25th September , 2013
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Thailand may need fresh funds to keep rice scheme going Commerce Ministry to introduce Semi-online monitoring system in rice mortgage scheme DA: No rice imports outside WTO deal in 2014 Paddy procurement to begin from October 1 The country’s rice war: Who wins? Amid rice crisis, two lawmakers push anti-wastage bill Pig, Rice, Aquaculture Intergration Could Help Nigeria's Farmers Farmers harbor high hopes for rice harvest Survey: Farmers back rice scheme Bill vs rice wastage After wheat fiasco, FCI cuts rice target BARC, TN varsity developing dwarf rice varieties Midsayap villagers: farmers by day, ‘bakwits’ by night Scientists eye dwarf version of Ponni rice Tamil Nadu agricultural project uses radiation to increase yield Victoria Mikhail: Rice can have traces of arsenic, but you’d have to eat a lot to worry
NEWS DETAILS: Thailand may need fresh funds to keep rice scheme going Wed Sep 25, 2013 3:08am EDT
* Govt has spent $21.3 billion on buying rice * State stockpiles are huge, exact size in doubt * Stocks amassed through costly intervention scheme By Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat
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BANGKOK, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Thailand may need to raise new funds for a rice buying scheme in the crop year from October as it has fallen behind schedule in repaying the state bank that runs the scheme, bank officials say, showing the government's failure to sell down stockpiles.The government has been buying rice at prices way above the market since October 2011. The policy, aimed at helping poor farmers, has priced Thai grain out of export markets and cost Thailand its crown as the world's top rice exporter.Luck Wajananawat, president of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), which funds the scheme, said the government had spent 667 billion baht ($21.3 billion) on buying rice since the scheme began.The Commerce Ministry, which manages the rice scheme, has repaid only 139 billion baht to the BAAC, Luck was quoted as telling Thai newspapers on Wednesday, well short of the 220 billion the government aims to pay back by the end of the year. "We are to finalise plans to borrow money to fund the scheme in the next few days," Luck was quoted as saying on the website of business newspaper Krungthep Thurakij, referring to the authorities' need to renew funding.A senior official at the BAAC, who asked not to be named, confirmed the figures. "If the government wants to continue the scheme, it will have to borrow billions of baht more as its budget to run the scheme has run out," he told Reuters.There was no immediate response from the government.Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has said the government was not considering further loans because it would have enough money from selling rice from its stocks to fund the scheme.The cabinet has said it would spend no more than 270 billion baht for the scheme in the year from Oct. 2013 to Sept. 2014.Early this month, Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongphaisan said, "Since the cabinet has approved the budget of 270 billion baht for the scheme, it is the duty of the Finance Ministry to figure out how to get the money." The BAAC source, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said, "The Finance Ministry will need to guarantee another loan (from the BAAC) by the end of this month."By the government's own admission, the scheme incurred losses of 136 billion baht in the 2011/12 crop year. Total losses depend on the prices paid for the grain, the volumes bought and sold and the price differentials. The government has published minimal data on all these aspects. SCEPTICISM ON STOCKS Deputy Commerce Minister Nattawut Saikuar said in June that stockpiles stood at 17 million tonnes. On Sept. 12 Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisan said stocks had dropped to 10 million and the government had sold 1.2 million tonnes to China this month.There has been no confirmation of that deal from China and the Thai government has given no further details. As with previous claims of government sales, traders and industry officials will remain sceptical until they see evidence from port activity and export statistics.The government has stopped publishing monthly rice export data since the intervention scheme started.Data from the Office of the Rice Inspection Committee, part of the Board of Trade of Thailand, shows just 2.25 million tonnes exported in 2013 by Sept. 19, down from 3.47 million in the same period last year.Thailand exported a record 10.6 million tonnes in 2011 but only 6.9 million in 2012 after the rice scheme drove up prices.The United States Department of Agriculture has forecast Thai stocks would be 12.5 million tonnes by the end of 2013.
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In a bid to cut the stockpiles, the government has said it would ease rules for future tenders, letting international trading houses take part, for example. It sold only 240,000 tonnes in three tenders in July and August, after offering 660,000 tonnes. ($1=31.3250 Thai baht) (Editing by Alan Raybould and Clarence Fernandez)
Commerce Ministry to introduce Semi-online monitoring system in rice mortgage scheme Wednesday, 25 September 2013By NNT
BANGKOK, 24 September 2013 The Commerce Ministry will introduce a semi-online system to facilitate the next round of rice mortgage scheme commencing on October 1st, in its bid to prevent corruption. Director of the Public Warehouse Organization (PWO) Chanutpakon Wongsrinin met with 300 provincial PWO coordinators from nationwide to prepare for the implementation of the online pledging system. Toward that goal, the PWO sets to provide crucial information on details of the new round of the rice pledging scheme to millers, warehouse operators, and surveyors responsible for rice quality inspection.According to the PWO Director, the Semi-Online IT system will speed up the procedure, particularly in the issuance of godown receipts to rice farmers. Director Chanutpakon believed that the IT system would significantly reduce corruption risks through receipt duplication. The system is expected to be fully operational by January or February next year.The system would also likely be used in other agricultural mortgage programs such as cassava, the director added.Mr. Chanutpakon also expressed his confidence that there would be enough warehouses joining the rice mortgaging scheme this season, due to the reduced number of rice being allowed to be mortgaged by each farmer.
DA: No rice imports outside WTO deal in 2014 25.09.2013 The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday, September 25 maintained that no rice importation will be made outside its international trade commitment in 2014.The Philippines has a commitment with the World Trade Organization to allow the entry of 350,000 metric tons (MT) of rice under the minimum access volume (MAV) at 40% duty."Definitely, there will be no more importation to be made outside of the MAV next year," Agriculture Undersecretary for field operations Dante Delima said.For 2013, the Philippines has an allocation of 163,000 MT for MAV broken down as follows: 98,000 MT for Thailand 25,000 MT for China
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25,000 MT for India 15,000 MT for Australia The Philippines also imported for buffer some 187,000 MT from Vietnam under a government-to-government tender.Delima said that so far this year, 205,000 MT have been imported under the MAV.The country has also begun exporting premium rice varieties to reintroduce Philippine rice in the international market.Various companies and farmer cooperatives exported more than 100 MT of premium rice this year to the US, Middle East and Hong Kong, among others.Delima said the government would like to see the exportation of at least 200 MT this year, after which it will assess the economic viability of increasing the volume. "By year end, we will reassess the economic benefits of our export initiative to our traders and to our farmers. We will assess if this has created a significant impact to their welfare," he said.Producing premium rice varieties such as long grain aromatic varieties, heirloom and colored rice can be labor–intensive because of the strict export requirements.Delima said farms producing rice for exports need to improve milling facilities to maintain the quality of produce.He said the DA rice program is open to providing equipment for these farms. "The rice program can help with it if the investment is worthy," he said.
Paddy procurement to begin from October 1 By Madhvi Sally, ET Bureau | 25 Sep, 2013, 04.40PM IST
Haryana Government has made all arrangements for the smooth procurement of paddy during the current Kharif seasonNEW DELHI: The Haryana Government has made all arrangements for the smooth procurement of paddy during the current Kharif season. The commencement of the procurement of paddy and bajra would start from October 1. "The state government has arranged a sum of Rs 5108.80 crore from Reserve Bank of India making payment to the farmers for purchase of their produce,""said Food and Supplies minister,Mahender Pratap Singh. He said that the minimum support price for procurement of common variety of paddy during this season has been fixed Rs1310 per quintal while for grade 'A' at Rs 1345 per quintal. About 52 lakh tonnes of paddy was expected to arrive in the mandis during the current season and out of this about 16 lakh tonnes of paddy would be basmati and superior varieties while the remaining 36 lakh tonnes would be leviable.
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Singh said six procurement agencies would procure the paddy during the kharif season. He said that Food and supplies department would purchase 33 %, Hafed 30 %t, Food Corporation of India 12 %, Haryana Warehousing Corporation 10 %, Haryana Agro Industries Corporation 10 % and Confed 5 % of the total paddy which would arrived in the mandis. As many as 187 mandis had been set up in the state for the procurement of paddy while 53 mandis had been set up for the purchase of bajra in the state.
The country’s rice war: Who wins? By Benjamin C. Albarece, DVM, Dip. PCRP Meet the Countryside Wednesday, September 25, 2013 RICE is our primary staple food; the most important food crop of the Filipinos. It is our most valuable agricultural commodity. The country is 8th largest rice producer in the world (FAO, 2009); but, ironically, we were the world's largest rice importer in 2010 (Reuters, 2011). As such, the P232-billion rice industry is most contentious and controversial – the bone of contention is the control of the industry.The small numbers of the other contending party in the rice industry are powerfully influential and immensely moneyed that impact on the general public with disdain and total disregard for the common good. The prices of rice as regards supply and demand in fact can make or bring down the best of our government servants.So, who controls the rice industry? In the mid-1960s, the government was in control. The country was attaining a substantial growth in rice yield at an average of 4.6 percent annually for 15 years. This was achieved through improved genetics and cultivation of high-yielding ―miracle‖ rice varieties. In 1968, with the re-election of President Marcos and Vice President Lopez who was also concurrent Secretary of Agriculture, the Philippines became a rice exporter for the first time. And, Minister Tanco launched the innovative Masagana 99 rice production program that revolutionized the rice industry and made the Philippine both self-sufficient in white corn and a rice exporter until 1980 (DARegion 9, 2010/Country Study, 2009). In 1980-85, rice production declined with the average annual growth down to a mere 0.9 percent. Growth was not sustained. This was mainly attributed to drying out crop loans, increasing prices of agricultural inputs, and decreasing palay prices. The decline was also attributed to the general economic downturn in the 1980s, typhoons and drought, and the 1983-85 economic crises (Country Study, 2009), as rice imports was conversely increasing.But, how much decline could have been attributed to lip service; or, government mismanagement and incompetence in ensuring the sufficient production and the supply of rice stocks, e.g. NFA buying price, import, inventory, and production support policy? Or, rather, how much could have been attributed to a rice cartel, which causes artificial increase in the prices of commodities; the rice hoarders that create artificial rice shortage; and, the smugglers and economic saboteurs in cohorts with unscrupulous government personnel? And, thus, the country was unable to export rice again during the 1980-1991period. We were importing rice in spite the Intensive Rice Production Program, an import-substitution program launched in May 1984 by Minister Escudero. In February 1986, Minister Mitra reformed the agricultural credit system, including the facing out of direct lending scheme. Minister Dominguez introduced a corrective credit reforms to expand the rural credit in
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May 1987. Then, Minister Bacani was appointed in January 1990. Under his Rice Action Program, despite the natural calamities that truck the country, we were able to export rice again by 1992. Bacani’s Corn Production Enhancement Program (CPEP) also resulted in self-sufficiency in white corn (DA-Region, 2010). In 1992, Secretary Sebastian took over the helm of the Department of Agriculture (DA). As point man of the DA’s Key Production Approach, he pushed the Medium-Term Agricultural Development Plan and his Grains Production Enhancement Program (GPEP) patterned after Bacani’s CPEP, which laid down the country’s foundation for competitiveness in a world of free trade. He could have been hideously removed from office by crooks in government service and the ugly contending rice party.Since then the top DA position changed hands ten times in 14 years: In June 1996, Escudero was re-appointed for another term. In quick succession, came William D. Dar in June 1998, Edgardo Angara, and Domingo Panganiban. In the same fashion, they were followed by Leonardo Montemayor in March 2001; Luis P. Lorenzo Jr. in December 2002, who spearheaded the rice hybridization programs; Arthur Yap in August 2004; Panganiban; Yap in October 2006; and Bernie Fondevilla in March 2010 (DA-Region 9, 2010). In many ways, self-sufficiency and exporting rice was relegated in the back burners during this period of rapid succession. It seems like no one dared venture to cross the path of the entrenched ugly rice contenders. There are now organized calls for the ouster of DA Secretary Proceso J. Alcala, who made his bones by pursuing increased rice production and do away with rice imports by 2013. Like former Secretary Sebastian, Secretary Alcala could possibly be a victim of an ugly proxy cold war. Nevertheless, here’s a man who stands for what it should be. Even for his self-sufficiency in rice declarations alone, it would be most significant to keep the incumbent DA Secretary going. If not, the self-vested contenders will continue winning – the good, the common good, and the general public lose. [bcalbarece@yahoo.com]
Amid rice crisis, two lawmakers push anti-wastage bill By Maricel Cruz |
Waste not, want not, goes the old saying.On that premise, two administration lawmakers on Tuesday vowed to file a measure that would address the P8.4-billion worth of rice that Filipinos waste every year.Mark Llandro Mendoza of Batangas and Agapito Guanlao of Butil, chairmen of the House committees on agriculture, and on food security, respectively, said that their proposal intended to address the increasing rice prices amid uncertainty regarding rice supplies. Once enacted, the bill would require restaurants and similar establishments to serve rice in one-half cup portions, instead of one cup each serving.Citing the International Rice Research Institute, Mendoza said Filipinos waste rice worth at least P23 million every day, or about P8.4 billion a year.On the other hand, the Food and Nutrition Research Institute under the Department of Science and Technology
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(DOST) revealed that every Filipino wastes an average of 3 tablespoons (9 grams) of rice daily, which is equivalent to 3.3 kilograms per year.―This means that 96.7 million Filipinos waste as much as 319,000 MT of rice annually— an amount even greater than the amount we imported this year,‖ Mendoza said.Mendoza’s panel earlier conducted an inquiry that looked into rising rice prices and rice scarcity in the marke. The Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), during a House hearing, earlier reported that the country’s rice production would hit 18.45 million MT and miss rice self-sufficiency targets for 2013.Guanlao added that the bill to curb rice wastage would benefit both the consumer and the government.―This measure will also help immensely in an environment such as this when rice is expensive and in short supply,‖ he added.Mendoza explained the bill was not meant to discourage Filipinos from eating rice, but to ensure that people were served only the amounts that they could eat.―There is no problem with the unli-rice [promo] if the supply of rice is unlimited; but because it’s not, we have to come up with ways to address the rice shortage,‖ he said.
Pig, Rice, Aquaculture Intergration Could Help Nigeria's Farmers 25 September 2013
NIGERIA - In order to help farmers improve their production, food security and profits, the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (WECARD) and University of Ibadan (UI) have promoted the integration of aquaculture, poultry/pig and rice farming. The integration, demonstrated on the UI campus and on a farm at Aroro-Yerokun, Ibadan, involves using poultry/pig waste to raise maggots to supplement fish feeding and using a stocked fish pond (earthen) to cultivate lowland rice at least three times in a year, reports NigeriaTribune.Project Coordinator and Head of the Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, University of Ibadan, Dr Kolawole Ajani, said the project was subdivided into two: integration of fish with poultry and rice farming, and integration of fish with pig and rice farming for smallholder farmers.According to Dr Ajani, the aims of the project include developing viable and sustainable aquaculture with rice and poultry for rural farmers and to eradicate hunger. The project will train 60 farmers from the South West and it would subsequently be replicated in other zones.Professor Bamidele Omitoyin of the department and research team member said the issue of research in agriculture could not be over-emphasised. ―For what you have seen indicates that research is pivotal to development of agriculture in any country and Nigeria is not an exception. Without proper research, there can be no real development. All the technologies we are promoting today are all products of research and they will be sustained by research and that is the reason why the government should fund
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research.―The problems that the stakeholders have discussed, particularly in terms of quality fish seed, will only be solved by research because you have to go into fish genetics, breeding and development of good quality parent stocks. If you have good parent stocks, you will have good seeds. Without good stocks, you cannot have good seeds.‖He said the project could be upscaled into large scale farming, depending on variables of suitable land availability, resources, extended research and ingenuity of farmers and investors.
Farmers harbor 1Share on emailShare on printhigh hopes for rice harvest Issue Date: September 25, 2013-By Ching Lee Sutter County farmer Steve Butler stands in a field of rice awaiting harvest. Except for a weekend rainstorm that caused some plant lodging, farmers say they have had few serious problems as harvest goes full swing in the Sacramento Valley. Rice harvest is well underway in the Sacramento Valley, and many growers agree it has been largely smooth sailing, thanks to an earlier planting schedule this spring that has now allowed for a less-compressed harvest."Weather permitting, the rest of rice harvest should go pretty well," said Sutter County rice grower Steve Butler, who started harvest last week.A rainstorm last weekend did create some lodging, which will make it harder to harvest, he said, while heavy winds also caused rice shattering in some ripe fields, with yield losses expected. But Butler said he was back in the field on Monday and said he expected to be in full swing after that. Josh Sheppard, who harvested about 10 percent of his crop in Butte County as of last week, said he anticipates finishing by mid-October, about two weeks ahead of last year's schedule."You wouldn't think two weeks is that much of a time frame, but it can be an eternity in farming and it can really make a difference," he said.Despite an early hot spell this summer, which could hurt the crop during pollination, weather for much of the growing season was generally cooperative, resulting in good yield and quality, Butler said.Colusa County farmer Brian Barrett said the mild summer "makes for a more-constant growing season" and puts less stress on the plant and rice kernels, which in turn improves milling quality. He noted he spoke with several mills that had received some of the season's first-harvested crop and they indicated the milling quality of the rice has been "really good—better than they've seen in the past."But Sheppard said he's a bit disappointed with the yield from fields he's harvested so far, even though he described it as "average" and meeting his "basic expectations." He said he was hoping production would be better, considering the good planting and growing conditions this year. The state's 2013 rice crop is forecast to be 46.1 million hundredweight, up 2 percent from last year, according to this month's crop production report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Yield is forecast at 8,300 pounds
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per acre, up 2 percent from 2012. The USDA forecast for planted acreage is 561,000, while harvested acreage is forecast at 556,000, relatively unchanged from last year.Chris Greer, a University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor for Yuba, Sutter, Colusa, Sacramento, Placer and Nevada counties, said he had some concerns two months ago that yields might be down because farmers planted early and then saw the long stretch of heat in early July. "I wasn't sure what was going to happen with that, since it was earlier in the season," he said. "But it sounds like the early yields that are coming in are pretty good, so I'm cautiously optimistic at the moment."Some farmers experienced heavy winds during planting this spring, which grounded agricultural airplanes and caused uneven weed control in some fields. Greer said while it's still early to know how much the wind affected yields, he recently heard from a grower who had concerns early on but is now pleased with the production from a field that had some initial wind damage.Butler said he saw increased weed pressure this year that added to his production cost, but he noted this is not a new problem for farmers, who have been struggling for years to control water grass and umbrella sedge, the main culprits in rice. With a limited number of registered herbicides available to growers in California and with some weeds developing herbicide resistance, Greer said weed management becomes more difficult every year. Barrett said the market outlook for the current crop looks promising, as there's high demand for rice worldwide, but he also noted there's now more production coming from Australia, which also grows the medium-grain rice that dominates California's production and competes in the same export markets as the Golden State."A lot of our pricing is determined by international markets, since we sell abroad," said Eric Paulsen, who farms rice in Sacramento County. "How much demand there is in the export market really determines our pricing."Butler said when countries such as Japan, Taiwan and those in the Middle East buy California rice at high values, it tends to prop up prices for medium-grain rice. But with added competition from Australia, he said, prices may come down. He noted that much of the state's rice crop is marketed in a pool and he's seen more rice going into that pool this year due to fewer cash sales and disappointing cash prices for rice. Another issue weighing heavily on growers' minds is the lack of a new farm bill, which provides crop insurance and direct payments that could help growers should the state's current dry conditions persist and a lack of water prevent farmers from being able to plant the acreages they want. "The fact that Congress has not acted and we're at the very end of a one-year extension has really got a lot of folks on pins and needles, because growers don't know where we stand," Butler said. (See story) If faced with another drought next year and the prospect of no crop insurance, Butler said he might consider switching his rice acreage to less water-intensive crops such as sunflowers or safflower, to stretch the limited water supply. He said even though crop insurance is expensive, it does cover preventive planting due to water shortages, and California rice farmers, in particular, buy it for just that reason.Growers such as Barrett and Sheppard, both of whom farm on heavy clay soil with high water tables, said they don't have the option of changing crops, as their ground is best suited for growing rice. (Ching Lee is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at clee@cfbf.com.)
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Permission for use is granted, however, credit must be made to the California Farm Bureau Federation when
Survey: Farmers back rice scheme Published: 25 Sep 2013 at 16.28:Online news: Local News A majority of the 1,228 farmers surveyed nationwide agreed the rice pledging scheme had improved their lifestyle and threatened a mass protest if the programme were cancelled, the Economic and Business Forecasting Centre of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said on Wednesday.The polled farmers gave an average 3.53 grade out of five to the rice programme, agreeing it had helped increase household incomes by 50,000 baht on average each harvesting season.Forecasting centre director Thanavath Phonvichai said the percentage of rice farmers owning their own cars stood at 70.5% before joining the rice scheme, but the figure was up to 77.8% two years later. The percentage of rice farmers who owned their own homes rose from 76.4% to 80.5%, and those who own motorcycles increased from 67.2% to 78.8%, he said.The survey also found that if the government scraps the scheme and allows rice prices to free float in line with market mechanism, 40.9% of respondents would take to the streets in a protest rally.However, 32.5% of them said if the rice scheme was cancelled then the government must come up with alternative measures to reduce rice production costs, particularly fertiliser and pesticides.Mr Thanavath said most rice exporters wanted the rice scheme scrapped and a rice guarantee programme implemented instead, to keep the price of Thai rice in line with the global market and strengthen rice export competitiveness.They said it would be better for the government to subsidise the production costs of farmers.Rice exporters said if the rice scheme is maintained, it would continue to have a negative impact, both in terms of rice quality and rice trading.
Bill vs rice wastage Posted by Online on Sep 26th, 2013
Senior administration lawmakers yesterday called for the approval of a measure that would address the estimated P8.4-billion worth of rice wasted by Filipinos.Reps. Mark Llandro Mendoza (NPC, Batangas) and Agapito Guanlao (Butil party-list) said they are now preparing a bill that would help reduce rice wastage resulting from various factors, including wasteful dining practices of many Filipinos.Mendoza is the chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture while Guanlao heads the Committee on Food Security.The two solons said they are crafting a bill that would require restaurants, eateries, and similar establishments to serve rice in one-half cup portions, instead of the usual one cup serving.They noted a study conducted by the International Rice Research Institute that revealed that Filipinos waste rice worth at least P23 million every day, or about P8.4 billion a year.
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The Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) under the Department of Science and Technology (DoST), on the other hand, revealed that every Filipino wastes an average of three tablespoons (nine grams) of rice daily, which is equivalent to 3.3 kilograms per year.―This means that 96.7 million Filipinos waste as much as 319,000 MT of rice annually – an amount even greater than the amount we imported this year!‖ lamented Mendoza. (Ben R. Rosario)
After wheat fiasco, FCI cuts rice target This is despite the 92.3-mt rice crop forecast by the government in the first advance estimates
The ministry of food and public distribution has pegged the estimates for summer season rice procurement at 34.5 million tonnes (mt), marginally higher from a year ago. It has taken lessons from wheat, for which the procurement target was fixed very high on higher output but later the procurement fell 40 per cent short.This is despite the 92.3-mt rice crop forecast by the government in the first advance estimates. The first advance estimates, by earlier trends, are conservative.The Rice Research Institute has projected a crop of 107 mt and the US Department of Agriculture 108 mt in 2013-14. However, the government expects that private demand could be higher, as in the case of wheat. Hence, the procurement target is near last year's level.With the arrival of early-sowing varieties in some states, the procurement is set to start from October.The increase in the yield in Assam, West Bengal and Jharkhand, under the green revolution programme for the east, might raise the production but will not affect procurement.A senior official in the Food Corporation of India confirmed the increase in output but added the increase in productivity would come from the riceconsuming states, so there will be no major variation in procurement. The higher productivity in the east might trigger the active participation of rice millers, he added.There is a strong correlation between minimum support price of the commodities and procurement. A modest revision of Rs 60 a quintal in 2013-14 (to Rs 1,310) from a year ago does not leave much room for higher procurement. The private traders are also likely to be aggressive this year due to a strong dollar and bright prospects for exports, said an official. But the situation might be clearer in a week to 10 days, when arrivals pick up pace, he added.
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BARC, TN varsity developing dwarf rice varieties The project aims to achieve higher yield A project to develop a shorter rice variety by influencing the genes of crop using nuclear science has been undertaken by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) along with Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) with the aim of achieving higher yield, an atomic scientist said today."At present, we are developing a shorter rice variety out of White Ponni and ADT 47 varieties. Our project aims to reduce the stem mass so that the crop does not fall when it bears fruit. We are working on both the crops simultaneously," Suresh G Bhagwat, a former BARC official and currently involved in the project, said.While BARC was lending technical support in supplying mutants to these rice varieties, TNAU was testing the effect of these mutants on these crops in its labs in Tamil Nadu. "With nuclear science, we can develop mutants, which can be used to arrive at a desired variety of preferred properties in the plant. In this project, we are going for dwarf crops which can avoid 'lodging,'" Bhagwat, former Head, BARC's Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division told reporters here.The project is being funded by the Board of Research in Nuclear Science under the Department of Atomic Energy and the duration of research is expected to be for three years."The produce would be higher from 20 per cent to 30 per cent," he said on the sidelines of a BARC function here.Asked whether water consumption of these crops would go down, he said, "May be. But, our primary target is to achieve shorter height of the crop and less stem mass." BARC had so far helped in development of 41 varieties of such crops with genetic modification. These include greengram (eight), blackgram (five), pigeon pea (four), groundnut (15), mustard (three), soyabean (two), and one each varieties in rice and jute.To a query on whether using mutants to get desired variety of plant species was equivalent to that of genetically modified crops like Bt cotton and Bt brinjal, he said: "No. BT cotton are crops genetically modified by bringing a gene from outside the species. In the case of mutation, genes within the species are modified internally."BARC was also undertaking a whole range of nuclear agricultural projects across the country to develop different varieties of crops, including the famous basmati rice, aimed at increasing its produce, Bhagwat said.
Midsayap villagers: farmers by day, ‘bakwits’ by night By Keith Bacongco on September 25 2013 8:54 pm MIDSAYAP, North Cotabato (MindaNews/25 September) – Residents of barangays Bual Norte, Palongoguen and portions of Malingao in this town were trying to restore some normalcy in their lives two days after skirmishes between government forces and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) forced hundreds of families to flee..Farmers apply pesticides on the ricefield within the Philippine Rice Research
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Institute compound in Barangay Bual Norte, Midsayap town, North Cotabato on Wednesday, September 25. Bual Norte is an adjacent village of Palongoguen, the site of sporadic clashes between government troops and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. MindaNews Photo by Ruby Thursday More The fighting displaced at least 2,000 families, turning Malingao and Palonguguen into ―ghost villages.‖But on Tuesday, farmers in Bual Norte could be seen either applying fertilizer on rice plants or reinforcing the paddies as MindaNews drove along the narrow dirt road beside the irrigation canal lined by some coconut trees. Classes have resumed in the elementary school in the same barangay and even in nearby schools that served as evacuation centers.Bual Norte, a rice-producing area and home to the government-owned Philippine Rice Research Institute, is four kilometers away from the town proper.This morning in Palongugen some men were sitting outside an old small house that sits beside the road. An Armalite rifle lay on top of a table before them.Renato de Arroz, a former two-term village chief of Palongugen, sipped a cup of coffee as he welcomed the MindaNews team and offered seats. The other men kept working in their farm.Asked when the people return home, de Arroz replied: ―They are here at daytime and go back to the evacuation center before dark.‖ He said this has been a ―normal‖ practice among villagers particularly after skirmishes.―But I advised the farmers to work in their farm by group. While some are working, the others would keep an eye in case the rebels come back,‖ he said in Ilongo.He added they are not letting their guard down even if the rebels have already retreated following the clearing operations on Tuesday. CVOs on alert About 15 minutes later, a band of armed men passed by on board motorcycles. Some were wearing camouflage uniforms while others were in short pants but with bandoliers of ammunition strapped around their bodies.―They are the CVOs (Civilian Volunteer Organization) here. We are still on alert because we are just two kilometers away from the marsh,‖ de Arroz said, referring to the Ligawasan Marsh.He said the rebels retreated to the marsh after the clashes bringing with them the 14 hostages who were released on Tuesday.The marshy area is this town’s boundary with Libungan (also part of North Cotabato) and Northern Kabuntalan town of Maguindanao.De Arroz said the CVOs were going around to check the damaged houses as well as to patrol the area to secure the working farmers.Malingao meanwhile has been cleared of BIFF rebels as of Tuesday afternoon, and no more gunfights were reported on Wednesday morning. From the road, a tent could be seen beside a hut underneath a camachile tree. It wasn’t one of those tents that are usually used to shelter ducks because, like the hut, it was fortified with sandbags with a hole that served as a gun port for the CVOs.Less than 100 meters away from the outpost, some men were loading some belongings into a farm trailer. ―We are transporting our belongings,‖ said a farmer in his mid-40s with an orange shirt tied around his head.About 400 meters away from the outpost, the band of CVOs stopped and inspected an irrigation dam.They pointed to some bloodstains believed to be left behind by the rebels. ―They were positioned here during the firefight,‖ one of them said while picking up some empty shells of 5.56mm and 7.62mm rounds.The CVO member, who saw action on Monday, explained that the BIFF rebels hid behind the concrete walls during the firefight. Others hid in the houses and in the ditches.
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The CVOs requested not to show their faces while MindaNews was taking pictures for security reasons.A house reportedly burned by the retreating rebels came into view as the CVOs and MindaNews drove further along the irrigation canal. De Arroz had earlier told us about the razed house. He said it had been abandoned for three months already because its owner, an elderly woman, moved to Eperanza town in Sultan Kudarat.About 200 hundred meters further, the CVOs stopped and one of them alerted the group that a group of men had disembarked from a banca at the fishport which lies over half a kilometer away. They told us to drive back to the outpost because they would check who those men were. Members of the Civilian Volunteers Organization in Barangay Palongoguen, Midsayap town, North Cotabato Province patrol the area on Wednesday, September 25 after members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters attacked the village on Monday. MindaNews Photo by Ruby Thursday More.―This was their entry and exit point whenever they came here to harass the farmers,‖ a CVO said referring to the dirt road from the marshy area leading to the outpost. By then, the farm trailer loaded with belongings had already left the house near the outpost. Its owner said the rebels ransacked his house and destroyed some furniture.He said the rebels positioned in his house when they harassed the outpost on Monday. ―I recovered a lot of empty shells of an M60 machine gun and M14 rifle on the floor.‖―We have not stayed here since May because I’m afraid we would get caught in the crossfire when they would attack the outpost,‖ the farmer who refused to be named said.He said his family is now staying with their relatives near the barangay hall.As the MindaNews team was about to leave, he took out his Carbine and placed it on the table. ―I’ll stay here to keep an eye on my house,‖ he told the CVOs who had arrived by then. Not the first time It’s not the first time that the village and neighboring areas were attacked by Moro rebels. Clashes had occurred in these areas for years.Following the clashes on Monday, de Arroz said many of his fellow villagers have not yet returned home.He said they could not be sure how long they would remain on alert. ―I’m not sure when my fellow villagers can return home. It depends on the situation here.‖Jeanette Umatong, a widow from Palongugen, recalled that she was working with three other farmers in her farm when the rebels arrived.Umatong said they rushed to the barangay hall before the firefight erupted. ―Mud was still all over our bodies when we evacuated. And it was lunch time already when we were able to wash up,‖ she said in an interview. For now, she is staying with her relatives in Bual Norte and not yet sure when she could return home.She said the burned house belonged to her aunt, who is in her 70s. ―She was almost killed during the harassment last May, she was lucky to have fallen on the ditch.‖On Wednesay morning, Capt. Antonio Bulao, spokesperson of
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the 602nd Brigade, said in a text message that there were no fresh firefights in the area.De Arroz said Monday’s attack was not the first this year.―Early this year, they also attacked us. I think this is already the third time for this year,‖ he said. He recalled that the worst attack was in 2002, saying many houses were destroyed and many of their farm animals were taken by the rebels.―They attacked us twice that year. I don’t know what they want from us. The can send us a message and tell us what they want and maybe we can talk about it.‖ (Keith Bacongco/MindaNews)
Scientists eye dwarf version of Ponni rice By C Shivakumar | ENS - CHENNAI Published: 26th September 2013 08:18 AM Last Updated: 26th September 2013 08:18 AM Bhabha Atomic Research Centre scientists are helping Tamil Nadu Agriculture University to develop a new mutant of white Ponni Rice that could deliver better yieds than the original one.On the sidelines of an interactive session on ―Radiation and Quality of Human Life’ BARC director of biomedical group K B Sainis and former head of Nuclear Agriculture and Biotech division S G Bhagwat told Express that the project to develop a smaller version of white Ponni rice and ADT 47 is currently underway.Bhagwat said that the threeyear project is being funded by Board of Research in Nuclear Science. He said Tamil Nadu Agriculture University is looking for a dwarf variety of white Ponni which would deliver 10 to 15 per cent more yield than the original Ponni.He said the testing and trials are going on for the new mutant. ―It will take about three years,‖ said Bhagwat who is part of the project.He said once the mutant is identified then trials would be done for three years. Usually these trials take nearly a decade.But since rice could be grown in two seasons, it is likely to take another three years and a number of tests before being ready for commercial production, he said.He said the reduction in crop height would result in less consumption of water and use of fertilizers. This could also help the farmers grow more rice in the area with less water.
Tamil Nadu agricultural project uses radiation to increase yield TNN | Sep 26, 2013, 05.38 AM IST
CHENNAI: To ensure higher yield in crops, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in collaboration withBhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, is working on eight agricultural projects.Plants and crops like rice, soyabeans, black grams and green grams are exposed to radiation treatment and a variety of mutations are in the testing and trial processes. The ongoing projects are funded by the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences, K B Sainis, Director, BioMedical Group, BARC, said on Wednesday at a scientists-media interaction organised by the Press Information Bureau ( PIB) on "Radiation and Quality of Human Life".Experts from BARC made presentations on nuclear
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agriculture, radiation processing of food and agricultural commodities, and the medical application of radiation and its health effects. Radiation and radioisotope technologies playing a major role in maintenance of health and quality of human life was also in focus.The TNAU-BARC project is about subjecting plants and crops to radiation via gamma rays to give it a genetic variability that can target specific requirements such as increased yield and disease resistance. For instance white ponni rice that is widely consumed has short comings that it is a tall plant variety. The project requirement is to make it a shorter variety, to prevent it from falling and the variety will also be made to mature early. "Basmati rice and red rice, which are tall, low yielding and old varieties can be mutated to short varieties", explained Suresh Bhagwat, scientist and former head,Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, BARC.The soybeans project's aim is to reduce an anti- nutritional factor that is found in high levels in the form of phytic acid. Green gram is being treated by radiation to improve its disease resistance. Black gram is under treatment to see if it is suitable for situations like rice fallows and modification of starch properties is being done in tapioca. Using radiation induced mutations in crops will have three over- arching traits in its variety crops. One is the "lodging resistance" through which crops will be dwarfed to become sturdy and prevent it from falling and they will be made to mature early. They will also be thermo-tolerant plants. "We are using mutational breeding to enhance crop productivity through these projects", according to K Ramasamy, vice chancellor, TNAU. Nuclear agriculture will also help delay fruit ripening and prevent pre-harvest crop loss.
Victoria Mikhail: Rice can have traces of arsenic, but you’d have to eat a lot to worry Rice can contain tiny traces of arsenic, but not enough to cause you any harm.
Victoria Mikhail Sep 25, 2013 - 7:00 PM EDT Last Updated: Sep 25, 2013 - 8:16 PM EDT
We were at a function breaking for lunch and there were Bill and Stan, our foodies, comparing notes. The topic was on wheat versus rice and I somehow got swept into their controversial conversation about which was better.More people have been trying to avoid wheat products and go gluten free by choosing rice products instead. Stan was highlighting recent findings on what has
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been detected in rice, including arsenic. Arsenic is naturally found in the air, water, rocks and soil, and today’s advanced technology can detect minute traces in parts per billion. Inorganic arsenic has been used by farmers as a pesticide and a fertilizer. It’s also used to preserve pressure-treated wood. Arsenic can stay in soil for years after being applied to crops, and John Duxbury, with the Department of Crops and Soil Sciences at Cornell University, says organically grown produce may not have less arsenic than conventionally grown foods.All plants absorb arsenic. Plants mistake it for nutrients and absorb it from the soil. Arsenic is found, in a billionth of fractions, in fruits, vegetables, grain and poultry. Since rice grows in water it more readily absorbs arsenic compared to other grains. Lab tests show that there is more concentration of arsenic found in the germ of the rice kernels (the brown rice) than white rice.Researchers have found higher levels of arsenic in rice grown in the U.S. than basmati or jasmine rice from Thailand or India. Perhaps that’s because there’s less exposure to pesticides in the crops). ―And you still think white flour is all that bad for you?‖ said Bill the carbohydrate lover. So what, Stan wondered, where the risks to those who had eaten lots of rice for years? Researchers from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire noted that low levels of inorganic arsenic, when consumed in large amounts over decades, can contribute to the risk of cancer and affect the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, liver, lungs and skin. Short-term exposure at very high levels can cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, skin irritation and numbness in the hands and feet. Children are more susceptible due to their smaller body size. To ease Stan’s fears, I assured him of the safety and responsibility of Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which are constantly inspecting our food. The amount of arsenic is generally very, very low. Today’s modern technology is able to test for minuscule amounts of ingredients in foods, and we benefit from eating a variety of foods. There is really no one perfect food. All foods in moderation is the key to healthy eating.A recent Consumers Report article recommended adults consume up to two cups of rice (brown or white) per week. To remove half of the arsenic in rice, after rinsing, cook it in six parts water to one part rice until done to your preference. Then pour off the extra water.
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For more information on arsenic and our foods, check out Health Canada’s website atwww.hc-sc.gc.ca. Victoria Mikhail is a local dietitian/nutritionist who wrote The Athlete Can Cook. Check out her website: www.spicedwithnutrition.ca
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