19th August , 2014
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Marché Patrons Say U.S. Rice Synonymous with High Quality Miley Cyrus Accepted the RICE Bucket Challenge Newer variety of zinc enriched rice Locals named to Rice Research Board Rice response to phosphate levels measured Rice smuggling into Nigeria unstoppable, but… —Africa Rice Centre, Nigeria Fukushima rice reaches Singapore for first time since nuclear accident Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- Aug 19 Top End rice grower battles breezes, bugs and birds to grow bumper crop Haryana paddy processors want milling procedures streamlined Ministry of Agriculture of Guyana : Only about 3 to 4 % of rice farmers awaiting payment- Agriculture Minister Guyana to export 5,000 tons of rice per month to Panama
Source: The Jang, 20-August-2014
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NEWS DETAILS: Marché Patrons Say U.S. Rice Synonymous with High Quality USA Rice north of the border, eh? TORONTO, CANADA -- Sales data sent to the USA Rice Federation has confirmed that the week-long "tasteUS!" promotions here were a success and have resulted in increased U.S.-grown rice sales.The promotion, established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agriculture Service in Canada, was conducted earlier this year at Marché, a downtown restaurant serving as many as 1,800 customers each day. USA Rice worked with SYSCO foodservice and Marché to ensure that U.S. rice was procured for the promotion period and was featured in three menu items: Orange Glazed Salmon with Spinach Rice and Tomato Lemon Salsa, Curry Rice, and Rice as a Side for Seafood Dishes.
"During this week-long promotion, rice as a side dish experienced the greatest sales volume, compared with other food products offered," said Pereina Choudhury, USA Rice's contractor in Canada. "Marché informed us that their customers correlate U.S rice with high quality and, because of the promotion, the store is now using U.S.-grown rice in their Seafood and Asian/Sushi-Sashimi Stations."The tasteUS! program is an initiative created in 2005 by the U.S. Food and Beverage Alliance to increase awareness of U.S. agricultural commodities in Canada. USA Rice is one of the 40 agricultural cooperators that participate in tasteUS! activities. Contact: Sarah Moran (703) 236-1457
Miley Cyrus Accepted the RICE Bucket Challenge She's such a trickster, that Miley. After sister Noah and dad Billy Ray completed this week's charitably viral video trend, the Ice Bucket Challenge, they nominated Miley Cyrus (and her brother Braison) to take part. Except things got a little lost in
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translation and instead of pouring freezing cold water over themselves, Miley and Braison poured white rice. Those jokesters! While many of Miley's Instagram followers seem to believe the ice/rice discrepancy is a genuine mistake, Miley's choice in hashtags makes it clear she's just being Miley funny. The video's caption reads, in part, that "it ain't about the pourin'," and that it's instead about raising awareness for the cause, the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) Association.
Newer variety of zinc enriched rice Should be put to extensive cultivation quickly
OUR scientists have come up with yet another more productive variety of zinc enriched rice. We compliment the team of scientists who have contributed to the bio fortification process.Compared to its earlier types, the new variety, labelled as Brri dhan-64, not only has higher content of zinc, but has yield potential of over 6 metric tons per hectare, 25 percent higher than its immediate predecessors. Moreover, apart from high zinc and more yield factors, the breed is also capable of fighting diarrhoea and pneumonia like its previous version. What is notable about this variety is that it will not be more expensive nor will it require special techniques in terms of producing its seeds. However, the National Seed Board will finalise the approval of Brri dhan-64's cultivation feasibility assessment later this week. We believe its assessment over the wide scale cultivation of this variety will be positive, and steps will be taken to put it into wide scale production quickly.Given the facts of its high zinc value and yield potential we must ensure that it enters cultivation extensively. In a country like ours its entry into immediate production is an imperative as currently over 40 percent children under five are stunted due to lack of nutrition and an estimated 44 percent children of the same age group risks zinc deficiency. This variety has all the ingredients to cater to the nutrition needs of a vast number of children.
Locals named to Rice Research Board Gov. Bobby Jindal has announced the appointments of Michael Fruge of Eunice and Richard Fontenot of Ville Platte to the Louisiana Rice Research Board.The Louisiana Rice Research Board administers rice research check-off funds collected by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, selects projects for funding and reviews the progress of
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research.As part of the check-off, Rice farmers pay 5 cents for every 100 pounds of their crop.In an earlier interview, Steve Linscombe, director of the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station in Crowley, called that check-off crucial “These check-off funds are vital to what we’re able to accomplish at this research facility,” he said. He pointed out that in the past few years, 27 new rice varieties have been developed at the research station, which have resulted in dramatic increases in the yield per acre.The success of the rice industry is important to St. Landry Parish, where rice production remains an important aspect of the local farming economy, second only to soybeans.Fruge is the Louisiana/Texas District Sales Manager for Horizon Ag. He has been appointed to serve as a member nominee from the Louisiana Rice Growers Association.Fontenot is a self-employed farmer who has been reappointed to serve as a member nominee from the Louisiana Farm Bureau Inc. According to statute, the board is comprised of 15 members, including the commissioner of agriculture. The remaining 14 gubernatorial appointments are subject to Senate confirmation and include:Six members appointed from a list of 10 persons nominated by the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation Inc., five members appointed from a list of eight nominated by the Louisiana Rice Growers Association, two members appointed from a list of four nominated by the American Rice Growers Cooperative Association and one member appointed from a list of three nominated by the Louisiana Independent Rice Growers Association. Other appointments to the rice research board announced by the governor this week included:Clarence Berken of Lake Arthur, Donald Berken of Welsh, Richard Damian Bollich of Jones, Jude Doise of Elton, Dane Hebert of Maurice, Phillip Lamartiniere of Marksville, Paul “Jackie” Loewer Jr. of Branch, Samuel Noel of Abbeville, Ronald Sonnier of Kinder, Jason Waller of Mer Rouge, Brian Wild of Lake Charles and Frederick Zaunbrecher of Duson.
Rice response to phosphate levels measured Aug 18, 2014 by Chris Thomas
Dr Secco says the research has identified a large number of genes responding to phosphate starvation and/or resupply. Credit: 영철 이
A University of WA and La Trobe University study has used novel sequencing technologies to assess the response of all genes in the rice (Oryza sativa) genome after phosphate starvation and recovery.Study author Dr David Secco says phosphorus is often present in non-limiting concentrations in the soil but the availability of phosphate—the main source of phosphorus used by plants—is often hindered due to its low solubility in soil and high sorption capacity. "As a consequence, phosphate is immobile and unavailable for plant uptake because of adsorption, precipitation or conversion to the organic form," he says.
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"It can also be washed away by prolonged soil weathering."Phosphate starvation is of main concern in Australia, and south-western Australia in particular, where the soils are severely nutrient-impoverished."For the majority of plants, phosphate starvation is associated with reduced growth, and thus reduced yields for crops, making it a key limiting factor for farmers."The study aimed to discover new information about complex and dynamic mechanisms involved in phosphate homeostasis. Crop response examined in stages
As part of the comprehensive time course experiment, the researchers profiled rice roots and shoots in early stages (one hour after phosphate removal to a few days) and long-term (up to three weeks of phosphate starvation).This enabled them to understand the kinetics (what gene is important when) of the response to phosphate starvation in a tissue-specific manner."Understanding how plants react when they are resupplied with nutrients such as phosphate is a critical step in trying to improve crop production in challenging environments," Dr Secco says."So far, most of the studies have focussed on the effects of phosphate starvation, greatly improving our knowledge of this mechanism. "But much less is known about when plants are resupplied with phosphate, which is a situation comparable to plants grown in a field and then fertilised."Our study was unique because it measured the response of rice to phosphate re-supply within really short timeframes, such as one hour, six hours and 24 hours, which enabled us to capture the early mechanism involved."Dr Secco says the research has identified a large number of genes responding to phosphate starvation and/or resupply."The next step is to now understand the function of these genes in response to phosphate starvation and learn how we can modify them to create plants with improved phosphate use and acquisition," he says.
Rice smuggling into Nigeria unstoppable, but‌ —Africa Rice Centre, Nigeria 19.Aug.2014 DISQUS_COMMENTS Femi Ibirogba Dr Frances Nwilene is the Coordinator of Africa Rice Centre in Nigeria, and in this interview with FEMI IBIROGBA, he expresses optimism that rice importation will be over in the country soon, saying paddy production to feed nascent processing mills and standardisation, smuggling, as well as other issues around price stability, are some of the challenges to be addressed. The Federal Government has a plan to phase our importation of rice completely by 2015. Going by the record at your disposal, is it a reality?
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It is clear that Nigeria is almost there in term of paddy production. Our estimated national requirement is about nine million metric tonnes, and currently we produce 8.9 million metric tonnes per annum in term of paddies. The other issue is processing and quality. These are where we think the most of the integrated processing mills coming into the country will help to address, to bring it to standards which can compete with rice coming from Asia. You talked about quality. Are rice brands produced locally meeting the standard and taste of Nigerians who are used to imported brands of rice? The locally produced rice is highly nutritive, because most of the active ingredients are still there because it is parboiled. Now, polishing and de-stoning local rice are the issues we are talking about now. But with the introduction of integrated mills into the country, considering about 19 the government has introduced to the country, we think, with that number, we should be getting very close to making our rice competitive with any rice coming from Asia. I think we are almost there. You said about 19 integrated rice processing mills are in the country now. Are they entirely private sector mills or the government is directly involved, and are they producing to full capacity? Most of them are owned by the private sector operators, but of course, most of them will tell you that they lack paddies to process and this is why the government is trying to put up staple crop processing zones, where farmers and processors will meet to dialogue and resolve the problem. Often, the processors tell us they do not want to buy paddies from the farmers. Why? The quality the famers give them is often not to the required standard. So, there is need for a meeting point to produce certain quality of paddy at a particular price per kilogramme. For instance, if a processor wants to brand, say FARO 44 or 52, he tells the farmers/out-growers in that locality to produce those grades of rice, because there are different species of rice. Why are some varieties or species rejected by processors? Are people not buying a particular variety or what? I think the problem is the drying, because processors are looking for specific moisture content of the rice and if the rice is not dry to that moisture content, it will spoil like every other fresh food. I think this is what the processors are looking for. So it is not about varieties?
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It is not absolutely about varieties. Of course, the variety the processor wants to brand is key because most of the times he has a plan to brand a particular variety. Is it FARO 44 or FARO 52? It depends on what he wants. So, he wants farmers to produce that for him at premium quality, which means the dry content should be up to 12% or 14%. Will smuggling of rice into the country make the plan of phasing out its importation possible, considering our porous borders? For me, there is nothing we can do about smuggling. The issue here is that if our own sector is competitive enough, when our rice becomes competitive, and Nigerians know that locally produced rice is more nutritious than other brands from Asia, which had been stored in their warehouses for years, Nigerians will begin to say they don’t want to eat imported rice, because our rice is competitive. How do you mean by being competitive? It means quality. There is no stone. It is long grain because most Nigerians prefer long grain rice and it has no bad odour. These are what we one talking of. Considering the economic situation of most Nigerians, don’t you think the imported rice is cheaper than locally produced one? We want our local rice to be high in quality as any imported rice so that importers will be discouraged, if it is high in quality, people will buy it. If our rice has no odour, or stone and it has long grains, people will have a rethink. What variety will you recommend for farmers to maximise yields? As you know, rice is a water-loving crop. We know that lowland rice gives more yields than upland rice, and we have specific varieties being promoted to maximise yields in Nigeria, for instance, FARO 54, which is popular in the North and even in the south here. It can compete with any rice from Asia because it has long grains and this is what the elite are looking for. Are farmers embracing it? That is what is in vogue now. Most of the integrated mills are promoting it. How would you advise the government, as an expert, to go about the plan to make its plan work?
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The essence is the synergy, the working together of stakeholders, because farmers want trust. Once there is guaranteed minimum buy-back, farmers will produce enough paddies at good quality. For instance, you tell a famer to produce FARO 44 and tell him every kilogramme produced would be purchased at N100 and when the farmer produce, you offer N80, he will not like that. But if you give him N120, he will go to produce more, because everybody wants to make profit. But in most cases, processors would say the quality is low, and would not pay the agreed price. So the farmers get discouraged. That trust must be there between the farmer and the processor. Don’t you think there is a need for commodity boards to regulate the prices to tackle the challenges? This is what we think now that a marketing board would bring about standardisation and fixed prices. Are you optimistic Nigeria is getting there in term of rice production? Yes, we are getting there. Rice is now a big business. There is no more land in Asia and many Asians are coming here to get land and produce rice. And most of them would still export back to their countries. In which areas has Africa Rice Centre contributed to rice development and production in Nigeria and Africa? All these varieties we are talking about were developed by Africa Rice Centre. FARO 44, 52 and others are our babies. Lowland NERICA 19 and lowland NERICA 34 are all varieties bred by the centre. We are part of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), for we have three of our scientists seconded to the ATA. In term of policy, when the rice crisis started in 2008, we told the governments in Africa that it was coming. And we are very happy that it gave birth to the National Rice Development Strategy, which most African countries did not have before now. What is the greatest challenge to paddy production and how can farmers tackle such? The main problem now is bird control. Whatever we can do to control birds for farmers will be good, for that is number one problem. Other challenges are weed control and disease /pest infestation. For the bird control, it is a very complex problem. Now the use of video-tape has been discovered to be effective and it is used in Abakaliki. We have discovered that the best solution, however, is the use of nets, but how many farmers can afford nets?
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Fukushima rice reaches Singapore for first time since nuclear accident August 19 15:552014
Abe with Lee in May in S’pore Japan‟s export of rice from Fukushima for the first time since the nuclear accident in 2011 – and Singapore is the recipient of the 300kg of rice.The Japan Times reports, “Three hundred kilograms of the Koshihikari brand of rice produced in the city of Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture, has arrived in Singapore, and will be sold at a supermarket from Friday after clearing customs, according to the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations.”The Wall Street Journal reported that the rice “will be sold in five-kilogram bags at a local Japanese supermarket beginning this Friday.” “We will check the rice thoroughly in Fukushima before shipping it overseas, and then the bags will undergo another check in Singapore,” a spokesman for the federation, known as Zen-noh, told Japan Real Time.In May, Singapore‟s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Singapore would lift the 3-year ban on Japanese food products from Fukushima with “immediate effect” during the visit by his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe. (Seehere.)The lifting of the ban then raised health concerns from members of the public in Singapore. When questioned about this, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said food products imported from Japan are safe for consumption. A member of the public asked the AVA on its Facebook page then if the agency would impose “prominent labelling” of such foods in Singapore, with labels to indicate that such food products are “Imported from Fukushima” so that consumers can make informed choices.In its reply, the AVA did not say if it would impose labelling on the products but it did say, “We have been monitoring food imports from Japan and rest assured that our surveillance results have been satisfactory.” (See update below.)
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The AVA also said that before it lifted its restrictions, it “had carried out a comprehensive risk assessment on the safety of the food supply in Japan.”It added, “Before food can be imported from Fukushima, the Japanese authorities have to show evidence of satisfactory surveillance results for radioactive contamination. E.g. the radioactive levels in the areas of food production are required to be within Japan‟s safety standards. ”The AVA had conducted “on-site assessment” earlier this year to verify and understand the safety measures imposed by Japan.Before any products can be exported to Singapore, Japanese authorities need to show evidence of satisfactory surveillance results for radioactive contamination in these prefectures.According to news reports, import restrictions that remain in place are:a) Seafood and products from the forest in the prefectures of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma will still require pre-export tests;b) Seafood and products from the forest as well as agricultural produce from demarcated areas and the control zone2 (close to the nuclear power plant) in Fukushima prefecture are not allowed to be imported. All food products from Japan still require a Certificate of Origin (COO) to identify the prefecture of origin of the food product.Some countries continue to impose bans on the import of food items from Japan, fearing the risk of contamination from the Fukishima Daiichi nuclear accident.
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- Aug 19 Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:58pm IST Nagpur, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Gram prices in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) showed upward trendency on good demand from local millers amid weak supply from producing belts. Fresh hike on NCDEX, healthy hike in Madhya Pradesh pulses and reported demand from South-based millers also pushed up prices. Stockists were activated because of poor monsoon in the regions, according to sources *
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FOODGRAINS & PULSES GRAM * Gram super best bold and medium best recovered in open market on renewed demand from local traders amid tight supply from producing regions. TUAR * Tuar varieties zoomed up in open market on increased buying support from local traders amid tight supply from millers. Weak overseas arrival also pushed up prices. * In Akola, Tuar - 4,800-5,000, Tuar dal - 6,400-6,800, Udid at 7,200-7,300, Udid Mogar (clean) - 8,000-8,500, Moong - 7,000-7,400, Moong Mogar (clean) 8,400-9,100, Gram - 2,500-2,600, Gram Super best bold - 3,700-3,900 for 100 kg. * Wheat, rice and other commodities remained steady in open market in thin trading
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activity, according to sources. Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close Gram Auction 2,400-3,020 2,370-3,000 Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600 Tuar Auction n.a. 4,400-4,850 Moong Auction n.a. 5,300-5,500 Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500 Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800 Gram Super Best Bold 4,000-4,200 3,900-4,200 Gram Super Best n.a. Gram Medium Best 3,600-3,800 3,600-3,750 Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a. Gram Mill Quality 3,550-3,650 3,450-3,550 Desi gram Raw 3,000-3,050 2,900-2,975 Gram Filter new 3,500-3,750 3,300-3,600 Gram Kabuli 8,000-9,500 8,000-9,500 Gram Pink 7,200-7,400 7,200-7,400 Tuar Fataka Best 7,400-7,600 7,200-7,400 Tuar Fataka Medium 7,000-7,100 6,800-6,900 Tuar Dal Best Phod 6,700-6,900 6,400-6,600 Tuar Dal Medium phod 6,200-6,400 5,900-6,200 Tuar Gavarani 5,250-5,300 5,150-5,250 Tuar Karnataka 5,400-5,600 5,250-5,350 Tuar Black 8,200-8,500 8,200-8,500 Masoor dal best 6,500-6,600 6,500-6,600 Masoor dal medium 6,150-6,350 6,150-6,350 Masoor n.a. n.a. Moong Mogar bold 9,500-9,800 9,500-9,800 Moong Mogar Medium best 8,500-8,800 8,500-8,800 Moong dal super best 7,600-7,800 7,600-7,800 Moong dal Chilka 7,500-7,700 7,500-7,700 Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a. Moong Chamki best 8,100-9,200 8,100-9,200 Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG) 8,500-8,800 8,500-8,800 Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 7,400-7,800 7,400-7,800 Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 5,600-6,600 5,600-6,600 Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 4,000-5,000 4,000-5,000 Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 2,850-3,000 2,800-2,950 Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 3,250-3,500 3,250-3,500 Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,500-3,600 3,500-3,600
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Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 4,900-5,300 4,900-5,300 Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,200-1,500 1,200-1,500 Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG) 1,650-1,750 1,650-1,750 Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 1,300-1,500 1,300-1,500 Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,450 2,100-2,450 Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,850-2,050 1,850-2,050 Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a. MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 2,800-3,200 2,800-3,200 MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,150-2,500 2,150-2,500 Wheat 147 (100 INR/KG) 1,200-1,400 1,200-1,400 Wheat Best (100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,900 1,600-1,900 Rice BPT (100 INR/KG) 2,800-3,200 2,800-3,200 Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,800 1,600-1,800 Rice Swarna old (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,600 2,300-2,600 Rice HMT (100 INR/KG) 3,800-4,000 4,000-4,200 Rice HMT Shriram (100 INR/KG) 4,800-5,600 4,800-5,600 Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 10,400-13,000 10,400-13,000 Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 7,300-10,000 7,300-10,000 Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG) 5,200-5,600 5,200-5,600 Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 1,400-1,600 1,400-1,600 Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 1,700-1,800 1,700-1,800 WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 34.7 degree Celsius (95.4 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp. 23.5 degree Celsius (74.3 degree Fahrenheit) Humidity: Highest - 95 per cent, lowest - 56 per cent. Rainfall : nil FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky. Rains or thunder-showers likely. Maximum and Minimum temperature likely to be around 36 and 24 degree Celsius respectively. Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices.)
Top End rice grower battles breezes, bugs and birds to grow bumper crop ABC Rural By Marty McCarthy Updated 20 Aug 2014, 1:02pmWed 20 Aug 2014, 1:02pm PHOTO: The Northern Territory's only commercial rice grower says cool weather has delayed his harvest, but he's still expecting a bumper crop. (Carl Curtain)
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MAP: Darwin 0800 The Northern Territory's only commercial rice grower says cool weather has delayed his harvest, but he's still expecting a bumper crop. Bruce White has been growing rice at Mt Keppler Station near, Adelaide River south of Darwin, for the past few years.He's grown about 60 hectares of rice this year, mainly as livestock feed, and plans to double that amount next season.Mr White says he expected to start harvesting his rice in August, but he's encountered some new challenges this year that have delayed him by six weeks. AUDIO: Top End rice grower, Bruce White, talks about the challenges of growing rice in the Northern Territory (ABC Rural) “The weather has been a bit cooler and that's slowed up the growth,” he said. "We've had a few issues, issues we've never had in the past, like insects and a bit of blast, the airborne fungus.“But as soon we recognised it, we stopped it very quickly so it didn't spread.“One of the problems we had in the past was a lot of geese and ducks, but so far we haven't had any."Mr White puts the lack of bird damage down to changing his growing period to a time when birds were not in the area."It's a lot to do with timing. This year we're actually two months earlier with sowing, which has made a massive difference," he said."But being two months early has also meant more wind, so that's an issue we'll address."When the rice starts to root, it has very fine root systems, and the wave action [caused by the wind] pulls them out of the ground."So we haven't had any bird problems but we've had wind problems, so there's always a challenge. "The rice will be used as livestock and horse feed, and will also be turned into rice cubes for live export ships.Mr White says the demand is there, and he is planning to expand operations by an extra 70 hectares next year.He also says the region has the potential to grow more rice, or horticulture crops, if dams are built in the area.“The biggest issue is there's no water. There's a lot during the wet season, but it all has to be stored,” Mr White said.“I think this development of the north is exciting, but I think we need some dams in the north.”The Northern Territory Government is currently investigating a number of dam-related projects to increase Darwin's water supply. Last Year, Power and Water begun testing the feasibility of harvesting wet season flood flows from the Adelaide River.A longstanding plan to build the Upper Adelaide River Dam (sometimes referred to as Warrai Dam) is also being reinvestigated.Mr White says the Warrai Dam has merit, and if it goes ahead, allocations should also be set aside for agricultural use.“The Warrai Dam is probably viable, which is [5 kilometres] north of the Adelaide River Township, and it's quite a large dam,” he said.“Perhaps the government should say 'we
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need water for Darwin' and pool the Warrai Dam and allocate a percentage of it for agriculture for rice or some other horticulture crops.� Topics: grain, agricultural-crops, rural, rice, darwin-0800
Haryana paddy processors want milling procedures streamlined Komal Amit Gera | Chandigarh August 19, 2014 Last Updated at 13:16 IST
Rice mills in Haryana which process paddy for the Central pool (Public Distribution System / Custom Milled Rice) are faced with a double whammy, as they have been slapped with a value cut and inventory holding charges for rice.About 800 mills in Haryana which processed 24 lakh tonnes of paddy (about eight% paddy is pending for processing) for the kharif year 2013-14 have been running from pillar to post for the past few months, trying to persuade the Central and state governments to streamline procedures on paddy milling. State agencies purchase paddy from farmers at the minimum support price and enter into an agreement with the rice millers of the state with milling charges at the rate of Rs 15 per quintal (one quintal is 100 kg) and set the condition for the delivery of rice on a monthly ratio basis. The monthly ratio has been set at 10% for October and November, 20% for December, 25% for January and February, and 20% for March.Due to heavy unseasonal and sporadic rains in the 2013-14 kharif marketing season, the damage content in rice went up to four or five%, against the acceptable limit of up to three% set by the Food Corporation of India (FCI).addy thus procured yielded rice which was being rejected by the FCI. This led the millers to stop milling. Later, the Union ministry of food raised the acceptable limit and imposed a value cut on rice. Millers are burdened by the value cut for no fault of their own, said Rajender Aggarwal, president of the Haryana Rice Millers and Dealer Association.Millers were also charged a holding charge because the delivery of rice by mills to government agencies remained suspended for three months, as a team of officials from the Union food ministry visited Haryana and prepared a report on the situation. The holding charge comes close to ~300 per day per consignment of rice, said Ashish Mehta, a miller from Haryana.Millers say that the delay in issuing the notification for relaxation in the rice specifications was the only reason for the delay in delivery of rice, and that no such penalty should be levied on them as this delay was not their fault. Further, they added that the notification came on January 2, 2014, and so the schedule must be revised from January to June, rather than from October to June
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.Millers are allowed to retain the by-products of paddy like rice husk and rice bran, which they can sell in the open market to make an extra buck. However, they claim that escalating input costs (power, labour and diesel) have squeezed margins and the income from paddy by-products is no longer significant.The food processing industry is the backbone of agricultural states like Haryana, providing seasonal employment to labour in the hinterland and checking migration to the urban areas; any lack of support from the government may harm it, said Makkhan Lal Singla, a veteran of the industry.
Ministry of Agriculture of Guyana : Only about 3 to 4 % of rice farmers awaiting payment- Agriculture Minister 08/19/2014 | 10:14am US/Eastern
In addressing outstanding payment to rice farmers, Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy said the Government believes they must be paid on a timely basis, fully and fairly."We concede that farmers are not being paid on a timely basis. Part of the problem is the phenomenal increase in cash flow because whilst farmers harvest twice per year and expect their payment during that period, the millers sell over 12 months so they receive their payment over that same period, so therefore the cash flow becomes a problem," the Minister explained.To aid in the payment of rice farmers, the Government has extended a revolving fund of $2 to 5 billion and hopes that all farmers will be paid before the next rice harvest.He added that in the year 2000, the cash flow between millers and farmers was $8billion and it is now $46 billion. He explained that, meeting the huge increase in cash flow is challenging to millers and thus the Government assists. He further said there is talk about a revolving fund of a couple hundred million dollars and noted that millers and banks have not been able to meet the $46 billion. He cited 2010 as the year where there was a similar problem.The Minister said it is no secret that Agriculture banks are very skeptical about lending large amounts of money because of the high risk factor. He stated that the Government, at various times makes available between $2 to 5 billion to bridge the gap to allow farmers to be paid during crops, though payment may not be very timely."I heard while I was away (in Colombia) that a group of farmers met with various people who should have been more responsible because they were told that 25% of farmers have not been paid," Ramsammy said. Further he said he was told the same figure by a group representing the farmers and urged that the group ask farmers for the evidence to prove their claims.On Saturday, he said 3 to 4% of farmers are yet to receive payment and vowed that the government intends to ensure all are paid. Of the approximately $22 billion paid to farmers by millers at various points during this year, over $4billion came from the Government which in turn rotates payments received to continue paying farmers. "I have had meetings with the banks asking that they invest their money with the millers and the banks have expressed fear that they have already invested money, when you are dealing with 300,000 tonnes of rice for the
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year versus 600,000 tonnes, the accommodation of storage and drying of paddy has to be increased, and the millers have invested in this increase, thus they already have significant loans at the bank," Ramsammy said while making clear that he is not justifying the millers.The Minister added that he plans to meet with bankers and millers this week, but said the bankers have agreed to loan the money to the millers under the condition that the government guarantees the loans.
Guyana to export 5,000 tons of rice per month to Panama GBTIMES Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - 12:54
Guyana is set to supply approximately 5,000 tons of rice to Panama each month following the signing of a five year rice export deal (Source: Atelier_A, Shutterstock)
Guyana has signed a five year agreement on rice exportation with Panama.Guyana is set to supply approximately 5,000 tons of rice to Panama each month following the signing of a five year rice export deal, Caribbean Journal reports.The newly signed agreement came after a meeting between Guyana President Donald Ramotar and President Juan Carlos Verela of Panama on August 6 in Colombia.
The agreement allows Panama to purchase 5,000 tons of rice per month Guyana Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy said, “President Ramotar suggested that Guyana‟s rice be exported in a meaningful way to Panama. I need to say „meaningful way‟ because we have always sent paddy and rice to Panama, but in small amounts because it was difficult to get into that market.”Dr Ramsammy explained that Guyana will supply 50,000 tons of rice to Panama every year. The Agriculture Minister said that Mr Verela was eager to reduce the high cost-of-living in Panama. Panama‟s rice industry is dominated by the private sector.According to Caribbean News Now, Panama imports 150,000 tons of rice annually in addition to its own local production. However, the country has not been able to meet its domestic rice demand. For Guyana, the deal will increase and expand its rice production and rice market The deal will cover the rice supply for the remainder of 2014.Dr Ramsammy also said that there will be “further discussions for a contract renewal in 2015” on the satisfactory conclusions to initial contracts. uyana‟s private
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sector will become part of Guyana‟s rice export to Panama. The 100,000-ton remainder of the 150,000 tons of rice required by Panama may be supplied by private companies through bidding.In a report from Guyana Chronicle, the Agriculture Minister claimed that the new agreement brought by the Government to Government (G2G) arrangement will benefit the two countries. For Guyana, the deal will increase and expand its rice production and rice market. Meanwhile, it will ensure a low cost-of-living in Panama. Furthermore, the Agriculture Minister remains optimistic about the latest move, with the objective of increasing rice production. He said, “When we were talking about a production of 500,000 tons of rice by 2020, people said it is impossible and we achieved that last year and now we anticipate 600,000 tons produced by the end of 2014, and I have no doubt we will surpass that amount this year.” TAGS: GuyanaPanamaRice exportDealRice productionDonald RamotarJuan Carlos Verela
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