27th March , 2014
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Bills could reinstate commodity assessments Japan supports Agric Ministry with machinery Rice production looks to make turnaround PM instructs good rice stockpiling in Mekong Delta Finance Ministry assured of Bt20 billion return in May Ample stocks hold rice steady Ecija palay prices go up Controlling blast infestation in rice Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open-March 27 BAAC reschedules farmers' debts PM seeks extra 45 days over rice probe
NEWS DETAILS: Bills could reinstate commodity assessments Strain, others says passage is critical to future of agriculture LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station director Steve Linscombe said his work would be crippled without funding from farmers. / LSU AGCENTER/BRUCE SHULTZ
Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain said the future of research and promotion of the state’s biggest industry is at stake when the Legislature begins hearing bills Thursday that would allow voluntary commodity assessments on farmers.―Failure is not an option,‖ Strain said.Louisiana farmers, through their various commodity associations, have assessed themselves fees for decades, but last year the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled the fees unconstitutional.
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The court said only the Legislature can levy such assessments.Revenue from past assessments has funded research at the LSU AgCenter (rice, grain and soybeans) as well as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (crawfish).LSU AgCenter scientist Steve Linscombe, director of the Rice Research Station in Crowley, said state rice yields have almost doubled to 7,400 pounds per acres since the rice research assessment began in 1972. The Rice Research station has received about $1.5 million annually from the previous assessment during the past four years.―This funding is critical for us,‖ he said.Linscombe said 30 percent to 40 percent of the Rice Research Station’s research budget has been funded through the farmers.―Without it, there will be an immediate and direct negative impact on our ability to continue to conduct the research that has produced 37 new varieties since the center opened,‖ Linscombe said. The rice research assessment bill by Rep. Jack Montoucet, D-Crowley, will be the first to be heard in the House Agriculture Committee.His will be followed by the rice promotion bill (HB 1045) by Rep. Harvey LeBas, DVille Platte, followed by the soybean and grain research and promotion bill (HB 878) by LaBas and the crawfish research and promotion bill (HB 1056) by Rep. Eddie Lambert, R-Gonzales.All are expected to be heard in committee Thursday and are supported by House Agriculture Chairman Andy Anders, D-Vidalia. ―I believe everyone has come together now for the betterment of the industry,‖ Anders said.A fourth bill filed by Rep. Dorothy Sue Hill, D-Dry Creek, will cover beef promotion and research and be heard later in the session.
Japan supports Agric Ministry with machinery Japan has given the Ministry of Food and Agriculture agricultural machinery valued at GH¢6.4 million.The machinery was procured under the Japanese government’s grant assistance for underprivileged farmers, and its distribution will be targeted at underprivileged smallholder rice farmers across the country through a hirepurchase agreement.The machinery and equipment include 70 agricultural tractors, 43 power tillers, 35 rice threshers, 20 rice reapers and five rice mills. Reduce rice importation Speaking at a ceremony to hand over the equipment to farmers in Accra last Tuesday, the Minister of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Mr Clement Humado, said the equipment would increase rice production in Ghana and reduce the huge importation of rice.He said Ghana had the land and the capacity to increase rice production if the appropriate measures were adopted within the trade and the agricultural sectors.―In Ghana, rice production is undertaken by both smallholders and large commercial farmers. The strategy to achieve self-sufficiency in the
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production of rice, therefore, must address the special needs of both smallholder and commercial farmers,‖ he said.
Japanese Ambassador The Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Naoto Nikai, commended the efforts of the government at modernising rice production in Ghana to attain self-sufficiency and ensure food security.―It is against this backdrop that the government of Japan decided to respond to the request by the MoFA to provide assistance to revamp the rice sector in this country,‖ he said.According to Mr Nikai, the government of Japan is honoured to contribute to the Ghana government’s endeavour to reduce the importation of rice and improve the lives of Ghanaian farmers.He gave an assurance of Japan’s support to Ghana to attain food security.The Executive Director of CFAO Ghana Limited, suppliers of the tractors, Mr Bruno Gobilliard, gave an assurance that the company would provide technical support through the provision of tools and equipment for the beneficiary farmers nationwide.
Rice production looks to make turnaround Unb, Dhaka The almost stalled growth of the country's crop production observed over the last couple of fiscal years is likely to end in the current fiscal, officials said making an estimate, banking on the record rice output achieved in the immediate past Aman season. Rice outputs from both the Aman and the Aus seasons in the fiscal increased significantly compared to that of the previous fiscal, and the country can also expect a boost in the output from the ongoing Boro season as the acreage target has already been exceeded, they said.The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics has recently disclosed the final data on Aman rice production in the current fiscal (2013-2014) which showed that despite a slight decrease in the acreage of Aman, the production stood at 130.23 lakh tonnes, a 0.96 percent increase compared to that of the fiscal 2012-2013. According to the satellite image-based calculation by Bangladesh Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization (Sparso), the Aman acreage achieved this fiscal was 53.3 lakh hectares, which is slightly lower than the acreage of the previous fiscal, said BBS Deputy Director (Agriculture Wing) Bidhan Baral.Last year, the Aman rice production was 128.97 lakh tonnes from 56.1 lakh hectares, which means the yield was 2.29 tonnes per hectare. ―This year per hectare yield has increased to 2.357 tonnes, thanks to the cultivation of local high yielding rice varieties,‖ he said.Baral added that the overall rice output, which witnessed a reduction last fiscal year (337.7 lakh tonnes) over its previous fiscal year (338.3 lakh tonnes), is expected to be revived this year.Sources at the Department of Agriculture Extension said the total rice production will increase this year
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significantly. Besides the record production of Aman, Aus production also marked an increase this year compared to that of last year.They said Aus production has increased by 7.78 percent to 23.26 lakh tonnes this fiscal against 21.58 lakh tonnes in the previous one. Excluding Boro harvest, which will be available by June, the overall rice production has already reached 153.49 lakh tonnes, a 1.95 percent increase compared to that of the corresponding period of the fiscal 2012-2013, they added.The government is targeting an output of 189 lakh tonnes from this Boro season, which can easily be achieved in absence of any natural calamity, said the sources.Officials of the DAE and Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation noted that the use of locally-developed high-yielding rice varieties and favourable weather helped the robust Aman and Aus production.BR-11, BRRI Dhan-34, BRRI Dhan-37 and BRRI Dhan38, Najirshail, Binashail varieties showed a good yield, they said. Experts attribute this tendency of increase in rice production as a cautious decision taken by farmers following huge losses with their vegetable produces caused by political unrest that prevailed towards the end of the previous year.Talking to the news agency earlier, Brac Executive Director Mahbub Hossain said, ―If the political crisis continues, farmers will be discouraged to go for the cultivation of vegetables. Quick transportation is crucial for the perishable agro produces. This will also hamper the prospect of crop diversification.‖ Published: 12:00 am Thursday, March 27, 2014 Last modified: 2:50 am Thursday, March 27, 2014
PM instructs good rice stockpiling in Mekong Delta Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has instructed agencies to implement the government’s program to stockpile one million tons of winter spring rice in order to prevent further price drops in the Mekong Delta. He ordered the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to work with the Vietnam Food Association and provinces in the Mekong Delta to supervise and speed up stockpiling according to regulations. They will report to the government in case of any difficulty receiving assistance.The Vietnam Food Association will choose businesses with good financial ability and warehouse system to stock the rice. The State Bank is ordered to instruct commercial
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banks to loan rice stockpiling companies.Commercial banks will provide loans at a preferential interest rate of 7 percent in six months beginning March 20. The State Bank will sponsor businesses with 100 percent of interest rate in the first four months.The Government’s rice stockpiling program began March 15 and will last until April 30. Rice price falls Rice prices have slightly increased right after the Prime Minister’s decision, according to Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper. It recently reduced again.Traders paid only VND 4,100-4,200 a kilogram of fresh rice, a decrease of VND200 over last week.Businesses have reduced purchase due to export demand fall. These businesses implemented the program too slowly.Some companies refused to purchase contracts to consume rice in large scale paddy fields.Docimexco Company contracted with Tan Hong District Cooperative, Dong Thap Province for consumption of 746 hectares of winter spring rice. However the company has refused to do so when 210 households in the cooperative reap their rice.A HCMC-based company has also not kept their promise to purchase 100 hectares of high quality rice in Binh Minh Cooperative, Thanh Binh District.The company wanted farmers to delay the harvest time until April but rice fields have ripened forcing farmers to sell at low prices. By staff writers – Translated by Hai Mien Images: Rice prices have recently reduced in the Mekong Delta (Photo: SGGP)
Finance Ministry assured of Bt20 billion return in May Thursday, 27 March 2014By MCOT
BANGKOK, March 27 – The Commerce Ministry has given assurances that it will pay back Bt20 billion it borrowed from the central fund to make good the overdue payment to farmers under the rice pledging scheme within May as required.Caretaker Deputy Commerce Minister Yanyong Phuangrach expressed confidence that nearly one million tonnes of rice will be released through the Agricultural Futures Exchange in Thailand (AFET) this year. The Commerce Ministry expects to earn more than Bt6 billion after auctioning over 500,000 tonnes of rice through AFET this month, he said.He said 230,000 tonnes of rice will be auctioned in the eighth round with 13 bidders, including three new ones.The seventh auction released more than
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500,000 tonnes of rice, at a total value of Bt6 billion, he said, adding that this year’s rice release via AFET will break the 2009 record when 600,000 tonnes of rice were auctioned through AFET.Mr Yanyong said the Commerce Ministry will try to release rice through AFET twice a month at 200,000 tonnes in each auction, and the next bid in April will involve 100,000-200,000 tonnes of rice.He said government-to-government trading with China is another channel to release rice and the Commerce Ministry has targeted selling 100,000 tonnes of rice to China each month.It’s quite likely that the Finance Ministry will be paid back the Bt20 billion owed by the May deadline, he said.He said the Commerce Ministry has inspected more than 60 per cent of the government’s rice stocks and should wrap up the survey on March 30.
Ample stocks hold rice steady OUR CORRESPONDENT KARNAL, MARCH 27:
The rice market is likely to rule without much change on account of steady demand and ample stocks for the next few days, said trade experts.With not much trading taking place in the market, prices of almost all the varieties remained unchanged on Thursday.Amit Chandna, proprietor of Hanuman Rice Trading Company, told Business Line that following steady domestic demand and easy availability of stocks, retail and bulk buyers are placing orders based on their requirement. Traders expect the market to continue to rule around current levels for the next few days and may witness some alteration in the first week of April, he added.In athe physical market, after witnessing an uptrend earlier this week, aromatic and non-basmati varieties remained unaltered.Pusa-1121 (steam) sold at ₹8,9009,000 , while Pusa-1121 (sela) quoted at ₹7,900 . Pure Basmati (raw) quoted at ₹12,200. Duplicate basmati (steam) sold at ₹7,000. Pusa-1121 (second wand) was at ₹7,100, Tibar at ₹6,150 while Dubar at ₹5,000 a quintal.In the non-basmati section, Sharbati (steam) sold at ₹4,850 while Sharbati (ela) quoted at ₹4,300 . Permal (raw) sold at ₹2,330, Permal (sela) at ₹2,350, PR-11 (sela) sold at ₹2,700 while PR-11 (raw) at ₹2,600 . PR14 (steam) sold at ₹2,950 a quintal. (This article was published on March 27, 2014)
Ecija palay prices go up By Anselmo Roque,Inquirer Central Luzon 12:19 am | Friday, March 28th, 2014
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THINGS are looking up for rice farmers, especially in Nueva Ecija where palay harvests are fetching record high prices. In Sanchez Mira town, Cagayan province, farming continues to rely on the carabao. RICHARD BALONGLONG/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZO CABANATUAN CITY, Philippines—Farmers in Nueva Ecija province have been enjoying recordhigh farm gate prices of rice, but rice millers and traders said this good fortune may later affect consumer prices.―Our buying price is P24 to P25 a kilogram for dry palay and P20 to P21 for the fresh harvest,‖ said Edgardo Alfonso, president of San Jose City Rice Millers Association (SJCRMA).―The price is unusually high for the unhusked grains. I have not seen anything like this before. It has something to do with the rice millers and traders elsewhere competing to buy as many volumes of palay as they can,‖ Alfonso said on Wednesday.One of the biggest organizations of rice millers in Luzon, SJCRMA buys palay in Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Aurora and Pangasinan provinces. The buying price they offer in other provinces, though, is slightly lower due to hauling cost, the millers said.In Aurora, the buying price of palay went up to P28 per kilogram early this month. For the same period in 2013, the buying price offered for dried palay was P18 to P20, and P12 for freshly harvested grains during last year’s peak season.Millers prefer dry palay because the ideal moisture content for milling is 14 percent. Fresh grains contain 22 to 27 percent moisture. ―I don’t think there will be a big reduction in the buying price (of palay) even during the peak of the harvesting season which will start next month,‖ Alfonso said.At P25 per kilogram, a 50-kg sack of palay has sold for P1,150 per bag, which is higher than the P850 purchase price of the National Food Authority (NFA).―This is really good,‖ said a local farmer, who sold his palay at P25 per kilogram. ―With my harvest of 150 cavans per hectare and total expenses for inputs, harvesting, threshing, hauling and drying cost, I netted about P70,000 which doubled my usual margin of profit,‖ he said.Alfonso said the rise in farm gate price is ―very, very good‖ for farmers but could be bad for consumers. ―At the current buying price of palay, the cost of milled rice will be no less than P42 per kilogram. It will be higher during the lean months,‖ he said.He said farmers and farmworkers could be tempted to sell all of their harvest and buy cheaper NFA rice just to make a profit. According to Alfonso, the ―thin supply‖ of rice in the world market has compelled rice mill owners and traders to offer a high buying price for palay as the local market competes for grains.He said local rice production areas have been reduced despite the fact that the demand for rice has increased because of the increasing number of rice consumers and the thinning supply of imported rice.
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Controlling blast infestation in rice Blast infestation in rice has been reported from many places of Andhra Pradesh State. In Telangana, Andhra and Rayalaseema zones, the disease has been reported to an extent of 10-20 per cent during this season.There are broadly three types of blast. The first is called as leaf blast. Infested crop leaves exhibit spindle shaped spots with brown margin and grey dots.This type has been prevalent in Warangal, Karimnagar, Khammam, Krishna, East Godavari, West Godavari, Nellore, Srikakulum and other districts of Andhra Pradesh for the last few weeks. Node blast The second type is node blast. Caused by a fungus, the symptoms are crop turning black in colour and panicles breaking easily.The third type is called neck blast. This starts during panicle emergence initiation of the crop period. The neck region is blackened and shrivelled. Grain set in ears is completely or partially inhibited.Out of the three, neck blast is more severe and results in yield losses to a great extent. Favourable environmental factors such as prolonged dry periods, cool nights, low night temperature, high relative humidity, cloudy, drizzling weather and high nitrogen supply increase all the three disease incidences. Management: — Healthy disease free seeds alone should be used for sowing. —Use disease resistant or tolerant rice cultivars —Seed treatment with tricyclozole 75 WP at 2.0 g or carbendazim at 1.0g per kg seed as wet seed treatment or carbendazim at 3.0 g per kg as dry seed treatment. — Seeds should not be collected from infested fields. — Remove weeds and collateral hosts from field and bunds. Balanced fertillizer application is a must. — At the time of harvesting, infested plants should be removed and destroyed. —Field bunds and irrigation channels should be kept clean. Avoid excess application of nitrogenous fertilizers. Spraying of fungicides like tricyclozole 75 WP at 0.6 g or isoprothiolane 40EC at 1.5 ml or kasugamycin 3 L at 2.5 ml will be more effective.
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(Dr. A. Vijaya Bhaskar Rao is Scientist ( Plant Pathology), email:av_bhaskar12@yahoo.co.in, mobile: 098498 17896, Regional Agricultural Research Station ,Warangal, Acharya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.) Keywords: Blast infestation, Andhra Pradesh agriculture, rice blasting technique
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open-March 27 Sat Mar 27, 2010 2:51pm IST
Nagpur, Mar 27 (Reuters) - Select pulses in the trading activity of the Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) zoomed up again on increased demand from local flour mills amid tight supply from producing regions. Sharp rise in Madhya Pradesh pulses prices and fresh demand from South-based crushing plants also helped to push up prices, sources said Saturday. * * * * FOODGRAINS & PULSES GRAM * Gram prices firmed up again in Nagpur APMC on good buying support from local flour mills amid thin arrival from producing regions. * Gram varieties ruled steady in open market but demand was poor. TUAR * In Nagpur APMC, Tuar prices quoted strong on increased buying support from local flour mills. Increased demand from South-based traders also pushed up prices. * In open market, Tuar varieties ruled steady but demand was poor in thin trading activity. * In Akola, Tuar new Akola Tuar Nirmal - 3,950, Udid at 4,600-5,000 and Moong Nirmal - 6,500 for 100 kg. * Wheat rice and other commodities prices remained steady in open market in thin
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trading activity, sources said Saturday. Gram arrivals (in 100-kg bags) and prices (in rupees for 100 kg)in Nagpur, according to APMC sources. Commodities Deliveries Available prices Previous close Gram 2,000 1,800-2,035 1,750-1,990 Gram (Pink) n.a. n.a. 1,340-1,435 Tuar 300 3,451-4,301 3,370-4,155 Moong 70 5,400-5,600 5,800-6,000 Udid n.a. n.a. 4,500-4,600 Masoor n.a. n.a. 2,250-2,450 Nagpur foodgrains (open-market) prices in rupees for 100 kg Commodities Saturday's open Previous close Gram Super Best Bold 2,900-2,950 2,900-2,950 Gram Medium Best 2,700-2,750 2,700-2,750 Gram Mill Quality 2,430-2,455 2,430-2,455 Deshi Gram (Raw) 2,025-2,050 2,025-2,050 Gram Kabuli 4,800-5,400 4,800-5,400 Gram Pink 3,200-3,700 3,200-3,700 Lakhodi dal 2,250-2,350 2,250-2,350 Tuar Fataka Best (New) 6,100-6,300 6,100-6,300
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Tuar Fataka Medium (New) 5,900-6,050 5,900-6,050 Tuar Dal Best Phod (New) 5,600-5,700 5,600-5,700 Tuar Dal Medium Phod (New) 5,200-5,450 5,200-5,450 Tuar Gavarani best (New) 4,175-4,225 4,150-4,200 Masoor Dal (Best) 4,400-4,500 4,400-4,500 Masoor Dal (Medium) 4,200-4,300 4,200-4,300 Moong Mogar Super Best (New) 8,200-8,500 8,200-8,500 Moong Mogar Medium best 7,800-8,000 7,800-8,000 Moong dal (Chilka) 6,800-7,000 6,800-7,000 Udid Mogar Super Best 6,700-6,900 6,700-6,900 Udid Mogar Medium 6,000-6,300 6,000-6,300 Udid Dal Black 4,600-5,000 4,600-5,000 Batri Dal - Best 2,800-3,100 2,800-3,100 WATANA (PEAS) Watana Dal 1,725-1,750 1,725-1,750 Watana White 1,625-1,650 1,625-1,650 Watana Green 2,000-2,500 2,000-2,500 WHEAT Wheat 308 (New) 1,350-1,400 1,350-1,400 Wheat Mill quality 1,170-1,200
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1,170-1,200 Wheat 147 1,500-1,600 1,500-1,600 Wheat Lokwan 1,400-1,600 1,400-1,600 MP Sharbati (Best) 1,800-2,600 1,800-2,600 MP Sharbati (Medium) 1,700-2,000 1,700-2,000 RICE Parmal 1,300-1,350 1,300-1,350 BPT (New) 2,000-2,300 2,000-2,300 Swarna 1,500-1,550 1,500-1,550 HMT 2,700-3,200 2,700-3,200 Chinnor (New) 4,100-4,500 4,100-4,500 Basmati (Best) 6,000-9,500 6,000-9,500 Bastmati (Medium) 3,000-4,200 3,000-4,200 WEATHER (Nagpur): Maximum temp. 41.2 degree Celsius (106.2 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp. 24.0 degree Celsius (72.2 degree Fahrenheit) Humidity: Highest - 52 per cent, lowest - 25 per cent. FORECAST: Mainly clear sky. Maximum and Minimum temperature likely to be around 41 and 25 degree Celsius respectively. Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices.) ((Bangalore Commodity Desk, +91-080 6677 3545,e-mail commodities@reuters.com))
BAAC reschedules farmers' debts The state farm bank has rescheduled the debts of 460,000 farmers and allocated 12 billion baht in new loans to help with their liquidity while they wait for payments for their pledged paddy. Published: 27/03/2014 at 12:27 PM
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Newspaper section: breakingnews
The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives has extended by six months the repayment period of farmers' debts due on March 31, president Luck Wajananawat said in a statement released on Thursday.Some 469,000 farmers benefit from the debt rescheduling.As executor of the rice pledging scheme, the bank also set aside 12 billion baht in new loans for their household needs or for investment in a new crop. The objective is to discourage them from turning to loan sharks.As of Wednesday, 90,000 farmers borrowed 5.93 billion of the new loans. Some 432,000 farmers also have tapped their farmer cards' credit lines for a total outstanding amount of 6.74 billion baht.As for the 2013/14 rice pledging scheme which ended Feb 28, 2014, 1.53 million farmers pledged 11.62 million tonnes of paddy for a total amount of 190.81 billion baht, the bank said.To date, the programme has been allocated 93 billion baht from the government. Of the allocated funds, 73 billion baht came from the budget and rice sales by the Commerce Ministry and 20 billion was from the emergency budget allocated to help the farmers who had pledged paddy before the House dissolution on Dec 9, 2013.As of Wednesday, the bank paid 73.31 billion to 600,000 farmers and targets to repay all the available amount by March 31.The bank also launched a farmers' fund on March 5, targeting to mobilise 2 billion baht by June 30, 2014 from people who wish to directly help farmers during the difficult time.People can help farmers by making deposits to the bank's designated accounts and receive 0.63% interest a year or no interest but they may not withdraw the money before Dec 31, 2014. Another account was also set up to accept direct donations.As of March 24, the accounts stood at 1.18 billion baht including direct donations. Of the total, 55% was deposits made to the no-interest account.Farmers have been held hostage by the ongoing political struggle. After the House dissolution, the caretaker government by law lacks the mandate to borrow funds to repay farmers who have pledged their paddy. As the prospect of a new government drags on, they will continue to suffer from the payment delays.
PM seeks extra 45 days over rice probe Published: 27 Mar 2014 at 18.17 Online news: Caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Thursday asked for another 45-day delay in defending herself against charges of negligence of duty over alleged irregularities in the rice-pledging scheme.Norawit Lalaeng, Ms Yingluck's lawyer, submitted the request for another postponement to the National Anti-
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Corruption Commission on Thursday morning, citing that the premier’s legal team had yet to receive all documents relating to the NACC’s rice-subsidy scheme probe it had requested earlier. Ms Yingluck is supposed to meet the anti-graft agency on Monday to defend herself against allegations she failed to address corruption within the scheme. The NACC announced its decision to charge the premier on Feb 18. Ms Yingluck failed to meet the panel to acknowledge the matter late last month.Her lawyer asked the NACC to postpone the March 14 deadline for her response to the graft charges and give her 45 more days, but the agency gave Ms Yingluck only 15 more days to present her case. Mr Norawit said he had filed a request with the NACC seeking to examine 19 more documents that indicated Ms Yingluck’s implications in the alleged corruption in the rice programme. The agency gave him a 280-page dossier but the contents in the report did not entirely match the information he had requested. He said the 49-page report detailing the NACC's probe into the programme that he had received earlier was only based on the opinion of deputy finance permanent secretary Supa Piyajitti.Ms Supa became the centre of public attention in May last year after she unveiled corruption in the scheme and huge losses to the public. Mr Norawit also said he had submitted letters to 10 state agencies involved with the pledging programme to ask for information since March 19 but had yet to receive a response from all of them. As a result, the premier would face a big disadvantage if she has to testify before the agency on March 31, the lawyer said. He called on the NACC to make a public clarification if it denied the plea to give 45 more days to Ms Yingluck to defend herself.When asked what kind of evidence Ms Yingluck was seeking from the anti-graft agency, Mr Norawit said: ―We want the NACC to tell us loud and clear what offences the premier has committed so we can clarify [her position] correctly,‖ according to Isara News Agency (INA). ―And where is the corruption [in the rice scheme] exactly. The NACC should have said it straight away so that we can find information to clarify our stand against it correctly,‖ he argued after being told the NACC found Ms Yingluck had neglected her duty and had failed to stop corruption in the programme. Asked if the premier would testify before the NACC herself, he said it was not decided yet and the legal team would discuss the matter with her again.
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