6th June , 2014
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TOP Contents - Tailored for YOU Latest News Headlines…
Thai rice exporters say top ranking regained World needs UN GMO watchdog – Russia Chainat’s BAAC expedites rice pledging payments to farmers Government criticised for ignoring rice exporters in budget Rabi Paddy Procurement Begins Myanmar's Parboiled Rice Exports Expected To Surge This Year Burma needs modernized rice mills, says industry association USA Rice Welcomes Summer Intern Rice Research to be Highlighted at Upcoming Field Days ME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures Dow AgroSciences rice sponsorship invests in future of ag China accounts for 41.75 pct of Vietnam's rice export in 4 months Exporter under attack in rice row DA reports near-full rice harvest from E. Visayas China accounts for 41.75 pct of Vietnam's rice export in 4 months High school seniors in rice states eligible for $8,500 in scholarships Changing crops with changing climate: Can Pakistan learn from Nepal? Research proposes formal trade in rice seeds between India and Bangladesh Tanzania: Research Helps Mvomero Farmers Double Rice Production FCI should procure rice, not paddy Green energy dream nears reality in Nueva Ecija Rabi Paddy Procurement Begins Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- June 06 Monsoon reaches India coast slightly later than usual Government criticised for ignoring rice exporters in budget Nigeria Is The Largest Importer Of Rice In The World
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News Detail… Thai rice exporters say top ranking regained By Associated Press, Published: June 4 BANGKOK — Thailand‘s rice association said Wednesday the country has regained its spot as the world‘s top rice exporter by volume, after sliding behind India and Vietnam last year due to a failed subsidy and stockpiling policy.The news website of the state-owned Mass Communications Organization of Thailand said the country exported 3.93 million tons of rice from January to May 20. It cited Thai Rice Exporters Association president Charoen Laothamatas
Thai rice exporters say top ranking regained The report said India exported 3.74 million tons in the same period and Vietnam exported 2.4 million tons.Thailand‘s former government, ousted by a coup last month, implemented a program to buy rice from farmers at above market prices.As the top rice exporter, Thailand hoped to control the market and push prices up. But India and Vietnam increased exports, which prompted stockpiling by Thailand as it tried to contain losses from its subsidy policy aimed at boosting rural incomes. It‘s unclear if Thailand will maintain the top exporter spot for the whole year.The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization forecast in April that Thailand will export 8.7 million tons in 2014, behind India at 9.5 million tons.Despite higher export volumes, Thai rice is commanding a lower price on world markets than other major exporters. The price is constrained by Thailand‘s large stockpile and questions about quality due to holding the grain in storage for longer than usual.Rice association data shows Thai 5-percent grade rice is fetching an average of $390 a ton compared with $405 a ton for Vietnam and $435 a ton for India.Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
World needs UN GMO watchdog – Russia Russian lawmakers advocate creation of an international UN agency not only to strictly control the turnover of GMO products worldwide, but with a top priority mission to scrutinize how consuming GMO foods would affect human health in the long run.Aggressive distribution of GMO worldwide is raising huge concerns for human health, said Russian Federation Council speaker Valentina Matvienko.The speaker urged the executive
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branch to make a request to the UN General Assembly to initiate the creation of an international GMO watchdog. “It’s absolutely clear that the GMO problem is a global issue,” Valentina Matvienko said.
The speaker of the upper chamber of the Russian parliament also spoke in favor of facilitating production of organic food in the country as “the volumes of imported agricultural goods and food remain substantial,” Matvienko said.Russian authorities are taking measures to contain uncontrollable spread of GMO foods against the background of regular worldwide mass rallies over the distribution of GMO products created by transnational corporations, such as Monsanto. In the US, where agricultural producers are not obliged to mark their products if they contain GMO-originated ingredients, people stage large protests, claiming that from 80 to 95 percent of the American population would want to have GMO foods labeled.In Russia, where parliament is seeking a moratorium on GMO production, the situation with GMO consumption has not yet developed into a serious problem, though membership in the WTO hasopened up the Russian market for GMO products. In April, Russia‘s prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, told the country‘s parliament that Russia could be selfsufficient with organic foods only, without allowing GMO food production. A draft law submitted to the Russian parliament seeks to impose punishment up to criminal prosecution to producers of genetically-modified organisms harmful to health or the environment.On Thursday, the Federal Service for Consumer Rights and Human Welfare Protection presented a draft bill that would fine producers and resellers of food products containing GMO if they fail to mark it properly with ‗GMO inside‘ mark.Russian citizens do no welcome the products containing GMO either. According to the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center, a survey taken on May 24-25 in 42 regions of the Russian Federation found that 54 percent of respondents would not buy food marked with a ―GMO inside‖ label.A majority of Russian citizens would prefer organic food to its genetically modified counterpart, even if that one is considerably cheaper (74 percent), packed in a more attractive manner (76 percent) or has a longer
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expiry date (78 percent).Russian citizens also distrust artificial additives to food, such as preservatives (50 percent), food coloring (40 percent), flavor enhancer (33 percent) and antioxidants (31 percent).Only 10 percent of respondents agreed to definitely buy GMO food, which has these ingredients.
Image: Valentina Matvienko (RIA Novosti / Maksim Blinov)
Chainat’s BAAC expedites rice pledging payments to farmers Friday, 06 June 2014By NNT CHAINAT, 5 June 2014 – Chainat province‘s Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) is speeding up the payments that are still due for farmers who have participated in the rice pledging program.Director of the Chainat BAAC Preecha Puangnoipapha stated that the bank is currently expediting the payments to rice farmers. He went on to say that the payments for the 2013/2014 rice season totaled 5.2 billion baht according to the receipts handed by the farmers. On June 2, Mr. Preecha stated that around 11,500 farmers came to the bank to receive their overdue payments, which totaled 1.43 billion baht. Recently, the Chainat BAAC would receive an additional 880 million baht from the budget disbursement by June 6.The Chainat BAAC stated that it will finish allocating the remaining 880 million baht budget from the state and pay rice farmers in the province by June 8. In regards to the rest of the farmers still in need of payment, the BAAC said that the last sums of payments should all be delivered by June 12.
Government criticised for ignoring rice exporters in budget June 06, 2014
RECORDER REPORT Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) Senior Vice-Chairman Chela Ram Kewlani has criticised the government for ignoring the association's proposals in the federal budget 2014-15. Speaking toBusiness Recorder here on Thursday, Kewlani said that the rice export industry was the country's second largest earner of foreign exchange, but this key export sector had been ignored in the recently announced budget. "In a recent meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, REAP had presented some proposals for the benefit of the rice export sector and the finance minister had promised to consider the proposals in the budget but not a single recommendation of the association was considered," he regretted.
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He said that the rice exporters were facing serious problems including harassment by government departments and poor law and order situation. Kewlani said that the rice exporters had been badly affected by the fluctuation of dollar during the last couple of months and after several meetings with the commerce ministry and the finance ministry, the exporters had been assured that they would be compensated in the federal budget, but unfortunately the government did not honour its commitment. He said that the rice exporters had been expecting some relief from the government but they were disappointed after the announcement of the budget. He urged the government to look into the issues being faced by the rice exporters and provide them relief.
Rabi Paddy Procurement Begins By Express News Service Published: 06th June 2014 10:33 AM Last Updated: 06th June 2014 10:33 AM JEYPORE: More than 3,000 quintals of rabi paddy were procured in Jeypore, Kundra and Borrigumma mandis as per the schedule on Monday. Jeypore MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati along with Government officials, LAMP staff, millers and farmers were present on the first day of procurement. The officials checked several godowns of millers in the district to avoid dumping by middlemen.Koraput Collector Yamini Sarangi said the administration would complete the procurement process with transparency.She warned stern action against the middlemen and millers if they harass the farmers.
Myanmar's Parboiled Rice Exports Expected To Surge This Year HANOI, June 6 (Bernama) -- Myanmar's parboiled rice exports are likely to surge to 300,000 tonnes in the 2014-2015 fiscal year, the Myanmar Rice Industry Association said.The figure is up almost nine times higher than the 30,000 tonnes shipped abroad in the previous fiscal year, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.The government is keen to expand the local market for parboiled rice besides increasing foreign demand for the commodity.The Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation said the government hopes to raise domestic sales of parboiled rice to 300,000 tonnes per annum.Construction of new rice mills will be completed before the monsoon harvest and are expected to produce up to 1,800 tonnes of parboiled rice per day.Rice mills with production capacity of between 50 tonnes and 100 tonnes per day are currently being constructed.
Burma needs modernized rice mills, says industry association Farmers plant rice seedlings in a paddy field on the outskirts of Rangoon in 2012. (Photo: Reuters)
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The Myanmar Rice Millers Association (MRMA) has stressed the need for setting up modernized rice milling units in the country to be able to increase exports of high-quality 5 percent broken rice, according to local sources. The MRMA noted that Burma‘s high-quality 5 percent broken rice (locally known as tann myint) has huge demand from Europe and Japan, but local millers lack facilities to meet the demands. They say sophisticated milling units with rice polishers and colour-sorter machines, which can produce high-grade 5 percent broken rice, are needed to keep abreast with the market needs. Currently, there are less than 10 high-tech and modernized rice mills that can produce 100 to 400 tons in the country, according to the MRMA. Owing to the high cost of producing 5 percent broken rice, most of the millers have stopped its production. The MRMA has been demanding government assistance in setting up hi-tech milling units but the government has allegedly been indifferent to the rice millers‘ demands. The Association says even the 25 percent broken rice (locally known as ae-ma-hta), which is largely exported to Africa, and many other varieties of rice produced in Burma do not get higher prices in foreign markets as they are not polished during the milling process.Also, falling rice prices and surging electricity charges have forced many small- and medium-sized millers to shut down their operations, says a former MRMA chairman. MRMA data shows that there are about 2,000 regular mills with an average milling capacity between 15 and 100 tons. The Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation (MAPC) is constructing new parboiling rice mills with a combined capacity of 200,000 tons and 300,000 tons of parboiled rice annually. The general secretary of MRMA expressed hope that the government takes some initiative to construct a few tann myint mills also in the country.Burma‘s government is keen on regaining its once top rice exporter status and accordingly plans to increase its rice exports to about three million tons over the next five years, up almost three times the current exports of around one million tons. It is also working on a new trade policy and would help rice exporters gain access to new markets. However, inadequate funding and government subsidies are discouraging farmers from producing high-quality rice suitable for international sales, say local sources.USDA estimates Burma to export 1.3 million tons of rice in 2014 (January – December), up 12 percent from an estimated 1.16 million tons in 2013. The agency estimates the country to produce 12 million tons of rice in 2013-14, up about 2 percent from an estimated 11.7 million tons in 2012-13. This article was originally published in Oryza on 5 June 2014. Oryza is an industry leader in rice and a media partner of DVB.
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USA Rice Welcomes Summer Intern ARLINGTON, VA -- Summer is intern season in Washington, DC, and the USA Rice Federation is pleased to have Lydia Holmes filling this role for the next few months. Lydia recently graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, with a degree in political science, and will be returning to the classroom in the fall when she begins her master's program in public administration at George Washington University.Lydia will be helping the Government Affairs, Domestic Promotion, and Communications teams this summer, and will be on hand for this year's Rice Millers' Association meeting as well.Lydia is no stranger to the rice industry, having grown up on a rice farm in Forrest City, Arkansas, and serving as Miss Arkansas Rice in 2009. She is the only daughter of Brenda and Byron Holmes.
Image: Hard at work in the USA Rice prep kitchen.
Rice Research to be Highlighted at Upcoming Field Days Attendees gather at Southwest LA Field Day yesterday on Jimmy Hoppe's farm.
KINDER, LA -- During the coming weeks rice growers will have the opportunity to receive the latest research results and recommendations from scientists throughout rice country. Mark your calendars and plan to attend the field day nearest you. Contact: Randy Jemison, (337) 738-7009
June 12 -- Acadia Parish and Rice Research Station South Farm Field Day 8:00 a.m. LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station South Farm Hwy 13 South, Crowley, LA
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Contact: Barrett A. Courville, bcourville@agcenter.lsu.edu June 24 -- 40th Eagle Lake Field Day and Program 4:00 p.m. Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center Eagle Lake, TX Contact: Dr. Ted Wilson, lt-wilson@aesrg.tamu.edu June 25 -- LSU AgCenter Rice Field Day 7:30-9:15 a.m. Field Tours -- Program begins at 10:45 a.m. and concludes with lunch LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station 1373 Caffey Rd., Rayne, LA Contact: Dr. Steve Linscombe (337) 788-7531 or slinscombe@agcenter.lsu.edu
ME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures CME Group (Prelim): Closing Rough Rice Futures for June 6 Month
Price
Net Change
July 2014
$14.175
+ $0.095
September 2014
$13.900
+ $0.060
November 2014
$14.025
+ $0.050
January 2015
$14.165
+ $0.050
March 2015
$14.310
+ $0.045
May 2015
$14.310
+ $0.045
July 2015
$14.310
+ $0.0
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Dow AgroSciences rice sponsorship invests in future of ag Dow AgroSciences | Updated: 06/05/2014
Dow AgroSciences is investing in its future leaders by supporting educational initiatives that focus on the importance of U.S.-grown rice.For the fifth year, Dow AgroSciences is sponsoring the USA Rice Federation‘s National Rice Month 2014 scholarship program. Students who are high school seniors in the 2014-15 school year and live in rice-producing counties in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas are eligible to apply for scholarships totaling $8,500. To apply, students are required to develop a promotional tactic in their local community that highlights U.S.-grown rice as part of National Rice Month in September. ―The USA Rice Federation is proud to support education in partnership with Dow AgroSciences, which funds three scholarship awards,‖ says Betsy Ward, president and CEO of the USA Rice Federation. ―High school seniors who participate do an excellent job applying their energy and creativity to promote the importance of U.S.-grown rice and its role in their home states.‖The USA Rice Federation will award three scholarships based on the creativity and impressions of the promotional entries. The 2013 Rice Month Scholarship grand prize was awarded to Jessica Whitaker of McGehee, Arkansas, for a mass media promotion about the benefits of the rice industry. Whitaker‘s news articles reached an estimated audience of 21,000 throughout southeastern Arkansas. ―We at Dow AgroSciences feel it‘s important to get students excited about agriculture, and the USA Rice Federation scholarships are a great way to spark that enthusiasm,‖ says Darla Huff, U.S. rice product manager from Dow AgroSciences. ―The students‘ efforts also help build awareness of the valuable contributions the rice industry makes to this country‘s economy.‖Promotions must be executed in September, and applications must be submitted by Oct. 13, 2014. Students are encouraged to obtain their applications before the end of the school year. Scholarship forms and additional guidelines are available at the USA Rice Federationwebsite .―Many of the scholarship applicants grew up on a rice farm or in a community where rice plays a vital role in the economy,‖ Ward says. ―Conducting a rice promotion is an opportunity to show support and helps develop organizational and communications skills needed in college and future careers.‖The grand-prize winner will receive a $4,000 scholarship and a trip with a chaperone to the award ceremony at the 2014 USA Rice Outlook
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conference this December in Little Rock, Arkansas. The second-place winner will receive a $3,000 scholarship, and the third-place winner will receive a $1,500 scholarship. Dow AgroSciences has a strong portfolio of rice herbicides that keep fields clean and help growers maximize yield potential. The portfolio includes Grasp, RebelEX, Grasp Xtra, Grandstand and Clincher SF herbicides for rice grown in Southern states and Granite SC, Granite GR, Grandstand CA and Clincher CA herbicides for use in California water-seeded rice. Visit www.DowRiceHerbicides.com for more information.
China accounts for 41.75 pct of Vietnam's rice export in 4 months 06.06.2014 China remained Vietnam's largest rice importer in the first four months of 2014, accounting for 41.75 percent of Vietnam's rice export, said Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on Thursday.According to the MARD's latest report, during the January-April period, China imported some 913,957 tons of Vietnamese rice, worth 392.46 million U.S. dollars, up 2.39 percent in volume and 4.94 percent in value year on year.In the period, Vietnam's average rice export price enjoyed a year-on-year increase of 4.4 percent to hit 456.19 U.S. dollars per ton, said the MARD.In May, Vietnam sold 591,000 tons of rice worth 259 million U.S. dollars to overseas markets. During the first five months, the country earned 1.19 billion U. S. dollars from exporting 2.65 million tons of rice, down 7.3 percent in value and 10.2 percent in volume year on year, said the report.The decrease of Vietnamese rice exports during the period resulted from remarkable decline in demand of several Vietnamese rice markets including Malaysia, Ivory Coast and Singapore, assessed Vietnam Industry and Trade Information Center (VITIC) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.Vietnam Food Association was quoted by VITIC as saying that in 2014, Vietnam's rice export will face further difficulties with shrinking market and strong competition from Thailand.According to Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, Vietnam is one of the most important rice producers and exporters in the world. Rice plays the most important role among agricultural commodities in Vietnam in terms of food security, rural wages and employment, as well as export revenues.In 2013, Vietnam earned 2.99 billion U.S. dollars from exporting 6.72 million tons of rice. and it is expected to meet the target of exporting 7 million tons in 2014.
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Exporter under attack in rice row Fri, 6 June 2014 Daniel de Carteret and May Kunmakara In December 2011, the managing director of Megagreen Imex Cambodia, Renne Outh, proudly announced that his firm had inked a $21 million deal to be the first to ship Cambodian rice to the Philippines.Nearly two and a half years on, not a single Cambodian grain has reached Manila. Export figures for the first five months of 2014 show that Megagreen, once among the top 10 rice exporters in the country, has fallen to 48th out of 84.The failed Philippines deal marks a pattern of broken promises, as the agricultural wholesaler now finds itself besieged by creditors and lawsuits seeking damages in excess of $1 million, with flawed agreements from one end of the supply chain to the other. So what went wrong? The answer, at least in part, is that for many doing business with Megagreen, the dealings have been far from agreeable.Megagreen owes money to farmers, millers, a large foreign investor, one of the region‘s biggest banks and the government‘s own agricultural export business, Green Trade.In two sale and purchase documents obtained by the Post, one for 16,200 square metres of land in Siem Reap‘s Pouk district, and the other for a rice mill on which it sits, Megagreen agreed to buy the assets from Singapore-based agricultural investment fund Nagathom for a combined total of $670,000. Both contracts are dated March 14, 2012, and signed by Megagreen directors Outh and Prince Sisowath Pheanuroth.According to emails and documentation leaked to the Post, the rice exporter paid just $400,000 of the sale price and has agreed to several new deals with Nagathom for the remaining balance in the intervening years. ―Globally you give us a delay until 31 December 2012. In this regard, we consider that the fine of 5% of interest is reasonable. We accept the facts,‖ reads an email dated October 10, 2012, from Megagreen director Pheanuroth to Nagathom‘s director Erez Shalev.―So we ready to sign the SPA [sale purchase agreement] at your convenient time knowing that the situation will be solved entirely before December,‖ it continues, referring to an amended agreement for the balance. But the money never came, the Siem Reap mill remains unused, and Nagathom, after more than two years of go-nowhere negotiations, filed a court claim two months ago. Following two hearings, Megagreen has requested more time and the case is set to resume on June 20.Headquartered in Phnom Penh, Megagreen says it
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has exported to, and is currently working with, entities in the European Union, Africa, Australia, the Middle East and the United States. The firm launched its rice production and export business in 2010, the same year that the government announced its rice policy, which included the ambitious target to export 1 million tonnes in 2015.Fuelled by a rising demand from overseas buyers, and with the support from the European Union‘s ―Everything But Arms‖ duty-free access to member states, Cambodian rice exports have almost doubled in two years, from 202,000 tonnes exported in 2011 to 379,000 in 2013.A fattening market, however, means greater competition, and not everyone has the ability to keep up, according to David Van, executive director at rice exporter Boost Riche Cambodia.
―I would say that rice trading is highly competitive and that many exporters may not be savvy enough to suspend their commercial activities,‖ said Van, who declined to point the finger at any single exporter. ―Therefore, all I would say is to urge more effort for professionalism as to how people manage their corporation.‖According to Nagathom‘s Shalev, Megagreen hasn‘t met expectations.A revised purchase agreement dated January 9, 2013, was sent to the Nagathom director from Megagreen‘s Outh, with an amended value of $1.2 million for both the Siem Reap land and the rice mill.
―Basically, they told me that in order for them to pay, they want to inflate the price of the rice mill and the land in order for them to get a higher mortgage from the bank and in return to be able to pay for the rice mill,‖ Shalev said.In what might be the exporter‘s biggest creditor, regional banking giant Maybank is pursuing Megagreen through the courts for default on a loan of more than $800,000, according to documents obtained by the Post.Maybank declined to comment on the details of the case.And the broken deals do not end there. Megagreen has suppliers, who collect their paddy from farmers and other millers, still awaiting payments on agreements dating back nearly two years. The exporter, they say, refuses to even acknowledge their claims.―I previously sold to him [Rene Outh] around 200 to 300 tonnes and I always got paid. Though, on the last deal, 150 tonnes has not been paid since 2012,‖ said one miller who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject. ―I have not prepared anything against him yet. I am waiting to see the response back from him to me.‖One mill supplier who is still awaiting payment on a deal to supply 500 tonnes of paddy says Megareen director Outh has cut off contact.―I have tried to meet him face-to-face to talk about a resolution, but so far we have not met,‖ said the supplier from Kampong Thom province who also asked not to be named. ―Before, he told me that the administrative staff were in charge, but when I contacted them, they were not in charge,‖ he said, adding that he was in discussions with his partner as to how to pursue the nearly $20,000 that is allegedly still owed.The state-owned agricultural producer and exporter Green Trade confirmed that they have also filed a legal suit against Megagreen, but said they are currently negotiating an out-of-court settlement
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and declined to provide the size of the claim.With more than 20 years industry experience, Kim Savuth, president of the leading rice exporter Khmer Food, said broken promises from a few exporters were hurting the industry. ―Some exporters are just going to sign the big deal with buyers, however, in fact, they just sign it and drop it. It gives a bad image to the whole industry,‖ he said, declining to name any specific exporter. ―They sign and then throw it into the bin – that‘s a really bad image to our country as we are already well-known for our rice quality.‖For more than a month, Megagreen has declined to comment to the Post, but in the experience of foreign investor Nagathom, the inability of the rice exporter to hold a promise means the damage has spilled beyond the reputation of one of Cambodia‘s primary industries into the economy at large. ―It is either, I will not make business in Cambodia at all – that is my conclusion right now – and what I am trying to do is to basically sell all the assets and move out to other countries,‖ Shalev said. ―The other option is to join with a very strong local partner, that maybe, will be able to take you through the roots, that will protect you from such events, but who can count on this local partner [not becoming] another Megagreen?‖
Image: The interior of a rice milling plant in 2010. The plant was closed after a failed deal left it without finance. PHOTO SUPPLIED
DA reports near-full rice harvest from E. Visayas THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) said that in typhoon-hit Eastern Visayas, farmers have already harvested most of the rice from fields under a state rehabilitation program and that the salvaging of damaged coconut trees is still underway. In a brief statement yesterday, DA Secretary Proceso J. Alcala cited internal data when he said that "at least" 96% of rice from seeds under a post-typhoon-Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) rehabilitation program were harvested last month from some 55,280 hectares.He added that this was the first crop since the disaster for 56,500 farmers, some of whom saw "much higher yields than the usual, largely because of the timely provision production inputs" and had received the seeds and urea fertilizer under the rehabilitation for the DecemberJanuary planting season. Some 284,682 trees, or 75% of the 391,696 felled tress that the DA cut and turned between March and May, were in Tacloban and 13 other towns in Leyte, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) director Asis G. Perez was quoted saying in the statement.The DA added that at least 70% of the 1.16 million coconut seedlings that sub-agency Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) distributed in the same three months had already been planted, half of which were in Eastern Samar.
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The PCA estimated that typhoon Yolanda caused some P16.6-million worth of damages to 33.82-million trees in Eastern Visayas -- 15.04 million of which were classified as totally damaged.The super storm, which had maximum sustained winds of 315 kilometers per hour, tore through the central Philippines on November 8, 2013, causing tsunami-like storm surges that devastated coastal settlements.The government placed the official death toll at approximately 6,200, with damage to farms and properties pegged at some P39 billion. -- Anton Joshua M. Santos
China accounts for 41.75 pct of Vietnam's rice export in 4 months 06.06.2014 China remained Vietnam's largest rice importer in the first four months of 2014, accounting for 41.75 percent of Vietnam's rice export, said Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on Thursday.According to the MARD's latest report, during the January-April period, China imported some 913,957 tons of Vietnamese rice, worth 392.46 million U.S. dollars, up 2.39 percent in volume and 4.94 percent in value year on year.In the period, Vietnam's average rice export price enjoyed a year-on-year increase of 4.4 percent to hit 456.19 U.S. dollars per ton, said the MARD.In May, Vietnam sold 591,000 tons of rice worth 259 million U.S. dollars to overseas markets. During the first five months, the country earned 1.19 billion U. S. dollars from exporting 2.65 million tons of rice, down 7.3 percent in value and 10.2 percent in volume year on year, said the report.The decrease of Vietnamese rice exports during the period resulted from remarkable decline in demand of several Vietnamese rice markets including Malaysia, Ivory Coast and Singapore, assessed Vietnam Industry and Trade Information Center (VITIC) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.Vietnam Food Association was quoted by VITIC as saying that in 2014, Vietnam's rice export will face further difficulties with shrinking market and strong competition from Thailand. According to Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, Vietnam is one of the most important rice producers and exporters in the world. Rice plays the most important role among agricultural commodities in Vietnam in terms of food security, rural wages and employment, as well as export revenues.In 2013, Vietnam earned 2.99 billion U.S. dollars from exporting 6.72 million tons of rice. and it is expected to meet the target of exporting 7 million tons in 2014.
High school seniors in rice states eligible for $8,500 in scholarships Jun 6, 2014
Dow sponsoring USA Rice Federation scholarship.
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For the fifth year, Dow AgroSciences is sponsoring the USA Rice Federation‘s National Rice Month 2014 scholarship program. Students who are high school seniors in the 2014-15 school year and live in rice-producing counties or parishes in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas are eligible to apply for scholarships totaling $8,500. To apply, students are required to develop a promotional tactic in their local community that highlights U.S.-grown rice as part of National Rice Month in September. ―The USA Rice Federation is proud to support education in partnership with Dow AgroSciences, which funds three scholarship awards,‖ says Betsy Ward, president and CEO of the USA Rice Federation. ―High school seniors who participate do an excellent job applying their energy and creativity to promote the importance of U.S.-grown rice and its role in their home states.‖The USA Rice Federation will award three scholarships based on the creativity and impressions of the promotional entries. The 2013 Rice Month Scholarship grand prize was awarded to Jessica Whitaker of McGehee, Arkansas, for a mass media promotion about the benefits of the rice industry. Whitaker‘s news articles reached an estimated audience of 21,000 throughout southeastern Arkansas.―We at Dow AgroSciences feel it‘s important to get students excited about agriculture, and the USA Rice Federation scholarships are a great way to spark that enthusiasm,‖ says Darla Huff, U.S. rice product manager from Dow AgroSciences. ―The students‘ efforts also help build awareness of the valuable contributions the rice industry makes to this country‘s economy.‖Promotions must be executed in September, and applications must be submitted by Oct. 13, 2014. Students are encouraged to obtain their applications before the end of the school year. Scholarship forms and additional guidelines are available at the USA Rice Federation website. ―Many of the scholarship applicants grew up on a rice farm or in a community where rice plays a vital role in the economy,‖ Ward says. ―Conducting a rice promotion is an opportunity to show support and helps develop organizational and communications skills needed in college and future careers.‖The grand-prize winner will receive a $4,000 scholarship and a trip with a chaperone to the award ceremony at the 2014 USA Rice Outlook conference this December in Little Rock, Arkansas. The second-place winner will receive a $3,000 scholarship, and the thirdplace winner will receive a $1,500 scholarship.Dow AgroSciences portfolio of rice herbicides includes Grasp, RebelEX, Grasp Xtra, Grandstand and Clincher SF herbicides for rice grown in Southern states and Granite SC, Granite GR, Grandstand CA and Clincher CA herbicides for use in California water-seeded rice. Visit www.DowRiceHerbicides.com for more information.
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Changing crops with changing climate: Can Pakistan learn from Nepal? By Zofeen T. Ebrahim Published 2 days ago
Draupadi Basnet is a smallholder farmer in her 40s from the village of Agyuali in Nepal's terai (plains) land. She used to grow rice and only rice on the 1.5 hectares of land belonging to her in-laws. Like 75 per cent of the working population engaged in rice farming, that's all she knew, until 2012. With no irrigation canal near her village, she says, she would just sit back after the sowing and wait for the rains. In a good year she earned as much as 15,000 Nepali rupees (PKR 15,834).That year, Draupadi turned her paddy into a banana plantation."Climate induced her to change," says Atiq Rahman, executive director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies. Hers, he says, is a perfect example of how communities are making adaptations to climate. In the last several years, Basnet had begun to notice a shift in the monsoon season. The rains she would wait for endlessly would never come at the right time and she began to feel the impact of climate change."The rains became more and more erratic and the growing season kept shortening." On the sidelines of the 8th Annual Community-based Adaptation (CBA) Conference in Khatmandu, Rahman told Dawn.com:"Extreme events will occur more frequently and more intensely by climate change though they may not necessarily be caused by it. But unfortunately, it is the poor who will bear the brunt of it."Also participating in the conference organised by the International Institute for Environment and Development was Sam Bickersteth, chief executive of Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN). Bickersteth emphasised the power of CBA and how it "harnesses local capacity and resources, builds on indigenous knowledge and recognises the potential of autonomous adaptation."
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Rice is, by far, the most important staple crop of Nepal and is grown in 1.53 million hectares and the productivity is 2.56 t/ha on about 50 per cent of the total agricultural area. It contributes to nearly 20 per cent to the agricultural gross domestic product, accounting for 50 per cent of the total calorie requirement of the Nepalese people.However, with Nepal in the throes of climate aberrations, and the farmers clinging on to ancient farming practices, it is becoming increasingly difficult to be productive. A rice field in Nepal. -Photo by Zofeen T Ebrahim. Basnet's case is not too different from those of smallholder farmers in Pakistan, who also talk of fluctuating temperatures and unpredictable precipitation. Perhaps, then, some lessons can be learnt from Nepal.Pakistani economist and water expert Dr Pervaiz Amir says that while the best quality rice that is grown in Pakistan is dependent on rains and supplemented by irrigation, it would be prudent to use "water which is scarce for high value fruits and vegetables for export".Both geographically and topographically, the tarai in Nepal can be likened to some areas below the motorway, like Lillah, parts of Mianwali, and the delta region in Sindh. Although not too enthusiastic about the idea of growing bananas (which can be grown in the delta area), Dr Amir says: "We can look at alternatives like citrus, vegetables and fish".And where there is no irrigation, he suggests taking up dry-land farming growing pomegranate, almonds, investing in honey production and rearing livestock and ostrich, (which has a very high value for export). He also places a lot of emphasis on growing trees for fuelwood and fodder. "More trees will bring more rain!"Additionally, Dr Amir says, "Maize should come in fast as it has numerous by-products. You see, it is the market that determines what will be produced in an economical way. Complex crops require a lot of institutional support with the latter creating or generating high value from exports. "Meanwhile, Rahman says: "What needs to be done is use indigenous knowledge, add scientific knowledge to it and then transfer it back to the communities." If that does not happen, "the knowledge gap will consequently threaten productivity."But it's easier said than done.Prabha Pokhrel, who has been working with the smallholder farmer community for years as a social development expert and chairperson of the Integrated Development Society in Nepal, knows that too well."It's very difficult to change the mindset here. People are very reluctant to change crops. We've tried to encourage them to change from rice to water melon and peanuts which uses less water and can be 10 times more profitable but it took a very rigorous effort to bring about the changeover. "Even for Basnet, the decision to change her decades old practice of cultivating rice to something totally alien to her was not an easy one. But after seeing how much she profited, four farmers decide to follow her and took to cultivating bananas.Saraswati Bhurtyal, a project officer with the non-governmental organisation LI-BIRD (Local Initiatives for Biodiversity Research and Development) in Nepal, has known Basnet since 2007. Back
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then, her organisation first began work in Agyauli and provided Basnet with technical assistance, as well as the sucker (shoot) through which the fruit is propagated. "After she converted her land into a banana plantation, we've all noticed the change in her and her household. She is happier, more confident and her family is eating well. Her two younger children are continuing with education instead of dropping out as many do, and her eldest, a son, who had gone as a migrant worker, to some Gulf country, has returned and wants to help his mother in farming. He realises there is more money in this." Bhurtyal says her son will cultivate another 1.5 ha of their land that remained uncultivated, as she didn't want to take the risk given the unpredictable weather condition. "It's easier to grow bananas than rice," she says.She has also experimented with intercropping and grows pumpkin, radishes and carrots. "Now, she earns NPR 40,000 (PKR 42,226) from the bananas and about Rs 30,000 (PKR 31,669) from intercropping," says Bhurtyal.Unlike banana, rice (a water-intensive crop needs three or four waterings in a season that lasts two-and-a-half months and) there is a long wait before farmers can reap the benefit.On the other hand, with bananas, the time between planting and harvesting is shorter and she gets a regular amount of money by selling bunches every other week. Image: Draupadi Basnet, a farmer in her 40s belonging to the village of Agyuali, Nepal. -Photo by Zofeen T Ebrahim.
Research proposes formal trade in rice seeds between India and Bangladesh PTI Jun 5, 2014, 05.02PM IST Tags:Trade|rice seeds|product|open|Insurability|India|Bangladesh (Formal trade in rice seeds‌)
KOLKATA: A research paper has proposed that formal tradein rice seeds between India and Bangladesh could open up a tremendous market opportunity and improve livelihood of the farmers of both the countries.The paper, based on a Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) study, said that farmers of both the countries could immensely gain from the formalisation of trade in rice seeds which at present was smuggled out from India and Bangladesh.Quoting the Indian Council of Agri cultural Research (ICAR), the paper said gains could be in terms of market opportunity estimated to be worth more than USD 20 million, improved crop yield and better livelihood.S P Singh, policy analyst with CUTS which was a leading NGO which does studies on regional trade barriers and other issues, told reporters that research had shown that farmers from both the countries use rice seeds which
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were smuggled out."Farmers in West Bengal and certain other states use smuggled rice seeds from Bangladesh and vice versa," Singh said. Singh said if these exchanges were made through the formal route, both the countries could generate export earnings, besides engaging into R&D activity to improve the crop yield.He said informally traded seeds were of poor quality which was affecting rice yields.Singh said it was matter of policy advocacy by CUTS for both the governments to take note of and act accordingly.According to him, there were no trade barriers between formal trading in rice seeds. What was required was sensitising both the governments, he said.
Tanzania: Research Helps Mvomero Farmers Double Rice Production BY ORTON KIISHWEKO, 6 JUNE 2014
FARMERS in Mvomero District have doubled rice production from four to eight tonnes per acre following innovation produced by researchers at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA).The innovation involves moving away from traditional methods and producing more food with less water which is one of the main challenges facing irrigated agriculture.SUA researchers have done it under a mechanism known as system of Rice Intensification (SRI) project, funded by Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) aimed at investigating the performance of System of Rice Intensification. Speaking to the 'Daily News,' various farmers reported having their production doubling and as a result improving quality of their lives. A farmer from Mkindo Village, Athumani Kazumba, said that the project had been effective and efficient in seeds and water management in their rice farms.He said they started in 2012 with the days of planting rice seeds reducing from 21 days to only eight days, and reducing amount of rice seeds and water utilization in their fields.A peasant, Costa Kongo, commended initiatives being taken by the government saying if COSTECH injected more funds into the project to reach more farmers, the district would attain food self-sufficiency.Another farmer, Stamili Kassimu, urged the government to give priority to women especially the elderly so that they benefit from the project. The farmers, however, said there was need to improve the district's irrigation infrastructure to scale up production and ensure reliable markets for the farmers.He said they have received education on SRI, adding that because of its importance, there should be deliberate efforts to train other farmers so they can raise rice productivity and income.A technical personnel of the project from Mvomero District Council, Jackson Kimodi, said that the farmers should make sure that they comply with rules stipulated by ensuring that their irrigation systems are clean throughout the rice growing season. He said the good results are part of Big Results Now (BRN) because through SRI they have been able to increase production from four to eight tonnes per hectare.The National Coordinator of the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB), Tanzania chapter operating under COSTECH, Mr Philbert Nyinondi , said that there are 56 projects funded by COSTECH through public funds.He said the projects are implemented by local scientists using government funds, confirming many of the projects as doing well. COSTECH has funded some 56 projects from 30 research institutes and universities across the country.
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Tanzania: Research Helps Mvomero Farmers Double Rice Production BY ORTON KIISHWEKO, 6 JUNE 2014
FARMERS in Mvomero District have doubled rice production from four to eight tonnes per acre following innovation produced by researchers at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA).The innovation involves moving away from traditional methods and producing more food with less water which is one of the main challenges facing irrigated agriculture.SUA researchers have done it under a mechanism known as system of Rice Intensification (SRI) project, funded by Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) aimed at investigating the performance of System of Rice Intensification.Speaking to the 'Daily News,' various farmers reported having their production doubling and as a result improving quality of their lives. A farmer from Mkindo Village, Athumani Kazumba, said that the project had been effective and efficient in seeds and water management in their rice farms.He said they started in 2012 with the days of planting rice seeds reducing from 21 days to only eight days, and reducing amount of rice seeds and water utilization in their fields. A peasant, Costa Kongo, commended initiatives being taken by the government saying if COSTECH injected more funds into the project to reach more farmers, the district would attain food self-sufficiency.Another farmer, Stamili Kassimu, urged the government to give priority to women especially the elderly so that they benefit from the project.The farmers, however, said there was need to improve the district's irrigation infrastructure to scale up production and ensure reliable markets for the farmers.He said they have received education on SRI, adding that because of its importance, there should be deliberate efforts to train other farmers so they can raise rice productivity and income.A technical personnel of the project from Mvomero District Council, Jackson Kimodi, said that the farmers should make sure that they comply with rules stipulated by ensuring that their irrigation systems are clean throughout the rice growing season. He said the good results are part of Big Results Now (BRN) because through SRI they have been able to increase production from four to eight tonnes per hectare.The National Coordinator of the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB), Tanzania chapter operating under COSTECH, Mr Philbert Nyinondi , said that there are 56 projects funded by COSTECH through public funds.He said the projects are implemented by local scientists using government funds, confirming many of the projects as doing well. COSTECH has funded some 56 projects from 30 research institutes and universities across the country.
FCI should procure rice, not paddy TEJINDER NARANG Official agencies will be insulated from paddy operations and market diversion June 5, 2014: The Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State Government Agencies under current dispensation first procure paddy and then get it custom-milled from rice millers by paying fixed tolling charges. This system is exposed to massive abuse that needs correction by the new Government without affecting farmers‘ interests.Total paddy
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(un-milled rice) production in the country is about 160 million tonnes, including 16 million tonnes of basmati paddy. Currently, all official agencies procure about 49-53 million tonnes of non-basmati paddy, equal to 32-35 million tonnes of milled rice every year. More than 107 million tonnes of paddy of non-basmati and basmati rice is annually traded between farmers/millers/traders privately. Farmers are thus fully familiar with open market operations.India‘s output of grains, oilseeds, sugarcane,fruits, vegetables, spices and cotton output is about 800 million tonnes. Ninety per cent of the produce is transacted by farmers privately. Thus, it is factually incorrect to argue that farmers will be hurt if state sponsorship of paddy procurement is dismantled. Gross misappropriation Currently, FCI official agencies make payment to farmers for the procurement of paddy at minimum support price (MSP), while stocks are stored with rice millers under Custom Milling of Rice (CMR) agreement. As of April 1, , millers held about 15 million tonnes of paddy alone, costing ₹20,000 crore at a MSP of ₹13,450 a tonne.Millers act as bailees of state agencies – having possession but not ownership of paddy. Since long-term stocking of paddy is challenging they generally sell paddy or milled rice in the market and replenish the FCI when demanded, by purchasing it back from the market. Commercially, the transaction may be squared up on tonne-to-tonne basis and not on grain-to-grain basis – that means paddy supplied by FCI may not milled for FCI, but rice bought from the market is finally lodged with FCI.This amounts to unchecked misuse of official funding and leakages.Between 1995 and 2005, Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh were prime producers of surplus rice. FCI agencies procured paddy and then despatched milled rice to deficient regions. Since 2005, there is a remarkable turnaround. Paddy is harvested by more than 10 States with West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh being the leading provinces.
Rice production has scaled up from 85 million tonnes to 103 million tonnes during the period. In the last 25 years, India has not imported any rice on Government account. For the last three years we are the world‘s largest exporter of rice. Sufficiency of paddy/rice is thus affirmed.Paddy is a water guzzler and results into depletion of water table. Its state-sponsored over-production is unreasonable specially when need and necessity of procuring and storing large volumes in north and then moving it elsewhere, is diminished. Remedy
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FCI should limit itself to procurement of ―milled rice‖ and dispense dealing with paddy purchases, which should be left to millers. Procedurally, FCI may need to work out a fresh/revised Custom Milling of Rice agreement (CMR-REV) in which responsibility of paddy procurement at MSP will be of millers. Obligation of FCI will be to source predetermined tonnage of milled rice at a price notified and based upon MSP of paddy. Banks can finance ―approved‖ milers based upon letter of comfort from FCI\state agencies. Present procedure of distribution and subsidisation to targeted beneficiaries will continue as per PDS entitlements. Selective intervention Vested groups will cry wolf – saying that farmers will realise below-MSP from millers under the proposed arrangement. To offset such a fear, Government can vest itself with power of price intervention to raise price to MSP, as in the case of maize.This may be necessary for two-three years to keep millers in check and for farmers to plan alternatives. If farmers can trade 720 million tonnes of agri items privately, paddy cannot be an exception. China, Indonesia, Philippines – dealing with subsidised distribution of grains – source rice and not paddy. Benefits This systemic change means that official agencies will remain insulated from the paddy operations, bungling and diversion in market; double handling will cease. Transportation cost will be economised. Greed for growing water-guzzler paddy will decline. Instead, alternate cropping pattern will be incentivised. Rice reform will mean 50 per cent restructuring of FCI operations. The writer is a trade analyst (This article was published on June 5, 2014)
Green energy dream nears reality in Nueva Ecija By Anselmo Roque Inquirer Central Luzon 12:04 am | Friday, June 6th, 2014
THE BUILDING that houses a biodegradable waste-to-energy facility rises in San Jose City, offering hope for the future of green energy not only in Nueva Ecija, but the rest of the country. ANSELMO ROQUE/INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON SAN JOSE CITY, Philippines—The country‘s first commercial biodegradable waste-to-energy commercial power plant would be ready for operation by August to help boost electric supply in Luzon, according to energy officials and proponents of the project.The plant was put up by rice millers here through San Jose City I Power Corp. (SJC I-Power), a joint venture they have with Union Energy Corp. owned by businessman Lucio Co.
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―Our plant will be 100 percent fired by rice husk,‖ said Edgardo Alfonso, chief executive officer of SJI IPower.He said the plant would have a gross generating capacity of 12 megawatts and feed 10.5 megawatts of it to the Luzon grid.The generating plant sits on a sixhectare lot in Barangay (village) Tulat here. The city is host to 26 rice millers, who are reputed to have cornered palay harvests not only in Nueva Ecija but also in Isabela, Pangasinan, Ilocos and nearby provinces.These millers supply rice to Metro Manila and Southern Luzon.
They had problems with disposing of rice husk in the past. They used to transport the husks to cement manufacturing plants in Batangas province which use these for fuel until the millers realized they could use the waste materials to generate electricity.―Our decision [to venture into the power business ] was an offshoot of the study on enhancing the energy self-sufficiency of rice mills,‖ said Alfonso, who is also head of the San Jose City Rice Millers Association.He said the city government also advocated the technology .Power plants fueled by rice husks also operate in Isabela and in Mindanao but these are not operated on a commercial scale, meaning they produce electricity in small amounts. Former Energy Secretary Jose Almendras launched the project in groundbreaking rites here in October last year. He called the project as a model for renewable energy.Ernest Lura, acting plant manager, said the rice huskfueled plant was put up by experts from various countries contracted by the corporation.―We will be using 12 to 14 tons of rice husks per hour to operate the plant,‖ Lura said. The husks can be bought from the millers.―So we will need about 300 tons of rice husks on a 24-hour basis,‖ he said. He said the supply of rice husks here is more than enough for the operation. ―We will have a problem with supply only when rice mills no longer have palay to mill,‖ he said.―In three to four months, we hope we will be fully operational,‖ he added.
Rabi Paddy Procurement Begins By Express News Service Published: 06th June 2014 10:33 AM Last Updated: 06th June 2014 10:33 AM
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JEYPORE: More than 3,000 quintals of rabi paddy were procured in Jeypore, Kundra and Borrigumma mandis as per the schedule on Monday. Jeypore MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati along with Government officials, LAMP staff, millers and farmers were present on the first day of procurement. The officials checked several godowns of millers in the district to avoid dumping by middlemen. Koraput Collector Yamini Sarangi said the administration would complete the procurement process with transparency.She warned stern action against the middlemen and millers if they harass the farmers.
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- June 06 Fri Jun 6, 2014 2:28pm IST GRAM * Desi gram suffered heavily in open market in absence of buyers amid healthy supply from producing belts. TUAR * Tuar varieties ruled steady in open market here matching the demand and supply position. * Moong varieties recovered handsomely in open market here on renewed marriage season demand from local traders amid thin supply from producing regions. * In Akola, Tuar - 4,100-4,300, Tuar dal - 6,300-6,500, Udid at 6,500-6,800, Udid Mogar (clean) - 7,600-8,100, Moong - 8,000-8,200, Moong Mogar (clean) 9,200-10,000, Gram - 2,400-2,600, Gram Super best bold - 3,300-3,600 for 100 kg. * Wheat, rice and other commodities remained steady in open market in thin trading activity, according to sources. Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close Gram Auction 2,100-2,500 2,180-2,550 Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600 Tuar Auction n.a. 3,700-4,270 Moong Auction n.a. 5,200-5,500 Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500 Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800 Gram Super Best Bold 3,850-4,000 3,850-4,000 Gram Super Best n.a.
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Gram Medium Best 3,500-3,700 3,500-3,700 Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a. Gram Mill Quality 3,300-3,400 3,300-3,400 Desi gram Raw 2,450-2,550 2,500-2,650 Gram Filter new 3,200-3,400 3,200-3,400 Gram Kabuli 8,500-10,500 8,500-10,500 Gram Pink 7,700-8,100 7,700-8,100 Tuar Fataka Best 6,300-6,500 6,400-6,600 Tuar Fataka Medium 6,100-6,200 6,200-6,300 Tuar Dal Best Phod 5,700-5,900 5,700-5,900 Tuar Dal Medium phod 5,300-5,600 5,300-5,600 Tuar Gavarani 4,350-4,450 4,350-4,450 Tuar Karnataka 4,250-4,350 4,250-4,350 Tuar Black 7,600-7,900 7,600-7,900 Masoor dal best 6,200-6,400 6,200-6,400 Masoor dal medium 6,000-6,200 6,000-6,200 Masoor n.a. n.a. Moong Mogar bold 9,700-10,300 9,600-10,200 Moong Mogar Medium best 9,000-9,500 8,900-9,400 Moong dal super best 9,100-9,500 9,000-9,400 Moong dal Chilka 8,900-9,300 8,800-9,200 Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a. Moong Chamki best 8,200-9,500 8,200-9,500 Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG) 8,200-8,500 8,200-8,500 Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 6,800-7,600 6,800-7,600 Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 5,700-6,000 5,700-6,000 Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 4,000-5,000 4,000-5,000 Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 3,000-3,100 3,000-3,100 Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 3,350-3,450 3,350-3,450 Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,600-3,700 3,600-3,700 Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 4,900-5,400 4,900-5,400 Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,400-1,700 1,400-1,700 Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG) 1,700-1,750 1,700-1,750 Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 1,400-1,600 1,400-1,600 Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,450 2,100-2,450 Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,850-2,000 1,850-2,000 Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a. MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 2,800-3,500 2,800-3,500 MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,700 2,200-2,700 Wheat 147 (100 INR/KG) 1,300-1,500 1,100-1,400
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Wheat Best (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,200 1,700-2,000 Rice BPT (100 INR/KG) 3,600-4,000 3,600-4,000 Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,100 1,900-2,100 Rice Swarna old (100 INR/KG) 3,000-3,200 3,000-3,200 Rice HMT (100 INR/KG) 3,800-4,100 3,800-4,100 Rice HMT Shriram (100 INR/KG) 4,600-5,400 4,600-5,400 Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 10,400-13,900 10,400-13,900 Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 7,300-10,000 7,300-10,500 Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG) 5,500-5,800 5,500-5,800 Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 1,300-1,500 1,300-1,500 Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,700 1,600-1,700 WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 45.2 degree Celsius (113.4 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp. 27.9 degree Celsius (82.2 degree Fahrenheit) Humidity: Highest - n.a., lowest - n.a. Rainfall : 0.0 mm FORECAST: Mainly clear sky. Maximum and Minimum temperature likely to be around 45 and 29 degree Celsius respectively.
Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices.)
Monsoon reaches India coast slightly later than usual BY RATNAJYOTI DUTTA NEW DELHI Fri Jun 6, 2014 3:45am EDT
A fisherman arranges his fishing net at a beach against the backdrop of pre-monsoon clouds in the southern Indian city of Kochi June 5, 2014. (Reuters) Monsoon rains reached India's southern coast a few days later than usual on Friday, offering relief to farmers eagerly waiting for the start of the wet season that is crucial for their summer crops. But the slight delay in the monsoon's onset is unlikely to have a major impact on sowing of rice, pulses and cotton that has started in many growing areas of northwest and southern India, taking advantage of pre-monsoon
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showers.The formation of a possible El Nino weather phenomenon, which can cause drought in South Asia, is only expected to have an impact later in the four-month rainy season. "We don't foresee any El Nino impact in the first month of the monsoon season," said B.P. Yadav, head of the National Weather Forecasting Centre at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi.Last month, the IMD forecast a patchy monsoon season with a high chance of El Nino. [ID:nL3N0NG3LO] Weather officials on Friday confirmed the monsoon's onset - a decision that takes into account rainfall measured at weather stations in the southern state of Kerala and westerly wind speeds. Rainfall was around 40 percent below average across India in the first week of the season. Progress northwards of the annual rains is expected to be slow and they are unlikely to cover half the nation by the first half of June.Farmers have heeded the advice issued by the newly elected government to sow crops early this year to take advantage of pre-monsoon showers. They were also advised to use short duration seeds of cotton, pulses, corn and soybeans. FIVE DAYS LATE In 2013 the monsoon hit Kerala on June 1, two days ahead of the official forecast and in line with the long-term average. The season brought above-average rainfall across the country, resulting in a record grain harvest. Rains are vital to rejuvenate an economy battling its longest economic slowdown since the 1980s and to cool inflation that has averaged nearly 10 percent for the past two years. The farm sector accounts for 14 percent of India's nearly $2 trillion economy, with two-thirds of its 1.2 billion population living in rural areas. Half of India's farmland still lacks access to irrigation. The country plans to expand irrigation coverage by at least a tenth by 2017 to cut its dependence on the seasonal rains. Poor rains could hit summer crops such as rice, soybean, corn and cotton, raising food prices and pressuring economic growth that has nearly halved to below 5 percent in the past two years. India's weather office had forecast the monsoon would arrive over Kerala on June 5, give or take four days. The chance of dry spells in this year's monsoon is 40-45 percent compared to the usual 33 percent, said Andrew Colman, senior climate scientist at the UK Met Office. Southern India, mainly parts of rice-growing areas of Andhra Pradesh, and cane areas of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, received plenty of rains in May, providing a cushion against any delay in progress of the wind-borne monsoon rains towards the mainland. Farm Commissioner J.S. Sandhu said contingency plans have been in place for around 500 drought-prone districts, if the monsoon fails to arrive on time.The healthy showers prior to the monsoon season raised water levels in the country's reservoirs to nearly half-way above normal, he added.Usually, the monsoon covers half of India by mid-June, and engulfs its entire landmass by mid-July.
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Government criticised for ignoring rice exporters in budget June 06, 2014 RECORDER REPORT
Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) Senior Vice-Chairman Chela Ram Kewlani has criticised the government for ignoring the association's proposals in the federal budget 2014-15. Speaking toBusiness Recorder here on Thursday, Kewlani said that the rice export industry was the country's second largest earner of foreign exchange, but this key export sector had been ignored in the recently announced budget. "In a recent meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, REAP had presented some proposals for the benefit of the rice export sector and the finance minister had promised to consider the proposals in the budget but not a single recommendation of the association was considered," he regretted. He said that the rice exporters were facing serious problems including harassment by government departments and poor law and order situation. Kewlani said that the rice exporters had been badly affected by the fluctuation of dollar during the last couple of months and after several meetings with the commerce ministry and the finance ministry, the exporters had been assured that they would be compensated in the federal budget, but unfortunately the government did not honour its commitment. He said that the rice exporters had been expecting some relief from the government but they were disappointed after the announcement of the budget. He urged the government to look into the issues being faced by the rice exporters and provide them relief.
Nigeria Is The Largest Importer Of Rice In The World Friday, 06 June 2014 17:05 Written by DEBO OLADIMEJI RICHARD Olafare is the President of Seeds Entrepreneurs Association of Nigeria and the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Savannah Seeds And Livestock Ltd.,Jos, Plateau State. He spoke with DEBO OLADIMEJI on the agricultural transformation agenda of the Federal Government and how to ensure food security in Nigeria. WHAT is the history of seed industry in Nigeria? .Seed industry in Nigeria started developing in 1993. I was working with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan then when we decided to have an association that will govern seed production, marketing, research and all the rest of them. There were three seed companies in Nigeria then. We had Premier Seed, United Africa Company (UAC ) and UT seed. The problem was that before then, there were not enough improved seeds for farmers to obtain good yields. Most of them were relying on their saved seeds. And some of the germplasm in terms of yield, were very low. The
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principal actor that brought about the seed industry in Nigeria was maize. Through hybridization, I think it was during the regime of former Head of State, Olusegun Obasanjo, they contracted the production of hybrid seeds to IITA to develop hybrid seeds for Nigeria which they did. The seed industry primarily is to produce and market improved seed varieties and sell them to farmers in Nigeria. Unfortunately, initially, the output was very low. How did you overcome the initial challenges? There were a lot of challenges as regards adoption. Farmers who were used to old varieties were reluctant to change to new improved ones. It was not free. They had to pay for the improved seeds. Nigerian farmers are resource poor. We were faced with market problems. We were faced with adoption problems. When you produce and you don‘t have market, it is a problem. The market is the farmers, and when the farmers are not adopting, there is little profit coming in. There were other attendant costs like other inputs that you use to produce seeds. The cost of fertilizer was very high, ditto agro chemicals. Government comes, government goes, they left their different policies. You know Nigerian governments‘ policies are not sustainable. And getting financial assistance from the banks is another problem. Over the years, not many banks want to lend money to farmers. Nigerian banks are commercial-oriented. Initially, some big companies came to Nigeria like Premier Seeds. Obasanjo later sold it to Pioneer. Pioneer folded up. UAC was a big company before it folded up. At the end of the day, you find out that there was huge overhead to produce seeds. Until recent developments in Nigeria, there had been some interventions by the government but they were not sustainable. Why were those interventions not sustainable? There is this subsidy that ought to get to farmers, subsidy on seeds, fertilizers and agro chemicals. The principal driver there was fertilizer. Fertilizer was supposed to be a secondary input to quality seeds. Most of the fertilizers then that were supposed to get to farmers as subsidy didn‘t get to them. Until about two years ago, all our resources were limited to petroleum. What has changed in the sector? When President Goodluck Jonathan came with his programme of agricultural transformation, it was like bringing back the hope that we thought that was lost. We started seeing green light. We embraced it and supported it under the food security programme of the Federal Government.
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Before 2009, all the seed companies in Nigeria were just about eight and the production was not up to 4,000 metric tons. One single seed company in Nigeria today is producing that. The government contacted the association to produce seeds and sell to farmers. Unlike before, this present government backed us with bank guarantee of about 75 per cent of loan. Although it is a trading fund that cannot sustain us, but we don‘t have any alternative. At least they help us to buy back the seeds from the farmers. Now I can tell you that we have about 69 seed companies in Nigeria. Why do we import food items when we have the capacity to feed ourselves? Nigeria is a blessed country. We have land and we have the ecology that can grow both swamp, irrigated and upland rice. But the breeding stock is limited. What it entails is to get large quality of classes of breeders seeds, foundation seeds to produce certified seeds. And it is these certified seeds that we give to farmers to produce large quantities of grains. At least we have about 10 millers in the country today that produce quality rice than the one they make in India, China and all that. And our own rice is even sweeter than their own. What they do is that they bring those rice that were produced over 10 years ago. All that the farmers produce in those countries, the government buys back from them. The older ones in the stores, that is the one they milled and send across to Africa whereas if we are producing on our own, it is on a yearly basis that we will be putting new rice into the market. As it is coming out from the field, we distribute to the millers and they mill. Most people prefer that. We have the advantage to produce some crops that can compete favourably anywhere in the world. We can produce rice, maize, wheat. The land is there, the farmers are there. Over the years, interventions come in and out. You will find out that some of the farmers are knowledgeable enough to produce these seeds and grains. What has been their problem is market. When they produce, they don‘t have the market to sell. So, they are limited to subsistence farming, produce and eat. Now with the food value chain approach, we have the producer in there and the end user there. We try to link the farmers who are the producers to the users who are the millers. What is not there is how these farmers can get finance to produce. The farmers are there. It is just to encourage them to have access to facility. How many small scale farmers have access to funding? It is the big farmers, the commercial farmers, that have the access.
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Almost about 70 percent of our production in Nigeria is by small scale farmers. Very few commercial farms are obtainable. If you aggregate the production of all the small scale holders, it is very big. We can produce enough to feed ourselves, it is just the will. You know, most of the things we produced in Nigeria, like maize, we feed the neigbouring countries like Niger. What are the efforts you are making to solicit for foreign investors to partner with you? There are Nigerian investors who are actually going into rice milling everyday. In 2009, there was one Alhaji Mohammed in Kano, he owns Homezat Farms International. He invested all his income in bringing in mills from Indian and China. He is one of the primary investors in rice milling in Nigeria. Today, he competes favourably with whatever rice that comes to this country. He invited me to the National Assembly, when he was still there serving. He said his limitation was raw materials, how to get paddy rice to feed his mill? He said that he got to know that I produce large quantity of paddy rice in Plateau and in the South West. When I got to his mill in Kano I saw the effort of this man... What he needed then was the operating cost to run the mill. He was looking for assistance from the bank. They were all reluctant. I then married him with a bank. He got half a billion naira that year as loan. He is running the factory comfortably now. We have Nigerians who have actually invested in the production of rice. What we are doing now is to reduce the quantity of imported rice into the country. At this level, the government should be able to stand on its feet and slam the door like most other countries did for importation of rice. If you know how much we spend everyday on rice importation. ‌Nigeria is the largest importer of rice in the whole world. We are still fighting it. When the people at the National Assembly were trying to say that because the Federal Government put embargo on rice they are losing about N300billon or so. I let them know the profits we have generated within that period. I think they have kept quiet or I would have followed it with series of facts and figures. What the farmers need is the funds to equip their mills with machinery. I think this government is bringing in about one hundred units of improved and modern milling machine to the country that they are going to distribute across. Have you been able to address the problem of the yearly scarcity of maize? I was a pioneer member of Maize Association of Nigeria when it started in 1992- 93. What works then was for us to coordinate the distribution of improved varieties of seeds. We coordinate the buy back of it or let the farmers do the marketing. Over the years, the challenges has been one, adoption, quality seeds is another.
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Financial assistance to buy fertilizers, to buy agro chemicals for mechanization is not there. So it has been up and down like that. And we have limited yields. The adoption rate was between 9 and 12 percent now. Above the lowest in Africa. The little the farmers are producing they produce for self -sufficiency. When Obasanjo in 2005 -2006 released money for fertilizers to produce maize. He encouraged our farmers. He put them into cooperative groups. He led them to the banks, they collected loans. These farmers produced. The arrangement was that the government will buy back from the farmers. The farmers produced a lot that year 2006-2007. There was a glut of maize in the country there was no market. The price of maize came down to N1,800 per bag. The government was suppose to buy from the farmers at N3,200 to N3,600. At the end of the day it was not to be. That discouraged the farmers, the following year to go into maize production. Many of them went into other crops. It has always been like that. This year about N48,000 metric tons of seed were distributed to about eight million farmers. So there is going to be large quantity of maize in the market. You see our taste is so high. We don‘t like to taste what is produced in Nigeria that is the problem. There is always policy summersault, how do you ensure the continuity of the transformation agenda.. The transformation agenda, the growth enhancement programme of the government to increase food security. It has gone to the National Assembly if it become an Act‌ We can be sure of its sustainability. We have had of some many agricultural interventions. Green revolution among others. But this one, I think the government is doing a lot of things and we are not leaving any stone unturned to put it in our legislative act to make sure that it is sustainable. What is limiting agriculture generally is still there and has to be addressed. That is, the approach from the bank. We have to do a lot on rural development. We need good roads that can link what is produce in hinterlands to the markets. Then encourage youth to go into agriculture. We have been recommending that at least ten percent of the National budget should go into agriculture. In advanced countries they are collecting loans at about single digit. In Nigeria it is about 25 percent. Until the government is able to address that. We have seen the enhancement programme of this present administration and their transformation programme. We are saying let it be continued. It is cheaper to bring some of these things into the country because our production cost is still too high. Background information?
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I am from Osun State, Ifewara. I am an agriculturist from University of Ife (Now Obafemi Awolowo University). I was trained in IITA on seed development and I was seconded to United Trading Company (UTC) International in Jos. When I knew that there was going to be a vacuum in the industry in 1998, that was when I started on my own. By that time the UTC had diverted from Nigeria to other parts of Africa. I had already developed UT seed. As seed entrepreneur. I registered my seeds, Savannah Seeds, that is operating as Savannah Seeds and Livestock today. I established the industry in Jos, Plateau. Savannah Seeds and Livestock do consultancy services for government, individuals, corporate bodies and private entrepreneurs. I have a consortium of out growers across the country. And we consult across the country. I produced seeds that we processed and packaged into 2kg, 5kg, 10kg, 25kg for the farmers to their planting.
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