16th august,2017 daily global,regional local rice e newsletter

Daily Global Rice

E-Newsletter

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August 16,2017 Vol 8 Issue VIII

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Rice News Headlines....

Rice Field Day returns to Biggs Government directs support to rice farmers Over 26mn ton wheat, 9.6mn ton rice to be produced in 2017-18 Government directs support to rice farmers Flooding maroons half a million in dists as rivers burst banks CL farmers coop bats for fair rice allocations Cauliflower has become a popular substitute for rice How biotechnology can help Nigeria reduce agricultural import bill Rice production in Nigeria hits 15 million tonnes — Official Food import to double Nigeria To Save N300bn Annually From Rice Import Rice millers to support NCS in curbing rice smuggling GUuyana exporting rice to Cuba The new midlife nutrition rules: 15 questions to fix your eating habits Floods affect crops of 2 lakh hectares Vietnam, Uruguay Tackle Agricultural Methane Emissions Imports rise 9pc as economy heats up Bangladesh signs big rice deal Gov’t to intervene in rice sector

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News Detail... `

Rice Field Day returns to Biggs

By Democrat staff 08/15/17, 7:17 AM PDT |

The California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation, the University of California, and the United States Department of Agriculture will hold the annual Rice Field Day on Wednesday, Aug. 30, at the Rice Experiment Station here.Registration and poster viewing will begin at 7:30 a.m. and will be followed by the general meeting.

The business meeting will include reports by the chairman and treasurer of the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation, the Rice Research Trust, and the California Rice Research Board. It will conclude with the presentation of the California Rice Industry Award.

From 9:30 to noon, field tours will be conducted of the research nurseries focusing on breeding, disease resistance and weed control, as well as a rice equipment display. The tours will be followed by a luncheon at noon. There is no charge for this event.The Rice Experiment Station is located 2.5 miles west of Highway 99 on Highway 162 toward Butte City.Further information can be obtained at www.crrf.org or by calling the Rice Experiment Station at 868-5481 http://www.dailydemocrat.com/article/NI/20170815/BUSINESS/170819904

Government directs support to rice farmers Tue, 15 August 2017

Cheng Sokhorng

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The A farmer harvests rice at a paddy field in Phnom Penh‘s Russey Keo district in 2015.Vireak Maigovernment 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 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.

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―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

Over 26mn ton wheat, 9.6mn ton rice to be produced in 2017-18

ISLAMABAD: About 26.5 million tons of wheat will be produced during the crop season 201718 to fulfill the domestic requirements of country as well as for exporting. According to an official document, the wheat production in the country during last season was recorded at 25.750 million tons showing an increase of 0.24 percent as compared to last year. Meanwhile, about 9.6 million tons of rice would also be produced in the country to tackle with the domestic consumption as compared the production of 6.849 million, it added.

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Rice output during previous crop season had witnessed 0.71 percent increase as against the set targets, it added. The maize production targets was set at 6.200 million tons, where as about 13.6 million cotton bales production was fixed for the crop season 2017-18, it added. The government has fixed at target to produce about 70.39 million tons of sugarcane crop to fulfill the domestic requirements of the sugar.

It was that about 73.60 million tons of sugarcane was produced during the crop season 2016-17 which was up by 12.41 percent as compared to the production of 2015-16, it added. Meanwhile, maize production during last crop season was recorded at 6.13 million tons showing an increase of 16.30 percent, it added. In order to fully materializing the targets, the government has announced several measures including provision of subsidized fertilizers, availability of certified seed and agricultural credit for farmers. http://www.brecorder.com/2017/08/15/364878/over-26mn-ton-wheat-9-6mn-ton-rice-to-be-produced-in-201718/

Government directs support to rice farmers

Date: 15-Aug-2017 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.

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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 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

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Flooding maroons half a million in dists as rivers burst banks

Published : 15 Aug 2017, 00:27:50 | Updated : 15 Aug 2017, 18:21:12 Death toll rises to 27, govt steps up relief effortsMajor rivers in Bangladesh are now flowing much above the danger level, setting off a second round of flooding during monsoon this year, report agencies.Onrush of water from upstream areas coupled with monsoon rain affected 20 out of 64 districts claiming at least 20 lives amid fears of an impending severe deluge as major rivers continued to surpass bank lines, officials and experts said.

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre said new areas were being inundated as water continued to rise amid monsoon rain and onrush of upstream water.Rising water-level was recorded at 69 out of the 90 monitoring points of the rivers across the country, said the flood forecasting agency's Executive Engineer Sazzad Hossain."It's flowing above the danger line at 27 points."

The situation will worsen as the Jamuna River in Jamalpur was flowing a record 126cm above the danger level on Monday. The surge of river water broke the previous record -- 121cm above the danger level-last year.The water-level of the river in parts of the northern district of Sirajganj was flowing between 96cm and 100cm above the danger level.

Water in the Padma in southwestern Faridpur was also flowing 16cm above the danger level.

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The Jamunashweri River in northern Rangpur was flowing 126cm above the mark while the Kangsha River in northeastern Netrokona 181cm above the danger level.Mr Hossain said the flood situation might worsen over the next few days.Over half a million people across Bangladesh were affected by the fresh floods, the disaster management ministry said on Monday.

So far, 27 people have died in the floods with some 586,000 people affected. As many as 368,586 people have taken refuge in shelters.The trend of rising water may continue over the next 48 hours, and the floods in northern districts of Kurigram and Lalmonirhat will spread to Gaibandha, Bogra, Sirajganj and Jamalpur as well as the central and south-central part of the country.

The Met office forecasts light to moderate rains and thunder shower coupled with gusty winds in most areas of Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet Divisions.Meteorologist Md Shahinul Islam said the rains may ease starting on Thursday.Railway tracks in most parts of Dinajpur district went under floodwater, halting train services.

In Lalmonirhat, bodies of four people, who were washed away by floodwater at East Barua village in Sadar upazila, were recovered early Monday.The deceased were identified Mozammel Haque, 45, Asma Begum, 38, Abu Hanif, 36, and Alif , 7 of the same village.Kulaghat UP chairman Idris Ali said the four people went missing while going to a shelter centre from their home on Sunday afternoon and locals recovered their bodies in the early morning.

The flood situation in Lalmonirhat worsened as six embankments collapsed due to strong current in the Teesta and Dharla rivers, inundating fresh areas of the district.The road and train communications between Lalmonirhat and Burimari remained suspended for the second consecutive day due to severe erosion at different places.

People in the flood-hit areas were suffering from scarcity of food and drinking water. Only 160 tonnes of rice and Tk 450,000 (4.50 lakh) in cash were allocated for over 100,000 flood-affected people.Mustafizur Rahman, executive engineer of Water Development Board at Dalia Division, said Teesta River was flowing 5 centimetres above the danger mark at Dalia point while Dharala River was flowing 135 centimetres above the danger level at Kulaghat point on Monday morning.

To control the water, the Teesta Barrage Authorities opened its all gates the at Dalia point, he added.Many of flood victims claimed that people in 63 chars and char villages remained marooned by floods over the last five days but they got insufficient government relief, forcing most of them to starve.

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Rajpur Union Parishad chairman Mofazzal Hossain said in last five days, 50 houses were devoured by the river while the flood situation in 17 villages under his union worsened. But the administration allocated only 130kg rice for 25,000 flood-affected people.Saniajan UP chairman Abdul Gafur echoed the same adding that he received only 75kg rice and a poor amount of dry food for 6,000 flood victims.

Waterborne diseases were spreading in the flood-hit areas. District Civil Surgeon Dr Amiruzzaman said about 54 medical teams were working in the flood-hit areas. However, no activities of medical teams were seen while visiting the spots.More than one hundred schools were closed as floodwaters entered inside the buildings.Rail communication of Dinajpur with Dhaka remained suspended since Sunday night as railway tracks in Dinajpur Sadar upazila went under water.

The flood situation in Dinajpur remained unchanged as waters of both the Punorbhava and Atrai rivers were flowing 80 centimetres above the danger level on Monday morning, said sources at Water Development Board in the district.The flood situation in Kurigram worsened further on Monday following rise of the water level of the Dharala and Brahmaputra rivers.

The Dharala was flowing 132cm above the red mark and the Brahmaputra 68cm above the danger level.However, floodwater started receding from inundated areas in Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat districts since Sunday night.

An FE report adds: The government intensified its relief efforts for the flood-hit people on Sunday, as the natural disaster took a serious turn, officials said. Under the moves it has allocated 10,630 tonnes of rice, 60,000 packets of dry foods and Tk 31 million for the flood-hit people in 20 districts. Out of the relief, 1,200 tonnes of rice and Tk 6.0 million have already been distributed among the flood-affected people.

A total of 586,000 people in 358 unions of various districts across the country have so far been affected by flood.Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya informed the media about the government's preparations on the disaster management at a press briefing in the capital on Monday. The minister said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is monitoring the flood situation, and giving directives to the officials concerned to tackle the situation.

"The ministry is also cautiously monitoring the flood situation in various districts."He further said MoDMR has attached senior-level officials to the flood-hit districts to ensure better coordination for handling the natural disaster and proper distribution of relief materials among the affected people.

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The minister said he has given directives to all the DCs of the flood-affected districts to open shelter centres and constitute medical teams.He urged the medical teams to visit all the flood-hit areas, so that the people there can get proper healthcare services.

Mr Maya also called upon the officials of Department of Public Health Engineering to make usable the tube-wells that have been submerged in flood water as well as to provide ample water purification tablets to the affected people. talhabinhabib@yahoo.com http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/08/15/79828/Flooding-maroons-half-a-million-indists-as-rivers-burst-banks

CL farmers coop bats for fair rice allocations Published August 15, 2017, 10:01 PM

By Freddie C. Velez San Miguel, Bulacan — A farmers cooperative in Region 3 yesterday appealed to the National Food Authority (NFA) to provide them with fair allocations from the rice importations that the country would procure for the lean rice months of July-September.The Federation of Central Luzon Farmer‘s Cooperative headed by its president Simeon Sioson of this town is hoping that the minimum access volume (MAV) rice importation for this year will not replicate the rice allocation made in 2015.

The FCLFC president explained that in the 2015 MAV rice importation program, only 10 of farmers‘ cooperatives were allocated 12,500 metric tons while big-time traders got 176,000 metric tons.In a letter sent to NFA Administrator Jason Laurena Aquino dated June 12, 2017, Sioson identified the big-time traders as Alchemo Philippines Inc., Arvin International Mktg.

Inc., and Philmico Foods Corporation.

Cauliflower has become a popular substitute for rice 

Ellen Lund Tribune correspondent Aug 15, 2017 Updated 15 hrs ago

I was a bit surprised by a recent news item that reported Trader Joe‘s was limiting the amount of cauliflower rice that each of their customers could buy. The article stated that each customer was allowed only 2 bags of this precious commodity. A bit more research showed that this policy wasn‘t at all Trader Joes – only a few stores were involved and none in the Midwest. I suppose there are areas where this product is so popular it is hard to supply the need.

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If you aren‘t familiar with cauliflower rice, it is simply cauliflower that is broken down to the size and shape of rice. For those trying to control their intake of carbohydrates, it has become a popular substitute for rice.

I became aware of cauliflower rice when I purchased my Veggie Strip Maker from Pampered Chef on the advice of my favorite consultant, Cindy Slykhuis. The Veggie Strip Maker makes absolutely perfect cauliflower rice. I simply wash my cauliflower thoroughly after I cut off the base leaves and the bottom of the core. Then I cut it in half and run it over my Veggie Strip Maker and the resulting cauliflower rice‘s texture and size is beautiful.

A good old box grater can also be successfully used to grate the cauliflower into rice-like pieces.

I have one problem with my old-fashioned metal grater – I often end up grating my knuckles or tips of my fingers because I try to grate as much product as I can. The heavy duty plastic Veggie Strip Maker keeps my knuckles safe. I haven‘t used my box grater since I purchased it.

Cauliflower is a wonderful vegetable – low in calories and full of nutrition and fiber. It contains the anti-cancer compound sulforaphane and plant sterols that keep cholesterol from being absorbed in your bloodstream. It is high in Vitamin C, B vitamins, and minerals like manganese, copper, iron, calcium and potassium. You want to incorporate this vegetable into your family‘s diet.

Now cauliflower does give off a strong odor as it is cooked. I have a candle in my kitchen that I burn whenever I steam it to alleviate that who-just-cooked-cauliflower smell when you walk in the house. However, the finished rice is very bland and that makes it a great substitute for white rice.

I have made Pampered Chef‘s recipe for Hawaiian Fried Cauliflower Rice more than once and we love it. Pampered Chef also has a Cauliflower Pizza recipe that I have not tried yet, but Cindy says it is awesome. She hasn‘t steered me wrong even once!

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But my current favorite cauliflower rice dish is Lime Cilantro Cauliflower Rice. Lime Cilantro Rice is one of my favorite dishes. I enjoy it topped with black beans and avocadoes but I don‘t make it often because I do try to moderate my consumption of white rice and I don‘t enjoy this particular dish with brown rice.

So as I was thinking about ways to use cauliflower rice, I immediately thought of my favorite white rice dish. I typed lime cilantro cauliflower rice into my search engine and got a plethora of responses. After reading a few possibilities, I just got out my own favorite rice recipe and modified it to work with cauliflower. I made it last week and ate a lovely bowl of my favorite lime rice with no worries about carbohydrate overload.

Try any or all of these ―rice‖ recipes to incorporate more delicious cauliflower into your diet. I‘d be willing to bet that your family won‘t know the difference until you tell them.

Quote of the Week: We often forget that everything we see, animate or inanimate, is a visual manifestation of the work of our invisible God. We have become so accustomed to trees, mountains, sky, air, water, flowers, animals, vegetables and people that we no longer see them for what they are – God‘s work. — Mother Angelica http://fremonttribune.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/cauliflower-has-become-a-popular-substitute-forrice/article_6b9e102b-dd21-5264-b1aa-

How biotechnology can help Nigeria reduce agricultural import bill Collins Nnabuife Agriculture Currently, Nigeria has been spending huge amount of money importing basic food items which can be produced and processed locally.The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh recently said that Nigeria spends as much as N7 trillion ($22 billion) annually, importing food items into the country.This situation is unfortunate because Nigeria ends up creating markets and jobs for the farmers in the exporting countries while the farmers in Nigeria who can actually produce the same food, if supported, wallow in poverty.Most of these countries that Nigeria runs to for food had long ago adopted biotechnology in agriculture which helped them improve their yield.

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Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) which are a critical component of biotechnology have been proven to be the technology that will help improve agricultural productivity, eradicate hunger, grow the economy and improve the livelihood of farmers.

Rice Since Nigeria has been skeptical in adopting the technology, it has been spending N517 billion annually importing rice. The Ministry of Agriculture requested N2.98 billion to fight army worm infestation on Maize production; it also spends $4 billion annually importing textile materials and so on.These products are being imported into the country due to inability of the country to produce enough to meet the local demand, which is largely caused by nonavailability of good seeds for farmers.In Nigeria, a total of 7 million metric tonnes of rice is consumed annually, while a total of 2.7 million metric tonnes is produced locally by the farmers.

That means about 4.3 metric tonnes is imported into the country to meet the local demand.

Rice production in Nigeria has suffered serious setback due to certain climatic conditions which are not favorable to rice production, and the inability of the farmers to access fertiliser to improve soil nutrient or improved seeds.

It is against this background that the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF) is currently working with partners to introduce and disseminate the Nitrogen-Use Efficient, WaterUse Efficient and Salt Tolerant (NEWEST) rice.

Soil nitrogen deficiency has been cited as a major constraint to rice production. Nitrogen deficiency is mostly acute in the highly weathered upland areas where an average yield of only one tonne per hectare, which is about 25 per cent of yield potential, has been recorded.

A major concern that constrains rice production in nitrogen deficient soils is the inability of farmers to buy fertilisers to address this constraint; and when they buy, they can hardly afford the required application rate for optimal yield.

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The aim of the Nitrogen-Use Efficient, Water-Use Efficient and Salt Tolerant (NEWEST) rice project is to develop and disseminate farmer preferred and locally adapted rice varieties with enhanced nitrogen-use efficiency, water-use efficiency and salt tolerance.

AATF is working with partners to develop and disseminate this farmer preferred rice varieties with enhanced nitrogen-use efficiency, water-use and salt tolerance.

The benefits of NEWEST rice project include production of additional 1.3 million tonnes of rice in Africa each year, reducing the current deficit by 10 per cent. Self-sufficiency in rice will redirect limited foreign exchange used to import rice.

If the Nigerian government facilitates the adoption of this NEWEST rice project, the 4.3 million metric tonnes of rice deficit in the country will be covered, and the N517 billion spent on rice importation annually will be saved and channeled into other sectors of the economy.

Maize Army Worm in the recent past became a nightmare for maize farmers in Nigeria as it ravages an entire farm in hours.

According to the Deputy Director of Horticulture in the Nigeria‘s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Mike Kanu, the pest if not controlled could cause 90-95 per cent severe damage on maize within 48 hours.

This pest had become a yearly visitor to the Nigerian maize farms, damaging farmers‘ investments. This year alone, a total of 22 states were affected in its recent attacks and the Ministry of Agriculture requested for N2.9 billion for the containment of the pest.

This N2.9 billion will be used to procure chemicals to control the pest and possibly be used to carry out sensitization of farmers across the country. But the question is how long are we going to continue budgeting money to contain the pest and can‘t we find a permanent solution to the pest?

The Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) Project is a Public-Private Partnership that started since 2008, to develop and deploy royalty-free, African drought tolerant and insect-pest protected (climate-smart) white maize varieties for small scale farmers.

This maize variety was basically developed for drought tolerance, but during the outbreak of army worm in Africa, it was discovered that the maize was unintentionally resistant to army worm.

The project is currently being implemented in six countries in East and Southern Africa including Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa.

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Nigeria is not a beneficiary of this technology because it has not yet shown interest in adopting the technology to fight army worm, yet it spends billions of naira fighting the pest.

According to the scientist in charge of WEMA at AATF, Dr Sylvester Oikeh in a recent interview with Nigerian Tribune, ―We have visited the Minister of Agriculture in Nigeria to let make him aware of this technology and tell him that we are developing another phase of the project which is called the Tela Maize which is basically transgenic, and the minister showed interest. ―In this new project of transgenic maize, before a country will participate, it has to show interest, so we urged the Nigerian government to express interest and benefit from this technology by writing a letter to the investor that there is interest from the government of Nigeria. The whole idea is that they want commitment, they don‘t want to invest when the government is not committed. ―So, my prayer is to have the government of Nigeria showing interest by writing to the investor declaring their interest to promote the technology. The moment we get that, we include Nigeria and the Tela Maize will be deployed to Nigeria to protect against army Worm.

So, it is pertinent that the Ministry of Agriculture take appropriate steps to get this maize variety in the hands of farmers, and save the N2.9 billion or more it will spend pending when this pest visits maize farms in the future.

Cowpea According to the National Coordinator, USAID-sponsored Cowpea Outscaling Project, Dr Nafi‘u Abdu, Nigeria needs 2.6 million metric tonnes of cowpea annually, but it produces about 2 million metric tonnes, while 600,000 tonnes is imported to compliment the local production in order to meet up with demands.

Poor seeds and weather conditions have been a contributory factor to why Nigeria which is one of the major producers of cowpea, still imports the product to meet local demand.

Also, many factors both biotic and abiotic have been reported to have greatly reduce cowpea productivity in Nigeria.

The pod borer (Maruca vitrata) which perennially damages cowpea pods in the farms is among the major constraints faced by Nigeria in cowpea production. 70-80 per cent damage is recorded in severe infestation.

Farmers in Nigeria have not adopted the use of insecticide for controlling the pest due to financial constraints, as the chemical is expensive for the farmers to purchase.

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Meanwhile, it was learnt that the farmers who have adopted the insecticide or chemical control method have been exposed to serious health hazards.The deployment of a cowpea product that is capable of protecting itself from attacks by Maruca will make it easier and cheaper for farmers to produce cowpeas in areas where this pest is a problem.The aim of the Pod-borer Resistant Cowpea Project is to develop and disseminate farmer-preferred and locally adopted Marucaresistant cowpea varieties in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Pod-borer Resistant Cowpea Project is a Public Private Partnership coordinated by AATF to promote technological interventions that will optimize cowpea productivity and utilization in Sub-Saharan Africa, which Nigeria is part of.

The partnership is about developing and testing cowpea varieties with a genetic trait that would make the plant resistant to the borer and at the same time provide farmers with an alternative to costly and hazardous insecticide spraying.The project further aims at transferring the BT gene, which confers resistance to the pod, into improved cowpea varieties.

Currently, the project is being implemented in three countries in sub-Saharan Africa which includes Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Ghana.

The project is also conducting studies on safety for food, feed and environmental risks assessments for regulatory approvals in the target countries before them seeds are released to farmers.

If this cowpea variety is adopted by Nigerian farmers, the 600,000 metric tonnes deficit in cowpea production will be bridged, and the environmental effects of chemical usage in farms will also be reduced and the farmers will have physical cash in their hands.

Cotton It has been reported that Nigeria spends about $4 billion importing textile materials, but BT cotton which has helped Burkina Faso in their textile industry could also help Nigeria in saving the $4 billion and channel it into other things.

Nigeria is targeting to improve its textile industry, but the current cotton variety used by farmers cannot help in such expected industrial revolution, instead, the government is encouraged to adopt the use of BT cotton which has helped improved the textile industries of some countries, to also help Nigeria‘s textile industry.

From all indications, it is obvious that the Nigerian government needs to expedite actions towards the adoption of biotechnology in order to grow the agricultural sector. http://tribuneonlineng.com/biotechnology-can-help-nigeria-reduce-agricultural-import-bill/

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Rice production in Nigeria hits 15 million tonnes — Official August 15, 2017Muhammad Ahmad

Local rice production in Nigeria has now reached 15 million metric tonnes annually, the government has claimed.It said the development means the country will now be saving about N300 billion it used to spend annually on importation of the commodity.The Director of Agriculture at the Kano office of the Federal Ministry of Agricultural, Muhammad Adamu, made the claim on Tuesday while inaugurating the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria, (RIMAN) in the state.

He said in Kano alone, 1.2 million metric tonnes He said in Kano alone, 1.2 million metric tonnes of rice was produced in 2016.He said with the significant increase in local productions and the efforts to make the local variety qualitative and more attractive to Nigerians, the country expects to begin exporting rice to West African countries by 2018/2019.Mr. Adamu said about 34 states in Nigeria are producing rice, with many now producing three times in a year.

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He disclosed that investigation carried out by the Federal Government revealed that rice imported to Nigeria are 10-15 years old and and are preserved with chemicals which can cause cancer to consumers.In his remarks, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rice Miller‘s Association, Peter Dama, said, the association was established to promote local milling of rice that is fresh, healthy and nutritious.

He said the association is willing to collaborate with the Nigeria Customs Service to stem smuggling of expired rice into Nigeria.Mr. Dama added that the association intended to work closely with regulatory agencies and policymakers to ensure standard in local rice milling.The Customs officer in charge of rice enforcement, Ado Hassan, warned that Custom officers caught conniving with rice smugglers would have themselves to blame.

He said that in less than one year, the zonal command of the agency confiscated 800,000 bags of rice in Kano and Jigawa states.He said about 9000 bags of the rice are still in the stores of the agency, adding that most of the rice were being given to internally displaced persons after been certified fit for consumption by the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC. http://www.premiumtimesng.com/agriculture/agric-news/240287-rice-production-nigeria-hits-15-milliontonnes-official.html

Food import to double

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

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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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.

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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 10 dayshttp://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/food-import-double1448695

Nigeria To Save N300bn Annually From Rice Import

By Gistmaster On August 16, 2017

Goole+

BY BAYO AMODU and RUTH TENE NATSA, Abuja Nigeria will be saving about N300 billion it spends annually on importation of rice as local production of the commodity has now reached 15 million metric tonnes, the federal ministry of Agriculture disclosed yesterday.The director of Agriculture at the Kano office of the ministry, Muhammad Adamu, who gave the hint, while inaugurating the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria (RIMAN) in the state, said in Kano alone, 1.2 million metric tonnes of rice was produced in 2016.

He noted that, with the significant increase in local production and the effort to make the local variety qualitative and more attractive to Nigerians, the country expects to begin exporting rice to West African countries between 2018 and 2019.Adamu said presently, 34 states in Nigeria are producing rice, with most of them now producing three times in a year.He disclosed that investigation carried out by the federal government revealed that rice imported to Nigeria stay up to10-15 years and are preserved with chemicals that are capable of causing cancer.

In his remarks, the chairman of the Board of Directors of Rice Miller‘s Association, Peter Dama, said the association was established to promote local milling of rice that is fresh, healthy and nutritious.According to him, the association is willing to collaborate with the Nigeria Customs Service to stem smuggling of expired rice into Nigeria.Dama added that the association intended to work closely with regulatory agencies and policymakers to ensure standard in local rice milling.

On his part, the Customs officer in charge of rice enforcement, Ado Hassan, warned that any Customs officer caught conniving with rice smugglers will have themselves to blame.

He said in less than one year, the zonal command of the agency confiscated 800,000 bags of rice in Kano and Jigawa States.Noting that about 9000 bags of rice are still in stores of the agency, he stated that most of the bags were being given to internally displaced persons after being certified fit for consumption by the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

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Meanwhile, the federal government has announced that it will stop issuing fish importation quota to importers, saying the venture was no longer sustainable.Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said this during a meeting with the Ijebu Development Initiative on Poverty Reduction (IDIPR) in Abuja, yesterday.The minister pointed out that stopping the trade will help boost local production of fish and other aspects of agriculture in the country.Noting that the current deficit in fish in Nigeria is over two million tonnes, he urged citizens to invest to boost fish production and create jobs in the sector.Lokpobiri said, ―We realised that fish import is no more sustainable and what we did was to encourage those that import it to think of the backward integration by reducing the quota year by year in agreement with the CBN. ―Very soon, we are not going to give quota for fish importation. We want everybody to set up their fish farms, employ our people and create jobs for our people.―When we came last two years, Nigeria was producing about 700,000 tonnes of fish but this has increased to about 1.2 million tonnes which means that there has been increment of 400 tonnes. This increase represents more than 50 per cent of what we were producing‖.Lokpobiri who commended the IDIPR for contributing to fish production in the country, advised other states to emulate the community‘s agricultural initiative.

He said the federal government will soon complete and commission the fish feed mill located at Eriwe village farm in Ijebu community of Ogun State.The minister quoted the United Nations‘ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as saying that Ijebu community has the highest number of fish clusters in the world.Earlier, the Chairman, Board of Directors of the initiative, Prof. Olanipekun Alausa, listed some challenges hindering the agricultural initiative to include inadequate access to loans and lack of modern agricultural tools for mechanised farming.

Alausa who said the initiative was currently supplying food items to nine local government areas in the state appealed for more support from the federal government to enhance the initiative‘s performance.

He said the scheme, which was established in 1999 as a non-governmental organisation, was geared towards community development to reduce poverty and improve the livelihood of people, using agriculture and micro-credit among others.The chairman said the scheme was involved in poultry, piggery, bee-keeping and cocoa farming to ensure poverty reduction and contribute to agricultural development in the country.His words: ―We want provision of access roads in the farm villages, access to direct credit and government‘s grants toward our poverty reduction programme.The change in the life of the poor is visible as the needs and well-being of women and other disadvantaged groups in our community are being met. ―Hundreds of young graduates now see agriculture as a thriving business and cluster innovation farming platform has been proved beyond doubt that it is capable of making fortune‖.

The post Nigeria To Save N300bn Annually From Rice Import appeared first on leadership.ng. https://niyitabiti.net/2017/08/nigeria-to-save-n300bn-annually-from-rice-import/

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Rice millers to support NCS in curbing rice smuggling

By Royal News on August 15, 2017 Rice millers to support NCS in curbing rice smuggling

By Aisha Ahmed The Rice Millers Association of Nigeria (RIMAN), has promised to provide useful information to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in its efforts to curb the smuggling of rice into the country.The RIMAN‘s Chairman, Board of Trustees, Mr Peter Dharma, gave this assurance in Kano on Tuesday at the inaugural meeting of the association.He said that Nigerians had, over the years, been losing enormous resources to the smuggling of food items into the country.

Mr Dharma also pledged that the association would support the Federal Government‘s programme value chain of local rice cultivation, milling, processing and production.―Our association will work closely with the regulatory and policy makers to ensure standards in local rice milling,‖ he said.The chairman also stated that the association would support research into renewable energy source, which he said, the association would recommend to its members in the near future.

Speaking on the occasion, the Area Commander of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr Yusuf Abba, hailed RIMAN‘s plan, as according to him, it will yield some economic benefits to the

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country.Abba, who was represented by the Deputy Comptroller Enforcement of the service, Mr Ago Hyacinth, said smugglers should no longer be allowed to sabotage the nation‘s economy.Mallam Muhammed Munir, a director at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the Federal Government‘s injection of money into the sector, would facilitate employment opportunities for citizens.NAN reports that the association at the inaugural meeting, discussed the various issues surrounding rice production in the country. (NAN) http://www.royalnews.com.ng/2017/08/15/rice-millers-to-support-ncs-in-curbing-rice-smuggling/

GUuyana exporting rice to Cuba CMC, 15 August 2017

Paddy being loaded for export from Guyana to Mexico. (DPI/GINA) GEORGETOWN – Guyana says it will make its first shipment of rice to Cuba in September following a series of negotiations over the past few months, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has announced.GRDB general manager Allison Peters said this is just one of the new export markets negotiated over the past months.―There is also a shipment off to Cuba and we are going to start that off in the third week of September<‘ she said, adding ―we have started sending paddy to Panama for this year; we have started in … early July.‖Guyana has started exporting paddy to Mexico under a US$17.7 million deal.

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―Well so far to Mexico more than one shipment has been sent, I think three shipments have been sent so far totalling over 35 000 tonnes and more shipments are expected to go,‖ the general manager said.Peters said that another contract is expected to be signed within the next few weeks for the exportation of paddy to Panama. She said, since the country is now securing more rice markets, the product must be increased to meet these new demands.Paddy production for the first crop of 2017 was recorded at 518 667 metric tonnes and the authorities here project that rice production will increase by 1.3 per cent in 2017. (CMC) http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/99675/guyana-exporting-rice-cuba

The new midlife nutrition rules: 15 questions to fix your eating habits Jonny Cooper

15 AUGUST 2017 • 9:40AM

On my way to meet James Collins at his Harley Street clinic, I duck into a high street sandwich chain for lunch. It‘s gone midday and I‘m an office worker, so naturally I‘m feeling a) hungry, b) even more hungry because I didn‘t have time for breakfast this morning, and c) panicked because I‘m running late.

Fortunately, I‘m well trained in this particular emergency. I know exactly what to do. I grab a chicken and avocado sandwich (one of my five, right?), a mango smoothie (mark that up as two),

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and a chocolate brownie (a reward for previous good decision making). Then I scoff the lot in the time it takes to travel two stops on the Tube.

Later, feeling guilty and a bit heavy, I tell Collins, a leading nutritionist with more than 15 years experience, about my preparation for our meeting. ―That was a high-carb, high-fat, high-energy lunch,‖ he says gently. ―It would be wrong to say that‘s a bad... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/nutrition/new-midlife-nutrition-rules-15-questions-fix-eatinghabits/

Floods affect crops of 2 lakh hectares Vegetables damaged on 20,000 hectares

Vining vegetables in fields such as this one in Dhakadakkhin area of Sylhet's Golapganj upazila have died as flood waters did not show any signs of receding for some 25 days, causing some 5060 farmers there to lose out on their investment of around Tk 40,000 each. The photo was taken around a week ago. Photo: Sheikh Nasir Sohel Parvez Ongoing floods have inundated 2 lakh hectares of land containing transplanted aman in 23 districts, posing a threat to the livelihoods of hundreds of paddy farmers.

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The onrush of water from upstream has also inundated vegetables on 20,000 hectares of land, said a senior official of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) yesterday.

Aman makes the second biggest contribution to the country's rice production after boro, accounting for 38 percent of the annual production of 3.47 crore tonnes recorded in 2015-16.

The DAE officials said a part of the transplanted aman could be saved if the water recedes within two to three days of the inundation.

If the water stays longer, the crops are likely to be affected. But the vegetables cannot be recovered, according to some agriculturists.

Water in the rivers upstream started to recede yesterday.

The water level in the Brahmaputra is likely to become steady in the next 24 hours while that in the Jamuna and Padma may continue to rise in the next 24 hours and 72 hours respectively.That in the Surma-Kushiyara is likely to continue to fall in the next 48 hours, according to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre yesterday morning.The DAE officials said the water level in rivers in Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Lalmonirhat declined whereas it rose in those in districts such as Rangpur and Sirajganj.―We are taking stock of the situation every three hours. We have asked field level officials and workers to stay at their stations and monitor the situation by opening control rooms,‖ said DAE Director General Md Golam Maruf.The DAE also advised farmers to harvest aus if 80 percent of the grain has matured.

Harvested during the monsoon, aus has been planted on 10.79 lakh hectares of land this year, up from 9.41 lakh hectares in 2016-17, according to data from the DAE and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

The DAE has targeted to grow aman in 53.05 lakh hectares in 2017-18. Farmers bagged 1.36 crore tonnes of aman rice in 2016-17, according to the BBS.Maruf said the DAE has aman seedlings on 50 acres at hand to meet emergency needs of farmers. ―We also have enough seeds of late varieties of paddy in our stock that can support farmers,‖ he said.Agronomists said seedlings which have been recently transplanted most likely could not be recovered. But growers who planted submergence tolerant varieties might not be affected that much.

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Md Ansar Ali, director for research of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, said the submergence tolerant varieties of aman can withstand inundation for up to 10 days. ―A lot will depend on how long the flood lingers. The flood water from Nepal is yet to enter Bangladesh, and we do not know at the moment how many days the submergence will persist,‖ he said.

He, however, said there was still time to transplant aman. ―What we need to do is to make seedlings available to farmers in the affected areas. If we can do that, there will not be that much of an impact,‖ said Ali.This is the second time this year that the country's major crops have been hit by calamities.In April, flooding in the northeastern haor areas damaged 10 lakh tonnes of Boro crop, according to an estimate of the US Department of Agriculture. http://www.thedailystar.net/business/floods-affect-crops-2-lakh-hectares-1449268

Vietnam, Uruguay Tackle Agricultural Methane Emissions STORY HIGHLIGHTS Countries with large agricultural sectors are engaging in research partnerships to reduce agricultural methane emissions to meet their mitigation commitments under the Paris Agreement.In Vietnam, participants to a workshop discussed policy implications of two research projects on paddy rice production.The Government of Uruguay is entering into a research partnership to develop measures to reduce methane emissions from livestock production.

2 August 2017: The majority of methane emissions in agriculture comes from two sources: paddy rice production and enteric methane emitted by ruminants. Countries with large agricultural sectors, like Vietnam and Uruguay, face the challenge to develop Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) to reduce these emissions.

Moving from Paddy Rice Science to Mitigation Policy in Vietnam Vietnam has the highest methane emissions from paddy rice production in the Southeast Asia region. In its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, the country committed to reducing its GHG emissions by 8%. Achieving this objective will require significantly reducing agricultural methane emissions. In partnership with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), a member of the CGIAR System Organization, Vietnam recently held a policy workshop with the theme, ‗NAMA Formulation in Support of NDC Implementation in the Rice Sector of Vietnam,‘ to discuss the results of two IRRI projects.

The first project titled, ‗Reducing Methane Emissions from Paddy Rice Production in Vietnam,‘ produced an online kiosk that makes available management strategies, data on the suitability of farming technologies, and practices and policy actions from Bangladesh, Colombia and Vietnam.

The second project aims to support policy makers in making informed decisions on, among other issues, climate-change adaptation policies that provide institutions and decision makers with data

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and tools to identify vulnerable geographic areas and implement suitable climate-smart technologies.

Conducted as a pilot project in Vietnam and Myanmar, the project‘s recommendations will be made available to policy makers in other member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). In reviewing the results of these projects, workshop participants highlighted the need to identify opportunities to fund rice-focused NAMAs and establish innovative financing mechanisms and incentives for projects within NAMAs. The Workshop was held on 20 June 2017 in Hanoi, Vietnam. [CGIAR Press Release.

Stakeholder Workshop][Project Webpage. GHG Mitigation in Rice][Project Webpage. Linking Climate Change Science and Policy in Southeast Asia] Reducing Emissions of Enteric Methane from Dairy and Beef Production in Uruguay In Uruguay, methane emissions from beef production account for 55% of the country‘s GHG emissions. Uruguay‘s NDC therefore includes a specific target to reduce enteric methane intensity per kilogram of beef by 33% to 43% by 2030. To achieve this reduction, the country is partnering with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) to implement the project titled, ‗Reducing Enteric Methane for Improving Food Security and Livelihoods.‘ The project aims to transform the ruminant production systems of resourcepoor framers to increase livestock productivity, while reducing GHG emissions. These dual objectives can be achieved through a combination of herd and health management, nutrition and feeding management strategies, and genetics. These measures are estimated to reduce emissions intensity by 23%-42%. The approach contributes both to climate action (SDG 13) and to improving food security and promoting sustainable agriculture (SDG 2).[CCAC Press Release][FAO Project Website – Reducing Enteric Methane for improving food security and livelihoods] http://sdg.iisd.org/news/vietnam-uruguay-tackle-agricultural-methane-emissions/

Imports rise 9pc as economy heats up Star Business Report

Bangladesh's imports grew 9 percent year-on-year in fiscal 2016-17 as the demand for capital machinery, industrial raw materials and food grain at home soared.More than $47 billion worth of goods were brought in to the country last fiscal year, according to data from the Bangladesh Bank.Bankers attributed the import growth to the rising economic activities and development works.

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―Lots of machineries, from spinning to textile, re-rolling mills, auto rice mills, paper mills and power plants, are being imported,‖ said Mirza Elias Uddin Ahmed, additional managing director of Jamuna Bank.

In 2016-17, the import of capital machinery soared 37.39 percent from a year earlier to about $4.85 billion, propelled by power and energy, garment, pharmaceuticals, telecom, foodprocessing and packaging sectors.

Industrial raw material imports rose 3.52 percent year-on-year to $16.22 billion.

A senior BB official said the import of intermediate goods such as coal, hard coke, clinker and scrap vessels also increased in addition to raw materials for the garment and textile sectors. ―It's a good sign for the economy that the import of machineries and raw materials is on the rise,‖ Ahmed added.

A senior treasury official of Prime Bank echoed the same.Industrial activities are rising and the growth in import indicates that production, development and employment will increase in the days to come, he added.The import of petroleum products based on the settlement of letters of credit increased 3.3 percent to $2.52 billion in 2016-17. Food grains -- rice and wheat -- imports grew about 3 percent from a year earlier to $1.15 billion.

Rice import has increased significantly in recent months, according to Ahmed.

The central bank took a number of steps in the last couple of months of 2016-17 to increase the rice import to boost stock and stabilise the price level of the staple such that inflationary pressures can be contained.

The efforts paid off as food inflation in July declined 0.56 percentage points to 6.95 percent -the lowest in three months. The decline in the food inflation most likely resulted from a moderation in rice prices, brought about by a surge in imports. http://www.thedailystar.net/business/imports-rise-9pc-economy-heats-1449247

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Bangladesh signs big rice deal

Two weeks after Bangladesh and Cambodia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Phnom Penh to purchase rice from Cambodia, on Monday of this week Bangladesh signed a deal to buy 250,000 tonnes of milled rice from Cambodia.The purchasing agreement was made after the officials from state-owned Green Trade Company and the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) flew to Bangladesh last week to negotiate in detail on the purchasing agreements between Bangladesh and Cambodia based on the government-to-government MoU. CRF president Sok Puthyvuth said yesterday that Bangladesh was interested in Cambodian rice and wanted to have a relationship with Cambodia.He said that after Bangladesh signed an MoU with Cambodia on August 2, officials from the CRF and Green Trade flew to Bangladesh to negotiate directly.He said that there were tough negotiations and competition with Thailand, India and Vietnam also wooing Bangladesh to purchase rice from them.

However, Bangladesh chose Cambodia.Bangladesh, the world‘s fourth-biggest rice producer, has emerged as a major importer of the grain this year after flash floods in April hit domestic output.

As a result, the country is facing dwindling stocks and high local prices.―We will work with the CRF‘s members, Green Trade and Rural Development Bank to strengthen the export soon,‖ Mr Puthyvuth said.―We want the export to take place as soon as possible,‖ he said. ―We are not worried as Bangladesh gave us enough time,‖ he added.

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He said that CRF will talk with its members on the amount to export to Bangladesh and would get feedback soon on their ability to export to Bangladesh. ―Prices will be based on the market price but we will continue to talk to find a win-win solution between Cambodian farmers and Bangladesh,‖ Mr Puthyvuth said.―At the moment, the price we are offering Bangladesh is competitive compared with Vietnam, Thailand and India. ―In the next five years, the price will be higher as Cambodia modernises its agriculture, particularly the rice sector,‖ Mr Puthyvuth said.On August 2, the Cambodian Commerce Ministry and Bangladesh signed the MoU to sell about a million tonnes of rice in the five years to 2022.

Sok Sopheak, under-secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce, said the quality of rice and pricing were crucial for Cambodia to compete with Thailand and India who had also signed MoUs with Bangladesh.He said costs on such aspects as logistics and terminal handling charges would be kept as low as possible.Song Saran, CEO of AMRU Rice, welcomed the agreement with Bangladesh, saying it opened new markets for Cambodia.―The private sector is keen to make this agreement work. We will ensure the Bangladeshis that the rice they get from us will be the best quality,‖ he said. http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5078380/bangladesh-signs-big-rice-deal/

Gov’t to intervene in rice sector Sok Chan / Khmer Times

An oversupply of rice is expected this year due to better climate. KT/Chor Sokunthea

The government, with a budget of $50 million for emergency loans and $30 million for building silos and warehouses, will intervene to stabilise rice prices during the up-coming harvest season

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to ensure that the livelihoods of farmers, millers and exporters are protected.Vongsey Vissoth, secretary of state for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said at a workshop yesterday that government intervention was needed because an oversupply of rice was expected due to better climate and there was a lack of silos and warehouses in the country to store the surplus.―Our intervention is to build silos and warehouses and we would also give out loans to purchase rice from farmers,‖ Mr. Vissoth said.―All provincial governors have to facilitate between rice millers and their intermediaries to prevent the price of rice from falling due to an oversupply,‖ he added.

Mr Vissoth said that for the 2017-2018 rice harvest season, government had allocated $50 million for emergency loans to rice millers and another $30 million to build silos and warehouses in Battambang, Kampong Thom, Prey Veng and Takeo provinces.He added that he also wanted all local authorities and all provincial governors to help transport the harvested rice from the fields to warehouses, if roads could not be built on time. ―All border officials, local authorities and Camcontrol officers must facilitate the export of rice to neighbouring countries and also help stem out rice smuggling through illegal border crossings,‖ said Mr Vissoth.Norng Veasna, vice president of Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF), welcomed the government‘s move.He said that private sector also needed to join hands with the government to help stabilise rice prices and boost exports.―We call on all CRF members to purchase rice from farmers and also contact the Rural Development Bank to apply for loans, in case they lack working capital to purchase paddy rice from farmers,‖ said Mr Veasna.―We don‘t want the price of our premium fragrant rice to fall below 900 riel ($0.23) per kilo,‖ he added.

Mr Vissoth pointed out that from 2010 till 2016, rice production was on the average of about 3 million tonnes a year.However, he said, rice production this year is expected to be more than 10 million tonnes due to better weather.―Our rice is cheap compared to neighbouring countries but when it arrives in the rice mills for processing and later transported to the port for export, all kinds of costs are added. At the end of the day, the price is higher than neighbouring countries,‖ said Mr Vissoth. ―So our issue is on the post- harvest scenario. Clearly, it is a market failure in the rice sector.‖Hun Lak, CRF‘s vice-president, told Khmer Times recently that the current crisis in Cambodia‘s rice sector was caused by domestic and external market factors.Mr Lak pointed out that high electricity rates were eating significantly into the production costs of rice millers.―We are trying to find ways to lower the cost of electricity. We want the electricity rate to be reduced to less than 400.60 riel (10 cents) per kilowatt hour for the agricultural sector,‖ he said.Residents in rural areas pay higher electricity rates than those living in town, who pay 20 cents per kilowatt hour. In comparison, farmers in Vietnam pay about 10 cents per kilowatt hour.Mr Lak said Cambodia needed to learn from its neighbors on how to lower rice production costs, despite falling exports. ―When we look at Vietnam and Thailand, we see that they have lower production costs than us.

They can lower the price of their rice, when global prices are depressed, and still survive. We, however, seem to have a problem with that,‖ he said. http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5078092/govt-intervene-rice-sector/

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