28th September,2018 daily global regional local rice news letter by DAILY RICE NEWS LETTER

September 28 ,2018 Vol 9 ,Issue 9

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Indonesia to import 1m tonnes of rice from Pakistan Our Staff Reporter September 28, 2018

MULTAN - Indonesian Ambassador in Pakistan Iwan Suyudhie Amri said on Thursday that an agreement would soon be signed to export one million tonnes of rice from Pakistan to Indonesia by 2019. He said work was underway to devise a mutually acceptable mechanism. Addressing the members of Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), he invited the local manufacturers, exporters and industrialists to take part in 33rd Trade Expo in Indonesia to be held from Oct 24 to 28 to promote business. He further revealed that his country had decided to grant 30-day free visa to the traders and visitors from 174 countries for the expo. Tracing the relations between the two countries, he said that it was friendly and cordial since the inception of two countries. â&#x20AC;&#x2022;However, now we should make serious efforts to translate these relations into economic terms. He said that volume of bilateral trade between the two countries is 2.18 billion dollars which is far less than the existing potential. He further said that law and order situation has improved in Pakistan and it will definitely have positive impact on its exports to Indonesia. Regarding CPEC, he said that it will attract foreign investment and all regional countries will enjoy its benefits. He said that Indonesia is a country with huge population of 250 million. "Our domestic market is very strong which has provided us a solid base for speedy economic growth," he added. Regarding Halal food, he said, Pakistan is speedily undertaking the process of Halal food certification which will help it make maximum Halal exports to the Indonesia. Commenting on people to people contacts, he said that Indonesia is offering scholarships to Pakistani students which will bring both the communities closer to each other.

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Responding to a question about health and education related reforms, he said that Indonesia has allocated 20 percent of its budget for education as elementary level education is free. Similarly, cross subsidy is offered in health sector. The rich are charged while the poor are getting free treatment. He hoped that the system will be further improved in the coming years. He also assured to remove the hurdles in the export of rock salt from Pakistan to Indonesia. He paid glowing tribute to deceased former Ambassador of Indonesia Burhan Muhammad who worked hard to bolster the bilateral relations between the two counties. Earlier in his address of welcome, Malik Asrar Ahmed Awan, President of MCCI, underlined the importance of the region and said it shares 96 percent of total production of Punjab province and 70 % of the country. He said 47 % wheat, 23 % sugarcane, 50% livestock, and it produces good quality of mangoes. He said that trade between Pakistan and the Southeast Asian giant has been growing strongly for the last couple of years. The volume of bilateral trade grew from $700 million in 2010 to $2.3 billion in 2016, up 229%, he said. ―Pakistan‘s problem is that it is not ready to explore far-eastern markets, including Indonesia. Unless our exporters go for innovation and branding, the situation is not going to change,‖ said Malik Asrar Ahmed. The two countries signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2005 and the preferential trade agreement (PTA) in 2012, which became operational in 2013. Indonesia‘s exports to Pakistan increased from $1.2 billion in 2012 to $2.2 billion in 2016-17 while Pakistan‘s exports to Indonesia unfortunately declined from $196 million to $137 million.

Pakistan‘s major exports to Indonesia include textiles and clothing, rice, vegetables and fruits (mainly oranges) while its major import item from Indonesia is palm oil. https://nation.com.pk/28-Sep-2018/indonesia-to-import-1m-tonnes-of-rice-from-pakistan

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India, Pakistan Competing to Capture Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rice MarketÂŠ AP Photo / Anupam Nath ASIA & PACIFIC 17:33 27.09.2018(updated 19:57 27.09.2018)

Until a few years ago, China did not import rice from India over food safety and quality concerns. China mainly depended on Pakistan for the bulk of its rice imports. However, after signing an agreement earlier this year on phytosanitary requirements, China has opened its doors for certain varieties of Indian rice. New Delhi (Sputnik): China has opened its doors to Indian non-basmati rice and the first consignment of 100 tons is to be shipped from the western Indian city of Nagpur on Friday. The consignment will be received by China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO), which is one of China's state-owned food processing companies. "After concerted efforts of the Government of India, 19 rice mills and processing units have been registered for export of non-basmati rice from India to China," a statement issued by India's Ministry of Commerce reads.

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Presently, Pakistan is the largest supplier of non-basmati rice to China. As per Pakistan's government data, Pakistan exported 233,000 metric tons of rice valuing $83 million in the eight-month period between July 17 and February 2018.

China had allowed imports of basmati rice from India some years back, but there is not much demand for it in the country. To narrow down the burgeoning trade deficit, the Indian government had asked China to allow the import of broken white rice by 5 percent.

The protocol between the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China and the concerned department of India on phytosanitary requirements for exporting rice from India to China was signed on June 9 this year at Qingdao, China, during a visit by India Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For years, China had declined India's request to allow rice, as it was alleged that India's rice consignments contained "khapra" (cabinet) beetle and were unfit for consumption. India wants to increase exports to China with a view to bridging its ballooning trade deficit, which has increased to $63.12 billion in 2017-18 from $51.08 billion in the previous fiscal.

Rice exportersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; body elects new senior vice-chairman 5|www.riceplusmagazine.blogspot.com mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com

LAHORE: A leading rice miller and exporters Ali Hassam Asghar has been elected unopposed senior vice-chairman of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP). He is also a board member/ executive committee member of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCC&I) and has also served on various other positions of trade and industry. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/373722-rice-exporters-body-elects-new-senior-vicechairman

China lifts restrictions on import of non-basmati rice from India COMMODITY NEWS by Abha Toppo September 28, 2018 09:51 AM IST

Good news for the Indian rice exporters as China has lifted restrictions on the import of nonbasmati rice from India. According to an official release from the Commerce Ministry, â&#x20AC;&#x2022;The first consignment of non-basmati rice of 100 tonnes will be dispatched to the neighboring country from Nagpur on 28 September. China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) will receive the consignment. It must be noted that COFCO is one of China's stateowned food processing holding companies.

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India since a long time has been urging China to lift the restrictions and seeing these concerted efforts the Chinese quality agency recently examined and registered 19 rice mills and processing units for export.

The protocol between the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare of the Republic of India and General Administration of Customs of the Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s Republic of China on phytosanitary requirements for exporting rice from India to China was inked in June at Qingdao during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modiâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s visit to the country. This made changes in the earlier protocol on phytosanitary requirements for exporting rice from India to China to include the export of non-basmati varieties of rice from India.Beijing allowed imports of Basmati rice from India a few years back but as there is not much demand for it in the country, it had put restrictions.https://krishijagran.com/commodity-news/china-lifts-restrictions-on-import-of-nonbasmati-rice-from-india/

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Pangilinan to Duterte: Focus on rice crisis, not on critics By: Daphne Galvez - Reporter / @DYGalvezINQ INQUIRER.net / 09:26 AM September 28, 2018

Senator Francis ―Kiko‖ Pangilinan on Friday said President Rodrigo Duterte should focus on solving the country‘s rice crisis and the high prices of goods instead of attacking his critics. ―Instead of attacking those who disagree with his policies he should just focus on solving the nationwide rice crisis, bringing down the high prices of basic commodities, and creating jobs and better pay for our people who are now struggling desperately to make ends meet,‖ Pangilinan said in a statement. Pangilinan made the statement after the President again slammed him for authoring Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act of 2006, which according to the Chief Executive, has produced criminals. It would be recalled that it was not the first time that the President had chided Pangilinan for authoring the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act of 2006.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1037178/pangilinan-to-duterte-focus-on-rice-crisis-not-on-critics

GOV’T ‘MOVES TO STABILIZE PRICES OF RICE, OTHER AGRI PRODUCTS’ By Panay News Friday, September 28, 2018

Malacañang directed concerned agencies to apply measures that would stabilize the prices of rice and other agricultural products in a bid to cushion the impact of inflation, which reached a nine-year high in August. Photo shows vendors and customers at the

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Iloilo Terminal Market in Iloilo City. IAN PAUL CORDERO/PN

MANILA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Officials assured the public that the government was taking steps to control the impact of inflation. MalacaĂąang has ordered the release of government rice stocks and asked concerned agencies to ensure the efficient delivery of other imported agricultural products to the markets in a bid to stabilize prices, they said. A recent Pulse Asia survey showed that 63 percent of Filipinos said controlling the rising prices of basic commodities is the most urgent national concern that the Duterte administration must address.

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―The government is aware that rising prices is an urgent problem,‖ Rep. Karlo Nograles (Davao City) said Thursday. ―Our economic managers know what is causing it, and the appropriate steps are being taken to address it.‖ Nograles, chairman of the House of Representatives‘ appropriations committee, acknowledged that the spike in rice prices was one of the factors that fueled the nine-year high nationwide inflation of 6.4 percent in August. To address this, the Palace – through Memorandum Order (MO) 28 – directed the National Food Authority to immediately release the rice stocks in its warehouses. These included the 230,000 metric tons currently stored in its warehouses across the country and 100,000 MT previously contracted to be delivered before the end of the month, said Nograles. ―This is a decisive move that will force rice traders hoarding stocks to release their stocks, thereby protecting consumers from profiteers that are taking advantage of the situation,‖ he said. In addition, the NFA Council provides incentives to rice farmers who sell their palay to the NFA to improve the agency‘s rice procurement efforts. These steps, including the arrival of imported rice in the coming weeks, should stabilize rice prices and improve the availability of cheaper NFA rice across the country, said Nograles. ―Rice is life. The more expensive rice is, the harder the lives of our countrymen get,‖ he said. ―The corollary is also true. Alam ni Presidente iyan, kaya tinanggap niya ang

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pagbitiw ni Jason Aquino bilang hepe ng NFA at may mga bagong direktibasiya para pababain ang presyo ng bilihin.‖ On Tuesday Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque announced that Duterte signed an administrative order removing nontariff barriers and streamlining administrative procedures in the importation of basic agricultural commodities. Under Administrative Order 13 signed Sept. 21, Duterte emphasized the ―urgent need‖ to control spikes in the prices of basic agricultural products, particularly rice, chicken, pork, and fish. In line with this, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea issued Memorandum Order 26 directing the Agriculture and the Trade and Industry departments to adopt measures to reduce the gap between farm-gate and retail prices of agricultural products. He also issued Memorandum Order 27 ordering the Agriculture and Interior department and the Metro Manila Development Authority to ensure the efficient and seamless delivery of imported agriculture and fishery products from the ports to the markets. (With Philippines News Agency/PN) https://www.panaynews.net/govt-moves-to-stabilize-prices-of-rice-other-agri-products/

Rice exporters’ body elects new senior vice-chairman LAHORE: A leading rice miller and exporters Ali Hassam Asghar has been elected unopposed senior vice-chairman of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP).He is also a board member/ executive committee member of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCC&I) and has also served on various other positions of trade and industry. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/373722-rice-exporters-body-elects-new-senior-vice-chairman

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Sierra Leone News: Agriculture Ministry plans to reduce rice importation by 20% annually Fertile rice fields key to food security The development of a strong agricultural sector was identified by previous and current governments in order to tackle food security, hunger, malnutrition and imbalances in imports of food. In November 2017, the Global Hunger Index ranked Sierra Leone as the third hungriest country in the world. The country is spending over $200 million USD annually on rice importation. Most of the farmers in the country are engaged in subsistence farming, which is not enough to provide food sufficiency for the nation. As a way to bridge that gap, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in collaboration with the Tony Blair Institute held an interactive session to strategically plan a national agricultural transformation that can surmount the many challenges in the agricultural sector. According to the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Sam K. Brima, ―The Ministry aims at reducing rice importations by 20% annually.‖ Sierra Leoneans have faced serious challenges of food selfsufficiency. Dep. Minister Brima said the national agricultural transformation strategy has four main priorities including rice self-sufficiency and livestock development. He mentioned that the political will is there in order to develop the agricultural sector, which he said can be of benefit to all Sierra Leoneans. He furthered that they held the planning session to set the right strategy for the process. A teacher, Joseph Sesay, said, ―If the government is able to reduce the importation of rice by 20% annually, it will add value to our own locally grown rice and the problem of hunger in the country will dwindle.‖ He said there have been several agricultural projects through the Ministry that cost billions of Leones. But, he noted, nothing is there to show for those projects or that donor money. MJB/12/9/18 By Mohamed J. Bah Thursday September 13, 2018. https://awoko.org/2018/09/27/sierra-leone-news-agriculture-ministry-plans-to-reduce-rice-importationby-20-annually/

India‘s Kharif crop output may hit all-time high this year; how it may impact rice exports, MSP 12 | w w w . r i c e p l u s m a g a z i n e . b l o g s p o t . c o m mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com

After government estimates said that Indian agriculture could be heading for bumper kharif crop harvest, experts say that it could provide a major fillip to rice exports. However, it could put pressure on the government to buy the crops at their MSPs. By: FE Online | Published: September 27, 2018 1:49 PM

Interestingly, rice output in kharif 2018-19 is estimated to be a record 99.24 million tonne in this kharif season, up from 97.5 million tonne in the previous season.

After government estimates said that Indian agriculture could be heading for bumper kharif crop harvest, experts say that it could provide a major fillip to rice exports. However, the development could potentially put increased pressure on the government to buy the crops at the MSPs, if market rates fall below the benchmark rates on bumper arrivals at mandis.

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According to government estimates production of kharif foodgrains for 2018-19 crop year (JulyJune) has been estimated at a record 141.59 million tonne on the back of increased acreage under paddy and expected better yield in pulses and coarse cereals. Notably, last year‘s kharif output was 140.73 mt as per the latest (fourth) estimate, up from 134.67 seen in the first estimate. Interestingly, rice output in kharif 2018-19 is estimated to be a record 99.24 million tonne in this kharif season, up from 97.5 million tonne in the previous season. This could potentially boost up the exports, say experts. The sowing area under paddy was 2.36% higher at 38.6 million hectares as of September 20 as against the year-ago period. However, a higher output means the government will have to buy more rice from farmers, experts told the Financial Express. In the year so far, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has purchased a record 38.16 million tonne of rice as of September 24 in the 2017-18, the cost of which is estimated at a whopping Rs 1.13 lakh crore for 2018-19, up by more than Rs 12,000 crore over the previous year. Earlier this month the government announced a package — PM-AASHA — of price deficiency support schemes for agriculture crops with an extra Budget outlay of Rs 15,000 crore for procurement of oilseeds and pulses crops. Added to this the fact that, these are preliminary estimates and can undergo upward revisions based on further feedback from states. The cumulative rainfall in the country during the monsoon season till date has been 9% lower than the Long Period Average. However, rains in north-west and central India and southern Peninsula have been normal and hence most of the major crop producing states have witnessed normal rainfall, the government said.

India to ship first consignment of common grade rice to China SEPTEMBER 27, 2018

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will send its first consignment of common grade rice to China on Friday, the government said, following intense lobbying by New Delhi after relations thawed between the two countries.People transport sacks of rice through a boat at a flooded village in Morigaon district in Assam, August 20, 2017. REUTERS/Anuwar Hazarika/Files

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A consignment of 100 tonnes would be shipped to China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp (COFCO), one of China‘s state-owned food processing holding companies, India‘s Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement on Thursday.China is a leading importer of rice and sugar, while India is the world‘s biggest exporter of rice. Prime Minister Narendra Modi finalised an amended agreement in June related to the export of non-basmati varieties of rice from India to China. New Delhi is concerned about its rising trade deficit with China, and has sought greater access to the world‘s second-largest economy for agricultural products including rapeseed, soybeans and sugar. https://in.reuters.com/article/india-rice-china/india-to-ship-first-consignment-of-common-graderice-to-china-idINKCN1M70QC

Bright prospects for rice exports The Saigon Times Daily

Thursday, Sep 27, 2018,19:00 (GMT+7)

Farmers harvest rice in the Mekong Delta – PHOTO: THANH HOA HCMC – The export of rice products is expected to continue to rise in the rest of the year, thanks to the high-quality products being sold and the favorable export policy, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

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Vietnam has shipped an estimated 4.9 million tons of rice products worth some US$2.5 billion so far this year, up 22% from a year earlier, according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Tran Van Cong, deputy head of the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority under the ministry, ascribed the impressive achievement to the effective rice sector restructuring program, whose focus is on developing high-quality and fragrant rice to bolster exports to demanding markets. Up to 80% of exports are now classified as high-quality rice and sold at an average US$500 per ton, higher than the equivalents of other regional countries, said Cong. In the past period, Vietnam has done well to diversify its rice export markets instead of being reliant on certain markets. Market diversification has now acted as a catalyst for Vietnamese rice shipments in some new markets. He added that some countries that have been hit by natural disasters have had an increasing demand for rice products. Others purchase additional amounts of rice to offset their dwindling reserves. Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s sudden imposition of a 50% tariff on rice imports from July affected rice consumption in this market, especially sticky rice. At some points, Chinese traders paid only US$380 per ton for sticky rice, compared with US$530-540 per ton early this year.

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The tariff imposition has led to a decline in Vietnamâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s rice exports to China. However, the northern neighbor is still ranked first in terms of Vietnamese rice consumption, making up some 25% of the market. Vietnamese firms have also worked to enhance rice exports to Indonesia, Iraq, the Philippines, Malaysia, the Ivory Coast and the United Arab Emirates. The export shipments of aromatic, jasmine, Japonica and broken rice have surged. Notably, fragment varieties have accounted for 40% of rice exports, especially in Africa. Cong predicted that Vietnamese rice exports would grow stronger in the remaining months of the year, as the Government has recently issued a new decree on the rice export business to replace the earlier Decree 109/2010 of the same nature; it will take effect from early next month. The new Decree 107/2018 is aimed at removing difficulties and legal barriers for rice exporters to expand into foreign markets. Rice exporters will no longer be required to own at least one warehouse, with a minimum storage capacity of 5,000 tons, or a milling facility, with a minimum hourly processing capacity of 10 tons, to obtain a license to ship staple food abroad. In addition, customs procedures will be simplified, creating favorable conditions for rice firms, especially those of small or medium size, to export their high-quality, specialty rice products to large-consumption markets such as China, Europe, Africa, Iraq, Cuba and the United Arab Emirates. Cong forecast that rice demand will pick up in some countries in the coming period. For example, the Philippines is likely to import an additional 500,000-800,000 tons of rice by the end of this year to refill its exhausted reserves and stabilize its domestic rice price. Chinese enterprises have been working with their counterparts from Vietnamâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s Mekong Delta region to sound out cooperation opportunities in rice trading. Meanwhile, Indonesia and several African countries also have high demand for rice imports due to their output declines, resulting from floods and storms. Local firms are seeking ways to boost sticky rice shipments to Indonesia to reduce its dependence on the Chinese market. The move has increased the cost of sticky rice from just below US$400 per ton in July and August to the current US$440 per ton. Vietnamese rice is expected to be more competitive than before in terms of price, as local firms are able to reduce their export costs. This will provide a sound opportunity for them to compete with their Thai rivals on the Indian and Iraqi markets, Cong noted. The Vietnamese rice market now has a positive outlook and high potential for rice export expansion. However, the output of raw rice until the end of this year is forecast to be lower than expected earlier this year because the Mekong Delta region is being hit by floods earlier than in recent years, and floodwater levels are also higher. Damage to raw rice, due to early floods in the delta, has not been recorded accurately. Coupled with this, the autumn-winter rice crop has been witnessing a decline in growing acreage, said

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Nguyen Ngoc Nam, acting general director of Vietnam Southern Food Corporation. Therefore, he projected that Vietnam is likely to fail to meet its rice export target of 6.5 million tons this year. https://english.thesaigontimes.vn/63033/bright-prospects-for-rice-exports.html

ASIA RICE-VIETNAM PRICES GAIN ON PHILIPPINE ORDERS; INDIA RATES DIP 9/27/2018 * Thai prices gain on stronger baht * Bangladesh could import as much as 700,000 T in year to June By Eileen Soreng BENGALURU, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Vietnamese rice export prices rose this week on increased demand from the Philippines and elsewhere while rates for rice from top exporter India fell on expectations for a bumper summer-sown crop and a weak rupee. In Vietnam, traders offered 5 percent broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1> at $400-$405 a tonne, slightly higher than the $395-$405 a week earlier, as supplies fell and demand rose. "We are seeing rising demand from the Philippines and other markets," a Ho Chi Minh City trader said, adding that prices may rise further in the coming weeks because of tight supply. The Philippines on Monday decided to ramp up its rice imports before the end of the year, announcing a decision to purchase 500,000 tonnes in addition to the 250,000 tonnes it planned to buy via an open tender. That increasing demand is expected to boost export prices of the Philippines' main suppliers, Vietnam and Thailand. Iraq also purchased at least 60,000 tonnes of rice from Vietnam in a direct deal without an international tender being issued, traders in Europe and the Middle East said. "Supplies will improve later next month when the mini autumn-winter harvest begins," the Ho Chi Minh trader said. However, output is expected to be half the size of the summer-autumn harvest.

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Rates for India's 5 percent broken parboiled rice <RI-INBKN5-P1> dipped by $3 to $370-$374 a tonne. Demand for the new-season crop is not robust, said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. " (The) falling rupee is making deals at lower prices possible," the exporter said. The Indian rupee has weakened by nearly 12 percent in 2018 and touched a record low this month, increasing exporters margins. Meanwhile, neighbouring Bangladesh could import as much as 700,000 tonnes in the year to June 2019, said a senior official at the state grains buyer. Last year Bangladesh's Boro rice crop, which accounts for more than half of the country's typical annual rice production, fell to its lowest in seven years after floods destroyed crops. "We are keeping a budget for imports of 700,000 tonnes of rice as a precaution, just in case natural disasters destroy crops again this year," the official said. Thailand's benchmark 5 percent broken rice <RI-THBKN5-P1> was quoted at $395–398 a tonne free on board (FOB) Bangkok, versus $390-$393 last week. Traders attributed the increase to a strengthening of the Thai baht against the U.S. dollar, noting that demand for its rice was relatively flat. Thailand's government on Wednesday said it had sold 100,000 tonnes of rice to China in the first such sale since March. (Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai and Ruma Paul in Dhaka Editing by David Goodman) https://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/asia-rice-vietnam-prices-gain-on-philippineorders-india-rates-dip

NFA expects debt to swell after rice imports By: Karl R. Ocampo - @inquirerdotnet Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:20 AM September 27, 2018:The National Food Authority‘s (NFA) debt is seen to balloon by about P49 billion to P185.9 billion as it plans to increase its rice imports for this year until the next to support the country‘s rice requirement.

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Based on NFA‘s computation, the importation of about 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice could cost the government P7 billion. With the NFA Council‘s approval to import 750,000 MT of rice this year and its standby approval to import an additional million ton in 2019, the grains agency would need to borrow about P49 billion from the Bureau of the Treasury. This would put the agency‘s total debt to the national government at about P185.9 billion. The agency‘s decision came after Typhoon ―Ompong‖ left some 517,175 hectares of rice farms destroyed, leaving in its trail production losses of about 750,000 MT of rice. After Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol‘s first meeting with the agency as the head of the NFA Council on Monday, additional imports were approved to ensure there would be enough rice supply despite the calamity. As of Wednesday, NFA‘s pending loans stood at P136.9 billion—the bulk of which was incurred during the time of the Arroyo administration. During that time, in an effort to satisfy both farmers and consumers, the agency subsidized both the farm-gate and the market price of rice, which proved to be unsustainable. Asked whether the NFA has the ability to pay off its loans, spokesperson Rex Estoperez said the agency has always been able to pay the Treasury through the proceeds it gets from selling NFA rice variants in the market. These variants are sold at a constant P27 and P32 a kilogram, depending on the quality. Just a few weeks ago, an agricultural group filed a graft complaint against former NFA Administrator Jason Aquino for allegedly diverting a portion of the agency‘s funds to pay off its maturing loans instead of using the money to stabilize the supply and prices of grains. For the first semester of 2018, NFA received the largest subsidy from the government‘s coffers at P5.2 billion, higher than the subsidy received by the National Irrigation Administration at P2.996 billion. https://business.inquirer.net/257951/nfa-expects-debt-swell-rice-imports#ixzz5SONtglAU

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National Rice Month in Louisiana Marked with Generous Donations By Kane Webb

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CROWLEY, LA -- National Rice Month was celebrated all across Louisiana this September, and this past week, there was something for everyone, both young and young at heart.

The Cal Cam Rice Growers Association and the Port of Lake Charles hosted the 21st Annual Louisiana Rice Cook Off where 15 area middle and high school students competed in several categories for the top prize. The student chefs and their teachers also toured the Port of Lake Charles facilities and walked through one of the large warehouses where milled rice set for delivery to Iraq was stacked as far as the eye could see. Participants received gift bags from the Cal-Cam Rice Growers Association and USA Rice, and brand new rice cookers from Farmers Rice Mill in Lake Charles.

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Rice donations are a big part of NRM in Louisiana and Julie and Christian Richard, of Richard Farms from Indian Bayou, started things off by donating 4,000 pounds of rice to the Kaplan Food Bank, delivered with the help of Kaplan High School FFA students and Farmers Rice Mill. Helping hands in Kaplan Donations continued with the 28th Annual LA Rice Industry's National Rice Month/Hunger Awareness Month celebration here on Monday. The City of Crowley rolled out the red carpet for this year's event, held in front of the historic Rice Theatre, where the landmark marquee read, "Celebrate 2018 National Rice Month." State Representatives Mark Abraham and Johnny Guinn were on hand, along with other local dignitaries, to hear Congressman Clay Higgins present the proclamation of September as Rice Month in Louisiana to the crowd gathered in front of the theater. The LA Rice Growers Association, and the mills of south Louisiana presented Second Harvest Food Bank of Acadiana and the Louisiana Food Bank Association with 55,000 pounds of rice. Along with Falcon Rice Mills' matching program for Second Harvest, contributors included Farmers Rice Mill, Supreme Rice Mill, and Planters Rice Mill. "The best thing we can have on our shelves is white rice," said Second Harvest COO John Dziurgot. Monroe delegation delivers Celebrations continued the following day, in West Monroe, where the NELA Rice Growers Association, and Kennedy Rice Mill of Mer Rouge, presented the NELA Food Bank with a donation of 47,000 pounds of rice in an event at the West Monroe Farmer's Market.

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Jean Toth, CEO of the NELA Food Bank, thanked the growers and Kennedy Rice Mill representatives on hand for their generosity and support. "This will go a long way with the holiday season approaching, and rice is one of the most nutritious and popular items we can provide to those families in need." State Senator Francis Thompson read the Governor's NRM Proclamation, and John Owen, chair of the Louisiana Rice Promotion Board made the official rice at donation at both events.

"The more than 100,000 pounds of rice donated over these past few days, providing 1.6 million portions of rice to Louisiana families, makes me proud of this industry, and I invite all Louisiana citizens to celebrate this month," said Owen. All aboard for the rice donation in Crowley https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1547362/china-buy-to-boost-rice-exports

Pakistan-China Join Hands For Increasing Cultivation Of Hybrid Rice Varieties Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) 2 days ago Wed 26th September 2018 | 10:29 PM

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Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and Yuan Longping High-tech Agriculture Co. Ltd. China here on Wednesday organized training course on 'Hybrid Rice Technology in Pakistan', in order to review exact hybrid seed requirements of Pakistan for different regions. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Sep, 2018 ) :Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and Yuan Longping High-tech Agriculture Co. Ltd. China here on Wednesday organized training course on 'Hybrid Rice Technology in Pakistan', in order to review exact hybrid seed requirements of Pakistan for different regions. The event also showcased the best hybrid rice varieties, technical knowledge and expertise, besides training of the professionals from all over Pakistan. Veteran rice scientists from China will train local scientists during this training course. Addressing the event Dr Yusuf Zafar ighlighted the farmers' friendly initiatives of the government and appreciated Chinese support to improve rice productivity in Pakistan and said that the this attempt will change the fate of rice farmers with respect to productivity and profitability. Dr Wang Zhihua, Commercial Counselor China embassy expressed resolve of Chines government to support and commitment for the betterment of agriculture sector in Pakistan. He said that under the programme Pakistani and Chinese scientists will work together to study rice hybrids behavior in different regions. They would identify field problems and also met the research and extension experts and farmers for discussion to inculcate characters suitable for each region to achieve the desired results. https://www.urdupoint.com/en/agriculture/pakistan-china-join-hands-for-increasing-cult441591.html

Science: Scientists crunch social media data to explain how communities affect friendships [Report] BY MARTA SUBAT ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2018SCIENCE Your chances of forming online friendships depend mainly on the number of groups and organizations you join, not their types, according to an analysis of six online social networks by Rice University data scientists.

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―If a person is looking for friends, they should basically be active in as many communities as possible,‖ said Anshumali Shrivastava, assistant professor of computer science at Rice and coauthor of a peer-reviewed study presented last month at the 2018 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining in Barcelona, Spain. ―And if they want to become friends with a specific person, they should try to be a part of all the groups that person is a part of.‖ The finding is based on an analysis of six online social networks with millions of members, and Shrivastava said its simplicity may come as a surprise to those who study friendship formation and the role communities play in bringing about friendships. ―There‘s an old saying that ‗birds of a feather flock together,'‖ Shrivastava said. ―And that idea—that people who are more similar are more likely to become friends—is embodied in a principal called homophily, which is a widely studied concept in friendship formation.‖ One school of thought holds that because of homophily, the odds that people will become friends increase in some groups. To account for this in computational models of friendship networks, researchers often assign each group an ―affinity‖ score; the more alike group members are, the higher their affinity and the greater their chances of forming friendships. Prior to social media, there were few detailed records about friendships between individuals in large organizations. That changed with the advent of social networks that have millions of individual members who are often affiliated with many communities and subcommunities within the network. ―A community, for our purposes, is any affiliated group of people within the network,‖ Shrivastava said. ―Communities can be very large, like everyone who identifies with a particular country or state, and they can be very small, like a handful of old friends who meet once a year.‖

Finding meaningful affinity scores for hundreds of thousands of communities in online social networks has been a challenge for analysts and modelers. Calculating the odds of friendship formation is further complicated by the overlap between communities and subcommittees. For instance, if the old friends in the above example live in three different states, their small subcommunity overlaps with the large communities of people from those states. Because many individuals in social networks belong to dozens of communities and subcommunities, overlapping connections can become dense.

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In 2016, Shrivastava and study co-author Chen Luo, a graduate student in his research group, realized that some well-known analyses of online friendship formation failed to account for any factors arising out of overlap. ―Let‘s say Adam, Bob and Charlie are members of the same four communities, but in addition, Adam is a member of 16 other communities,‖ Shrivastava said. ―The existing affiliation model says the likelihood of Adam and Charlie being friends only depends on the affinity measures of the four communities they have in common. It doesn‘t matter that each of them are friends with Bob or that Adam‘s being pulled in 16 other directions.‖ That seemed like a glaring oversight to Luo and Shrivastava, but they had an idea of how to account for it based on an analogy they saw between the overlapping subcommunities and the overlapping similarities between webpages that must be taken into account by internet search engines. One of the most popular measures for internet search is the Jaccard overlap, which was pioneered by Google scientists and others in the late 1990s. ―We used this to measure overlap between communities and then checked to see if there was a relationship between overlap and friendship probability, or friendship affiliation, on six wellstudied social networks,‖ Shrivastava said. ―We found that on all six, the relationship more or less looked like a straight line.‖ ―That implies that friendship formation can be explained merely by looking at overlap between communities,‖ Luo said. ―In other words, you don‘t need to account for affinity measures for specific communities. All that extra work is unnecessary.‖ Once Luo and Shrivastava saw the linear relationship between Jaccard overlap of communities and friendship formation, they also saw an opportunity to use a data-indexing method called ―hashing,‖ which is used to organize web documents for efficient search. Shrivastava and his colleagues have applied hashing to solve computational problems as diverse as indoor location detection, the training of deep learning networks and accurately estimating the number of identified victims killed in the Syrian civil war. Shrivastava said he and Luo developed a model for friendship formation that ―mimicked the way the mathematics behind the hashing work.‖ The model offers a simple explanation of how friendships form. ―Communities are having events and activities all the time, but some of these are a bigger draw, and the preference for attending these is higher,‖ Shrivastava said. ―Based on this preference, individuals become active in the most preferred communities to which they belong. If two people are active in the same community at the same time, they have a constant, usually small,

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probability of forming a friendship. That‘s it. This mathematically recovers our observed empirical model.‖ He said the findings could be useful to anyone who wants to bring communities together and enhance the process of friendship formation. ―It seems that the most effective way is to encourage people to form more subcommunities,‖ Shrivastava said. ―The more subcommunities you have, the more they overlap, and the more likely it is that individual members will have more close friendships throughout the organization. People have long thought that this would be one factor, but what we‘ve shown is this is probably the only one you have to pay attention to.‖ Your chances of forming online friendships depend mainly on the number of groups and organizations you join, not their types, according to an analysis of six online social networks by Rice University data scientists. ―If a person is looking for friends, they should basically be active in as many communities as possible,‖ said Anshumali Shrivastava, assistant professor of computer science at Rice and coauthor of a peer-reviewed study presented last month at the 2018 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining in Barcelona, Spain. ―And if they want to become friends with a specific person, they should try to be a part of all the groups that person is a part of.‖ The finding is based on an analysis of six online social networks with millions of members, and Shrivastava said its simplicity may come as a surprise to those who study friendship formation and the role communities play in bringing about friendships. ―There‘s an old saying that ‗birds of a feather flock together,'‖ Shrivastava said. ―And that idea—that people who are more similar are more likely to become friends—is embodied in a principal called homophily, which is a widely studied concept in friendship formation.‖ One school of thought holds that because of homophily, the odds that people will become friends increase in some groups. To account for this in computational models of friendship networks, researchers often assign each group an ―affinity‖ score; the more alike group members are, the higher their affinity and the greater their chances of forming friendships. Prior to social media, there were few detailed records about friendships between individuals in large organizations. That changed with the advent of social networks that have millions of individual members who are often affiliated with many communities and subcommunities within the network.

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―A community, for our purposes, is any affiliated group of people within the network,‖ Shrivastava said. ―Communities can be very large, like everyone who identifies with a particular country or state, and they can be very small, like a handful of old friends who meet once a year.‖ Finding meaningful affinity scores for hundreds of thousands of communities in online social networks has been a challenge for analysts and modelers. Calculating the odds of friendship formation is further complicated by the overlap between communities and subcommittees. For instance, if the old friends in the above example live in three different states, their small subcommunity overlaps with the large communities of people from those states. Because many individuals in social networks belong to dozens of communities and subcommunities, overlapping connections can become dense. In 2016, Shrivastava and study co-author Chen Luo, a graduate student in his research group, realized that some well-known analyses of online friendship formation failed to account for any factors arising out of overlap. ―Let‘s say Adam, Bob and Charlie are members of the same four communities, but in addition, Adam is a member of 16 other communities,‖ Shrivastava said. ―The existing affiliation model says the likelihood of Adam and Charlie being friends only depends on the affinity measures of the four communities they have in common. It doesn‘t matter that each of them are friends with Bob or that Adam‘s being pulled in 16 other directions.‖ That seemed like a glaring oversight to Luo and Shrivastava, but they had an idea of how to account for it based on an analogy they saw between the overlapping subcommunities and the overlapping similarities between webpages that must be taken into account by internet search engines. One of the most popular measures for internet search is the Jaccard overlap, which was pioneered by Google scientists and others in the late 1990s. ―We used this to measure overlap between communities and then checked to see if there was a relationship between overlap and friendship probability, or friendship affiliation, on six wellstudied social networks,‖ Shrivastava said. ―We found that on all six, the relationship more or less looked like a straight line.‖ ―That implies that friendship formation can be explained merely by looking at overlap between communities,‖ Luo said. ―In other words, you don‘t need to account for affinity measures for specific communities. All that extra work is unnecessary.‖ Once Luo and Shrivastava saw the linear relationship between Jaccard overlap of communities and friendship formation, they also saw an opportunity to use a data-indexing method called ―hashing,‖ which is used to organize web documents for efficient search. Shrivastava and his colleagues have applied hashing to solve computational problems as diverse as indoor location

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detection, the training of deep learning networks and accurately estimating the number of identified victims killed in the Syrian civil war. Shrivastava said he and Luo developed a model for friendship formation that ―mimicked the way the mathematics behind the hashing work.‖ The model offers a simple explanation of how friendships form. ―Communities are having events and activities all the time, but some of these are a bigger draw, and the preference for attending these is higher,‖ Shrivastava said. ―Based on this preference, individuals become active in the most preferred communities to which they belong. If two people are active in the same community at the same time, they have a constant, usually small, probability of forming a friendship. That‘s it. This mathematically recovers our observed empirical model.‖ He said the findings could be useful to anyone who wants to bring communities together and enhance the process of friendship formation. ―It seems that the most effective way is to encourage people to form more subcommunities,‖ Shrivastava said. ―The more subcommunities you have, the more they overlap, and the more likely it is that individual members will have more close friendships throughout the organization. People have long thought that this would be one factor, but what we‘ve shown is this is probably the only one you have to pay attention to.‖ http://infosurhoy.com/cocoon/saii/xhtml/en_GB/science/science-scientists-crunch-social-media-data-toexplain-how-communities-affect-friendships-report/

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The earth‘s climate is changing, and — whether you agree with that statement or not — the chances are agricultural production is already being impacted in some parts of the United States, including those where rice is grown, a USDA scientist said. Dr. Lewis H. Ziska isn‘t a climate scientist, nor does he claim to be. But the plant physiologist who works with the USDA‘s Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Md., says the impact of increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can readily be observed. ―When it comes to looking at CO2, we‘ve been monitoring carbon dioxide since the late 1950s,‖ says Ziska, who works with the USDA-ARS Adaptive Cropping Systems Laboratory in Beltsville. ―When I was born it was about 315 parts per million, and today it‘s about 410 parts per million. So it‘s gone up by almost 30 percent in my lifetime. ―That increase is actually, in terms of a geological basis, the biggest, the highest concentration of CO2 we‘ve seen in the last million years or so,‖says Ziska, who was the presenter for a University of Arkansas Food and Agribusiness Webinar, ―Climate Change, CO2 and Rice Production in the 21st Century: Now what?‖ (https://bit.ly/2PZFfmA) Ziska, who was a project leader for global climate change at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines before joining USDA, said he wanted to ―make sure everyone was on the same page‖ at the start of his presentation. ―When we look at atmospheric CO2, we recognize that carbon dioxide is a byproduct of burning of fossil fuels,‖ he noted. ―Any carbon source, whether it‘s methane or coal or gasoline, when you oxidize it; when you burn it; you‘re producing carbon dioxide. About 90 percent of that comes from fossil fuels and cement; 10 percent from burning forest. ―About 50 percent of it stays in the air; about 25 percent gets reabsorbed by vegetation; and about 25 percent gets dissolved into the world‘s oceans.‖

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How much higher?

How much higher can carbon dioxide concentrations go from the current level of 410 parts per million? If the world continues to burn fossil fuels at the current rate, CO2 will be somewhere from 800 to 1,000 parts per million by the end of the current century. Ziska said carbon dioxide and water vapor or humidity are the two main components of the atmosphere in global warming. ―What do we mean exactly when we say global warming?‖ he said. ―The best way I can explain global warming is to turn to the guitar. We all know when I tune two strings of my guitar to the same frequency, and pluck one string, the string next to it will resonate and absorb some of the additional energy. ―This is what molecules do, as well. They don‘t absorb, but water vapor and carbon dioxide absorb in the key of infrared. When heat hits these molecules they resonate, absorb some of the energy that would otherwise be lost. You know water absorbs heat, but so does carbon dioxide. That, in itself, is not a bad thing. If there was no water vapor and CO2 the average surface temperature of the earth would be minus 18 degrees C.‖ With the current levels of carbon dioxide and water vapor the temperature is about 15 degrees C or 59 degrees F. ―So it‘s livable, and we call this the natural greenhouse effect.‖ Misconception

One misconception that helps feed the controversy over climate change is the idea that temperatures will rise uniformly around the globe. They won‘t because CO2 and water vapor do not occur in similar proportions everywhere.

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―As an example, where the earth is warm and humid, where humidity or water vapor is the principal greenhouse gas, adding more CO2 will change things a little bit but not a lot,‖ he said. ―That‘s pretty much in the tropics. So, in the tropics, we‘re not seeing a big increase in terms of temperature. ―Where the air is dry and can‘t hold water vapor it is going to respond more strongly to the uniform increase in carbon dioxide,‖ he said. ―The obvious places will be at the poles where the air is cold and dry. It doesn‘t hold a lot of water vapor, and adding more CO2 is going to have a precipitous effect in terms of surface temperatures.‖ Deserts are another example, because the air is hot and dry and will be proportionately more affected by the increase of CO2. ―Also, as you go up in altitude, the air becomes drier. As you change seasons, the air becomes drier. Summers are going to be warmer and wetter, winters are likely to be warmer. ―And it‘s the differential rate of warming where some areas like the poles are warming 5 or 6 degrees, and other areas are not changing much. But that differential area of warming will drive extreme weather events.‖ Plants will be affected differently. ―There will be less temperature increase where water vapor is high, but more precipitation,‖ he said. ―That is, warm and wet is going to become warmer and wetter. Places with higher latitudes or altitudes are going to get greater temperature increases.‖ Plants need light, water and nutrients. ―Now suppose one of these resources were, in your lifetime, to go up by 25 or 30 percent. Would that have an impact in terms of plant biology? Of course it would. Would all plants respond the same way? No.‖ Ziska displayed a slide with a photo of a school bus covered with kudzu. ―We know from experiments that, in fact, kudzu responds well to CO2. But not all plants are beneficial to human society, and not all plants are going to respond the same way.‖

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Rice production

What about rice production? Researchers believe growers may see shifts in weather patterns rather than uniformly warmer temperatures. ―The average temperature is going to shift,‖ he said. ―But everything shifts. It isn‘t that you‘re not going to get below average or cooler temperatures, they‘re just not going to be as frequent. In addition, you‘re going to get extreme temperatures.‖ High nighttime temperatures have been shown to have a greater negative effect on rice yields than high daytime temperatures. Scientists expect the rise of CO2 to have a bigger effect on temperatures by trapping more heat at night. The hypothesis is with a one-degree increase above that critical temperature of 24 degrees C, or about 75 degrees Fahrenheit, that‘s going to lead to a 10 percent reduction of both grain yield and bio mass,‖ Ziska said. ―Since 2000, there‘s been an average of 20 days per season where the temperature is that high in Stuttgart, Ark.‖ That has translated to a decline in rice production in one of the state‘s leading rice counties. ―I‘m sure there are other aspects of this that we need to investigate further. But it‘s really interesting. This is something that, if I were a grower, I would want to pay attention to.‖ TAGS: RICE https://www.deltafarmpress.com/weather/higher-carbon-dioxide-levels-affecting-rice-yields-analysisshows

Arkansas high school students eye environmental, agricultural research Program technician Brina Smith guides Two Rivers High School students through water quality tests for phosphorus content and turbidity in the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station‘s

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Water Quality Lab during the Environmental and Agricultural Sustainability Field Trip Sept. 25. Special to The Commercial/U of A Division of Agriculture, Fred Miller Graduate assistant Jamison Murry demonstrates a wheat seed thresher used in the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station‘s wheat breeding program during the Environmental and Agricultural Sustainability Field Trip Sept. 25. Special to The Commercial/U of A Division of Agriculture, Fred Miller Program technician Brina Smith guides Two Rivers High School students through water quality tests for phosphorus content and turbidity in the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station‘s Water Quality Lab during the Environmental and Agricultural Sustainability Field Trip Sept. 25. Special to The Commercial/U of A Division of Agriculture, Fred Miller Graduate assistant Jamison Murry demonstrates a wheat seed thresher used in the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station‘s wheat breeding program during the Environmental and Agricultural Sustainability Field Trip Sept. 25. Special to The Commercial/U of A Division of Agriculture, Fred Miller Program technician Brina Smith guides Two Rivers High School students through water quality tests for phosphorus content and turbidity in the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station‘s Water Quality Lab during the Environmental and Agricultural Sustainability Field Trip Sept. 25. Special to The Commercial/U of A Division of Agriculture, Fred Miller

Arkansas High School Students Dig in to Environmental, Agricultural ... FAYETTEVILLE — More than 150 Arkansas high school students and teachers tested water quality, threshed wheat seed and climbed into holes at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture‘s Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center Sept. 25. And that was just the easy stuff. The U of A department of crop, soil and environmental sciences (CSES) hosted the 10th annual Environmental and Agricultural Sustainability Field Trip at the center, according to a news release. Holly Yeatman, recruiting coordinator for the CSES department, said the event connects students with environmental and agricultural experts for hands-on experiences related to what they‘re learning in the classroom.

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―So many of the things that we talk about and show students are directly related to their curriculum,‖ Yeatman said. Natalie Olivieri, Rogers High School science teacher, said this was the seventh year she brought her advanced placement environmental science students on the field trip. ―Usually at this point, we finish up our soil unit, so this is really great hands-on, real-world application experience for them,‖ Olivieri said. The field day helps the students see how what they learn in class applies in the real world, Olivieri said, ―and how it‘s used to feed so many people, and how many careers are out there, many I think they have never heard of before.‖ The field trip presentations and activities also serve as a bridge between the soils unit of their studies and the next unit where they study land use, especially in agriculture, Olivieri said. ―My favorite thing about this program is seeing the lightbulbs come on for the students whenever they start seeing the things or hearing those things I told them about, and they hear them again, and seeing them make those connections.‖ Following a brief welcome address from Deacue Fields, dean of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, students split into small groups and loaded into rustic hay wagons toted by tractors. Each group visited stations led by faculty, personnel and alumni of the CSES department and visiting specialists from the Beaver Water District and Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Each session lasted about 15 minutes and introduced students to sustainability concepts that are shaping the future of agricultural practices and environmental management. Two tours, each with six stations, covered a wide range of topics, including remote drone sensing for soybean research, water quality and resource management, wheat breeding, soybean and rice research, erosion control, soil sustainability and careers in agriculture. Colin Stare, a Rogers High School senior, said his favorite stops were the rice research plots and the soil profile pit. Stare said the rice research plots let him see the genetic diversity available in rice genetic stock and learn about different traits that scientists try to breed into commercial varieties.

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―It was really cool seeing the difference,‖ he said. His classmate, Brock Badely, was also interested in the rice plots, and was especially fascinated by the engineering that created a rice paddy in the Ozarks. Stare said the soil profile pit was also interesting, especially since his class has just been studying soils. ―We just took a test on it, so we thought we knew a little on it,‖ Stare said. ―And they ended up saying there were something like 21,000 different organisms in it. We thought we knew something, but we really only knew a small scale, so it really opened our eyes to the greater magnitude of things.‖ Badely agreed with Stare‘s assessment of the impact of the field day on their recent studies. ―It was very visual,‖ Badely said. ―We learned about the different kinds of soil in class, and then today we were out to see it in person and they had this big hole dug up where we could actually see each different (soil) horizon.‖ ―Being able to visually see it in person was a lot more informational than just looking at it on a screen,‖ Badely said. Badely also enjoyed seeing how Division of Agriculture scientists use drones for plant research. ―It uses technology,‖ he said, ―and uses a new form by doing it from above the ground.‖ To learn more about the impact of agricultural sciences in Arkansas, contact a local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit http://www.uaex.edu/. The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without discrimination. — Fred Miller is the science editor at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Division of Agriculture Communications.http://www.pbcommercial.com/news/20180927/arkansas-high-school-studentseye-environmental-agricultural-research

Flooding: Fresh threat to investors, rice self-sufficiency 37 | w w w . r i c e p l u s m a g a z i n e . b l o g s p o t . c o m mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com

CHIKODI OKEREOCHA On: September 28, 2018

Some rice-producing states, in collaboration with the private sector, invested massively in local production. It was part of their strategic response to the Federal Government’s push to achieve self-sufficiency in rice by 2020, diversify the economy and create jobs. But, the investments are being threatened by floods, which washed away rice farms across the country. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports. These are certainly not the best of times for stakeholders in the agric sector, including government, farmers and investors in local rice production. While they are still agonising over smuggling, which is, perhaps, the biggest threat to rice production in Nigeria, the spate of flooding, which hit major rice-producing states across the country, has tossed a fresh threat on their path to reaping bountifully from their investments. The floods, which came in the wake of torrential rains that forced the country‘s two main rivers (Niger and Benue) and others in the rice-growing states to overflow their banks, are said to have submerged hundreds of hectares of rice farms. This resulted in huge losses to investors and rice farmers, while also causing a serious setback to the Federal Government‘s quest to achieve self sufficiency in rice by 2020. The Nation learnt that from the Southeast state of Anambra to the South-south state of Edo, the northern states of Adamawa, Kebbi, Niger, Kano and Katsina, it‘s been a tale of woes by investors and rice farmers in the past few weeks. Many of them watched helplessly as several metric tons of un-harvested rice were washed away in what the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has described as Nigeria‘s worst flooding in six years. For instance, about 20 per cent of the 110 hectares of rice field at the Leventis Farm in Agenebode, Edo State, have been washed away by flood. The farm, cultivated by farmers with

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state governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s support, under the FADAMA III financing project, was said to have been submerged by floods from the Niger River. At least, 21,000 hectares (51, 892 acres) with 168,000 metric tons un-harvested rice have also been washed away in the past month in Kebbi, one of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s main rice-growing states. The State Chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Mohammed Sahabi, who confirmed this, last week, said similar damage was reported by farmers in three other states, including Niger, Kano and Katsina. Similarly, about 7,000 registered members of RIFAN in Adamawa State are said to be assessing the extent of damage on their farms by floods, which hit the state. With some farmlands in various local government areas especially those along the bank of River Benue submerged, the Association was emphatic that the earlier predicted bumper harvest in the state was under threat. The Anambra State Government and its private sector partners are also ruing the destruction of over 200 hectares of rice farm at Omor in Ayamelum Local Government Area of the state by flood. The Executive Director of Anambra State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Cyprian Agupugo, said last week that the Okpoto River in the area burst its banks, destroying the Ojagbo Rice Farm worth millions of naira. He said some of the farmers took bank loans while others borrowed from relatives. The affected states, in collaboration with the private sector, invested heavily in local rice production. It was part of their strategic move to diversify their economies away from oil, shore up their revenues from the Federation Account, which dropped significantly following the crash in oil prices, and also create jobs.

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Aside helping to boost the domestic economy, the statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC; involvement in rice production was specifically aimed at assisting the Federal Government to push back importation of the product, which has been gulping an estimated N365 billion yearly and achieve self-sufficiency in rice by 2020. Nigeria, Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s largest rice consumer, consumes about six million metric tons of rice yearly. It spends an average of N1 billion daily. While half of the volume is imported mostly from India, Thailand, and Brazil, about 2.8 million metric tons are produced locally. The country, however, targets total rice import replacement by 2020, which was why it encouraged state governments, particularly those in the rice-producing regions, to invest in local production. And the states responded with remarkable gusto, investing in irrigation projects and the distribution of high-yielding rice species to farmers. But, as it turned out, it seems the state governments and their private sector partners may have got their fingers burnt. Worst hit perhaps is Anambra, which before the coming of the floods targeted the production of 600,000 metric tons of rice this year, from its current yield of 345,000 metric tons. The state hoped to achieve this feat through the execution of the Ihiala Irrigation Project, which is being supported by the World Bank through FADAMA 3 Programme. The project, located in Ubahuekwem in Ihiala LGA, has a 450-metre Central Pivot System and a sprinkler with the capacity to cover over 110 hectares of land. It was to enable farmers take advantage of the dry season, which usually is a period of scarcity for them.

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More importantly, the plan, according to Governor Willie Obiano, was to achieve three effective rice planting sessions annually. By ensuring all-year round rice production, the governor said he envisaged the attendant multiplier effect of empowering about 2,500 farmers in the state. This was why, under the project, over 5,000 hectares of land was cleared for farmers. The State Project Coordinator for FADAMA 3 Programme, Mr. Chukwuka Egbue, also emphasised that the irrigation initiative became imperative because of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s low stock of lands. By eyeing the production of 600, 000 metric tons of rice this year, the state hoped to become a net exporter of the product. With such quantity, the governor said the state would be producing more than required for local consumption, hence the need to export the excesses. As part of the strategy to becoming a net exporter of rice, Obiano said during the recent inspection of the multi-million naira Centre Pivot Irrigation System at Egwe Agwa Ogbakuba in Ogbaru LGA that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had agreed to provide funds to the state government to buy off all the paddy rice produced in the state. The arrangement allows millers buy all the paddy rice from government, and by so doing, the issue of unsold rice produced by the farmers would not arise. The governor explained that the idea behind the off take initiative was to create a ready market for rice produce to eliminate the challenges experienced during periods of glut as well as to ensure that Anambra Brands of rice are processed by standard millers. Sadly, however, the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s dreams are now under threat of being submerged by rampaging floods, a reality that also steer owners of Coscharis Group in the face.

41 | w w w . r i c e p l u s m a g a z i n e . b l o g s p o t . c o m mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com

The state government has earlier inaugurated a multi-billion naira farm project in partnership with the Coscharis Group at Anaku town in Ayamelum LGA of the state. The state government, The Nation learnt, committed N300 million to the project, known as the Coched Farms Project, which is a joint venture between it and the Coscharis Group for the cultivation of 2, 500 hectares of rice per season, with a production capacity of 12, 000 metric tons per year in the first phase. The Edo State Government is no less peeved. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security Programme, Prince Joe Okojie, expressed disappointment that the state‘s pilot rice farms were being destroyed by floods. Okojie, who visited the farm last week to ascertain the extent of damage, recalled that 280 hectares of rice farms were destroyed by flood last month at Iguoriakhi in Ovia South West lo cal government area. He said the state government expected to harvest six metric tons per hectare, but the flood has reduced it to four tonnes per hectare. ―We did 110 hectares of rice in Agenebode. We have a cluster of 110 farmers with each farmer farming one hectare. We were expecting four to six metric tons per hectare,‖ Okojie said. He, however, added that prevent future occurrence, the state and its rice farmers ―Would have to attempt to start early next year. We started planting in May this year. We will start early so that we can prevent further disaster,‖ Okojie said, assuring that ―We will have a conversation with the farmers to see what government can do.‖ Similarly, the Executive Secretary of Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA), Muhammed Suleiman, said the agency had begun compilation of accurate data of

42 | w w w . r i c e p l u s m a g a z i n e . b l o g s p o t . c o m mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com

the affected communities in the state, where he confirmed that thousands of farmers were affected by the flood across the state. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, had in a statement outlining the achievements of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration since he assumed office, alluded to the gains so far made in the rice segment of the agric sector. He said, for instance, the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has made available N82 billion in funding to 350, 000 farmers of rice, wheat, maize, cotton, cassava, poultry, soy beans and groundnut; who have cultivated about 400,000 hectares of land. According to Shehu, the ABP substantially raised local production of rice, as yields doubled from 2-3 tonnes per hectare in areas, even as Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s paddy production doubled compared to previous levels. He said between 2016 and 2018, eight new rice mills have come on- stream in Nigeria, while the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s milled rice production increased by about 60 per cent, from 2.5 million MT in 2015, to four million MT in 2017. The presidential spokesman added that the sector has seen more than a billion dollars of private sector investments in the production of rice, wheat, sugar, poultry, animal feed, fertilisers, etc, since 2015. The Executive Director, Finance and Risk Management, Bank of Agriculture (BoA), Mr. Niyi Akenzua, also said the Federal Government has saved about $800 million by encouraging local production of rice.

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Akenzua spoke at a briefing in Lagos ahead of the ―Meet the Farmers Conference‖ (MTFC) 2018 scheduled for October 10 in the nation‘s commercial hub. The conference, which is organised by Crenov8 Consulting, is aimed at exposing farmers to the opportunities in agroexport, especially to Dubai and other Middle-East countries. http://thenationonlineng.net/flooding-fresh-threat-to-investors-rice-self-sufficiency/

China's scientists observe plant growth in its space lab

Astronauts need a lot of food during their space expedition that sometimes takes nearly two years. Carrying dried prepackaged food takes up space in their spacecraft. One solution is to send seeds that occupy less volume to cultivate them in the space. Recently, scientists have successfully grown vegetables and plants in the space shuttles. However, microgravity makes it difficult to water the plants as they clump together. Space scientists at NASA started using hydroponics and aeroponics to grow plants in space stations. While hydroponics delivers water to plant roots, aeroponics ensures misty air conditions for plants' growth. Chinese scientists have taken this experiment to the next level at Tiangong-2, a space laboratory. They are trying to accomplish full-cycle of plant growth under microgravity. Boxes containing rice and Arabidopsis, a small flowering plant, are on board the space lab. "After the seeds arrive in space, they will grow and mature there, and finally yield seeds. This kind of long-term experiment is quite rare in the international community," Zheng Huiqiong, director of Tiangong-2's space biotechnology and the plant cell engineering research team said. "It is of great importance because it can help solve one of the key problems to providing necessary food, water, and oxygen to humans," Zheng explained.

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The research found that under the conditions of microgravity, the flowering of Arabidopsis occurs 22 days later than on the ground. "If we need to eat leaves in the future, it is better to have plants that flower late. But for rice, late flowering will influence the yields, so we have to adapt it to the environment," said Zheng. The research also found that rice is more active in guttation under the conditions of microgravity, meaning it exudes more and more significant drops of sap on its leaves. "This phenomenon has advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, bigger sap drops will influence the growth of the plant because it will increase the humidity. On the other hand, it offers us clues to establish an effective life-support system in the future, so we could provide water to humans via plants," said Zheng. https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d774e3363444e7a457a6333566d54/share_p.html https://chemicalreport24.com/502330/global-basmati-rice-market-2018-excellent-marketgrowth-by-2023/

Saudi delegation due on Sept 30 to discuss investment KARACHI: A high profile delegation from Saudi Arabia is due in Pakistan on September 30 with an agenda to discuss modalities for Saudi investment in different sectors. "The Saudi delegation is coming on September 30. There will be very important people," Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industry, Production and Investment, Abdul Razaq Dawood said during a meeting with Pakistan Business Council (PBC) here Wedneday. PBC Chief Executive Ehsan A Malik led the Council members. Referring to the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Saudi Arabia, of which he was also part, the advisor said Saudi government informed that they had contacted the Pakistani government many times during last three years to talk on its investment, but the latter did not respond.

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Prime Minister Imran Khan had assured them of maximum facilitation and support for making the Saudi investment fruitful for the both the countries, he added. He said the Saudi government showed its interest in setting up a refinery at Gwadar and desalination plants at Karachi and Balochistan coast, along with exploring other avenues for future investment. The advisor said after Saudi Arabia, the prime minister flew to Abu Dhabi, where he also held very fruitful meetings with his counterparts. The United Arab Emirates government also showed keen interest to invest in various sectors of Pakistan. He said the Japanese ambassador, during a meeting in Islamabad, suggested that a high profile Pakistani delegation, comprising government and private sector representatives, should visit Tokyo to talk on bilateral trade and investment. He urged the PBC to get prepared to cope with the changing regional and global environment, and to play its leading role in promoting trade, investment and industrialization in the country. "Let us have strategic thinking. It is need of the hour," he asserted. Pakistan could also get good share of African market, he said. He agreed with PBC members that the cost of doing business and ease of doing business were serious issues for the growth of industry and businesses in the country. The PBC members, he said, should invest in different potential sectors and the Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf government would extend every possible facility and support, including ensuring safety of their investment.

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They should set up cement plants at the Balochistan coast and find new potential markets for Pakistani rice. Instead of sticking up to traditional export of textile, leather and rice, the private sector should produce new export products, he said, adding that some sectors did not export anything. He informed the PBC members that he would lead a delegation to Beijing on November 4. He sought concrete proposals from the PBC so that the Pakistani team could better negotiate with the Chinese government of different economic issues, including re-visiting of free trade agreement. The PBC members said the issue of non-tariff barrier for Chinese goods should be resolved for promotion of Pakistani exports in China. They also called for re-considering the second part of the Tax Amnesty Scheme and for extending its time period at least for six months. They also demanded for payment of income tax refunds, which had not been paid over last two years. They observed that the role of National Tariff Commission of Pakistan should be more supportive to industry. https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/373641-saudi-delegation-due-on-sept-30-to-discussinvestment

Crackdown on hoarders: 91,000 bags of rice found in Ferozepur The surprise check was carried out in 10 rice mills on instructions from food and civil supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu. PUNJAB Updated: Sep 28, 2018 09:15 IST Hindustan Times, Chandigarh

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Taking a serious note of illegal recycling of the public distribution system (PDS) rice meant for the poor, the Punjab food and civil supplies department on Thursday cracked down on unscrupulous millers in Ferozepur district, finding 91,000 bags of illegally hoarded rice. The surprise check was carried out in 10 rice mills on instructions from food and civil supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and four of them were found indulging in the illegal practice. The raids led by the chief vigilance officer of the department allegedly found that Mahalaxmi Rice Mills was hoarding 11,000 bags of paddy of last year equivalent to 55,275 bags of rice and the Cereal Food Exports had 58,000 bags of paddy equivalent to 29,145 bags of rice. Similarly, Ferozepur Food Exports had 2,700 bags of rice while Shree Sham Ji Industries had 1,200 bags of rice. â&#x20AC;&#x2022;These rice mills apparently procured PDS rice in black market last year from other states and kept the stock to recycle it in the coming milling season by showing bogus procurement of the crop through fictitious billing for the same,â&#x20AC;&#x2013; said an official spokesperson of the department. The

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department has handed over information on millers found hoarding rice to the Punjab Mandi Board and the sales tax department for action. It is also contemplating cancellation of registration of millers who indulge in such malpractices. The minister asked the department officials to be more vigilant, stating that no fictitious billing whatsoever will be permitted in the state. ―The government will not let any deceitful elements to cause financial losses to the state by their corrupt practices,‖ he said. The department, in a series of initiatives to tighten the noose around the defaulting rice millers, has introduced decided to adopt ‗CIBIL score‘, a benchmark of credit rating history from Credit Information Bureau India Limited, for allocation of paddy for milling. Bank guarantee has also been made mandatory to siphoning off of paddy by unscrupulous millers. Recently, the Centre had also lauded the steps taken by the state government for bringing transparency in the procurement process, especially during the rabi marketing season. https://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/crackdown-on-hoarders-91-000-bags-of-rice-found-inferozepur/story-FKZGNa8hIQahoQTHGogYmN.html

Rice Prices as on : 28-09-2018 12:51:34 PM Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market. Arrivals Current

Price % change

Season cumulative

Modal

Rice

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Prev. Modal

Prev.Yr %change

Siliguri(WB)

158.00

1.28

9002.00

2700

Allahabad(UP)

75.00

-6.25

693.00

2350

2420

Dadri(UP)

70.00

16.67

974.00

2740

2730

15.37

Barhaj(UP)

70.00

-12.5

1184.00

2260

2250

Beldanga(WB)

70.00

7.69

1345.00

2650

6.00

Indus(Bankura Sadar)(WB)

70.00

16.67

4025.00

2800

9.80

Cachar(ASM)

60.00

4400.00

2400

9.09

Gazipur(UP)

57.00

-27.39

581.50

2900

Gauripur(ASM)

50.00

2505.60

4500

Bindki(UP)

50.00

-7.41

25615.00

2250

Hapur(UP)

40.00

33.33

2085.00

2750

20.61

Karimpur(WB)

40.00

14.29

1040.00

3450

3500

9.52

Vasai(Mah)

37.00

-2.63

1345.00

3640

3650

25.52

Amroha(UP)

27.82

2600

5.26

Bareilly(UP)

26.00

-23.53

931.90

2600

2575

Devariya(UP)

25.50

-15

1998.50

2145

2150

0.47

Gajol(WB)

25.50

-1.54

1552.50

3700

27.59

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Naanpara(UP)

25.00

-25.37

1640.80

2265

2260

2.26

Jayas(UP)

23.50

30.56

2113.00

1980

1.54

Ulhasnagar(Mah)

20.00

11.11

212.00

4000

60.00

Kayamganj(UP)

20.00

-33.33

704.00

2390

2370

4.82

Maharajganj(UP)

20.00

275.00

2110

2125

Falakata(WB)

20.00

236.00

2800

30.23

Saharanpur(UP)

18.00

1226.00

2735

2725

15.64

Muzzafarnagar(UP)

16.00

-13.51

108.50

2740

Karsiyang(Matigara)(WB)

15.60

-1.27

744.30

3000

11.11

Giridih(Jha)

15.34

24.61

777.92

3500

Dhekiajuli(ASM)

14.00

-22.22

346.00

2300

2400

Islampur(WB)

14.00

16.67

869.50

3450

53.33

Raiganj(WB)

14.00

999.00

3350

32.67

Mahoba(UP)

12.00

-11.11

450.80

2170

2180

Paliakala(UP)

12.00

1112.60

2270

2265

Puwaha(UP)

11.00

760.50

2500

2460

Farukhabad(UP)

10.00

-9.09

340.40

2380

2370

7.69

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Khurja(UP)

9.50

-29.63

906.00

2620

Kannauj(UP)

8.50

13.33

197.00

2350

2460

6.82

Dibrugarh(ASM)

8.40

688.40

2920

29.78

Muradabad(UP)

8.00

-33.33

348.50

2580

2550

Sahiyapur(UP)

8.00

6.67

2502.50

2165

2160

Ranaghat(WB)

8.00

-3.61

294.92

3500

52.17

Unnao(UP)

7.00

156.40

2325

2275

13.41

Fatehpur(UP)

6.50

1427.60

2220

2190

0.91

Chitwadagaon(UP)

6.00

-14.29

314.20

2100

2050

-1.41

Chhibramau(Kannuj)(UP)

5.00

455.50

2320

2300

3.57

Vishalpur(UP)

4.50

-25

306.00

2625

2575

Sehjanwa(UP)

4.00

14.29

104.50

2160

Mau(Chitrakut)(UP)

4.00

-20

9.00

1785

Mirzapur(UP)

3.50

16.67

795.00

2220

2225

Mangaon(Mah)

3.00

35.00

2800

3500

-3.45

Tanda Urmur(UP)

3.00

9.70

2000

Bharuasumerpur(UP)

2.00

-20

16.00

2000

-4.76

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Ahirora(UP)

1.25

-91.94

16.75

2300

10.05

Tundla(UP)

1.20

-14.29

152.40

2570

2560

Penugonda(Mah)

1.00

10.00

4080

0.25

Anandnagar(UP)

1.00

16.00

2250

2280

Gadaura(UP)

1.00

55.80

2000

-1.23

Khairagarh(UP)

1.00

42.86

107.20

2560

1.59

Soharatgarh(UP)

1.00

-33.33

168.00

2170

2165

4.58

Jagnair(UP)

0.80

33.33

76.60

2550

2560

0.39

Published on September 28, 2018 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/rice-prices/article25067701.ece

Rice Prices as on : 27-09-2018 01:18:41 PM Arrivals in tonnes;prices in Rs/quintal in domestic market. Arrivals Current

Price % change

Season cumulative

Modal

Prev. Modal

Prev.Yr %change

Rice Azamgarh(UP)

1290.00

-0.77

10460.00

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2270

2260

8.10

Siliguri(WB)

156.00

-0.64

8844.00

2700

Doddaballa Pur(Kar)

153.00

125

221.00

1300

1250

-16.13

Gondal(UP)

140.00

10343.50

2360

2350

11.32

Asansol(WB)

108.00

3.85

6906.30

3000

3100

15.38

Agra(UP)

105.00

2.94

3256.00

2540

2550

-4.15

Allahabad(UP)

80.00

166.67

618.00

2420

2310

Ghaziabad(UP)

80.00

33.33

4130.00

2725

13.54

Barhaj(UP)

80.00

33.33

1114.00

2250

Puranpur(UP)

70.00

16.67

2535.70

2550

2490

Indus(Bankura Sadar)(WB)

60.00

3955.00

2800

9.80

Chintamani(Kar)

47.00

485.00

2000

-4.76

Basti(UP)

47.00

-4.08

2980.50

2165

2.36

Vasai(Mah)

38.00

-11.63

1308.00

3650

3210

25.86

Karimpur(WB)

35.00

16.67

1000.00

3500

3900

11.11

Howly(ASM)

32.00

18.52

3377.50

1400

-22.22

Hapur(UP)

30.00

2045.00

2750

2800

20.61

Devariya(UP)

30.00

11.11

1973.00

2150

0.70

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Jafarganj(UP)

30.00

30.43

1392.50

2350

Lakhimpur(UP)

27.00

596.00

2280

5.07

Honnali(Kar)

22.00

-67.65

471.00

1650

1800

Wansi(UP)

22.00

-8.33

675.00

2110

Gopiganj(UP)

21.00

-91.21

260.00

2400

Muzzafarnagar(UP)

18.50

19.35

92.50

2740

2720

Jayas(UP)

18.00

2089.50

1980

1.54

Bharthna(UP)

17.50

16.67

6568.50

2475

Ahirora(UP)

15.50

2300

10.05

Khurja(UP)

13.50

896.50

2620

2615

Rampur(UP)

13.50

-10

384.00

2590

2580

Giridih(Jha)

12.31

-89.77

762.58

3500

Islampur(WB)

12.00

855.50

3450

53.33

Farukhabad(UP)

11.00

-8.33

330.40

2370

2380

7.24

Tamkuhi Road(UP)

10.00

-28.57

1004.00

2150

Vilthararoad(UP)

10.00

900

711.00

2190

1.86

Paliakala(UP)

10.00

42.86

1100.60

2265

2270

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Raiganj(WB)

10.00

-23.08

985.00

3350

32.67

Ranaghat(WB)

8.30

1.22

286.92

3500

52.17

Dibrugarh(ASM)

7.50

63.04

680.00

2920

29.78

Sahiyapur(UP)

7.50

-16.67

2494.50

2160

2165

Chitwadagaon(UP)

7.00

16.67

308.20

2050

-3.76

Atarra(UP)

5.00

-28.57

299.00

2200

2100

10.00

Kosikalan(UP)

5.00

-23.08

147.50

2590

Mau(Chitrakut)(UP)

5.00

1785

Sehjanwa(UP)

3.50

100.50

2160

Mirzapur(UP)

3.00

-25

791.50

2225

2215

Shikohabad(UP)

2.50

23.00

2950

2925

Tanda Urmur(UP)

2.00

-20

6.70

2000

Balarampur(WB)

1.82

2.25

77.50

2620

2660

11.49

Chandoli(UP)

1.60

14.29

240.90

2325

2285

Nautnava(UP)

1.50

-70

6.50

2100

2230

2.94

Soharatgarh(UP)

1.50

-25

167.00

2165

4.34

Tundla(UP)

1.40

-60

151.20

2560

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Kolar(Kar)

1.00

-90

61.00

5500

5280

-0.90

Penugonda(Mah)

1.00

9.00

4080

0.25

Anandnagar(UP)

1.00

-50

15.00

2280

2300

Khair(UP)

0.80

1182.60

2570

2560

0.78

Jagnair(UP)

0.60

-14.29

75.80

2560

0.79

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/rice-prices/article25056445.ece

NFA: Price of commercial rice should drop to P37 to P39 per kilo in 2 weeks By: Roy Stephen C. Canivel - @inquirerdotnet Philippine Daily Inquirer / 06:48 PM September 27, 2018 The National Food Authority (NFA) said the price of commercial rice should drop to P37 to P39 per kilo in two weeks to a month‘s time from P40 to P42 today amid efforts to stabilize the price of the staple. NFA Spokesperson Rex Estoperez told reporters in a chance interview that this would be achieved by flooding the market with NFA rice, which now accounts for 20 percent of the supply in the market, up from around 13 percent in August. However, it would still take some time to tame soaring prices. ―What we are expecting 2 weeks to 1 month from now is that prices would slightly soften,‖ he said in a mix of English and Filipino on Thursday. He explained that the current inventory in warehouses points to 2.3 million bags of NFA rice, which means the cheap rice could maintain its current 20 percent level of participation in the market for around 17 days.

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The NFA Council has approved the importation of 750,000 metric tons (MT) of rice. Estoperez said the imports are scheduled to arrive later this year, with the first batch expected to come before the end of November. The inventory has the potential to reach up to 6 million bags given upcoming imports, he added. He also said that there is a possibility of increasing the market participation of NFA rice from the private sector as long as prices do not stabilize. ―That‘s the purpose of importation. That‘s why the private sector needs to release [their stock] if ever they have any,‖ he said. If prices stabilize, the NFA rice would step back and let market forces prevail. By then, cheap rice would revert back to being used as a buffer stock, according to the official. The spike in the prices of rice has contributed to the nine-year high in inflation last August, official data showed. This was followed by Typhoon ―Ompong,‖ which left billions of pesos worth of infrastructure and agricultural damage in its wake. The typhoon destroed 517,175 hectares of rice farms, translating to production losses of about 750,000 MT of rice, according to the Department of Agriculture. While the decision to import rice could bring relief to the market, this will also put the agency deeper in debt. So far, the agency‘s total debt to the national government at about P185.9 billion.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1037019/nfa-price-of-commercial-rice-should-drop-top37-to-p39-per-kilo-in-2-weeks#ixzz5SOSGgnaR

China buy to boost rice exports  

27 Sep 2018 at 04:00 NEWSPAPER SECTION: BUSINESS | WRITER: PHUSADEE ARUNMAS

A forklift carries sacks of rice at a processing plant in Ayutthaya province. THITI WANNAMONTHA

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China has agreed to buy 100,000 tonnes of rice from Thailand under a government-togovernment (G2G) contract, a move the Commerce Ministry says will support local prices and boost rice exports.

Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said the latest purchase of 5% newly harvested white rice will be delivered later this month and next month. "The deal is good news for farmers and the Thai rice market, as there are advance purchase orders for rice from the beginning of the main crop," Mr Sontirat said. "The purchase helps domestic paddy prices and indicates that China may need to import more Thai rice in the remaining months of this year." China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (Cofco), a state enterprise that supervises the mainland's annual rice import quotas, had halted purchases since the middle of this year because of ample rice supply at home. Thailand previously supplied 500,000 tonnes of rice to China as part of a pledged G2G deal struck in 2015 for 1 million tonnes of grains. Mr Sontirat said the Foreign Trade Department will speed up talks with the Chinese state unit to agree on purchase prices and shipment of the remaining 400,000 tonnes under the 2015 pledge. In addition, the ministry pledges to rev up a proactive approach to promote rice exports during the beginning of the annual main crop, he said. During Sept 12-20 the department held promotional activities and a roadshow in Australia for Thai premium-grade grains such as Riceberry and Kor Khor 43, recommended for diabetics because of low sugar levels.

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In addition, the department participated in the 15th China-Asean Expo held in Nanning, China during Sept 12-15 to promote Thai rice and seek out new distribution channels. With higher purchase demand and the ministry's continuous marketing efforts, Mr Sontirat said the ministry is confident of achieving 11 million tonnes of Thai rice exports as targeted this year. As of Sept 21, Thailand had exported 8.22 million tonnes of rice, up 2.9% on year-earlier levels. The amount was worth 135 billion baht, up 13.6% year-on-year. Charoen Laothammatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said any delays for the remaining 400,000 tonnes under the G2G contract between Thailand and China are unlikely to affect Thailand's exports much this year. He cited strong purchase demand in the global market, with shipments in August recording 1.08 million tonnes of milled rice. The exporters also predict that Thailand's rice exports will reach 11 million tonnes for the full year.

India to ship first consignment of non Basmati rice to China tomorrow By Kirtika Suneja, ET Bureau| Sep 27, 2018, 12.16 PM IST

100 tonnes of non-Basmati will be sent to China from Nagpur and received by China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation.NEW DELHI: The first consignment of Indian nonBasmati rice is scheduled to be shipped to China tomorrow, commerce and industry ministry said on Thursday. 100 tonnes of non-Basmati (white rice 5% broken) will be sent to China from Nagpur and received by China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) which is one of China's state-owned food processing holding companies. ―After concerted efforts of the government of India, 19 rice mills and processing units have been registered for export of nonbasmati rice from India to China,‖ the ministry said in a statement. The protocol between General Administration of Customs of Chinese government and India‘s Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare on phyto-sanitary requirements for exporting rice from India to China was signed on June 9, 2018 at Qingdao, China, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s visit there. This amended the earlier protocol on phyto-sanitary

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requirements for exporting rice from India to China to include the export of non-basmati varieties of rice from India. New Delhi has been pitching for market access for a variety of its goods to China in a move to bridge the widening trade deficit and sugar, rice and pharmaceuticals have been high on the agenda.

Dr. Argelia Lorence, Lucia Acosta Talks Rice Research By JOHNATHAN REAVES

Dr. Argelia Lorence (l) and Lucia Acosta (r). CREDIT JOHNATHAN REAVES, KASU NEWS

Dr. Argelia Lorence is a professor of metabolic engineering in the Department of Chemistry and Physics at Arkansas State. She is the co-principal investigator of a major project through the National Science Foundations. A-State works with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Kansas State University. The research is part of an almost six million dollar grant that lasts through 2021. She is also a Vaughn Endowed Professor at A-State. She has been supervising numerous students during the research process. One of those students is Lucia Acosta. Acosta joined Dr. Lorence for this interview on A-State Connections, Lorence talks about what the research project is about. http://www.kuaf.com/post/dr-argelia-lorence-lucia-acosta-talks-rice-research#stream/0

U of A researcher investigates cellular action at root of rice blast infection From left, graduate assistant Nawaraj Dulal of Nepal and Martin Egan, Ph.D., and inspect rice plants inoculated with rice blast in a Division of Agriculture greenhouse. Egan is investigating the cellular functions

used by rice blast fungus to infect rice leaves. Special to The Commercial/U of A System Division of Agriculture, Fred Miller

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By Fred Miller Special to The Commercial Posted Sep 27, 2018 at 11:23 AMUpdated Sep 27, 2018 at 12:15 PM

FAYETTEVILLE — Rice blast is the most devastating rice disease in the world, causing the loss of 10 to 30 percent of the planet‘s crop every year, an expert says. ―That‘s enough rice to feed 60 million people,‖ said Martin Egan, Ph.D., assistant professor of plant pathology for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. ―Blast poses a major threat to global food security,‖ Egan said in a news release. The disease is a serious and costly problem for Arkansas rice growers, who produce about half of the rice grown in the U.S., Egan said. Blast can reduce both grain yield and quality, he said. Rice farmers fend off blast by planting disease resistant varieties and spraying fungicides, Egan said. Both strategies are likely to become ineffective as the pathogen adapts to overcome blast resistance and develops tolerance to the fungicides. Eventually, new classes of fungicides will need to be developed to overcome resistance in the pathogen. That work will be difficult without an understanding of the cellular functions used by the fungus to infect rice plants, Egan said. Egan received a $110,332 grant from the U of A Chancellor‘s Innovation Fund to investigate the microbiological cell functions of the blast fungus — known as Magnaporthe oryzae — that allow it to infect rice plants. Plan of Attack Egan said M. oryzae spores are carried the wind. When they come in contact with rice plants, they can ―glue‖ themselves on tightly and attack the plant with a specialized cell called an appressorium. The appressorium builds turgor pressure, a powerful type of hydrostatic force, that drives a kind of ―infection peg‖ through the plant‘s cuticle, Egan said.

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One of the things that makes this intrusion possible, Egan said, is a ring-shaped structure called a septin ring. The blast spore produces filaments composed of septin, a class of protein. The filaments grow into a ring structure at the point where the appressorium is attached to the plant. The septin ring was discovered and described by a research team led by Nick Talbot, professor of molecular genetics at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, where Egan earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees and served as a postdoctoral research associate. ―The septin ring is essential for infection,‖ Egan said. In experiments in which the septin ring was disrupted, the blast fungus was unable to infect the rice plants. Egan has focused his investigation on understanding the septin ring. ―How does the ring form in the right place at the right time to allow the fungus to penetrate and infect the plant?‖ he asked. In the research supported by the Chancellor‘s Fund grant, Egan and co-investigator, Yong Wang of the U of A department of physics, will be looking for other proteins that play a role in controlling or regulating the septin filaments that build the septin ring. ―Plants don‘t have septins,‖ Egan said. ―So, if you can target and disrupt the septin ring or a protein that is essential for formation of the septin ring, you can prevent blast infections without causing damage to the plants.‖ The general outline of the septin ring can be imaged now using spores modified with a gene that produces fluorescence in the ring, Egan said. Images produced by digital microscopy can show the shape of the ring. But most of these systems can only resolve an image down to about 200 nanometers, or about 200 billionths of a meter. That‘s enough to see shape, but not structure. Wang employs ―super-resolution fluorescence microscopy‖ that can resolve images down to 20 nanometers. ―We will, for the first time, resolve the nanoscale organization of the septin and cellular cytoskeleton during key stages of appressorium formation,‖ Egan said. ―It will give us valuable new perspective into their organizational dynamics.‖ Egan and Wang plan to use an innovative approach to understanding how all the proteins involved in the appressorium function to produce the septin ring.

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―Once we can describe what the septin ring looks like in detail,‖ Egan said, ―maybe we can identify other proteins that control or regulate its assembly.‖ Applications Egan said practical applications of the results of this investigation will be well down the road. ―This is very basic knowledge,‖ he said. Applicable science — the kind that leads to new technology and solutions to problems — is built on a foundation of basic research like Egan‘s and Wang‘s. Understanding the cellular and protein mechanics of blast infection can lead to the solutions that protect global food security. Egan emphasizes that he is not designing new fungicides for blast control. But agricultural chemical companies may one day use the fundamental knowledge his research produces to develop a new generation of fungicides that control a devastating rice disease without having negative impacts on plants or other organisms. The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without discrimination. — Fred Miller is the science editor at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Division of Agriculture Communications. http://www.pbcommercial.com/news/20180927/u-of-researcher-investigates-cellular-action-atroot-of-rice-blast-infection

Farmers drive agricultural machinery to harvest rice in Tangshan, N China Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-27 16:42:11|Editor: ZX

Aerial photo taken on Sept. 26, 2018 shows farmers driving agricultural machinery to harvest rice in the field in Wangtan Township of Tangshan, north China's Hebei

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Province. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao) http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-09/27/c_137496758.htm

Higher carbon dioxide levels affecting rice yields, analysis shows Dr. Lewis H. Ziska, USDA-ARS, says the impact of increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can readily be observed. MARKETING>WEATHER Researchers believe growers may see shifts in weather patterns rather than uniformly warmer temperatures. Forrest Laws | Sep 27, 2018 The earth‘s climate is changing, and — whether you agree with that statement or not — the chances are agricultural production is already being impacted in some parts of the United States, including those where rice is grown, a USDA scientist said. Dr. Lewis H. Ziska isn‘t a climate scientist, nor does he claim to be. But the plant physiologist who works with the USDA‘s Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Md., says the impact of increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can readily be observed. ―When it comes to looking at CO2, we‘ve been monitoring carbon dioxide since the late 1950s,‖ says Ziska, who works with the USDA-ARS Adaptive Cropping Systems Laboratory in Beltsville. ―When I was born it was about 315 parts per million, and today it‘s about 410 parts per million. So it‘s gone up by almost 30 percent in my lifetime. ―That increase is actually, in terms of a geological basis, the biggest, the highest concentration of CO2 we‘ve seen in the last million years or so,‖says Ziska, who was the presenter for a

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University of Arkansas Food and Agribusiness Webinar, ―Climate Change, CO2 and Rice Production in the 21st Century: Now what?‖ (https://bit.ly/2PZFfmA) Ziska, who was a project leader for global climate change at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines before joining USDA, said he wanted to ―make sure everyone was on the same page‖ at the start of his presentation. ―When we look at atmospheric CO2, we recognize that carbon dioxide is a byproduct of burning of fossil fuels,‖ he noted. ―Any carbon source, whether it‘s methane or coal or gasoline, when you oxidize it; when you burn it; you‘re producing carbon dioxide. About 90 percent of that comes from fossil fuels and cement; 10 percent from burning forest. ―About 50 percent of it stays in the air; about 25 percent gets reabsorbed by vegetation; and about 25 percent gets dissolved into the world‘s oceans.‖ How much higher? How much higher can carbon dioxide concentrations go from the current level of 410 parts per million? If the world continues to burn fossil fuels at the current rate, CO2 will be somewhere from 800 to 1,000 parts per million by the end of the current century. Ziska said carbon dioxide and water vapor or humidity are the two main components of the atmosphere in global warming. ―What do we mean exactly when we say global warming?‖ he said. ―The best way I can explain global warming is to turn to the guitar. We all know when I tune two strings of my guitar to the same frequency, and pluck one string, the string next to it will resonate and absorb some of the additional energy.

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―This is what molecules do, as well. They don‘t absorb, but water vapor and carbon dioxide absorb in the key of infrared. When heat hits these molecules they resonate, absorb some of the energy that would otherwise be lost. You know water absorbs heat, but so does carbon dioxide. That, in itself, is not a bad thing. If there was no water vapor and CO2 the average surface temperature of the earth would be minus 18 degrees C.‖ With the current levels of carbon dioxide and water vapor the temperature is about 15 degrees C or 59 degrees F. ―So it‘s livable, and we call this the natural greenhouse effect.‖ Misconception One misconception that helps feed the controversy over climate change is the idea that temperatures will rise uniformly around the globe. They won‘t because CO2 and water vapor do not occur in similar proportions everywhere. ―As an example, where the earth is warm and humid, where humidity or water vapor is the principal greenhouse gas, adding more CO2 will change things a little bit but not a lot,‖ he said. ―That‘s pretty much in the tropics. So, in the tropics, we‘re not seeing a big increase in terms of temperature. ―Where the air is dry and can‘t hold water vapor it is going to respond more strongly to the uniform increase in carbon dioxide,‖ he said. ―The obvious places will be at the poles where the air is cold and dry. It doesn‘t hold a lot of water vapor, and adding more CO2 is going to have a precipitous effect in terms of surface temperatures.‖ Deserts are another example, because the air is hot and dry and will be proportionately more affected by the increase of CO2. ―Also, as you go up in altitude, the air becomes drier. As you change seasons, the air becomes drier. Summers are going to be warmer and wetter, winters are likely to be warmer.

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―And it‘s the differential rate of warming where some areas like the poles are warming 5 or 6 degrees, and other areas are not changing much. But that differential area of warming will drive extreme weather events.‖ Plants will be affected differently. ―There will be less temperature increase where water vapor is high, but more precipitation,‖ he said. ―That is, warm and wet is going to become warmer and wetter. Places with higher latitudes or altitudes are going to get greater temperature increases.‖ Plants need light, water and nutrients. ―Now suppose one of these resources were, in your lifetime, to go up by 25 or 30 percent. Would that have an impact in terms of plant biology? Of course it would. Would all plants respond the same way? No.‖ Ziska displayed a slide with a photo of a school bus covered with kudzu. ―We know from experiments that, in fact, kudzu responds well to CO2. But not all plants are beneficial to human society, and not all plants are going to respond the same way.‖ Rice production

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The hypothesis is with a one-degree increase above that critical temperature of 24 degrees C, or about 75 degrees Fahrenheit, that‘s going to lead to a 10 percent reduction of both grain yield and bio mass,‖ Ziska said. ―Since 2000, there‘s been an average of 20 days per season where the temperature is that high in Stuttgart, Ark.‖ That has translated to a decline in rice production in one of the state‘s leading rice counties. ―I‘m sure there are other aspects of this that we need to investigate further. But it‘s really interesting. This is something that, if I were a grower, I would want to pay attention to.‖

https://www.deltafarmpress.com/weather/higher-carbon-dioxide-levels-affecting-riceyields-analysis-shows

China's scientists observe plant growth in its space lab 2018-09-28 08:40:25CGTNEditor : Gu Liping

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http://www.ecns.cn/news/sci-tech/2018-09-28/detail-ifyyknzp7231281.shtml

Govt pegs kharif foodgrain output at record 141.6 million tonnes Stellar output driven by increase in kharif rice production; coarse cereals hit ď&#x201A;ˇ

The Hindu Business Line

ď&#x201A;ˇ

27 Sep 2018

Kharif foodgrains output in 2018-19 is expected to touch a record 141.59 million tonnes (mt), marginally higher than the targeted 141.2 mt, according to the first advance estimates of production of major kharif crops released by the Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday. Production in the previous year was 140.73 mt. Kharif foodgrains output in 2018-19 is expected to touch a record 141.59 million tonnes (mt), marginally higher than the targeted 141.2 mt, according to the first advance estimates of production of major kharif crops released by the Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday. Production in the previous year was 140.73 mt. The stellar performance is expected mainly on account of an increase in rice production, which is slated to be 99.24 mt, nearly 1.75 mt more than in the corresponding season last year. Rice output in the 2017-18 kharif season was 97.50 mt, as per the fourth advance estimates published last month. The stellar performance is expected mainly on account of an increase in rice production, which is slated to be 99.24 mt, nearly 1.75 mt more than in the corresponding season last year. Rice output in the 2017-18 kharif season was 97.50 mt, as per the fourth advance estimates published last month.

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The stellar performance is expected mainly on account of an increase in rice production, which is slated to be 99.24 mt, nearly 1.75 mt more than in the corresponding season last year. Rice output in the 2017-18 kharif season was 97.50 mt, as per the fourth advance estimates published last month. This is despite the drastic drop in output of coarse cereals, which is estimated to decline by almost 15 per cent to 11.56 mt. Production in the last kharif season was 13.64 mt. Bajra output to decline Among coarse cereal crops, bajra is projected to take the biggest hit with output projected to come down to 7.77 mt against 9.13 mt, as per the fourth advance estimates for 2017-18. Among coarse cereal crops, bajra is projected to take the biggest hit with output projected to come down to 7.77 mt against 9.13 mt, as per the fourth advance estimates for 2017-18. Maize production is projected at 21.47 mt, up 1.2 mt, compared to the same period in 2017-18. Pulses production, too, is estimated to fall marginally to 9.22 mt from 9.34 mt in the previous kharif season, mainly because of lower urad and arhar production. Maize production is projected at 21.47 mt, up 1.2 mt, compared to the same period in 2017-18. Pulses production, too, is estimated to fall marginally to 9.22 mt from 9.34 mt in the previous kharif season, mainly because of lower urad and arhar production. Oilseeds output, on the other hand, is expected to be about 1 mt more than the previous seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s 21 mt thanks to the spurt in soyabean sowing. Soyabean production is projected to touch 13.5 mt, up from 11 mt in 2017-18 kharif and more than enough to tide over the estimated 1.2 mt shortfall in groundnut production. Oilseeds output, on the other hand, is expected to be about 1 mt more than the previous seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s 21 mt thanks to the spurt in soyabean sowing. Soyabean production is projected to touch 13.5 mt, up from 11 mt in 2017-18 kharif and more than enough to tide over the estimated 1.2 mt shortfall in groundnut production.According to the official data, as against 7.5 mt produced in the corresponding season last year, groundnut yield this kharif season is estimated at 6.3 mt. The official estimates also indicated yet another sugarcane glut year with production expected to be close to 383.9 mt, which is 7 mt more than 376.9 MT harvested in 2017-18.According to the official data, as against 7.5 mt produced in the corresponding season last year, groundnut yield this kharif season is estimated at 6.3 mt. The official estimates also indicated yet another sugarcane glut year with production expected to be close to 383.9 mt, which is 7 mt more than 376.9 MT harvested in 2017-18. Cotton down Cotton output, on the other hand, is estimated to drop by 2.4 million bales (one bale is 170 kg) to 32.48 million bales, forcing an increase in its market prices.Production of jute and mesta, however, is anticipated to remain at the same levels with a combined output of 10.17 million bales of 180 kg each.

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