2nd april,218 daily global regional local rice e newsletter

2nd April,2018 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter www.riceplusmagazine.blogspot.com mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Let the trade debate begin   

BR RESEARCH

A P R 2 N D , 20 1 8

Pakistan missed the industrial revolution. A decade after that mantra made rounds a consensus seems to be emerging: that manufacturing sector needs to be given the emphasis it deserves to ensure both economic expansion and labour absorption.

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Earlier this year, the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) presented convincing arguments that manufacturing is a sin in this country. Be it due to faulty trade policies or tax, or other aspects of economic governance, manufacturing sector is taking the biggest brunt. Which is why LSM growth has remained weak for several years (save for FY17 onward), leading to a fall in

Pakistan’s already fragile manufacturing exports. Consequently, foreign investors haven’t been eyeing Pakistan as a manufacturing hub for exports.

These very sentiments were echoed by Dr. Manzoor Ahmed, the president of Prime think tank and Pakistan’s former ambassador to the WTO. Presenting at a recent moot on trade policy organised by Prime, Dr Manzoor flagged that Pakistan’s share in world exports has fallen from 0.21 percent in 1980 to 0.13 in 2014. Over the same period, India’s grew from 0.43 percent to 1.7, Malaysia’s increased from 0.74 to 1.34, and Thailand’s rose from 0.37 to 1.35 percent.

Pakistan’s basket of exports has also remained little changed over the last 36 years. In 1980, Pakistan’s top exports included cotton, rice, soybean, textile fabric, garments, chemical and leather. By 2016, the basket of top exports isn’t changed, save for food processing replacing chemical and leather sectors. In contrast, Turkey’s similar raw and low value-added export basket in 1980 has graduated significantly with its top five items now including machinery, construction equipment and mining.

The underlying theme behind the arguments of Prime, PBC and other stakeholders is that global manufacturing has morphed into a value chain model, which is why over 70 percent of global trade is in intermediate goods. There is also a wider consensus that Pakistan’s weak trade facilitation, and wanting quality and efficiency of services is also responsible for falling manufacturing. However, this is where the agreements seem to end.

There is one camp, which the PBC champions, which demands a protection for those who want to Make in Pakistan. In a recent interview with BR Research, PBC’s CEO was very clear that Pakistan needs to provide protection to industries for a predefined period to allow them to gain scale and become competitive.

The second camp, championed by the likes of Prime, asserts that one of the key reasons why Pakistan has missed the GVCled manufacturing growth is its irrational obsession with tariff and non-tariff barriers.

The first camp wants manufacturing growth through import substitution. The second camp maintains that equal importance should be given to imports, especially considering that Pakistan has significantly higher applied tariffs than peer economies and therefore she is much less integrated with the global economy.

Let the battle of ideas begin! Hopefully a consensus on at least broad principles will emerge out of this battle, because ‘unto your graphs, unto mine’ will only further the gap instead of bridging it. But if the consensus is not to be had, then let the battle lines of ideas be clearly spelled out to kick off further research and debates on the subject. May the best idea win! https://www.brecorder.com/2018/04/02/408781/let-the-trade-debate-begin/

Iran Interested in Importing Rice Directly From Pakistan

By Yasir Zeb April 2, 2018

According to the former Foreign Minister of Iran Syed Kamal Kharazi, Iran is looking for the ways of importing Rice Directly from Pakistan.

The ceremony held on Sunday was attended by Syed Kamal Kharazi and Acting Counsel-general Majid Sadeghi Dowlatabadi. Speaking on the occasion and addressing Pakistani Rice exporters Mr. Kharazi said Iranian people are rice-eaters and they are fond of Pakistani basmati rice, but unfortunately Pakistan basmati rice is being imported from Dubai into Tehran which is not good

for both countries as far as bilateral trade is concerned. Pakistan and Tehran both losing opportunities in this trade, said Kharazi.

Responding to the demand made by Rice Export Association of Pakistan (REAP) president Samiullah Naeem, Mr. Kharazi said we are also working on the project to open bank branches in both countries for direct trade transactions in a currency other than U.S. dollar in order to avoid U.S. sanctions and concerns.

Iran is also interested in bilateral trade with Pakistan other than rice, and in talks with Islamabad to reduce duties on imports in order to enhance trade size between both countries. He highlighted the support Iran provided when Pakistan was created and also constructing the Iranian gas pipeline closer to Pakistan’s border, however, he regretted the latter was unable to complete the work on gas pipeline due to immense pressure by the United States.

He said US sanctions put Iran in self-development mode and Iran was able to attain selfsufficiency in development and defense needs. Earlier Mr. Naeem said the bilateral trade between Pakistan and Iran accounted for less than $800 million which could go easily up to $10 billion if we continued bilateral relations without any external pressure.

Mr. Naeem demanded the removal of duties from Pakistan exports into Iran prelude to free trade agreement between two countries. The delegation of rice exporters should leave for Iran soon and Mr. Kharazi would help the delegation in closing B2B deals there in Iran—he hoped.

https://www.researchsnipers.com/iran-interested-in-importing-rice-directly-from-pakistan/

Rice Bran Wax Market Analysis and In-depth Research on Market Dynamics, Trends, Emerging Growth Factors and Forecast to 2022 April 1, 2018 - by amit.p

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Venkaiah asks agri scientists to help make farming viable

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu - The Hindu

Meet deliberates on doubling farm income HYDERABAD, APRIL 1 Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu has asked the agricultural scientists to work on making agriculture viable, profitable and sustainable.

They should also strive to ensure food security to meet ―the needs of a burgeoning population.‖ Addressing agricultural scientists and researchers at the Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR) here on Saturday, he asked them to come out with innovative and out-of-the-box solutions to meet the challenges faced by farmers.

The focus of the discussion was on ‗Doubling Farm Income by 2022 in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana‘. ―A happy farmer makes a happy country,‖ he said.

―Another issue that needed attention was raising input costs. Crop diversification and promoting allied farming activities such as backyard poultry are equally important to increase farmers‘ income,‖ he felt.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/venkaiah-asks-agri-scientists-to-help-make-farming-viable/article23408282.ece

Farm Scientists should make Agriculture viable, profitable and sustainable : M. Venkaiah Naidu

A HAPPY FARMERS MAKES A HAPPY COUNTRY: STAYING WITH FARMERS BE MADE MANDATORY OF AGRI-STUDENTS; INTERACTS WITH THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCHERS

Web Admin

Hyderabad , 31 Mar 2018 The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu called upon Farm Scientists to focus on making agriculture viable, profitable and sustainable, besides ensuring home-grown food security to meet the needs of a burgeoning population. He was interacting with the Agricultural Researchers on 'Doubling Farm Income by 2022 in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana' at ICAR - Indian Institute of Rice Research, in Hyderabad today.The Vice President posed several questions to the scientists and elicited their responses on how their research was translating to empower the farmers. Asking them to come out with innovative and out-of-box solutions to meet the challenges faced by farmers, the Vice President said ―A happy farmer makes a happy country‖.―We know the problems. What are the solutions, what are the new ideas…what is the way forward to take technology to the farmers‖ he asked. He pointed out that lack of quality seeds is one of the problems faced by farmers.Similarly, another issue that needed attention was rising input costs. Crop diversification and promoting allied farming activities like backyard poultry were equally important to increase farmers‘ income. He also wanted the scientists to make e-NAM more popular with the farming community.

Stressing the need for home-grown food security, he said both productivity and production have to be increased as the country cannot depend on ―imported food security‖. He said the Krishi Vigyan Kendras should become the hubs of activity for farmers.Asking the scientists and researchers to spend ―considerable time‖ with farmers to come out with practical solutions, he suggested that staying with farmers should be made mandatory for students pursuing agricultural courses.?Referring to agricultural credit, Shri Naidu emphasized the need for giving timely and affordable credit to the farmers at reasonable interest.Observing that agriculture sector needs a great deal of attention because a majority of Indians still rely on agriculture and allied occupations in the rural areas for their livelihood, he said ―We have a situation today where despite phenomenal increase in food production, farmers are not able to get adequate returns from their investment. Agriculture remains an unattractive vocation to many families. We must change this situation‖.

Asking agricultural scientists and managers come up with solutions that will impact the farmers‘ lives positively and increase their incomes, the VicePresident said ―We should focus on production and productivity to have adequate home grown food security. At the same time it is not merely increasing the production and per acre productivity alone which is important. It is also important for us to recognise that along with technology transfer and ‗intensification‘ of agriculture, there must be strategic ‗diversification‘ and attention to the key linkages in the eco-system. The farmers must be supported through market information, ware housing and cold storage facilities as well as the credit, marketing and insurance facilities‖.He said the most critical need is to establish a dialogue with farmers and provide them with knowledge and material resources to increase their incomes.

Tags: Venkaiah Naidu

http://www.5dariyanews.com/news/223490-Farm-Scientists-should-make-Agriculture-viable-profitable-and-sustainable-M-Venkaiah-Naidu

US to PHL: Reduce barriers to farm trade

By Elijah Felice Rosales April 2, 2018

Washington called on President Duterte to liberalize agricultural trade between the Philippines and the United States by reducing the barriers to imported farm products.

In the 2018 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers of the US Trade Representative (USTR), Washington pressed Manila to make the concessionary rates under Executive Order 23 permanent. The EO issued in May of last year extended for another three years the reduced rates on agricultural products as part of the Philippines‘s tariff commitments to the World Trade Organization.

The country is implementing most-favored nation (MFN) rates of duty on certain farm products as concession to its special treatment on rice that expired July of last year. Legislators have yet to convert the lapsed quantitative restriction on rice into tariffs, reason the President had to extend the MFN rates of duty until June 30, 2020, or until such time the agricultural tarrification law is amended.

Under EO 23, mechanically deboned or separated meat is slapped with a tariff of 5 percent. It will remain at that rate until 2020 before reverting to 40 percent in 2021.

Duty on buttermilk, curdled milk and cream, yogurt, kephir and other fermented and acidified milk and cream is kept at a measly 1 percent for another 3 years. The same levy is applied to cheese until 2020.

Butter and other fats and oils derived from milk, along with dairy spread, is slapped with a 5-percent tariff for another three years. Potato exporters enjoy duty-free privilege in the Philippines before a 10-percent levy is imposed in 2021.

The EO also declared Manila‘s continued compliance with its minimum access volume commitments of importing 805,200 metric tons of rice annually at a 35-percent tariff. In 2021 rice imports will be punished with a higher duty of 40 percent.

Concessionary rates under EO 23 were viewed enthusiastically by the US and recommended its permanent enforcement.

Washington is also pressuring Manila to get rid of its two-tiered system on handling frozen and freshly slaughtered meat delivered in wet markets. Under this method, tougher requirements are imposed on the sale of frozen meat, which are mostly imported, than on fresh meat, which came from animals raised domestically.

The two-tiered system, for the US, is discriminatory and must therefore be lifted. ―The United States continues to press the Philippine government to remove unjustified requirements that treat frozen meat differently from fresh meat.‖ The US is also averse to the regulation of the Department of Agriculture mandating importers to obtain a sanitary and phytosanitary permit before the shipment of any agricultural good and to transmit the permit to the exporter. The United States said this ―requirement adds costs, complicates the timing of exports and prevents the rerouting to the Philippines of products intended for other markets, but not sold there for commercial reasons.‖ ―Since December 1, 2016, the process for new permits has included a requirement that permits be signed by the secretary of agriculture, or his or her chief of staff, introducing further delays in issuance. The United States continues to work with the Philippine government to ensure the process does not hamper trade,‖ the report added.

Image Credits: Bloomberg https://businessmirror.com.ph/us-to-phl-reduce-barriers-to-farm-trade/

Integrated rice-duck farming‘ll boost Nigeria‘s food security Posted on Apr 2, 2018 in Business | Steve Agbota For many years, Nigeria has been struggling to attain self-sufficiency in rice production. Different programmes including the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) have been introduced to reduce rice deficit in the country.

Despite all these efforts put in place, Nigeria still remains the second largest importer of rice in the world, accounting for 25 per cent of the continent‘s import. Local production is done on 2.8 million hectares of farmland.

Nigeria produces 2.55 million metric tonnes of the estimated 6.1 million metric tonnes it consumes annually. It is further projected that Nigeria‘s rice consumption will rise to 35 million metric tonnes by 2050, increasing at the rate of 7 per cent per annum due to estimated population growth.

But experts believe that to feed the projected growing population, the Federal Government must consider Integrated Rice-Duck Farming (IRDF) technology since the conventional ways of planting rice in the country cannot meet demand.

Rice-duck farming is an integrated type of farming technology, that is especially suitable for resource poor farmers to produce organic rice at low cost.

The evidence from various Asian countries including India, Japan, Bangladesh, Philippines, Vietnam and some other countries, has proved the integration of ducks in rice field as a successful and productive farming technology.

Daily Sun investigation revealed that integrating ducks in rice farming have been proven to increase 30 per cent higher yield with about 60 per cent higher net return.

This technology has also proven to be far better than conventional ways of growing rice as the same cultivation area can be used for not only rice production but also subsidiary products like meat and eggs. At the same time it reduces labour inputs through control of weeds and insects by ducks.

Experts are of the opinion that growing rice and ducks together in an irrigated paddy field could well be a solution to providing food security for a surging population in any developing nation. This method of farming has reduced poverty, hunger and brought inclusive growth to a large segment of the population in the Philippines.

Technically, if government can invest and empower farmers to adopt the technology, Nigeria will save $300 million in import substitution annually.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), IRDF technology will enable farmers grow rice without using pesticide or herbicide. They will also earn extra money when the fully grown ducks are sold or when they start laying eggs.

The UN agency said, ―beside its economic benefits, this technology is especially environmental-friendly. The application of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides can be reduced thereby improving soil quality and pest control. ―The additional benefits of this good practice option are a higher food security to small farming households in times of calamities and on long-term basis the contribution to reduce methane emission. Hence, integration of duck in lowland rice production is recommended as climate adaptation and mitigation option.‖ Therefore, experts urged the Federal Government to partner FAO and one the Asian countries to adopt integrated rice-duck farming by training a large number of Nigeria‘s farmers to embrace the technology.

A Bio-technology Engineer, Roshan Shetty, who runs an AgroBioTech Channel in India told Daily Sun that the IRDF, in which ducks feed on insects and weeds in paddies and fertilise rice plants, has been a flagship of Asian sustainable agriculture movements.

He added: ―Farming is being revolutionised by a technological wave. That‘s great news. By 2050, the earth‘s population will be 10 billion, so we need to almost double the amount of food we now produce.‖ Speaking on the benefits of rice-duck farming, Shetty said ducks eat harmful insects and weeds, thereby averting the use of chemical pesticides and manual weeding in the rice field, adding that ducks get nutritious diet from eating insects and weeds in rice fields.

He explained that the droplets of ducks act as natural fertiliser to the rice crop preventing the use of chemical fertilisers. He said the continuous movement of ducks in the rice field provides natural stimulation and aeration, which increase the availability of nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous and potash to the rice crop.

He hinted that rice-duck technology causes a reduction of emission of methane gas from rice field, contributing to reduce the global warming.

Experts have also proved IRDF technology to be beneficial in terms of providing social, economic and environmental benefits. In this type of farming technology, ducks are released in the field after 10-20 days of rice transplantation till the time of flowering. The integration of ducks in rice field creates symbiotic relationship between rice and ducks yielding mutual benefits to both entities.

In the medium to long-term, the adoption of the IRDF will contribute to improve the quality of life of farmers, as evidenced by increased savings and income, better family nutrition (chemical-free rice, duck meat and duck eggs), and a healthier lifestyle brought about by less exposure to harmful chemicals.

This post was syndicated from The Sun News. Click here to read the full text on the original websit

https://www.nigeriatoday.ng/2018/04/integrated-rice-duckfarmingll-boost-nigerias-food-security/ OU professor Jizhong Zhou elected ESA Fellow for work in microbial ecology, climate change Managerial associate Lindsay Rice, research scientist Liyou Wu, Jizhong Zhou and Joy Van Nostrand at the Stephenson Research and Technology Center on March 29.

Jordan Miller/The Daily

Jizhong Zhou‘s office is crowded.

More than 25 desks populate the floor for the Institute for Environmental Genomics, with multiple other people in the labs working on projects. However, only about five people are part of the institute‘s staff — the rest are there for the opportunity to work with a world-renowned scientist. ―Dr. Zhou is internationally known, and people come here specifically for him that would never come to OU,‖ said Lindsay Rice, managerial associate of the Institute for Environmental Genomics. ―We get that recognition and

expertise just for his name because he‘s so well-known in the field.‖Zhou, who is the director of the Institute for Environmental Genomics, as well as a George Lynn Cross research professor and a presidential professor in the Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, is one of the highest-paid OU employees, with a salary of $400,000, according to Oklahoma Watch. On March 1, Zhou was elected a fellow of the Ecological Society of America, which is the nation‘s largest community of professional ecologists, for his advancements in environmental genomics and microbial ecology.

Fellows are elected based on their overall contributions to the field, not specific projects or studies, and for 40 years Zhou has been working in ecology — more specifically, in microbial ecology, which is the study of microorganisms and their relationships. ―It‘s a good recognition for our work here,‖ Zhou said. ―We (place) more focus on microbial ecology. Generally, you see more focus on macroecology, like plants and animals. They started recently a few years (ago) to put more effort in (microbial ecology), so we are more involved in the society.‖ Over the past 40 years, Zhou has also received other awards for his work, such as the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award, which he was awarded in 2014 from the secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. According to an OU press release, this is the highest scientific award given out by the department.

―We have pioneered in several areas in microbial ecology,‖ Zhou said. ―We developed ecology theory to understand microbial ecosystems, like relationships between diversity and functions in microbial systems. Secondly, we did work on climate change. ... We are one of the few groups in the world to study how microbial communities respond to climate change.‖ Postdoctoral researcher Lauren Hale has been working with Zhou for about three years, mostly related to microbial functioning — how microorganisms function to perform processes that allow for life on Earth. According to Hale, Zhou‘s biggest specific contribution to the field is GeoChip, which is a ―functional gene micro-ray‖ that allows for quick analysis of what microbial genes are in different soils. ―That‘s a really beneficial tool that completely sped up the ability to process and understand that type of information,‖ Hale said. ―Beyond that, he‘s really promoted the use of that tool and the implications of the data we‘ve gotten using those tools on many different projects.‖ Recently, GeoChip has also led to discoveries in how microbial functions are affected by climate change. Hale is working on a project under Zhou that looks at microbial organisms in Alaska — specifically, whether they will release previously inaccessible frozen carbon into the atmosphere as a result of increasing temperatures. ―We are (using) a lot of our tools in this group to look at the microbial organisms in these environments and how they‘re shifting in changing climate conditions,‖ Hale said. ―That‘s seen some really high-impact journals.‖

Because of Zhou‘s prominence in his field, Zhou yearly has about 25 to 30 visiting researchers, sponsored by the China Scholarship Council, to study and do research under him, Rice said.

Before coming to OU, Zhou got his initial experience in ecology in China. He received his bachelor‘s degree in plant pathology and entomology in 1981 at Hunan Agricultural University in Changsha, China. He then went on to earn his master‘s in mathematical ecology there as well in 1984. In 1988, he was a doctoral candidate in systems ecology at the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.

In 1990, he moved to the U.S., obtaining a doctoral degree in molecular biology in 1993 at Washington State University. Zhou also obtained two postdoctoral degrees in microbial ecology at Michigan State and at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in 1995 and 1997, respectively.

After all of this education, Zhou and his team from Oak Ridge were brought to OU in 2005. ―Twelve years ago, OU had a big initiative called the Life Sciences Initiative,‖ Zhou said. ―The staff at the university had a lot of funding to try and hire the best person in the field. I was the first person (they hired) in the field. They moved the entire group (from Oak Ridge) here. Then we established the Institute for Environmental Genomics ... OU gave me like $3 million to set up.‖ OU vice president for research Kelvin Droegemeier was part of the process that helped bring Zhou to OU.

―We ... transplanted the entire group of people here because he is so excellent in environmental genomics,‖ Droegemeier said. ―That was an area we wanted to grow and expand in the life sciences arena. He‘s a really outstanding scholar and researcher in that arena, that‘s essentially why we brought him here.‖ With all of his work, degrees, students and awards over the past 40 years, Zhou said he feels the impact he leaves will help to further advance ecology as a field. ―We (work) every day on very unique technologies that nobody has in the world,‖ Zhou said. ―This technology also contributes to society and the economy ... it‘s not a big (contribution), but it does have some impact. We‘ve had more impact really on the sciences ... we‘ve moved the field forward.‖ http://www.oudaily.com/news/ou-professor-jizhong-zhou-elected-esa-fellow-for-work-in/article_e12884ae-35e4-11e8-bdf5-2f8741851e57.html

Global Rice Cooker market research report with growth, latest trends & forecasts till 2022 Posted by Vivian Briscoe — April 1, 2018 in Business

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Rice Revolution in Kebbi April 2, 2018

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Rice growing is widespread in many parts of Kebbi State, raising hopes that Nigeria is on track to achieving zero importation of the food staple, Olawale Ajimotokan reports

Kebbi State has become a model in Nigeria‘s strides to boost local rice production. Its irrigated plains are patterned with paddy rice common in 15 out of the 21 local government areas.In the North-western state, over 200,000 farmers cultivate rice thrice yearly. The peak of the activity is the dry season when the product is grown twice in the year.

Rice is produced in Augie, Argungu, Birnin Kebbi, Kalgo, Bunza, Suru, Dendi, Koko/Bese, Jega, Ngaski, Bagudo, Tsanga, Yauri, Wara and Myamama local government areas.

Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu attributed Nigeria‘s hyped exit from recession to the N54 billion loans provided to the rice farmers nation-wide under the CBN‘s Anchor Borrowers‘ Programme (ABP).

Private millers are also cashing in on the frenzy. As off-takers, they are setting up high capacity rice mills, where the yields are processed and distributed into major cities across the country.

The major mills include Dandi Rice Mills in Kamba, Labana in Birnin Kebbi and Wacot in Argungu. There are also Olam and Umza, while corporate billionaire, Aliko Dangote is also constructing a mill in Jigawa, scheduled to open this year.

The General Manager Labana Rice, Abdullahi Idis Zuru, said the company, which produces the famous Lake Rice, a supply arrangement between Kebbi and Lagos States has two plants, with the installed capacity to process 20 tonnes of rice per hour.Labana requires about 100,050 metric tonnes of paddy per year to meet its installed annual capacity.

The mill has about 1,050 staff that run on three different shifts.

Zuru said under the ABP, 3,500 farmers were given N750 million. He added that last season, Labana allocated N450 million to 2,050 farmers that are supplying it with rice. ―The introduction of the ABP has assisted in getting raw materials for the factory. When it was first launched, we recorded more than 300 per cent increase in the number of farmers that have gone to the farm and in the quantity of paddy rice that was supplied. As a result, most of the rice millers in the country have moved to Kebbi State, opening offices and establishing ware houses, from where they buy from farmers and stockpile. Kebbi has become the centre of paddy rice supply to all rice millers in Nigeria. And it is not just rice, but high quality paddy rice, the one you can‘t get in any part of the country,‖ Zuru said.

The rice mill in Kamba is owned by an indigenous entrepreneur. It has two production lines. The installed capacity of the mill is 370 metric tonnes per day.―The benefits will be enormous because one of the advantages of siting the company here is proximity to the source of raw materials, which reduces cost of production. The rice produced here is highly competitive to rice produced elsewhere in the country,‖ said the District Head of Kamba, Mahmoud Fana.

The demand for unprocessed rice has also led to the emergence of weekly rice markets where agents of the mills scramble for every available grain on offer.

Many warehouses at the Kamba Rice Market are rented by the companies while the humming of trucks, waiting to distribute the commodity to other end users is a common activity.

The CBN introduced the ABP in 2015 to support rice farmers in many states using Kebbi as the pilot state.

Kebbi State Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Mohammed Garba Dandiga, declared at a FADAMA rice plantation in Suru that the state has attained self-sufficiency in rice production and is prepared to meet the country‘s 50 per cent rice demand.

Dandiga made the declaration, when Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, led reporters to Kebbi State to witness its thriving rice industry.

He projected that an aggregate 2.5 million metric tonnes of rice will be produced for the 2018 dry and wet seasons.

To make that possible, the Kebbi State Government recently procured 100 tractors, 300 power tillers, 300 threshers and 200 reapers to support paddy rice growing.

According to Dandiga, the Suru cluster farms, covering 50kms by 20kms, sold 1.5 million bags of rice about (115,384mt) last year. ―Last year, we produced over one million metric tonnes and made a turnover of N40 billion from rice. From the look of things, we expect a bumper harvest this year. Normally, if the yield increases, the tonnage also increases. We want to produce 2.5 million metric tonnes. Our rice production is in fulfilment of our mantra that ‗whenever you see rice, it must be from Kebbi‘,‖ Dandiga said.

He said the state government had assisted farmers to increase output by subsidising the prices of fertilisers which are supplied to farmers at N5,200 as against the market cost of N7,000-N8,000.

The Suru FADAMA Rice Farm is the biggest rice market in the state, closely trailed by Oroba (Dendi), Samanegi, Jega, Dogoraha, Dogosuho and Argungu.

At Jega where there are 15,000 farmers, a local farmer, Alhaji Ibrahim, was lauded for his outstanding feat in using superior farming techniques to improve yields from the national average of 2.5 metric tonnes to 10-11 metric tonnes per hectare.

Bagudu, who is the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Rice and Wheat Production in Nigeria, noted that the Kebbi rice approach has been replicated in other states as the country is inching towards self-sufficiency in rice production.

He said though it is possible for rice to be delivered at N10,000-N11,000 for a bag of 50kg rice there is a need for deliberate investments in the sector as the country is competing with other nations which are also investing. ―If you consider the sacrifices made by countries that are dependent on oil- Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Russia, they have not achieved the kind of low level growth that Nigeria achieved largely through agriculture,‖ Bagudu said.

He also called for greater lending to agriculture.

According to him, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) indicated that in the first two months of this year, fuel subsidy alone was about N180 billion, while the lending to agriculture under two and half years to farmers across 31 states was only N54 billion.

―We need massive investments in agriculture. Countries that have achieved food sufficiency spent decades supporting agriculture in form of subsidies and providing different producer support and that is what we should do,‖ Bagudu said.

In Kebbi, the farmers grapple with a complexity of problems that are impacting on their ability to maximise their production potential.

They irrigate the farms and the water is derived through pressure pump powered by generators. High cost of fuel is a major problem.

The farmers buy at N300 and above the official price of N150 because of activities of cross border smugglers.

Water is scarce to find during the dry farming season as the farmers pay N120,000 per annum for water, compared to farmers in Kano State, who are charged N20,000 only. ―Most of our farmers use irrigation. In some states it is possible to use gravity where you don‘t buy fuel, you just use the water pump in order to produce rice. Because of this our farmers are always buying petrol not at N145 assumed in the model or at most N150. The farmers, in some places, buy fuel for as much as N300. Despite the best effort of the federal government the challenges still remain.

Kebbi is contiguous to Benin and Niger Republic and as presented by the NNPC, the prices of petroleum products in both countries are over N320, which is an incentive for people to smuggle petrol,‖ Bagudu lamented.

He appealed to the federal government to aid Kebbi with the provision of dams and channelisation as the state lacks the means to embark on those projects.

In addition, farmers like Ibrahim Salihu and Sumaila Mohammed in Kamba and Oroba said inputs like fertilisers are not readily available.

Salihu is one of the 12 farmers that work on a cluster paddy farm in the dry season. Last year, he managed to harvest only five bags of rice but only with the low yields as he did not get government support. ―I was not opportune to get fertilisers and all sort of inputs distributed by government. It is only the farmers that obtain the loan that will tell you if they are given the second phase or not,‖ he said.

Sumaila Mohammed Kamba, who is the Coordinator on Agricultural Project to Dendi Local Government, fingered high cost of fertilisers and water as a limitation as they buy diesel, dig the well and source for fuel to irrigate their farms. https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/04/02/rice-revolution-in-kebbi/

Finally, farmers get better price for basmati Faridkot, April 1 On Sunday, the day to begin procurement of wheat in the state, it was the paddy (basmati rice) that flooded the Faridkot grain market.

After holding their stock of slender-grained aromatic rice for more than four months, hoping to get a remunerative price, basmati farmers in the area have started commanding a better price for their produce now and are bringing their stock to the mandi to sell it to private traders.

Against Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,100 per quintal price of basmati (depending on moisture content) that the farmers fetched in October 2017, this aromatic variety of rice, PB 1121, is now getting farmers Rs 3,600 per quintal in Faridkot.

Tarsem Sachdeva, a commission agent in Faridkot, said the arrival of wheat in the mandi would start in the next week as the crop is yet to fully ripen in this region.Higher demand for basmati from Iran and West Asia has further ignited the market of slender-grained rice.

Besides, the rising export is helping basmati farmers in the region to command a better price for their produce.

Not only rising export, even the rise in domestic consumption of the aromatic rice in the recent times is also a reason behind better price, said a commission agent at Kotkapura.

The Faridkot mandi is showing high arrival of basmati these days as compared to Kotkapura and the reason is that basmati is fetching an extra Rs 100 to Rs 150 per quintal in Faridkot.

While traders and rice millers in Kotkpaura are operating in a cartel, the Faridkot mandi is witnessing high competition among buyers, said a commission agent at Kotkapura, preferring anonymity.

The price of basmati in Kotkapura was about Rs 3,510 per quintal on Sunday but it was sold at Rs 3600-Rs 3,610 per quintal in Faridkot.

Due to this, many farmers of Kotkapura have brought their crop to Faridkot.

Arrivals are at their peak in Faridkot these days and the daily traded volume is around 5,000 to 7,000 bags (each of 50 kg) of basmati, sources in the Market Committee, Faridkot, said. The quantity is around 2,000 bags in Kotkapura. http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/bathinda/finally-farmers-get-better-price-for-basmati/567371.html

Indonesia is hungry for a better food policy 1 April 2018

Authors: Rainer Heufers, CIPS, and Arianto A Patunru, ANU Despite years of reasonable economic growth, 19.4 million Indonesians are still unable to meet their daily dietary needs.

The 2017 Global Food Security Index ranks Indonesia 69th out of 113 countries, and its overall score (which is independent of relative country rankings) has barely increased over the past five years. The continuity and severity of this problem indicate that Indonesia is facing chronic food insecurity.

The Indonesian government has aimed to address this problem by increasing supply through increasing rice production and developing higher-value crops, but these strategies have proven ineffective. The government‘s focus on national food supplies mimics an outdated understanding of food security as meaning only the domestic availability and the stability of food supplies.

Since the mid-1990s, the UN‘s Food and Agriculture Organization has added individuals‘ access (the affordability of food and individual food preferences) and utilisation (food safety and nutritional benefit) to what constitutes real food security.

These two dimensions reflect the demand side of food security, and it is demand-side measures that the Indonesian government has neglected in trying to guarantee food security.

This conception of food security suggests that an immediate solution to the problem is to increase competition in domestic food markets. Competition leads to technological progress, improvements in food quality and price reductions. Indonesian food markets remain highly concentrated and there have been several investigations by the national anti-monopoly authority of monopoly power in food markets.

Competition in domestic food markets and increasing food availability of food supplies recommend opening food markets up to cheaper imports. Indonesia‘s political leadership largely ignores the importance of imports for food security, incorrectly believing that that food insecurity comes from dependence on food imports. A number of Indonesian laws stipulate that imports are only permissible when domestic supplies are ‗insufficient‘.

No national government has ever managed to plan production and consumption accurately for the whole country — let alone a country with an enormous population like that of Indonesia. The government‘s insistence on controlling market supplies leads to serious problems with the cost of food, its quality and availability.

For starters, in Indonesia different ministries have different ideas about food statistics. The Ministry of Agriculture disagrees with Statistics Indonesia on the total harvested area of rice paddies. The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries disagrees with the Ministry of Industry on the necessary amount of salt imports. Several agencies have different numbers for the annual per capita consumption of rice. With these data discrepancies, central coordination of food supplies is impossible.

When domestic prices soar and the government finally allows food imports into the country, importers have to go through a complex licensing process that involves several government authorities. Delays caused by this process have resulted in losses of 303 billion Indonesian rupiah (US$22 million) for Indonesian taxpayers since 2010. In addition, the government‘s influence in the process opens opportunities for rent-seeking behaviour and corruption.

Indonesian prices for beef, rice and several other commodities have soared above international market prices. Retail food prices are often much higher in Indonesia than in neighbouring and much richer countries. These price premiums ‗taxed‘ Indonesian consumers approximately US$98 billion between 2013 and 2015 — well above the cost even of the EU Common Agricultural Policy levies on European consumers.

The tragedy is that, despite the highly inflated food prices paid by Indonesian consumers, farmers do not benefit from this self-sufficiency policy. Two-thirds of Indonesian farmers are net consumers of food and therefore suffer from inflated food prices themselves. Low farming revenues result in low household incomes — small-scale farmers holding less than 0.25 hectares of land in Central Java earn just 500,000 rupiah (US$36.35) per person per month.

The self-sufficiency policy is meant to protect farmers, but it is the middlemen, rice millers and wholesalers who reap the largest benefits from it.

The food self-sufficiency policy is supposed to shield Indonesia from extreme international food price volatility. Global rice prices soared by more than 100 per cent in 2007–08, whereas Indonesian rice prices remained relatively stable. But the stability was costly and short-lived. Indonesia actually imported 1 million tons of rice in 2007 — five times the annual average of the preceding three years. And domestic prices jumped dramatically again in December 2009 when world prices subsided. By the end of 2012, Indonesia‘s rice price was 65 per cent above the international price, which threw millions of people into poverty.

International rice price spikes are only one of many risks to Indonesian food security. Macroeconomic crises, insect and plant diseases, and natural disasters all impact on the level of undernourishment in Indonesia, and these can‘t be fixed by domestic supply-side measures.

The government‘s food policy may temporarily protect Indonesians from food insecurity in times of international food price spikes. But in doing so, it creates serious problems and contributes to chronic food insecurity among Indonesia‘s poor.

Removing all trade barriers (especially the import bans) might be politically difficult for President Joko Widodo. But gradual reform is possible.

Only such reforms are going to permit Indonesia to feed its people and achieve genuine food security.

Rainer Heufers is the Executive Director of the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS).

Arianto A Patunru is a Fellow in the Arndt-Corden Department of Economics and the Indonesia Project in the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2018/04/01/indonesia-is-hungry-for-a-better-food-policy/

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Rice Importers Threaten to Expose ‗Blackmailers‘ to PUL

By Omari Jackson April 2, 2018

The Rice Importers Association of Liberia (RIAL) has issued a warning to a group of individuals claiming to be journalists who are in possession of fabricated documents to blackmail its members to extort money to desist from such an unprofessional behavior or they will be exposed to the Press Union of Liberia (PUL).

The blackmailers sets a date claiming to meet with President Weah The Association said it is regrettable that the group claiming to be journalists is involved in a campaign of blackmail to extort money from members of the Rice Importers Association.

In a press release issued over the weekend, RIAL said a group of journalists a few weeks ago started to send messages comprising ‗fabricated documents‘ through photoshop, making others believe that it is an email message between rice importers. ―This was known recently when some of them made it visible to members of the Association,‖ the release said. ―The blackmailers were made to understand that it was a fabricated scam intended to extort money from the business community.‖ The release added, ―Those individual journalists and others said they would do all to extort money from the importers, even though they know it is makeup scam. The public will not investigate that, they usually say.‖ The RIAL said ―In the most recent example they fabricated an email communication about United Commodities, Inc. (UCI) in which they could not even spell properly the name of the person they pretended was sending the email. The name of the person was also miss-spelled by the blackmailers.‖

RIAL has, meanwhile, called on the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) to take notice of the situation and enforce its ethics. https://www.liberianobserver.com/news/rice-importers-threaten-to-expose-blackmailers-to-pul/

Arkansas Foundation Seed Program helps feed the world Mar 31, 2018

Arkansas Foundation Seed Program develops, maintains seed varieties in rice, soybeans and wheat State-

of-the-art facility constructed in 2016 STUTTGART — Arkansas continues to lay claim as the nation‘s rice production leader, but agricultural researchers with the University of Arkansas System Division of are always working to improve the crop.

TOP high

SEED -- The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's Foundation Seed Program, operated from this facility on the Rice Research and Extension Center near Stuttgart, assures pure, quality foundation seed is available to seed growers and dealers for rice, soybean and wheat.

Division of Agriculture researchers recently developed a new variety of aromatic rice. It‘s just one example of Arkansas striving to improve agriculture here, and in doing so, help feed the world.

The Arkansas Foundation Seed Program, based at the division‘s Rice Research and Extension Center near Stuttgart, plays a key role in facilitating rice varietal development, making the enterprise more efficient and attractive to farmers.

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―Our research and extension scientists train a lot of people to improve rice production practices not only here but around the world,‖ said program director Glenn Bathke. ―We view ourselves as a service organization. We provide seed at a low cost to seed dealers and make seed of new varieties available to be sure there is profit left for the farmers,‖ Bathke said.

Foundation seed is the purest seed stock produced from breeder seed under the Division of Agriculture‘s control. Foundation seed is purchased by seed growers and used to produce certified seed that is sold for crop production.

The Foundation Seed facility, which opened in 2016, continues cooperative efforts between the state Rice Research and Promotion Board and the Division of Agriculture. These efforts have led to the development of new technologies related to fertility, pest control, irrigation, and weed control, in addition to the development of new rice varieties.

Just last fall, a new long-grain aromatic rice variety called Aroma 17 was made available to the state‘s rice growers after development at the Rice Research and Extension Center. ―It has much more of an aroma to it than conventional long grain or medium grain rice,‖ Bathke explained. ―A lot of restaurants offer a selection of rice for people who like different tastes in rice. It has a jasmine aroma, similar to some Thai rice.‖ Bathke said that once it‘s clear that a new variety of rice is worth developing, he and his staff work to produce a high volume of the seed and make it available to seed growers and dealers.

―We‘re continuing to learn how to operate the plant more effectively,‖ Bathke said. ―We‘re putting in all the fine tuning.‖ New breeds of medium- and long-grain rice are also continually in development, Bathke said. ―The growers really love them,‖ he said. ―Medium grain varieties must go through commercial approval by the cereal companies, which are testing each variety before large-scale sales can go forward.‖ The Foundation Seed Program‘s work has played a significant role in feeding the planet.

Arkansas grows about half the rice grown in the U.S. and half of what the state produces is exported to other countries, Bathke said

http://newtoncountytimes.com/news/arkansas-foundation-seed-program-helps-feed-the-world/article_bf6d27c8-3451-11e8-8ec67723a70d502e.html

Make students’ stay with farmers mandatory: Venkaiah SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD, MARCH 31, 2018 23:03 IST UPDATED: APRIL 01, 2018 07:41 IST Vice-President interacts with researchers of Indian Institute of Rice Research Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu suggested that agriculture students‘ stay with farmers be made mandatory.In an interaction with the researchers of Indian Institute of Rice Research here on Saturday, he asked students as well as scientists to spend considerable time with farmers to come up with practical solutions to their problems.

He said the most critical need was to establish a dialogue with farmers and provide them with knowledge and material resources to increase their income. There was a need to educate farmers not just on various possibilities of diversifying the crop, but give them facilities for taking up allied activities like dairy, fisheries and poultry. Awareness on various cropping patterns based on soil profile and water availability in different agroclimatic zones was an important aspect in improving agriculture productivity.

―It would be beneficial if there is a two-way dialogue between agriculture scientists and farmers so that it helps the former in studying their innovative practices apart from understanding their problems,‖ he said.

A release said Mr. Naidu posed several questions to scientists and elicited their responses on how their research translated to empowering farmers.

He stressed on the need for increasing both productivity and production as the country could not depend on ―imported food security‖ for long.

―Today, we have a situation where despite phenomenal increase in food production, farmers are not able to get adequate returns from their investment. Agriculture remains an unattractive vocation for many families. We must change this situation,‖ the Vice-President said. http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/make-students-stay-with-farmers-mandatory-venkaiah/article23403522.ece

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VP urges scientists to make agriculture viable, profitable and sustainable 31 March 2018 Author: RM Bureau Section: Industry

Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu was interacting with the agricultural researchers on 'Doubling Farm Income by 2022 in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana' at ICAR - Indian Institute of Rice Research, in Hyderabad today Sub Category:

Agri cu lt u ral Res earch

The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu called upon agriculture scientists to focus on making agriculture viable, profitable and sustainable, besides ensuring home-grown food security to meet the needs of a burgeoning population. He was interacting with the agricultural researchers on 'Doubling Farm Income by 2022 in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana' at ICAR - Indian Institute of Rice Research, in Hyderabad today.

The Vice President posed several questions to the scientists and elicited their responses on how their research was translating to empower the farmers. Asking them to come out with innovative and out-of-box solutions to meet the challenges faced by farmers, the Vice President said, ―A happy farmer makes a happy country‖. ―We know the problems. What are the solutions, what are the new ideas…what is the way forward to take technology to the farmers‖ he asked. He pointed out that lack of quality seeds is one of the problems faced by farmers.

Similarly, another issue that needed attention was rising input costs. Crop diversification and promoting allied farming activities like backyard poultry were equally important to increase farmers‘ income. He also wanted the scientists to make e-NAM (e-National Agriculture Market) more popular with the farming community.

Stressing the need for home-grown food security, he said both productivity and production have to be increased as the country cannot depend on ―imported food security‖. He said the Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) should become the hubs of activity for farmers.

Asking the scientists and researchers to spend ―considerable time‖ with farmers to come out with practical solutions, he suggested that staying with farmers should be made mandatory for students pursuing agricultural courses.

Referring to agricultural credit, Naidu emphasised the need for giving timely and affordable credit to the farmers at reasonable interest.

Observing that agriculture sector needs a great deal of attention because a majority of Indians still rely on agriculture and allied occupations in the rural areas for their livelihood, he said. ―We have a situation today where despite phenomenal increase in food production, farmers are not able to get adequate returns from their investment. Agriculture remains an unattractive vocation to many families. We must change this situation‖.

Asking agricultural scientists and managers come up with solutions that will impact the farmers‘ lives positively and increase their incomes, the Vice-President said, ―We should focus on production and productivity to have adequate home grown food security. At the same time it is not merely increasing the production and per acre productivity alone which is important. It is also important for us to recognise that along with technology transfer and ‗intensification‘ of agriculture, there must be strategic ‗diversification‘ and attention to the key linkages in the eco-system. The farmers must be supported through market information, warehousing and cold storage facilities as well as the credit, marketing and insurance facilities‖.

He said the most critical need is to establish a dialogue with farmers and provide them with knowledge and material resources to increase their incomes. https://www.ruralmarketing.in/industry/agriculture/vp-urges-scientists-to-make-agriculture-viable-profitable-and-sustainable

Rewa Rice To Supply FSC Farmers

Fiji Rice Limited mill manager Ashrit Pratap in Labasa on March 26. Photo:Shratika Naidu

April 01 12:212018

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by Shratika Naidu 0 Comments Fiji Rice Limited – formerly known as Rewa Rice Fiji – will resume with the supply of rice to farmers of the Fiji Sugar Corporation after two decades.

This was confirmed by the company‘s mill manager Ashrit Pratap. ―We had discussions with South Pacific Fertilisers who conveyed the idea of our company supplying to FSC,‖ Mr Pratap said. ―This season we are supplying to Vanua Levu farmers and hope to supply whole of Fiji in coming years. ―FSC wants 196.9 tonnes for March/April supply and same amount later in the year and will start with the delivery soon,‖ he said.

He said the company used to supply imported rice to FSC farmers in the past but stopped because the production of local rice dropped and the mill shifted to Dreketi from Nausori.

When questioned whether the company was in a position to meet FSC‘s demand, Mr Pratap said it all depended on the production. ―We are not able to meet the entire demand of FSC but with the focus on self sufficiency in terms of rice, we hope to achieve this in few years time,‖ he said.‖ Payments will be made through a recovery basis, expected to be made in May and July.

This partnership will bring benefit to FSC as we will be supplying at cheaper price compared to last year. Farmers will save around 16 cents per kilogram.‖ Mr Pratap said it was a good time for farmers to venture into rice farming. ―With Government‘s subsidies on machinery, weedicide and fertilisers, I urge all farmers to choose rice farming,‖ Mr Pratap added.

Feedback: shratikan@fijisun.com.fj

http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/04/01/rewa-rice-to-supply-fsc-farmers/

Adopt these rice farming systems for bigger harvest

A farmer harvests rice at Doho. Photo by Lominda Afedraru

In Summary 

Figures from the Ministry of Agriculture indicate total production of milled rice by 2014 to be 154, 050 metric tonnes and total consumption rate at 215,707 metric tonnes.



The imported rate is 132,316 metric tonnes valued at $45.4 million about (Shs163.8 billon) and the export rate was at 70,659 metric tonnes.

By Lominda Afedraru

In Uganda, rice growing is considered as one of the strategic agricultural enterprises with the potential to contribute to increasing rural incomes and livelihoods and improving food and nutrition security.

However current rice yields are still low a situation partly attributed to the fact that farmers hardly use best agronomy practice to realise good harvest.

But with massive sensitisation work going on and use of improved seed which has been released by breeders is changing the situation with more farmers engaged in growing the crop as a commercial venture.

Speaking to Simon Elibu, a scientist majoring in rice breeding at the National Crop Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI); this is what he advises farmers to do as they go about with daily routine work of growing rice.

Land preparation Alibu explained that before rice can be planted, the soil should be in the best physical condition for crop growth and the soil surface is well leveled.

Farmers are expected to till land in time about one month before the rains start. Ploughing and harrowing is done twice before planting seeds.

Traditional method of tilling using hoe and ox plough or modern method of using tractors particularly for large scale farmers owning huge acres of land is recommendable.

Upland rice growing practices Alibu narrates that farmers growing upland rice are expected to plant rice seed in rows with spacing of 1ft by 1ft.

Planting method There are three methods of direct seed planting which include broadcast method where farmers sow seed using hand.

The other method is the metallic drilling method where a line is drilled using metallic fork measuring 30cm by 15cm.

Seed is dropped into the drilled lines and covered and a farmer uses one kilogrammes of seed in a 200 square mile land.

The third method is the dibbling or spot planting mainly practiced along mountain slopes where ploughing is difficult.

Farmers use a metallic hook to make a hole comprising 30cm by 12.5 cm and in each hole seven seeds are dropped and covered with soil.

Weeding It takes a week for the seeds to germinate and after three weeks from germination farmers are advised to weed their gardens or farm.

This is the time to apply the first round of fertilizer namely UREA and Diammonium phosphate (DAP) measuring 50 kilogrammes per hectare.

It is better to apply the fertilisers before weeding to allow the weeding process cause it to infiltrate to the soil.

The second fertiliser is applied during the second time of weeding is UREA measuring 50 kilogrammes of per hectare.

The second weeding is done after 50 – 60 days from planting time. Rice takes about 70 days to flower depending on the variety and farmers are expected to start harvesting 30 days from the date of flowering.

Rice varieties Most farmers in the country are growing Nerica rice varieties namely Nerica 1, 4 and 10 which is considered as old generation of rice.

Nerica 4 matures between 110 – 120 days with yield capacity of 4-5 tons per hectare and it is tolerant to drought.

Nerica 2 and 5 are high yielding and it is mostly adopted and grown by farmers in Northern Uganda.

The seed does not break easily meaning there is less loss during processing. A farmer milling 100 kilogramme of harvested seed is able to process 70 kilogrammes.

Nerica 1 matures between 105-115 days and the yield is between three to four tonnes per hectare and it is aromatic while Nerica 10 matures in a short period of 100 -105 days with yield rate of three to four tonnes per hectare.

Nerica 6 is tolerant against Yellow Mortal Virus (YMV) and it matures in 130 – 140 days with yield potential of three to five tonnes per hectare.

Wita 9 variety is high yielding and farmers can harvest five to six tonnes per hectare with maturity period of 140 - 160 days.

It is resistant to YMV Alibu and his breeding team at Namulonge in 2013 released upland varieties namely Namche1, 2, 3, and 4.

Namche 1 is widely adopted because it is early maturing taking 100 days to harvesting.

The agronomy Farmers engaged in growing lowland rice are expected to prepare nursery beds for raising seedlings. A farmer is expected to

heap soil of about one metre wide and sow seed in holes, cover the beds with grass and keep watering for germination to take place.

Farmers must have a good source of water and drainage which will channel water into the field. Seedlings are transplanted after raising them for three weeks.

At the nursery preparation organic manure and fertiliser should be added. The bed should be prepared in 30cm by 60cm trays. Construction of water drainage channels is essential.

The farm for low land rice must be flat to enable even flow of water. The fertiliser is applied on the same day of transplanting.

Usually weeds are not a problem in low land rice growing because the water tends to kill the weeds.

Farmers are therefore expected to weed once and that is 50 days from date of planting and the second fertiliser application should be done after 80 days from date of planting.

Lowland rice takes about 140 to 150 days to mature and farmers grow it in one season.

The recommended varieties released by scientists from NaCRRI include Wita9, Komboka, Agoro and Okile.

Other traditional varieties are K85 and K98 commonly known as Kaiso and Super rice.

Pests and diseases Farmers face challenge of pests such as stalked eyed flies which feed on the plant tissue causing destruction of stems, string bug and rice bug which suck the juicy panicles thereby staining the grain, termites and snails cut the stems and birds which eat the grains. Farmers may eradicate them by spraying recommended fungicide and human labour for the birds.

The major diseases are rice blast which produces spots on the leaves, rice yellow mortal which makes the leaves turn brown, brown spot, false smut which affect the grain and bacterial blight.

Farmers can get rid of snails by draining water from the farm and in any case the snails eat up rice seedlings which have grown for six weeks and thereafter the plants are safe.

Farmers who are broadcasting chemical spray are advised to restrict the flow to avoid environmental damage to other earth species.

Harvesting Farmers are advised to harvest their rice when 80 per cent of the farm is looking brown. Any slight delay will enable the seeds to shutter and less rice will be harvested, therefore timely harvesting is recommended. It is advisable to thresh using small machines to avoid breakages. Drying should be done in three to four days on raised racks.

Statistics Figures from the Ministry of Agriculture indicate total production of milled rice by 2014 to be 154, 050 metric tonnes and total consumption rate at 215,707 metric tonnes.

The imported rate is 132,316 metric tonnes valued at $45.4 million about (Shs163.8 billon) and the export rate was at 70,659 metric tonnes http://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/Farming/Adopt-these-rice-farming-systems-bigger-harvest/689860-4364978-elr3ho/index.html

This is Google's cache of http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/focus-on-making-agriculture-viable-profitable-vp-to-scientists118033100570_1.html. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on 31 Mar 2018 20:18:36 GMT.

Focus on making agriculture viable,profitable;VP to scientists Press Trust of India | Hyderabad Last Updated at March 31, 2018 19:45 IST

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today said that the agriculture sector needs a great deal of attention as he called upon farm scientists to focus on makingagriculture viable, profitable and sustainable.

"I have always held that the agriculture sector needs a great deal of attention because a majority of Indians still rely on agriculture and allied occupations in the rural areas for their livelihood," Naidu said.

The Vice President said there is a situation today where despite phenomenal increase in food production,farmers are not able to get adequate returns from their investment.

"Agriculture remains an unattractive vocation to many families. We must change this situation," an official release quoted him as saying.

Naidu was interacting with the Agricultural Researchers on 'Doubling Farm Income by 2022 in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana' at ICAR Indian Institute of Rice Research here.

He urged the scientists to come out with innovative and out-of-box solutions to meet the challenges faced by farmers.

He pointed out that lack of quality seeds was one of the problems faced by farmers. Another issue that needed attention was rising input costs. Crop diversification and promoting allied farming activities like backyard poultry were equally important to increase farmers' incomes, Naidu said.

The Vice President also wanted the scientists to make e-NAM more popular with the farming community.

Stressing the need for home-grown food security, he said both productivity and production have to be increased as the country cannot depend on 'imported food security'. He wanted Krishi Vigyan Kendras to become hubs of activity for farmers.

Asking scientists and researchers to spend 'considerable time' with farmers to come out with practical solutions, Naidu suggested that staying with farmers be made mandatory for students pursuing agricultural courses.

Naidu also said it would also be possibly beneficial if there was a two way dialogue between agriculture scientists and farmers so that the researchers not only understood farmers problems, but also study any innovative practises which the farmers might have already taken up.

He said in addition to knowledge and awareness, it was also important for timely adequate credit to be made available to all farmers. As the vagaries of nature impact the agricultural sector, they also needed to be given adequate financial protection through crop insurance, Naidu said.

Asking agricultural scientists and managers to come up with solutions that will impact farmers' lives positively and increase their incomes,he said focus should be on production and productivity to have adequate home grown food security.

At the same time it was not merely increasing production and per acre productivity alone which is important. Along with technology transfer and intensification of agriculture, there must be strategic diversification' and attention to the key linkages in the eco-system, he said.

Farmers must be supported through market information, warehousing and cold storage facilities as well as the credit, marketing and insurance facilities," he said.

"I am happy that each one of you is engaged in doing your best in your domain. I would urge each of you to think further on possible solutions to these challenges and as agricultural scientists and managers, come up with solutions that will impact farmers' lives positively and increase their incomes," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

GI tag for jardalu mango, katarni rice and betel leaf TNN | Updated: Apr 1, 2018, 11:52 IST

PATNA: Jardalu mango, katarni rice and Magahi paan (betel leaf) of Bihar have been officially recognized in the Geographical Indication (GI) registry on March 28. ―Bhagalpur‘s jardalu mango and katarni rice, along with Magahi paan (betel leaf) cultivated mainly in Nawada, Aurangabad and Gayadistricts of Magadh region, have received international recognition and provided with GI tags. The farmers and vicechancellor and scientists of Bihar Agriculture University (BAU)

deserve the credit for the GI tags,‖ state agriculture minister Prem Kumar said in a statement.

An official from the agriculture department said jardalu mango, that is light yellow in colour, is known for its sweet fragrance. ―Katarni rice is known for its long thin grain and fragrance while Magahi paan is relished for its sweetness and tender textured leaf. Farmers in Nawada still cultivate Magahi paan using traditional methods,‖ the official said.

LATEST COMMENT It is good that Jardalu mango, katarni rice and Magahi paan (betel leaf) of Bihar have been officially recognized in the Geographical Indication (GI) registry on March 28.Mithilesh Kumar

The GI tag has been given to Bhagalpur‘s Jardalu Aam Utpadak Sangh in Sultanganj block of the district. Sweet and tender Magahi paan leaf has been recognized under the Magahi Paan Utpadak Kalyan Samiti of Deori village in Nawada district while katarni rice received the GI tag under Bhagalpur Katarni Dhan Utpadak Sangh of Jagdishpur village.

The coveted tag, awarded by the GI registry in Chennai, indicates that the product possesses certain qualities and is

made according to traditional methods or enjoys a certain reputation, due to its geographical origin. Products such as Kashmiri pashmina, Darjeeling tea and Kancheepuram silk have been awarded GI tags. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/gi-tag-for-jardalu-mango-katarni-rice-betelleaf/articleshow/63561090.cms https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/gi-tag-for-jardalu-mango-katarni-ricebetel-leaf/articleshow/63561090.cms

Through genetic manipulation, Kyoto University researchers have cracked the code of cherry trees and found a way to make them bloom in both spring and fall. | GETTY IMAGES

NATIONAL / SCIENCE & HEALTH

Japanese researchers find way to replicate cherry-blossom magic in fall

BY HUGH DATZMAN

STAFF WRITER 

APR 1, 2018 ARTICLE HISTORY

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To the delight of sakura (cherry blossom) lovers everywhere, botanists at Kyoto University have discovered a way to make cherry trees flower more than once a year and plans are already afoot to introduce pink to the autumnal palette.

By manipulating the sakura‘s genetic markers, researchers say they have essentially tricked Mother Nature into reproducing spring‘s bounty again in the fall.

Like so many great scientific discoveries, the breakthrough was a bit of a fluke.

Aiming to boost Japan‘s rice production, the university researchers had been hard at work studying the genome of a fast-growing strain of Vietnamese rice that can be harvested up to four times a year. ―We‘ve not yet been able to crack that nut,‖ head researcher Kohei Yoshimoto said. ―Yes, we‘ve produced a similar strain, which we‘ve named Chumpa, that can be harvested more than once, but it really didn‘t pass the team‘s taste tests.‖ On a lark, the researchers decided to turn their attention to Japan‘s most cherished tree. ―Call it self-serving, but our lab‘s hanami (cherry blossom viewing) parties are legendary,‖ Yoshimoto said with a wink. ―We thought it was a shame that we can only let our hair down once year.‖ Though still in its initial stages, the promise of the project — code-named Sakura AF (short for aki (autumn) flower) — has excited both the tourism industry and Japan Inc.‘s retail sector. ―This really is too good to be true,‖ said JTB spokesperson Mei Naito. ―We‘ve seen a steady increase in tourists during the cherry blossom-viewing season, so doubling that with more hanami tourism is an auspicious accomplishment. We couldn‘t be happier.‖ Beverage and confectionery makers are especially keen to release new lines of aki sakura drinks and sweets to complement the festivities.

Although the scale and location of the genetically modified trees has yet to be decided, Yoshimoto said there have been talks of starting with the Tohoku region to help revitalize the area‘s flagging tourism numbers.

The idea, however, has not been welcomed by everyone.

Already a group has been formed to oppose the implementation of the project. Named Hanami no Dentou wo Zettai ni Mamoru Kai (the People Who Will do Anything to Protect the Tradition of Hanami), the group has threatened to cut down the biannual sakura trees if the plan ever comes to fruition.

―These are mutant species, a blight on the soul of Japan,‖ said group leader Kenji Yamato. ―The thought of these symbols of ephemeral beauty being programmed to pop open at will makes my blood boil. It‘s a perversion of this nation‘s unique four seasons.

Next thing you know, they‘ll be making them bloom rainbows.‖ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/04/01/national/science-health/japanese-researchers-find-way-replicate-cherry-blossom-magicfall/#.WsIjxy5ubm4

A Happy Farmer makes a Happy Country:Vice President Venkaiah Naidu Stressing the need for home-grown food security, he said both productivity and production have to be increased as the country cannot depend on “imported food security”. He said the Krishi Vigyan Kendras should become the hubs of activity for farmers.

Government Press Release 31 Mar 2018, 09:23 PM Views : 44

Farm Scientists should make Agriculture viable, profitable and sustainable. (representative image) The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu called upon Farm Scientists to focus on making agriculture viable, profitable and sustainable, besides ensuring home-grown food security to meet the needs of a burgeoning population. He was interacting with the Agricultural Researchers on 'Doubling Farm Income by 2022 in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana' at ICAR - Indian Institute of Rice Research, in Hyderabad today.

The Vice President posed several questions to the scientists and elicited their responses on how their research was translating to empower the farmers.

Asking them to come out with innovative and out-of-box solutions to meet the challenges faced by farmers, the Vice President said ―A happy farmer makes a happy country‖. ―We know the problems. What are the solutions, what are the new ideas…what is the way forward to take technology to the farmers‖ he asked. He pointed out that lack of quality seeds is one of the problems faced by farmers.

Similarly, another issue that needed attention was rising input costs. Crop diversification and promoting allied farming activities like backyard poultry were equally important to increase farmers‘ income. He also wanted the scientists to make e-NAM more popular with the farming community.

Stressing the need for home-grown food security, he said both productivity and production have to be increased as the country cannot depend on ―imported food security‖. He said the Krishi Vigyan Kendras should become the hubs of activity for farmers.

Asking the scientists and researchers to spend ―considerable time‖ with farmers to come out with practical solutions, he suggested that staying with farmers should be made mandatory for students pursuing agricultural courses.

Referring to agricultural credit, Shri Naidu emphasized the need for giving timely and affordable credit to the farmers at reasonable interest.

Observing that agriculture sector needs a great deal of attention because a majority of Indians still rely on agriculture and allied occupations in the rural areas for their livelihood, he said ―We have a situation today where despite phenomenal increase in food production, farmers are not able to get adequate returns from their investment. Agriculture remains an unattractive vocation to many families. We must change this situation‖.

Asking agricultural scientists and managers come up with solutions that will impact the farmers‘ lives positively and increase their incomes, the VicePresident said ―We should focus on production and productivity to have adequate home grown food security. At the same time it is not merely increasing the production and per acre productivity alone which is important. It is also important for us to recognise that along with technology transfer and ‗intensification‘ of agriculture, there must be strategic ‗diversification‘ and attention to the key linkages in the eco-system. The farmers must be supported through market information, ware housing and cold storage facilities as well as the credit, marketing and insurance facilities‖.

He said the most critical need is to establish a dialogue with farmers and provide them with knowledge and material resources to increase their incomes.

Following is the text of Vice President's address: ―I am happy to participate in today‘s interaction with all of you and learn a little more about the excellent work being done by each of your institutions.

Because of a number of initiatives taken by our scientists like you and the farming community, India‘s food production has increased from a mere 50 million tonnes in 1950 to 275 million tonnes in 2017. As you have just now mentioned, India is the leading exporter of rice and contributes nearly 10% to our GDP. This spectacular achievement in the agriculture sector is in a large measure due to technology led improvements in agricultural productivity, investments in R&D and allied sectors and effective transfer of this technology to farmers over the last 7 decades.

I thought I should deepen my understanding and be aware of the state of the art and the current research being conducted by each one of you and see how the research findings are proving to be beneficial to the farmers.

Thank you for your detailed briefing on your activities.

I have always held that agriculture sector needs a great deal of attention because a majority of Indians still rely on agriculture and allied occupations in the rural areas for their livelihood.

We have a situation today where despite phenomenal increase in food production, farmers are not able to get adequate returns from their investment.

Agriculture remains an unattractive vocation to many families. We must change this situation.

I am happy that each one of you is engaged in doing your best in your domain. I would urge each of you to think further on possible solutions to these challenge and as agricultural scientists and managers come up with solutions that will impact the farmers lives positively and increase their incomes.

We need to focus on increasing productivity and improve the rural, agro-based economy, especially the incomes of farmers.

We should focus on production and productivity to have adequate home grown food security. At the same time it is not merely increasing the production and per acre productivity alone which is important. It is also important for us to recognise that along with technology transfer and ‗intensification‘ of agriculture, there must be strategic ‗diversification‘ and attention to the key linkages in the eco-system. The farmers must be supported through market information, ware housing and cold storage facilities as well as the credit, marketing and insurance facilities.

I think that the most critical need is to establish a dialogue with farmers and provide them with knowledge and material resources to increase their incomes. I notice that you have been engaging in this dialogue and providing the required support services as well.

There is a need for educating the farmers on various possibilities to diversify not only in terms of alternative cropping patterns but also to give them facilities for taking up allied activities like dairy, fisheries, poultry and other allied occupations. Awareness about various cropping patterns based on soil profile and water availability in different agro-climatic zones is an important element in improving agriculture productivity.

I also feel that there is immense potential for value addition through agro based industries and food processing industries. Encouraging farmers to venture into these new areas of agro-based industries can be successful only if focus upon an important element. That element is effective transfer of knowledge and technology, transferring the ‗know-how‘ and the ‗do-how‘ from the lab to the land.

We should examine as to what extent we have been successful in conveying the vast knowledge base we have in our research institutions to the farmers.

We should continue to innovate and search for more effective ways of transferring this knowledge to the farming community.

It would also be possibly beneficial if there is a two way dialogue between agriculture scientists and farmers so that the researchers not only understand the farmers‘ problems but also study any innovative practices which the farmers might have already taken up.

Of course in addition to knowledge and awareness, it is also important that timely adequate credit is available to all the farmers.

In addition, with the vagaries of nature impacting the agricultural sector, the farmers need to be given adequate financial protection through crop insurance.

I am aware that government has been taking up these issues very seriously and a number of measures have been taken up.

I am happy that all of you are actively engaged in not only advancing the frontiers of knowledge and have taken up very relevant research but are also taking up the challenge of communicating your research findings to the farming community.

I wish you all the best in your endeavours.

Jai Hind!"

(This is a reproduced press release from Government of India as it is. Devdiscourse bears no responsibility towards grammatical or factual errors that may have been presented in the report.)

https://www.devdiscourse.com/Article/2705-a-happy-farmer-makes-a-happy-countryvice-president-venkaiah-naidu?reg=South%20Asia

Rice basmati edges up on uptick in demand PTI | Mar 31, 2018, 13:52 IST

New Delhi, Mar 31 () Rice basmati prices edged up by Rs 100 per quintal at the wholesale grains market today on pick up in demand against fall in supplies.

A few bold grains also settled higher on increased offtake by consuming industries.

Traders said besides uptick in demand, tight stocks position on fall in arrivals from growing regions mainly pushed up rice basmati prices.

In the national capital, rice basmati common and Pusa-1121 variety moved up by Rs 100 each to Rs 7,700-7,800 and Rs 6,800-6,900 per quintal respectively.

Non-basmati rice sela also edged up to Rs 3000-3100 from previous level of Rs 2,900-3,100 per quintal.

Other bold grains like jowar yellow rose by Rs 50 to Rs 1,500-1,550 per quintal. Maize and barley also rose by Rs 40 and Rs 10 to Rs 1,500-1,505 and Rs 1,490-1,500 per quintal respectively.

Following are today's quotations (in Rs per quintal): Wheat MP (desi) Rs 2,080-2,280, Wheat dara (for mills) Rs 1,755-1,760 Chakki atta (delivery) Rs 1,765-1,770, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) Rs 230-260, Shakti Bhog (10 kg) Rs 255-290, Roller flour mill Rs 950-960 (50 kg), Maida Rs 970980 (50 kg)and Sooji Rs 1,040-1,050 (50 kg).

Basmati rice (Lal Quila) Rs 10,700, Shri Lal Mahal Rs 11,300, Super Basmati Rice Rs 9,800, Basmati common new Rs 7,700-7,800, Rice Pusa (1121) Rs 6,800-6,900, Permal raw Rs 2,325-2375, Permal wand Rs 2,375-2,425, Sela Rs 3,000-3,100 and Rice IR-8 Rs 1,975-2,025, Bajra Rs 1,210-1,215, Jowar yellow Rs 1,500-1,550, white Rs 2,800-2,900, Maize Rs 1,500- 1,505, Barley Rs 1,490-1,500. KPS DPL SDG ABM ABM https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/rice-basmati-edges-up-on-uptick-in-demand/articleshow/63556025.cms

Standing firm: Punjab govt deploys 1,000 police personnel for protection to millers and other bidders, sets up toll-free helpline punjab Updated: Apr 01, 2018 11:04 IST

HT Correspondent Hindustan Times, Chandigarh

The talks between representatives of truck unions and officials of the food and civil supplies department could not make any headway even as rice millers came forward to join the tendering process in several areas of the state. (HT File/Representative image ) The stalemate between truckers and the Punjab government over the cap imposed on rates for wheat transportation continued on Saturday.

The talks between representatives of truck unions and officials of the food and civil supplies department could not make any headway even as rice millers came forward to join the tendering process in several areas of the state.

They submitted bids in 15 of the 58 clusters in Sunam, Dirba and Sangrur, which are known stronghold of truck unions, amid heavy security, said a senior official privy to information collated by the department.

Of 395 clusters, bids have been received in 150, including 100 where contracts have been finalised, in the above 8-km category in which large trucks are used to carry foodgrains. In short distance category (within eight kilometres), labour and cartage contracts have been finalised for 165 of the 314 clusters.

With truck unions boycotting the tendering process, the response from rice millers and other splinter groups has provided much-needed relief to state authorities. They had allowed rice millers to participate in the tendering process for transportation of wheat from grain markets to storage godowns.

Special helpline, security for bidders The government, which has refused to give in to the truck operators agitating against its decision to cap the rates, has deployed 1,000 police personnel to provide security to bidders and set up a special ‗181‘ toll free helpline, said the officer requesting anonymity. The state top brass had on Friday considered the possibility invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to ensure smooth procurement and transportation of wheat in the state in case the truck operators do not fall in line or create trouble.

Punjab Truck Operators‘ Union president Happy Sandhu, who first held a meeting of working committee of all unions and then met the state officials in Patiala, said there was no headway as the government refused to increase the rate and the truck operators were not willing to carry foodgrains at the rate being offered. ―We suggested Rs 2,200 a day plus diesel from the department for carrying nine tonnes of wheat for a distance of nine kms as against Rs 1,650 being offered. But, they said the centre does not give that much,‖ he said.

Unions meet on April 3 The union has asked all its district chiefs to meet the operaters in their respective areas to take their view and will hold another meeting at Sahnewal on April 3 to decide its future strategy. The state transporters have been charging high rates for carrying foodgrains in the past 8 to 10 years, bleeding the state exchequer. However, the fund-crunched government decided this time to align the rates with the reimbursement it gets from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for transporation of wheat and paddy procured in the state.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/grain-transport-punjab-truck-unions-remain-adamant-rice-millers-join-bidding/storyBAw4w8I1MbOa1VYwuW9k8M.html