our bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. A Plan of Action to give concrete shape

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to this Partnership was agreed upon by External Affairs Minister Mrs. Sushma Swaraj and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh last month.

High level visits by the Chairwoman of the National Assembly Mme. Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân and Minister for National Defence Gen. Ngô Xuân Lịch to India last year and visits of our Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State for External Affairs Gen. Dr. V. K. Singh have strengthened various dimensions of our relationship.

Defence and security co-operation is an important pillar of our partnership, characterised by established dialogue mechanisms, human resource development, ship visits and defence industry linkages. Our co-operation includes non-traditional security, counterterrorism and cyber security.

Our leaders have identified strong economic engagement as a key element of our partnership and have set an ambitious trade target of US$15 billion by the year 2020. Bilateral trade during 2016-2017 was slightly over US$10 billion and we remain committed to diversifying our trade and exploring new areas to reach the target set by our leaders. Many ongoing and new infrastructure projects in traditional and renewable energy will significantly enhance Indian investments in Việt Nam. India‘s development partnership activities in Việt Nam have a long history and have focused on human resource development and institution building. India‘s assistance in the establishment of the Cửu Long Rice Research Institute and the Buffalo and Forage Research Center and in training agricultural and dairy scientists in the 1970s has helped transform the agricultural destiny of Việt Nam and remains a shining example of effective and need-based assistance rendered at the right time in a meaningful way. Today, Việt Nam is the world‘s third largest exporter of rice and a significant agricultural economy.

For India, ASEAN is at the heart of our ‗Act East Policy‘ and at the center of a dream of an Asian century, of which Việt Nam is an important pillar. We believe that ASEAN has a central role in bringing about an open and inclusive regional security architecture for greater security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. As our Co-ordinator Country in ASEAN, Việt Nam and India will be working closely to organize a number of events to mark the silver jubilee of the India-ASEAN partnership including a commemorative summit in New Delhi that will reflect on our joint achievements and define a roadmap for the future.

The cultural connect between our people remains an important aspect of our bilateral engagement. I have spent over a year in Việt Nam and the popularity of Indian television serials, movies and yoga is very unique. During the recent International Day of Yoga celebrations in June this year, I was struck by the passion and commitment of thousands of Vietnamese friends who performed yoga. Yoga has emerged as a strong binding cultural element between our people and the recent inauguration of the Indian Cultural Center in Hà Nội and its regular classes will provide new opportunities for reaching out to those who have not yet been touched by the miracle of yoga.

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Earlier this year, the Archaeological Survey of India began the conservation and restoration of the Chăm monuments at Mỹ Sơn. There is huge excitement among Indian and Vietnamese archaeologists at having discovered new artefacts. We are happy to contribute to the preservation of our joint cultural heritage.

I thank the leadership, government and the people of Việt Nam for their friendship towards India and the Indian people, and their commitment to further strengthen our relationship.

http://vietnamnews.vn/life-style/391977/india-celebrates-an-inspiring-freedomstruggle.html#IWqqVcyvDRp8TjiE.99

Mahindra sells 51% in Chinese tractor JV Nandini Sen Gupta| TNN | Aug 15, 2017, 04:00 AM IST Chennai: Tractor major Mahindra & Mahindra has sold its entire stake in its Chinese tractor joint venture to partner Yueda Yancheng. The company sold its 51% stake for RMB 82 million or around Rs 80 crore. The Chinese JV -- Mahindra Yueda Yancheng Tractor Company -- was set up six yeara ago and M&M invested in the entity through wholly-owned subsidiary Mahindra Overseas Investment Company (Mauritius) Limited. M&M now plans to go it alone in China and launch some of its acquired global brands in the Chinese farm implements market.

This development will mean that M&M will completely "review its plans" for the Chinese market and "explore wider opportunities" with its "recent global initiatives in the farm machinery space," said a company spokesman.

"Mahindra through its recent acquisitions, now has an expanded farm machinery product portfolio going beyond tractors, which includes rice transplanters, harvesters and farm implements. The company will evaluate the market opportunity for introducing these products into China," he added.

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With the JV ceasing to exist, Mahindra's presence in China would possibly be through a new entity. Right now, the company is in the process of evaluating a "viable business plan" for the future. "We plan to take a phase wise approach to market development and will expand the product portfolio in focused geographies and customer segments," said the spokesman. "This could also include tractors in the future. It is premature to project the investments, but we are not looking at a Big Bang, to begin with."

China is a critical to Mahindra's globalization agenda as it is one of the largest markets for farm machinery along with tractors. "We hope to evolve a business plan which allows us to leverage this opportunity and our recent acquisitions of Mitsubishi Mahindra Agricultural Company Ltd. (MAM), Sampo Rosenlew and Hisarlar are an added advantage and would be a key enabler," said the spokesman. The company expects to stitch up its China farm machinery strategy in the next 12 months which will tie in nicely with its aggressive global farm machinery plans as well.

M&M's farm machinery revenue target is 20% of total revenue by 2019, up from 5% in 2015.

The overall plan is to build a global harvestor business through Sampo in Finland (except rice harvestors which will be handled by Mitsubishi) and use Mitsubishi for rice value chain products like rice transplantors, light weight tractors and harvestors. Globally the farm machinery business is a $100 billion market Times of India

Vermicelli pollution in Hue city cleaned up VNA MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 2017 - 20:36:00 PRINT

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Rice noodle makers in Van Cu Village in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue have built tanks to filter untreated wastewater from the production process (Photo baotainguyenmoitruong.vn) Thua Thien-Hue (VNS/VNA) - Residents of Van Cu village in the central province city of Hue have been making rice noodles for some 400 years. But while their livelihoods fared well, their health did not.

Although when served on a plate, bun - also known as vermicelli - usually smells delicious, the production process in Van Cu smelled bad for years, the result of wastewater being discharged untreated into ditches along the roads, ponds and fields. Water in the ditches and ponds turned black, and families had to keep their doors and windows shut to keep out the stink.

With households investing in advanced machinery for rice noodle production, the amount of untreated waste kept growing, said Nguyen Van Xiem, a local resident said. ―In the past, white foam covered the untreated wastewater surface from rice noodle production, flowing out to ponds and rice fields. So the smell was all over the village,‖ he said. The number

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of people suffering respiratory and dermatological diseases was also increasing rapidly, he added.

But in recent years, most households have built tanks to filter wastewater during the production process before discharging it into the sewage system.

Nguyen Xuan No, a veteran noodle maker, said his family built two tanks to filter wastewater, substantially reducing pollution.

Nguyen Van Tich, head of the local traditional craft association, said the provincial Department of Science and Technology had allocated 2.8 billion VND (123,300 USD) to support households in building wastewater treatment systems starting in 2012.

Now, 80 percent of households use biogas to treat livestock waste and the whole village has built filter tanks, he said. ―This has become a great boost for the development of the craft village,‖ Tich said.

The collection of garbage and plastic bags generated during the vermicelli production process has also been promoted.

Nearly 50 percent of village households make vermicelli. The remaining residents participate in the supply of raw materials and marketing tens of tonnes of noodles each day.-VNA http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vermicelli-pollution-in-hue-city-cleaned-up/116319.vnp

Rangpur food dept puts 5,100 rice mill owners on blacklist 13 Aug 2017, 20:58:25 Our Correspondent RANGPUR, Aug 13: More than 5,000 rice mill owners have been blacklisted in eight districts of Rangpur division this season as they did not sign contracts with the Food Department to supply rice to government warehouses. The food administration has decided not to buy rice from the blacklisted rice millers for next four seasons.

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64 On the other hand, millers said as market price of rice is higher than the government procurement rate they prefer selling rice at local markets instead of selling it to government purchase centres.Sources said some 3,042 mill owners out of 8,142 signed agreement with the department to supply rice to government godowns in the division this season. But the rest 5100 millers did not sign any contract.

According to sources rice procurement drive started in May with a target to purchase 2,08,500 tonnes of Boro rice in the season in 8 districts under the division. And it is expected to continue till August 31.The districts are Rangpur, Kurigram, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh district. But the millers so far supplied only 79,500 tonnes of rice to government warehouse, sources further said.Sources said the government decided to buy rice from millers at Tk 34 per kg but presently per kg coarse rice is selling at Tk 42 to Tk 45 in local markets which is higher than government procurement rate.

As the market price of rice has remained high, most of the millers showed their reluctance to sign contracts with the Food Department. And those who signed contract with the government are not showing their eagerness to supply rice to the government godowns, sources alleged.

The regional Food Controller Office sources said rice procurement drive is supposed to be ended on August 31 and Boro rice procurement target may not be achieved this year. Letters have been sent to local food controller office under the division with instructions to serve mill owners notices banning them from selling rice to the government for the next four seasons who did not sign contract and for two seasons those who did not supply rice to government warehouse despite signed contract, sources added.

sayedmofidulbabu@gmail.com http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/08/13/79709/Rangpur-food-dept-puts-5,100-ricemill-owners-on-blacklist

Floating gardens as alternative farming systems for floodprone areas Saturday, August 12, 2017

By IAN OCAMPO FLORA CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Climate change is a reality and so are its effects not just on the environment, but also the agriculture sector, making it one of the greatest challenges faced by farmers today. The effects on the variability of climate conditions during the cropping seasons have become hurdles for farmers. Not all surprising since the Global Climate Risk Index of 2015 listed the Philippines ―as the number one most affected country by climate change.‖ Climate variability was evidenced by the 19 typhoons that visited the country in 2011 and yearly, some 20 tropical cyclones enter Philippine waters with some eight or nine likely making landfall.

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And with each landfall comes the problem of flooding, not just in urban areas, but also in the rural agricultural countryside. So serious is the challenge posed by climate change that Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), the country‘s leading research arm on rice and agriculture, had been conducting research for adaptive climate change farming and measures to reduce the impact of agriculture farming practices on the environment. In 2013, RG Corales and a group of researchers from Philrice, made studies on the development and adaptation of floating gardens as alternative production systems in the swamp and flood-prone communities. The study looked into the possible materials to use and the crops that are suitable for the project.

The study aimed to look into a technology that is both cost efficient and easy to use. ―Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), plastic bottles, and bamboo poles were the most cost-efficient materials for floating gardens. Plastic bottles were used also for aquaponics floating gardens,‖ the study said. Crops like Crops pechay (Brassica rapa), mustard (Brassica juncea), upland kangkong (Ipomea reptans), bush sitao (Vigna unguiculata), tomato (Lycopers) were found to be suitable for the floating garden cultivation. The technology uses water hyacinths, bamboo and plastic bottles for the creation of plot beds. These plot beds float above the water and are topped with soil and organic fertilizer.

The crops are then grown on top of the plot beds. During the monsoon rains, the gardens merely float above the water and on the dry months, water could be accessed from the remaining floodwater. The four by one meter-long bamboo rafts can sustain a wide variety of crops including rice. The system is a perfect alternative for both flood-prone and drought-prone areas in the country. ―The garden tested under a monsoon produced 592 grams per square meter of pechay, 842 grams per sq m of kangkong, and 642 grams per sq m of mustard under a monsoon.

But the yields improved under tests made during the dry spell, producing 1.70 grams per sq m of pechay and 1.63 grams per sq m of kangkong,‖ according to a report published on the said study.

Local implementation Imagine being able to plant crops, rain or shine, without the threat of floodwater or drought. Imagine this possible even in perennially flooded areas like swamps and canals. In a village in the City of San Fernando in the Province of Pampanga, villagers need not imagine — because they live amidst this possibility using the floating garden farming technology. In 2013, Barangay Del Pilar launched the first-ever floating garden in Pampanga using the technology of floating rafts for garden and vegetable cultivation. Much of the methods they used employed technology learned from PhilRice.

The village was then able to put up least 200 floating gardens at a 2.3-hectare property of the barangay that is constantly flooded by water that remain until the summer months. The floating gardens were an innovative farming solution that uses water hyacinth, which is collected to construct a raft and then covered with top soil and organic fertilizer. The gardens were able to withstand flooding and can be planted with palay, vegetables and herbs. The floating garden sat on a 2.3-hectare property that includes a 330-square meter herbal garden.

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The property, which was donated to the barangay, was managed by volunteers who also raised chickens and ducks that were also given to residents for free. However, the continuation of the program now remains uncertain after a change in the local political leadership of the village. Not just for flood areas, also for fish ponds Fishpond owners too can grow crops while waiting for their fish yields from their ponds. The floating garden technology from Philrice encourages the use of floating gardens on commercial fish ponds.

Fishpond water is considered good for floating garden cultivation as the water contains organic minerals needed by plants. The underside of the gardens can also serve as breeding and resting areas for the fish. The underside of the floating gardens is a perfect refuge area during warm conditions and may even prevent fish kills. Communities in flooded areas, as well as those near marshlands and water reservoirs are encouraged to utilize the technology. With the worsening adverse weather condition brought by climate change, floating gardens provide an easy and economic alternative to cope with the effects.Ian Ocampo Flora http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/feature/2017/08/12/floating-gardens-alternative-farmingsystems-flood-prone-areas-558106

Rice millers hail govt's initiatives Aug 13, 2017, 1:31 AM; last updated: Aug 13, 2017, 1:31 AM (IST

Jalandhar, August 12 Local and Kapurthala-based rice milers today drafted feedback for the Custom Milling Policy (CMR), which is being prepared by the state government for the next year. They also raised their demands. Gian Chand Bhardwaj, president, Rice Mill Association Punjab, met Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on August 2 and discussed the new policy.

Members of the association have put forward their viewpoints and appreciated the government for considering their demands. There are 3,500 micro and small rice mills units are present in the district. According to the rice millers, they incurred loses due to the policy formed by the previous SAD government. http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/jalandhar/rice-

millers-hail-govt-s-initiatives/451499.html

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Balance of payments surplus despite large trade deficit and lower remittances A balance of payments surplus of about US$1.6 billion was achieved in the first five months of this year in spite of the trade deficit increasing sharply, workers remittances decreasing and a slowing down in tourist earnings. This was owing to significant foreign borrowing and inflows of capital.

External reserves increased to US$6.8 billion by the end of July. With expectations of further capital inflows there is no likelihood of a balance of payments crisis. However this balance of payments and external reserves improvement should not blind us to the fundamental weaknesses in our balance of payments, particularly the large trade deficit.

There are serious threats to the balance of payments due to decreased workers remittances from the Middle East and recent slowing down in tourist arrivals. These were strengths to the balance of payments in recent years.

Trade Balance The fundamental weakness in the country‘s balance of payments is the unsatisfactory trade balance. In the first five months of this year, the trade deficit expanded to as much as US$4.2 billion. This increase in the trade deficit by 23.5 percent in the first five months of 2017 compared to US$3.4 billion in the first five months of last year is alarming. If this trend continues the trade deficit is likely to reach as much as US$10 billion or more. However there could be an improvement in the trade balance if the surge in exports of recent months gains momentum and imports of fuel decrease.

Massive trade deficit This widening of the trade deficit, despite an improvement in exports since March this year, has been brought about entirely due to a significant increase in imports that have nullified the gains in export earnings. During the first five months of 2017, exports grew by 4.3 per cent, while imports increased by 8.6 percent.

The trade deficit of US $ 4.2 billion in the first five months of the year is massive. It will certainly strain the balance of payments, especially as the downward trend in remittances would not be as much of an offsetting factor, as has been in recent years, when remittances and foreign exchange earnings from tourism have been increasing.

Exports Sri Lanka‘s export earnings expanded by 4.3 percent to US$4.4 billion during the first five months of 2017 mainly due to higher exports of tea, spices and seafood. However, export

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earnings from textiles and garments, gems, diamonds and jewellery and food, beverages and tobacco declined during the first five months. Exports are likely to increase during the rest of the year owing to higher exports of tea and fish. There is an expectation of increased garments exports and other manufactured items too.

Imports Increased expenditure on imports by 12.6 percent to US$8.6 billion during the first five months of 2017 was mainly responsible for the deterioration in the trade deficit. Imports increased substantially due to higher imports of fuel, rice and gold. Imports of fuel increased by 63 percent, rice imports increased by more than twenty-fold and gold imports increased by 102 percent.

Drought conditions that destroyed as much as 40 to 50 percent of the rice crop necessitated the huge increase in rice imports. Both rice and wheat imports are likely to increase in the second half of the year as well. Imports of machinery and equipment, personal vehicles and other imports would have to be in check during the rest of the year.

Workers remittances As a result of political convulsions and adverse economic conditions in the Middle East, workers remittances declined for the third consecutive month in May 2017. Consequently, during the first five months of 2017 workers remittances declined by 5.8 percent to US$2.8 billion. If this declining trend continues, it would weaken the balance of payments significantly this year.

Tourist earnings Tourist arrivals declined by 2.5 percent In May 2017. However, during the first five months of 2017 tourist arrivals grew by 4.8 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2016 and earnings from tourism are estimated to have also increased by 4.8 percent to US$ 1.5 billion during the first five months of 2017.

The decline in tourism in May is disconcerting as it could be a trend decline. The garbage issue, the dengue epidemic, constant upheavals on the road and adverse travel adversaries have caused this setback to tourism.

Balance of payments surplus In spite of the large trade deficit, decreasing workers remittances and a slowing down in tourist earnings, there was a balance of payments surplus of US$1.6 billion in the first five months of this year owing to significant foreign borrowing and inflows of capital.

According to the Central Bank, the government obtained a US$1.5 billion loan with a maturity period of 10 years by issuing an International Sovereign Bond (ISB) in May 2017 and a syndicated loan of US$450 million during the month. In addition, foreign investments in the CSE during the first five months of the year recorded a net inflow of US$191.1 million and foreign investments in government securities were a net inflow of US$109.8 million in May 2017.

However, there was a net outflow of US$250.6 million from the government securities market during the first five months of 2017. These proceeds to the financial account helped strengthen the balance of payments.

Summing up Despite the balance of payments surplus and the comfortable level of foreign reserves, the emerging balance of payments situation is alarming. The trade deficit could balloon to US$10 billion or more this year and the sluggishness in the growth of remittances and tourist earnings means that this large trade deficit would not be offset by these earnings. Therefore the current account deficit of the balance of payments is likely to be high this year.

The reduction of the trade deficit has become imperative owing to the slackening of workers remittances and tourist earnings that were two strengths in the balance of payments. Hopefully

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the recent export growth would gain momentum, imports would be curtailed and there would be a revival in workers remittances and tourist earnings.

The perilous state of the trade balance is leading to foreign borrowing. The increased foreign borrowing to support the balance of payments would increase the foreign debt burden further http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170813/columns/balance-of-payments-surplus-despite-largetrade-deficit-and-lower-remittances-254273.html

How to make perfect rice ‌ in the microwave Yes, it can be done. And yes, it tastes just fine. (iStock)

Why would you want to learn how to cook rice in the microwave? After all, the microwave method is only marginally faster than using the stovetop. But, some think this method actually produces better rice.

Plus, there's the convenience factor. You can microwave, serve, and even eat your rice out of one container, eliminating at least one dish to clean. Plus, you won't have to deal with all of the rice stuck at the bottom of your pot as you do with the stovetop method (although some folks think that crust is the tastiest part!). And you never know — you could be at a vacation rental house and have a shoddy stove, making the microwave a safer bet.

Trending Articles

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Citing safety concerns, Amazon offers refunds on some…

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Powered By Whatever your reasons, here's how to cook rice in the microwave, step by step.

First, a couple of notes: This method works for both long-grain (like basmati), medium-grain (like jasmine), and short-grain (like sushi rice) varieties of rice. However, the strength and wattage of microwaves differ, and that impacts cooking times. The cook times below are based on a 900-watt, 0.9-foot-capacity microwave. Check the wattage of your microwave — you may need to check your rice at increments and add or subtract a few seconds here or there (more instructions on that below). Our method gives cooking times for cooking 1 cup of dry rice. If you'd like to cook 2 cups of dry rice, follow this recipe instead. #1. Put rice and water in a microwave-safe dish.

Measure 1 cup of rice and add it to a microwave-safe dish — you'll want one that can hold at least 1.5 quarts when making this quantity of rice. (We used an 8-by-8 glass baking dish.) Then, add 2 cups of cold water. #2. Place your rice in the microwave.

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Put the dish in the microwave uncovered, and microwave the rice on the high for 10 minutes. At this point, if small holes have appeared in the rice where steam has escape,d and most of the water has disappeared from the dish, you're ready for the next step. If not, continue microwaving in 1-minute increments until steam holes appear. #3. Cover the rice, and microwave it again.

When you see steam holes, remove the rice from the microwave and cover the top of your dish with a microwave-safe lid or plastic wrap. Microwave the rice for 4 minutes more. #4. Remove the rice and let it stand.

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Take your rice out of the microwave. Let it stand, still covered, for 5 minutes. At this point, taste the rice. If it's the texture you desire — eat! If it's still a bit crunchy, microwave it more, checking at 1-minute increments for the desired level of doneness http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2017/08/11/how-to-make-perfect-rice-in-microwave.html

Poor rate of basmati reduces cultivating area to half Written by Anju Agnihotri Chaba | Jalandhar | Published:August 11, 2017 7:52 am

In 2014, the area under Basmati was 8.61 lakh hectares before it went down to 7.63 lakh hectares in 2015 and then again to 4.96 lakh hectares in 2016.

THE POOR rate of

Basmati (fine quality aromatic rice) which Punjab farmers have been getting for the past few years has resulted in reduced acreage and, in the past four years, the area of cultivation has decreased to nearly half under the crop. Scientists say that due to decrease in Basmati cultivation, the area under paddy rice (Parimal varieties) has increased automatically which is bad news for Punjab where 102 out of 141 agricultural blocks have already gone dry. This year, 29.26 lakh hectares were dedicated to rice cultivation in the state out of which close to 24.75 lakh hectares is under paddy (Parimal varieties) and nearly 4.5 lakh hectares under Basmati. Though Basmati is considered to be a major alternative to diverting area from paddy, the area is decreasing under it.

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In 2014, the area under Basmati was 8.61 lakh hectares before it went down to 7.63 lakh hectares in 2015 and then again to 4.96 lakh hectares in 2016. ―We could not go for Basmati due to downfall in the rates of the crop in the last three to four seasons as Basmati, which fetched around Rs 4,000-5,000 per quintal in 2013, the rate of the crop went down to Rs 2,000-3,000 per quintal in 2014, Rs 1,100-1,800 in 2015 and Rs 1,800-2,300 in 2016,‖ said Jugraj Singh, a Basmati grower of Madaran village in Jalandhar.

Though the rate of Basmati went up to around Rs 3,600 per quintal this April, farmers had already sold their crop by then and only traders reaped the benefit, said Satnam Singh, another farmer of Kapur village. ―Out of 29.26 lakh hectares area under rice cultivation, around 25 lakh hectares are under paddy rice which would be a big blow to our ground water as for growing one kilo paddy, we need at least 4,500 litres of water while half of the water is required to grow Basmati crop which is short duration and is sown in full rainy season requiring less groundwater,‖ said Block AgriculturalDevelopment Officer, Amrik Singh.

G S Mangat, senior rice breeder at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, said when the area under paddy is not decreasing, they are inventing short duration paddy varieties now so that groundwater could be saved as the new PR-126 variety of paddy takes around 123 days against the previous rice varieties which took 155-160 days. Punjab Agriculture Department Director J S Bains said due to poor rates of the cash crop in the past, farmers now do not want to take any risk and go for assured crops like paddy instead. More area under paddy is a cause of concern for underground water but farmers do need a secure market, he added.

Farmers said the government should fix the minimum support price (MSP) for Basmati so that they can also benefit from the fluctuation. They said currently there was no MSP and the rates are fluctuating but small farmers cannot hold the crop for long by waiting for rates to improve.

Punjab needs to bring down its rice cultivation to nearly 17-18 lakh hectares against 29-30 lakh hectares at present, said experts http://indianexpress.com/article/india/poor-rate-of-basmati-reduces-cultivating-area-to-half4791480/

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Bangladesh inks 1m-tonne Thai rice deal, backs FTA

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11 Aug 2017 at 08:35 4,497 viewed1 comments

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NEWSPAPER SECTION: BUSINESS | WRITER: PHUSADEE ARUNMAS

Rice at Or Tor Kor market in Bangkok. Bangladesh wants to import one million tonnes of Thai rice a year. SEKSAN ROJJANAMETAKUN DHAKA: Bangladesh has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to buy 1 million tonnes of Thai rice a year, and agreed to start talks with Thailand on forming a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), which would double trade value to US$2 billion (66.5 billion baht) by 2021.Speaking at a Thai-Bangladesh Joint-Trade Committee (JTC) meeting, Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said the countries had agreed to hold negotiations that could lead to an FTA within the next few years.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Bangladeshi Food Minister Qamrul Islam also signed an MoU with Ms Apiradi for Bangladesh to buy 1 million tonnes of Thai rice a year in government-togovernment (G-to-G) contracts to secure its food staple."Under the MoU, Thailand agrees to sell rice through a G-to-G deal of up to 1 million tonnes of all kinds of Thai rice annually to Bangladesh and Thailand is happy to be the supplier to Bangladesh," Ms Apiradi said.

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However, a deal for Bangladesh to buy an additional 200,000 tonnes of Thai rice has yet to be sealed as the two countries are still negotiating a price.The proposed FTA is likely to cover a wide range of fields including agriculture, food-processing, fishery, construction, energy and tourism.With a population of 160 million, Bangladesh has had annual GDP growth averaging 6% a year over the past 10 years.

It is Thailand's third-biggest trade partner among South Asian countries after India and Pakistan, with annual two-way trade with Thailand worth US$1 billion last year, up 10.4% from the previous year.Thai exports to Bangladesh were worth around US$940 million. Major exports are plastic pellets, chemical products, cement, textiles, steel, tapioca products and cosmetics.

Thailand, meanwhile, imported covered garments, fertiliser and livestock from Bangladesh.Bangladesh is not only a potential trade partner, but due to it sharing a boundary with India, it is also seen as a gateway to the Middle East and African countries. http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1304111/bangladesh-inks-1m-tonne-thai-rice-dealbacks-fta

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