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TOP Contents - Tailored for YOU Latest News Headlines… o o o o o o o o o o o o
Agri production to drop 20% due to El Nino Rice farmers' long-time dependence on subsidy programmes finally fails them Crimea Rice Crop Fails Over Water War With Ukraine No one wants their harvested paddy Nagpur Foodgrain Prices - APMC & Open Market-May 6 TABLE-India Grain Prices - Delhi - May 06 New Report Stresses 'What's Good for Rice is Good for Ducks' CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures Interesting highlights from the recent Census of Agriculture Crimea Rice Crop Fails Over Water War With Ukraine Spat Over ‘Stolen’ GMO Seeds Touches Nerves in China PCCUA, DBNRRC team up for tutoring
News Detail… Agri production to drop 20% due to El Nino By Reuel John F. Lumawag Tuesday, May 6, 2014
AGRICULTURAL production, including the fisheries sector, is projected to drop by 20 percent in the cropping season due to the effects of El Nino, an agriculture official said.Armanda Angsinco, Regional Agriculture and Fishery Council 11 (RAFC 11) vice chair, said the intense heat brought about by the weather phenomenon will dry up fish ponds and will limit the capability of irrigation systems in the region.He also pointed out that the 20 percent drop is just a conservative estimate of projected decrease in production.Angsinco said inland fisheries are in danger of being dried up while the rice and corn production are vulnerable due to the lack of water delivered to farmlands. "We are campaigning for the intercropping of root crops with the corn and rice to help the farmers," he said."It is important that we are ready and know what to do once we experience problems during these times," Angsinco said.For her part, DA regional director Remelyn R. Recoter said it is possible that they can request the Bureau of Soils and Water Management for a cloud seeding activity in areas which will be badly affecgted by the hot weather. However, there is a need to conduct a thorough evaluation of the area that will be seeded."Cloud
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seeding has its pros and cons. There are crops that are suitable during the hot weather and will not enjoy rain," she said. Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on May 07, 2014.
Rice farmers' long-time dependence on subsidy programmes finally fails them The Nation May 6, 2014 1:00 am
Petchanet Pratruangkrai
Financial hardships, uncertain future take hold as pledging comes to a halt For almost seven months Wichai Manmuang, a farmer in Chai Nat, has been waiting for payment from the rice-pledging scheme. He has grown rice for almost 30 years, and for much of that time he has needed to join the government's price-subsidy projects.But unlike in the past, this year Wichai has suffered from overdue payment. He is confused about what he should do, as he has to pay his own debts and invest for the upcoming harvest season. But he has no money for new investment, and in any case is uncertain about what he will earn from his rice in the near future, since the interim government has no subsidy project. The market price of rice has dropped gradually since the end of the pledging programme. Paddy white rice is quoted at Bt7,000 a tonne, while the pledging price was Bt15,000 a tonne.Wichai said that although the pledging programme increased the price of rice two years ago, farmers have had to face higher costs of production, now almost double what they were three years ago."The costs of land rental, fertiliser and pesticide
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have increased a lot in the past few years. We are expecting some long-term solution to help boost farmers' incomes - the cost of production should be frozen. Otherwise, although our incomes have risen, rising production cost mean our living standards will never improve," he said.
According to the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, as of April 25, the government had issued pledging documents to about 1.91 million farmers, but only 778,065 had been paid in full under the project. The payments covered only about 5.86 million of the total 11.61 million tonnes of pledged paddy. Almost 1.2 million farmers have still not be paid, an arrears of more than Bt90 billion.Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said that from now on farmers would get even less from selling their produce, as the market had acknowledged that the government needed to release more rice from its stockpiles to generate income.
"Farmers will be the ones who suffer the most from lower rice prices. Millers and exporters cannot help much, as the market has responded to the high government stockpiles, while the world market recognises that Thailand needs to sell rice urgently to get some return from the pledging project to fulfil its overdue payments," he said.And it is not only rice farmers who have been hurt by this short-term subsidy project, Chookiat claimed, but traders, the Thai rice industry, and the Kingdom as a whole.Since setting a high pledging price in 2011, the government has spent more than Bt700 billion to subsidise the rice price in the market. With such a high price, Thailand has lost export competitiveness in the world market and is no longer the world's largest rice exporter after being the champion for more than 20 years.As of last year, Thailand fell behind India, whose rice prices became more competitive. India ranked as the world's biggest rice supplier with 9.61 million tonnes of export volume, followed by Thailand at 6.78 million tonnes and 6.73 million tonnes by Vietnam.
Although exports have recovered because of the end of the pledging scheme and the high volume of rice stocks, Thailand is still being challenged by rivals as importing countries have become familiar with other countries' rice grains. The quality of Thai rice has allegedly also dropped because many farmers have only paid attention to the volume of production to benefit from the pledging project, but have forgotten to maintain quality.Chookiat claimed that the quality of Thai rice has dropped significantly in the past few years. With lower quality yet higher prices, many rice buyers have switched to other countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.According to a report by the rice traders' association, Thailand's rice-export volume was up by 33.65 per cent year on year in the quarter to 2.2 million tonnes.
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However, India was still the world's top exporter in that period at 2.44 million tonnes. Thai rice export value in US dollar terms dropped 6.8 per cent to $1.03 billion in the quarter, while in baht terms it increased 0.5 per cent to Bt33.41 billion because of the weaker value of the Thai currency. As of early last month, the price of Thai rice had declined by 26.9 per cent from an average of $718 a tonne last year to $525 a tonne, and in baht terms dropped 21.1 per cent from Bt21,500 to Bt16,963 per tonne. Chookiat claimed that the quality of Thai rice, in particular jasmine and white rice, had dropped seriously. Its cooking characteristics - smell, and appearance after cooking - are different from in the past."Foreign rice consumers have complained about rice quality after cooking because the government has not separated its stockpiles, so rice has been mixed and given little attention before shipping, causing poor rice quality when cooking," he said.And it is not only foreign consumers who have complained about rice quality, but Thais as well. One consumer complained to a street food vendor about the bad smell of the rice. The vendor said the rice had been purchased from the government's low-price project.Some consumers have been paying more attention to rice quality. They have shifted to higher-quality rice grains such as organic, including the rice-berry variety, which have not joined the pledging scheme._ Amid rising health consciousness, some Thai farmers have found solutions that avoid depending on government's rice-subsidy projects. You can read about such alternative solutions in Part 2 of this series next Monday.
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Crimea Rice Crop Fails Over Water War With Ukraine The Moscow Times May. 06 2014 11:25 Last edited 11:25 VolganetWater shortages in Crimea have practically destroyed this year's rice harvest, the agriculture minister said.
Shortages of fresh water in Crimea have destroyed
rice
crops
and led
to disappointing soybean andcorn harvests, the
Black
Sea
peninsula's agriculture
minister said."The rice harvest can no longer be saved, even if we start pumping water now," Crimea's Agriculture Minister Nikolai Polyushkin said, RIA Novosti reported. "We can forget about rice this year."He added, however, that the loss of rice crops was "not critical" for Crimea, which
was
expected
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to make
up
for shortages by importing supplies from the nearby Krasnodar region.Crimea's annual rice harvest is about 85,000 to 120,000 tons, while Krasnodar produces about 1 million tons of rice, Polyushkin was quoted as saying. Russian Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov said last month that Ukraine's near closure of the North Crimea Canal would devastate Crimea's agriculture, and cause substantial losses to Crimean farmers, though Russia would compensate them for a portion of those costs.Ukraine cut the flow of water to Crimea last month to the lowest technically feasible volume, citing outstanding debt on water supplies owed by the peninsula, which Russia annexed this spring.
No one wants their harvested paddy
Farmers in Haravi village in Manvi taluk, are despondent as their paddy is lying unsold 20 days after harvest. Unsold paddy lying in heaps on the outskirts of Haravi village in Manvi taluk, Raichur district. — PHOTO: SANTOSH SAGAR
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices - APMC & Open Market-May 6 Tue May 6, 2014 2:07pm IST Nagpur, May 6 (Reuters) - Gram prices in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) showed weak tendency on lack of demand from local millers amid increased supply from
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producing regions. Fresh fall on NCDEX and downward trend in Madhya Pradesh gram prices also affected sentiment in weak trading activity, according to sources. *
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FOODGRAINS & PULSES GRAM * Gram varieties quoted static in open market here on subdued demand from local traders amid good supply from producing regions. TUAR * Tuar gavarani and tuar Karnataka recovered marginally in open market on good demand from local traders amid tight supply from producing regions. * Watana varieties moved down in open market here on lack of demand from local traders amid increased arrival from producing belts. * Wheat varieties reported lower in open market on poor buying support from local traders amid healthy supply from producing regions like Punjab and Haryana. * In Akola, Tuar - 4,100-4,300, Tuar dal - 6,300-6,500, Udid at 6,100-6,500, Udid Mogar (clean) - 7,200-7,700, Moong - 8,500-8,700, Moong Mogar (clean) 10,000-10,800, Gram - 2,400-2,600, Gram Super best bold - 3,300-3,600 for 100 kg. * 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 2,300-2,700 2,360-2,720 Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600 Tuar Auction n.a. 3,850-4,350 Moong Auction n.a. 6,300-6,800 Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500 Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800 Gram Super Best Bold 3,700-4,000 3,700-4,000 Gram Super Best n.a. Gram Medium Best 3,550-3,650 3,550-3,650 Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a. Gram Mill Quality 3,300-3,450 3,300-3,450
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Desi gram Raw 2,700-2,800 2,700-2,800 Gram Filter new 3,000-3,200 3,000-3,200 Gram Kabuli 8,900-10,800 8,900-10,800 Gram Pink 7,900-8,300 7,900-8,300 Tuar Fataka Best 6,500-6,700 6,500-7,000 Tuar Fataka Medium 6,300-6,400 6,300-6,700 Tuar Dal Best Phod 5,800-6,000 5,800-6,000 Tuar Dal Medium phod 5,400-5,700 5,400-5,700 Tuar Gavarani 4,350-4,450 4,300-4,400 Tuar Karnataka 4,650-4,750 4,600-4,700 Tuar Black 7,800-8,000 7,800-8,000 Masoor dal best 6,300-6,500 6,300-6,500 Masoor dal medium 6,000-6,150 6,000-6,150 Masoor n.a. n.a. Moong Mogar bold 9,100-9,500 9,100-9,500 Moong Mogar Medium best 8,500-8,800 8,500-8,800 Moong dal super best 8,800-9,000 8,800-9,000 Moong dal Chilka 8,500-8,700 8,500-8,700 Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a. Moong Chamki best 8,100-9,200 8,100-9,200 Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG) 7,700-8,000 7,700-8,000 Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 6,300-7,100 6,300-7,100 Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 5,300-5,600 5,300-5,600 Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 4,700-6,000 4,700-6,000 Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 3,050-3,150 3,050-3,150 Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 3,300-3,400 3,350-3,450 Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,300-3,400 3,400-3,500 Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 4,700-5,200 4,900-5,200 Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,200-1,600 1,600-1,800 Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG) 1,200-1,500 1,300-1,700 Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 1,300-1,500 1,600-1,800 Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,000-2,300 2,150-2,500 Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,700-1,800 1,850-2,000 Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a. MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 2,900-3,200 3,200-3,300 MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,800 2,500-2,900 Wheat 147 (100 INR/KG) 1,100-1,400 1,600-1,700 Wheat Best (100 INR/KG) 1,700-2,000 1,700-2,100 Rice BPT new(100 INR/KG) 2,700-2,900 2,700-2,900 Rice BPT old (100 INR/KG) 3,200-3,600 3,200-3,600 Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 1,700-1,850 1,700-1,850 Rice Swarna old (100 INR/KG) 2,700-2,800 2,700-2,800
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Rice Swarna new (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,450 2,300-2,450 Rice HMT new (100 INR/KG) 3,900-4,200 3,900-4,200 Rice HMT old (100 INR/KG) 4,400-4,700 4,400-4,800 Rice HMT Shriram (100 INR/KG) 4,900-5,900 4,900-5,900 Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 10,000-13,500 10,000-13,500 Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 7,000-9,500 7,000-9,500 Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG) 5,600-6,000 5,600-6,000 Rice Chinnor new (100 INR/KG) 5,100-5,600 5,100-5,600 Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 1,400-1,600 1,400-1,600 Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 1,700-1,800 1,700-1,800 WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 40.2 degree Celsius (104.3 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp. 24.9 degree Celsius (76.8 degree Fahrenheit) Humidity: Highest - 64 per cent, lowest - 42 per cent. Rainfall : nil FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky. Maximum and Minimum temperature likely to be around 41 and 28 degree Celsius respectively. Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices.)
TABLE-India Grain Prices - Delhi - May 06 Tue May 6, 2014 2:25pm IST Rates by Asian News International, New Delhi Tel: 011 2619 1464 Indicative Previous Grains opening close (in rupees per 100 kg unless stated) ---------------------------------------------------------Wheat Desi 2,200-3,100 2,100-3,100. Wheat Dara 1,850-2,200 1,600-1,700. Atta Chakki (per 10 Kg) 220-240 220-240. Roller Mill (per bag) 1,900-2,100 1,900-2,100. Maida (per bag) 1,900-2,100 1,900-2,100. Sooji (per bag) 2,100-2,200 2,100-2,200. Rice Basmati(Common) 8,400-9,400 8,800-9,500. Rice Permal 1,800-2,450 1,800-2,450. Rice Sela 2,750-2,950 2,750-2,950.
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I.R.-8 Gram Peas Green Peas White Bajra Jowar white Maize Barley
2,000-2,500 2,000-2,100. 3,100-3,400 3,100-3,400. 3,000-3,200 3,000-3,200. 3,200-3,400 3,200-3,400. 1,350-1,550 1,350-1,550. 1,600-1,750 1,600-2,700. 1,500-1,650 1,500-1,650. 1,350-1,450 1,350-1,450.
Source: Delhi grain market traders.
New Report Stresses 'What's Good for Rice is Good for Ducks' WASHINGTON, DC -- There's no doubt that rice, waterfowl and wetland habitats work cohesively to form a perfect ecosystem, and a recently published report puts a monetary value on those existing rice lands. This afternoon the USA Rice Federation and Ducks Unlimited (DU) hosted a press conference at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) tointroduce the results of the new report. Authored by DU scientists for The Rice Foundation, the study found that the cost of attempting to replace rice lands with natural wetland habitat would exceed $3.5 billion.Dr. Mark Petrie, Assistant Director for Conservation Planning for DU and lead scientist on the report said, "The bottom line is, without the presence of working rice lands, there would be no waterfowl habitat to speak of in the U.S. ""Thanks to this research, we get a three and a half billion dollar perspective about what it would take to replace this habitat if rice acreage continues to dwindle," said John Owen a Rayville, Louisiana rice farmer and chairman of the USA Rice Producers' Group. "This gives producers a powerful message to bring to their neighbors, to conservationists, to hunters, and to government, to build support for incentive-based conservation policies and programs."All three rice-growing regions of the United States - the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV), Gulf Coast and California's Central Valley- overlap directly with the continent's most important waterfowl wintering grounds."Rice production and farming are important components to ensuring we meet the population goals set forth in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan," said DU CEO Dale Hall. "This study is an excellent tool we can utilize to show policymakers and waterfowl managers just how critical rice lands are to waterfowl populations."According to the study, more than 40 percent of the food resources available to wintering dabbling ducks along the Central Valley and Gulf Coast derive from flooded rice fields. The values for geese are higher because of dry-land feeding. "The importance of a strong, viable rice industry goes well beyond the family farmers, rice mills and merchants, to national conservation efforts," said USA Rice Federation President and CEO Betsy Ward. "What's good for rice, is good for ducks."Unfortunately for waterfowl and rice farmers alike, all three regions
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face challenges as it relates to keeping rice on the land. Water supplies for rice production are under increasing pressure in all areas, and many producers may be forced to adopt practices that provide far fewer benefits for waterfowl.Long-term declines in rice acreage on the Gulf Coast are especially worrisome with the simultaneous dramatic loss of coastal prairie and marsh habitats. Halting this decline and flooding a greater percentage of rice acreage will be necessary to meet the needs of Gulf Coast waterfowl in the future."We applaud the many rice producers who integrate extra conservation measures into their rice production to maintain water quality and provide much-needed waterfowl habitat," said Jason Weller, Chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. "The partnership between DU, USA Rice, and USDA offers increased technical and financial assistance to help producers accomplish these goals on their land."Because of the significance of rice lands for waterfowl habitat, the two groups formed the USA Rice-DU Stewardship Partnership in 2013 to advocate for sound agricultureand conservation-related policies and to promote the important ecosystem benefits of rice agriculture. Contact: Michael Klein, (703) 236-1458
CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures CME Group (Preliminary): Closing Rough Rice Futures for May 5
Month
Price
Net Change
May 2014
$15.625
+ $0.040
July 2014
$15.555
+ $0.040
September 2014
$14.550
- $0.015
November 2014
$14.690
+ $0.010
January 2015
$14.845
+ $0.005
March 2015
$15.010
+ $0.005
May 2015
$15.010
+ $0.005
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Interesting highlights from the recent Census of Agriculture May 2, 2014Farm Press Staff | Southeast Farm Press
The USDA released May 5 the updated data from the 2012 Census of Agriculture. From the surprising number of newer farmers to the percentage of farms now hooked to the Web, here are a few highlights from the census.
The USDA released May 5 the updated data from the 2012 Census of Agriculture. From surprising number of newer farmers to the percentage of farms now hooked to the Web, here are a few highlights from the census.Highlights of the 2012 Census of Agriculture22 percent of all farmers were beginning farmers in 2012. That means 1 out of every 5 farmers operated a farm for less than 10 years.
Young, beginning principal operators who reported their primary occupation as farming increased from 36,396 to 40,499 between 2007 and 2012. That's an 11.3 percent increase in the number of young people getting into agriculture as a full-time job.
969,672 farm operators were female—30 percent of all farm operators in the U.S.
The number of farms ran by Latino farmers increased from 82,462 in 2007 to 99,734 in 2012. That 21 percent increase reflects the changing face of America as a whole.
70 percent of all farms in the U.S. had internet access in 2012, up from 56.5 percent in 2007, but there is more work to be done to expand internet access in rural America.
Farmers and ranchers continue to lead the charge towards a more sustainable energy future. 57,299 farms reported using a renewable energy producing system in 2012. That's more than double the 23,451 operations that reported the same in 2007. Solar panels accounted for 63 percent of renewable energy producing systems on farms, with 36,331 farms reporting their use.
Nearly 150,000 farmers and ranchers nationwide are selling their products directly to consumers, and 50,000 are selling to local retailers. Industry estimates valued local food sales at $7 billion in 2011, reflecting the growing importance of this new market to farm and ranch businesses.
Total organic product sales by farms have increased by 82 percent since 2007, from $1.76 billion in 2007 to $3.1 billion in 2012. Organic products were a $35 billion industry in the United States in 2013.
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"The census results reiterate the continued need for policies that help grow the rural economy from the middle out. The data illustrate the power of USDA efforts to grow the economy and strengthen infrastructure in rural America, create new market opportunities for farmers and ranchers, and provide access to capital, credit and disaster assistance for producers of all sizes. The census also shows the potential for continued growth in the bioeconomy, organics, and local and regional food systems. USDA will continue to focus on innovative, creative policies that give farmers, ranchers and entrepreneurs the tools they need to attract a bright and diverse body of talent to rural America," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
Crimea Rice Crop Fails Over Water War With Ukraine The Moscow Times May. 06 2014 11:25 Last edited 11:25
VolganetWater shortages in Crimea have practically destroyed this year's rice harvest, the agriculture minister said.
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Shortages of fresh water in Crimea have destroyed rice crops and led to disappointing soybean andcorn harvests, the Black Sea peninsula's agriculture minister said."The rice harvest can no longer be saved, even if we start pumping water now," Crimea's Agriculture Minister Nikolai Polyushkin said, RIA Novosti reported. "We can forget about rice this year."He added, however, that the loss of rice crops was "not critical" for Crimea, which was expected to make up for shortages by importing supplies from the nearby Krasnodar region.Crimea's annual rice harvest is about 85,000 to 120,000 tons, while Krasnodar produces about 1 million tons of rice, Polyushkin was quoted as saying. Russian Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov said last month that Ukraine's near closure of the North Crimea Canal would devastate Crimea's agriculture, and cause substantial losses to Crimean farmers, though Russia would compensate them for a portion of those costs.Ukraine cut the flow of water to Crimea last month to the lowest technically feasible volume, citing outstanding debt on water supplies owed by the peninsula, which Russia annexed this spring.
Spat Over ‗Stolen‘ GMO Seeds Touches Nerves in China A war of words in China has reignited public debate over just how far genetically modified food — still mostly illegal here — has already infiltrated the country.The spat began as an investigation. In April, following on government reports that illegal GMO corn and cotton had been found on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, the nonprofit Greenpeace, which monitors GMO issues, dispatched two employees to learn more.The two visited the area referenced in the report, a GMO development site run by Huazhong Agricultural University, one of the nation‘s leading research institutes on crop genetics. The pair took three bags of rice seeds just outside the trial-planting area belonging to the university, which is working to develop GMO rice strains. They were planning to see if GMO seeds from the trial site had found their way to adjacent farmland.Campus staff at the site, though, stopped them and demanded they return the seeds, saying the land outside the trial area also belonged to the university. The Greenpeace employees obliged,
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and were allowed to leave.That might have been the end of the story. But Huazhong, still upset by the incident, then published an article on its website that accused Greenpeace of thieving GMO rice seeds. Greenpeace shot back, denying the accusations, while also noting that the university‘s test bed was located less than 20 meters from surrounding farmland—an apparent breach of state law, which requires a minimum buffer of 100 meters.University officials couldn‘t be immediately reached for comment.The Ministry of Agriculture then weighed in. Without specifying Greenpeace by name, on Sunday, it said in a statement that said security around areas working to develop GMOs should be boosted. Greenpeace again responded, explaining why it had gone to the area, and suggested that ―problems with the management of GMO seeds planted on a trial basis at the university could have led to GMO seeds ‗drifting‘ to areas outside the university. ‖This isn‘t the first time Greenpeace has warned that illegal GMO grains may be running amok in China. The country is in the early stages of introducing GMO food into the human diet. While it has not yet allowed public sales of GMO grains, including rice, corn and wheat, it allows related scientific research and limited imports – as long as the imports are used only for animal consumption. Some forms of GMO food are also permitted for humans if they‘ve been processed, such as GMO soybeans used to manufacture soy oil. Even under these constraints, Chinese universities and companies do develop their own GMO strains. More In GMO China Seeks Its Own GMO-Food Path China Sees a Worrying History Lesson in Corn 5 Things to Watch in China's Resources Sector in 2014 It's China vs. China in Genetically Modified Food Fight China's Genetically Modified Food Fight But the prevalence of GMO food in China remains a hot potato. Public resistance to GMO continues to run deep, in part because GMOs are closely associated with fears of becoming reliant U.S. technology, which still dominates the GMO industry. One might say the feud in Hainan has reached a draw. No law enforcement official has gotten in touch with Greenpeace so far, and there hasn‘t been any sign of further investigations into the matter, Greenpeace spokesman Damin Tang said. Because the seeds were quickly returned, Greenpeace also had no conclusive evidence on whether GMO seeds had indeed ―drifted‖ off the Sanya campus. The debate has nonetheless spilled into China‘s microblogging platforms, with opinions swinging between criticism of Greenpeace and suspicion of China‘s government. ―You have invited a thousand people to try to eat genetically modified rice,‖ a blogger wrote, referring to ‗taste tests‗ for the public conducted by officials and academics using GMO rice . ―What position are you in to talk about stealing materials and keeping secrets? What are you afraid of losing?‖Others said the police should investigate Greenpeace. ―Do you know it‘s an extremist environmental group?‖ another wrote. But there‘s already a sense of resignation that the spread of GMOs is well underway in China. ―Illegal GMO products have come into supermarkets, and the agricultural
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ministry still pretends to be unaware of it,‖ Cui Yongyuan, a former TV commentator, wrote on his verified Sina Weibo account. – Chuin-Wei Yap with contributions from Li Jie. Follow Chuin-Wei on Twitter @YapCW. Snap: A researcher works on gene-modified rice seedlings at Huazhong Agricultural University. European Pressphoto Agency
PCCUA, DBNRRC team up for tutoring The tutoring session, just in time for finals at the end of semester, consisted of personnel and staff members at the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center (DBNRRC), located east of the campus on Highway 30.
STUTTGART New this semester at Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas-Stuttgart campus (PCCUA), a tutoring session began in April for students to utilize for the spring session.The tutoring session, just in time for finals at the end of semester, consisted of personnel and staff members at the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center (DBNRRC), located east of the campus on Highway 30."We match the student with the tutor," Thomas Moss, science, chemistry and physical science instructor at PCCUA-Stuttgart campus, said. "It is all free of charge."Moss said that the staff and specialists wanted to help the students in the STEM classes, which consist of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. "The tutoring is very useful for our students enrolled here," Moss said. The college is very happy indeed."The volunteers in this tutoring program are giving students the opportunity to meet and learn from and appreciate the scientists, who work just a few miles away from us, Dr. Susan Luebke, vice chancellor of PCCUA-Stuttgart campus said."They are wonderful role models, and I am thrilled that PCCUA students have the chance to learn more about math and science in the real world," Luebke said. "There is no way we can thank them enough."Dr. Anna McClung, research director of the DBNRRC, said that there were three staff members who tutored and were excited about the opportunity to interact with the college students and help the community."We want to encourage the students in all areas of higher education," McClung said. "We are particularly glad to help in the disciplines of science and math. "Each tutor provided the school with the hours and days that they could be available as well as the course materials that they were willing to tutor, then based upon the students‘ schedules and area of tutoring required,
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the tutor and student were matched up, McClung said."We are hoping that we can be involved with the students earlier in the year to help them get a strong foundation in their course work," McClung said.Moss added that the service will continue next semester at PCCUA-Stuttgart campus. The intention next semester is to start much earlier in the semester, instead of waiting for final exams. "We are very happy the research center agreed to do this," Moss said. "We look at it as a gift."The researchers and their expertise in their respective field were: McClung, research leader, geneticist; David Gealy, plant physiologist; Melissa Jia, molecular geneticist; Yulin Jia, molecular plant pathologist; Nora LaPointe, business administration; Shannon Pinson, geneticist; and Mathew Schuckmann, chemistry technician. For more information, contact the PCCUA-Stuttgart campus at (870) 673-4201.
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