7 8 march,2018 daily global regional local rice e newseltter by DAILY RICE NEWS LETTER

7-8 March,2018

Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter www.riceplusmagazine.blogspot.com mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Unedited Version

Rice Husk Ash sales Market Analysis and Opportunities Forecast to 2025 Rice Husk Ash Sales Market dynamics, structure, characteristics, main players, growth and demand drivers, etc Markets By Akash On Mar 7, 2018

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Rice Husk Ash Sales Market Research Report 2018 to 2025 presents an in-depth

assessment of the Rice Husk Ash Sales including enabling technologies, key trends, market drivers, challenges, standardization, regulatory landscape, deployment models, operator case studies, opportunities, future roadmap, value chain, ecosystem player profiles and strategies. The report also presents forecasts for Rice Husk Ash Sales investments from 2018 till 2025. It provides a comprehensive overview of the market, its dynamics, structure, characteristics, main players, growth and demand drivers, etc. The purpose of the report is to describe the state of the global Rice Husk Ash Sales Market, To present actual and retrospective information about the volumes, dynamics, structure and characteristics of production, imports, exports and consumption and to build a forecast for the market in the next five years. In addition, the report presents an elaborate analysis of the main market participants, price fluctuations, growth and demand drivers of the market and all other factors, influencing its development. This report studies Rice Husk Ash Sales in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with

capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering Yihai Kerry Investments, Usher Agro, Guru Metachem, Agrilectric Power Company, Rescon (India), Deelert Group, Jasoriya Rice MillAstrra Chemicals, Agrasen Rice Mill, J.M. Biotech, Gelex Agro Industrial, Kothari Bio Fuels, Gia Gia Nguyen, KRBL Ltd., Viet Delta, Shreenidhi Bio Agric Extracts Avail Sample Copy of Report at: https://www.marketinsightsreports.com/reports/0307295549/global-rice-husk-ash-salesmarket-report-2018/inquiry Global Rice Husk Ash Sales Market (K Units) by Types (2018-2025) Market Segment by Types

2014 2018 2025

Market Share (%)2025

CGAR (%)(2018-2025)

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Silica Content between 90-94%;

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Silica Content between 80-84%;

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Silica Content More Than or Equal to 95%

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Global Rice Husk Ash Sales Market (K Units) by Application (2018-2025) 2014 2018 2025

Market Share (%)2025

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Building & Construction

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Market Segment by Application

The report gives you a visual, one-stop breakdown of the leading products, submarkets and market leaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s market revenue forecasts as well as analysis to 2025.

Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with Sales, Sales, revenue, Market Share (%) and Growth Rate (%) of product in these regions, from 2012 to 2025 (forecast), covering United States, North America (Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.), Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa), RoW (Rest of World). Brows Full Report at: https://www.marketinsightsreports.com/reports/0307295549/global-ricehusk-ash-sales-market-report-2018 Overall Market Analysis 2014-2018: Table Global Capacity (K Units), Sales (K Units), Price (USD/Unit), Cost (USD/Unit), Sales Revenue (M USD) and Gross Margin of Rice Husk Ash Sales Market 2018 and Future Predictions by 2018 to 2025.A report also makes sure to give updated information on major Mergers, Acquisition and Expansion happening around the globe. Then, The research includes historic data from 2014 to 2017 and forecasts until 2025 which makes the reports an invaluable resource for industry executives, marketing, sales and product managers, consultants, analysts, and other people looking for key industry data in readily accessible documents with clearly presented tables and graphs. The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors. http://www.ratingsalerts.com/2018/03/07/rice-husk-ash-sales-market/MarketInsightsReports provides syndicated market research reports to industries, organizations or even individuals with an aim of helping them in their decision making process. These reports include in-depth market research studies i.e. market share analysis, industry analysis, information on products, countries, market size, trends, business research details and much more. MarketInsightsReports provides global and regional market intelligence coverage, a 360-degree market view which includes statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.

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India rice rates up on steady demand; stronger baht props up Thai rates Arpan Varghese 3 MIN READ

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BENGALURU (Reuters) - Rice prices rose in top exporter India this week on healthy demand amid lower supplies, while gains in the local currency and prospects of a deal with the Philippines pushed up rates for the staple grain in Thailand. A woman spreads paddy crop for drying at a rice mill on the occasion of International Women's Day, on the outskirts of Agartala, March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Jayanta Dey/Files

Supplies are falling, forcing exporters to quote higher prices, said another exporter also based in Kakinada. India’s non basmati rice exports during April-December jumped 39.5 percent from a year ago as Bangladesh and Benin raised purchases. Meanwhile, demand for the grain from Bangladesh, which has emerged as a major rice importer since 2017 after floods damaged its crops, would stay strong for the next few months, given the high domestic rates, an official with the food ministry in Bangladesh said on Thursday. In Thailand, benchmark 5 percent broken rice rates climbed to $408-$410 per tonne, free on board (FOB) Bangkok, from $395-$400 last week, amid a stronger baht and hopes of a prospective deal with the Philippines. Speculation is rife that the Philippines will hold an auction later this month to import 250,000 tonnes and many Thai exporters are interested in this deal, a trader said. “The fluctuation in prices at the moment depends on the currency exchange rate only because there’s no actual demand,” a Bangkok-based rice trader said. The baht was on track for its second straight week of gains. [EMRG/FRX] A stronger baht translates to higher export prices in U.S. dollars. “Many exporters have (also) been buying rice now because of low prices recently,” the trader added. Prices rose in Vietnam as well, with rates for its 5 percent broken variety gaining to $418-$425 a tonne from $410-$415 a week earlier as farmers

pinned their hopes on new government-to-government deals, even though shipments out of the country were falling. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are having difficulty clinching new deals with buyers, as Vietnamese prices are relatively higher now,â&#x20AC;? said a Ho Chi Minh City-based trader, adding buyers were seeking $405-$408. Vietnam exported 339,706 tonnes of rice in February, down 31 percent from January, but exports in the first two months 2018 rose 13.2 percent from a year earlier to 831,504 tonnes, customs data showed. The country could export 6.5 million tonnes of rice in 2018, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Sunday. Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Panu Wongcha-um in Bangkok, Ruma Paul in Dhaka and Khanh Vu in Hanoi; Editing by David Evans Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. SPONSORED

https://in.reuters.com/article/asia-rice/india-rice-ratesup-on-steady-demand-stronger-baht-props-up-thairates-idINKCN1GK1K2

Wheat softens on increased supply PTI | Mar 8, 2018, 14:25 IST

New Delhi, Mar 8 () Wheat prices declined by Rs 10 per quintal at the wholesale grains market today on ample stocks on increased arrivals from growing regions against reduced offtake by flour mills.

Maize also eased on subdued demand from consuming industries. Traders said besides sluggish demand from flour mills, increased supplies from producing belts, mainly led to decline in wheat prices. In the national capital, wheat dara (for mills) shed Rs 10 to Rs 1,790-1,795 per quintal. Atta chakki delivery followed suit and traded lower by a similar margin to Rs 1,800-1,805 per 90 kg. Maize also declined by Rs 10 to Rs 1,400-1,405 per quintal. Following are today's quotations (in Rs per quintal): Wheat MP (desi) Rs 2,080-2,280, Wheat dara (for mills) Rs 1,790-1,795 Chakki atta (delivery) Rs 1,800-1,805, Atta Rajdhani (10 kg) Rs 260-300, Shakti Bhog (10 kg) Rs 255-290, Roller flour mill Rs 960-970 (50 kg), Maida Rs 980-9,90 (50 kg)and Sooji Rs 1,040-1,050 (50 kg). Basmati rice (Lal Quila) Rs 10,700, Shri Lal Mahal Rs 11,300, Super Basmati Rice Rs 9,800, Basmati common new Rs 7,700-7,800, Rice Pusa (1121) Rs 6,700-6,800, Permal raw Rs 2,325-2375, Permal wand Rs 2,375-2,425, Sela Rs 2,800-3,000 and Rice IR-8 Rs 1,975-2,025, Bajra Rs 1,200-1,205, Jowar yellow Rs 1,400-1,450, white Rs 2,800-2,900, Maize Rs 1,400- 1,405, Barley Rs 1,490-1,500. KPS ADI ADI

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/ind ia-business/wheat-softens-on-increased-

India rice rates up on steady demand; stronger baht props up Thai rates supply/articleshow/63215982.cms

Arpan Varghese

3 MIN READ

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India’s 5 percent broken parboiled rice prices rose by $3 per tonne to $422$426, the second straight week of gains. “Inquiries are rising from African countries. Asian buyers are also showing interest,” said an exporter based in Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Supplies are falling, forcing exporters to quote higher prices, said another exporter also based in Kakinada. India’s non basmati rice exports during April-December jumped 39.5 percent from a year ago as Bangladesh and Benin raised purchases. Meanwhile, demand for the grain from Bangladesh, which has emerged as a major rice importer since 2017 after floods damaged its crops, would stay strong for the next few months, given the high domestic rates, an official with the food ministry in Bangladesh said on Thursday. In Thailand, benchmark 5 percent broken rice rates climbed to $408-$410 per tonne, free on board (FOB) Bangkok, from $395-$400 last week, amid a stronger baht and hopes of a prospective deal with the Philippines.

Speculation is rife that the Philippines will hold an auction later this month to import 250,000 tonnes and many Thai exporters are interested in this deal, a trader said. “The fluctuation in prices at the moment depends on the currency exchange rate only because there’s no actual demand,” a Bangkok-based rice trader said. The baht was on track for its second straight week of gains. [EMRG/FRX] A stronger baht translates to higher export prices in U.S. dollars. “Many exporters have (also) been buying rice now because of low prices recently,” the trader added. Prices rose in Vietnam as well, with rates for its 5 percent broken variety gaining to $418-$425 a tonne from $410-$415 a week earlier as farmers pinned their hopes on new government-to-government deals, even though shipments out of the country were falling. “We are having difficulty clinching new deals with buyers, as Vietnamese prices are relatively higher now,” said a Ho Chi Minh City-based trader, adding buyers were seeking $405-$408. Vietnam exported 339,706 tonnes of rice in February,

https://in.reuters.com/article/asia-rice/india-rice-ratesup-on-steady-demand-stronger-baht-props-up-thairates-idINKCN1GK1K2 

FRONT TOP NEW S

Cabinet expresses resolve to provide uninterrupted power to consumers in summer  

I MA D U D D I N

MA R 7T H , 2 01 8

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V IEW S : 3 6

The meeting also appreciated the efforts of the incumbent as well as former Minister for Power for addressing sectoral issues relating to power. It was emphasized during the meeting to lay greater focus on addressing administrative and management issues viz-a-viz transmission, distribution and recovery of power dues.

Secretary Power Division briefed the cabinet on projections of electricity demand and supply; and the available generation capacity for catering to the power requirements during the summer season particularly during Ramzan.

It was informed that additional power would be added to the national grid from Tarbela-IV and Neelum-Jhelum Hydro-power projects during next months which would further augment the existing generation capacity. The meeting was also briefed about the current loadmanagement plan.

The prime minister stated that as a result of untiring efforts of the government power generation had significantly increased since 2013. He said that provision of uninterrupted power supply had remained the priority of the present government in order to meet domestic, commercial and industrial requirements.

In order to discourage cigarette smoking, the cabinet approved banning of sale of loose cigarettes by amending the â&#x20AC;&#x2022;Prohibition of Sale of Cigarettes to Minors Rules, 2010.

The federal cabinet accorded approval for signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Governments of Somalia and Government of Pakistan for Rendering NADRAâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s Services to Somalia Approval was granted to initiate legislation on Geographical Indications Protection Bill, 2017.

Geographical Indications (GIs) is a form of intellectual property rights which identifies a product originating from a specific area, whose quality or reputation is attributable to its place of origin. Possible GIs for Pakistan can include Basmati Rice, Ajrak and Pashmina shawls, Peshawari Chappal, Truck Art, Apricots, Handicrafts, Ornaments etc.

The Cabinet approved appointment of Presiding Officer, Special Court (Offences in Banks), Islamabad.

Cabinet ratified the recommendations of the Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases (CCLC) in its meeting held on 22nd February, 2018 and Cabinet Committee on Privatization held on February 16, 2018.

Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Sartaj Aziz briefed the Cabinet in detail regarding measures to enhance cotton production and exports from Pakistan. Cabinet approved transfer of Pakistan Central Cotton Committee and Cotton related matters from Ministry of Textile Industry to Ministry of National Food Security & Research.

https://www.brecorder.com/2018/03/07/403341/cabinet -expresses-resolve-to-provide-uninterrupted-power-toconsumers-in-summer/

IRRI DG Dr Matthew Morell visits BRRI UNB NEWS Wednesday 07 March, 2018 08:20:17 pm

Dhaka, Mar 7 (UNB) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Dr Matthew Morell visited Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) in Gazipur on Wednesday. During the visit BRRI Director General Dr Md Shahjahan Kabir discussed with Dr Morell on ways and means to strengthen collaboration between BRRI and IRRI on some frontier technologies and projects such as Golden Rice, C4 Rice, Zinc Enriched Rice, and Transforming Rice Breeding (TRB) etc.

BRRI Director (Administration and Common Service) Dr Md Ansar Ali, Director (Research) Dr Tamal Lata Aditya, heads of the research divisions of the institute, the senior scientists and officials along with IRRI Representative for South Asia Dr Nafees Meah and IRRI Representative for Bangladesh Dr Humnath Bhandari attended the meeting. Dr Morell‘s visit was aimed at exchanging ideas between scientists and policy makers as well as knowledge sharing on modern rice technologies as well as ongoing collaboration and promotional activities. During the discussion the speakers stressed on the need for quick dissemination of modern rice production technologies including farm machinery, seeds of salt tolerant rice varieties as well as how farmers are trying to cope with unfavourable environments using high yielding rice varieties and other inputs to the farm level especially in the south-western and southern coastal belt of the country. Dr Shahjahan Kabir said ―In collaboration with IRRI we have developed a multi-year work plan through which we will be able to increase rice production of the country.‖ Referring to the impacts of global warming Dr Morell said, ―Rice cultivation in Bangladesh is on the frontline to face the challenges of climate change. And we have to double our efforts to cope with changing climate.‖ IRRI DG also lauded BRRI for transforming rice breeding project related activities and expressed satisfaction after getting some latest information about BRRI technologies and their role in helping the resource poor farmers of the country. He also expressed willingness to extend all out cooperation to BRRI. Dr Morell showed special interest while taking a look at the confined field trial of the Golden Rice project at the BRRI premises. He was also enthusiastic about the BRRI activities on plant breeding, biotechnology, farm mechanization, the Gene Bank and the institute‘s preparedness in facing climate change during the visit. He expects that zinc enriched rice as well as golden rice would play a vital role in ensuring nutrition security of the people of Bangladesh if it gets proper patronization from all the stakeholders here.

http://www.unb.com.bd/bangladesh-news/IRRI-DGDr-Matthew-Morell-visits-BRRI/64812

British-Pakistani among 12 female artists featured on Google’s Women’s Day doodle

Google Doodle featuring 12 artists from around the world. Photo: Geo News screengrab

Google is celebrating International Women‘s Day by featuring doodles of 12 female artists, including a British-Pakistani, on its homepage. On Thursday, the search engine giant displayed interactive illustrations of artists from 12 countries, including the US, Japan, Pakistan and Mexico. According to Google, each story represents ―a moment, person, or event that has impacted their lives as women. While each artist tells a unique story, the themes are universal, reminding us of how much we often have in common.‖ British-Pakistani artist Saffa Khan centered her doodle, titled ‗Homeland‘, around being an immigrant, writing a love letter to her first home in Pakistan.

―Being an immigrant, I want people to simply be able to empathise and visualise this small fragment of my most cherished memories of the home I had to leave behind,‖ Saffa told Huffington Post. ―And to understand that the love and support received from strong womanhood can help you accomplish anything.‖

Photo: Geo News screengrab

Explaining what International Women‘s Day means to her, Saffa said, ―International Women‘s Day is not only to celebrate numerous achievements of women across the fields of science, arts and humanities, but also to recognise the sacrifices and changes made by women as they fight for recognition and equality everyday in a society dominated by men.‖ Saffa‘s story of her homeland featured on her doodle reads, ―On the roads of my homeland, you will find queues of vibrant trucks and rickshaws full of poetry.‖

Photo: Geo News screengrab

―Every Sunday, my family and I would go to our local Itwar Bazaar for fresh samosas in winter and sweetest mangoes in the summer. Mama would spend a lot of time hand-picking garments to make clothes for us to wear on Eid,‖ Saffa recalled. The artist further wrote, ―I went to the smallest school in the city, but I was taught by the strongest women with the biggest hearts.‖

Photo: Geo News screengrab

―This was my home for nine years: Mama‘s little jungle, our tiny secure bubble. Depite not having electricity most days, or clean water, we made it work. Thank you, Mama and Baba; home is wherever you are,‖ she concluded. The Google Doodle highlights artists Anna Haifisch, Chihiro Takeuchi, Estelí Meza, Francesca Sanna, Isuri, Karabo Poppy Moletsane, Kaveri Gopalakrishnan, Laerte, Philippa Rice, Saffa Khan, Tillie Walden and Tunalaya Dunn. Google is also encouraging other women across the world to share their own stories for International Women‘s Day with the hashtag ―#HerStoryOurStory.‖

https://www.geo.tv/latest/185420-british-pakistaniamong-12-female-artists-featured-on-googles-womensday-doodle

NSW DPI rice event to attract hundreds at Yanco Agricultural Institute 

Talia Pattison News    

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RICE will thrust into the spotlight at Yanco next week. Hundreds of rice growers, researchers and agribusiness representatives will meet at the Yanco Agricultural Institute on March 15 to attend the annual rice industry field day. NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) southern cropping director, Deb Slinger, said the event will showcase results from the Australian Rice Partnership, which links NSW DPI, SunRice and AgriFutures Australia. ―Results for current rice varieties from 14 NSW DPI experiments in the Murrumbidgee and Murray Valleys investigating water, nitrogen and agronomic management, are highlights of the field day,‖ Ms Slinger said. ―NSW DPI researchers are helping to fine-tune agronomic practices which deliver water savings and can increase gross margins by up to 59 per cent. ―A combination of direct drill sowing and delayed permanent water can save growers up to 4.5 megalitres per hectare compared with aerial sowing and traditional rice irrigation, and that extra water is available to grow more rice and increase gross margins.‖ NSW DPI‘s rice breeding program is a major focus of the partnership and the field day will feature trials of new varieties due for potential release in the near future. The latest results from a joint project between NSW DPI and Charles Sturt University, through the Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Functional Grains, will focus on factors affecting whole rice grain yield. The project explores how irrigation management, plant densities, nitrogen rates and timing of nitrogen application affect grain quality to identify management practices which can improve grain quality and profitability. Growers will hear the latest information on pest and disease management, grain and milling quality research results and see precision rice sowing and harvesting equipment. A bus tour of NSW DPI‘s Yanco Agricultural Institute and Leeton Field Station will inspect research trials designed to inform and boost rice production. The field day will run from 9.30 am until 1.30 pm, with a complimentary lunch followed by a SunRice update.

https://www.irrigator.com.au/story/5271823/mammoth -event-will-throw-rice-into-the-deep-end-at-yanco/

PM briefed on power situation in country ahead of summer ď&#x201A;ˇ

National MARCH 6, 2018 BY STAFF REPORT

ď&#x201A;ˇ

Cabinet approves ban on sale of loose cigarettes to discourage smoking

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi chaired a meeting of the federal cabinet at Prime Ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s Office Tuesday where he was briefed on projections of electricity demand and supply and the available generation capacity for catering to the power requirements during the summer season, particularly during Ramzan. It was informed that additional power would be added to the national grid from Tarbela-IV and Neelum-Jhelum hydropower projects during next months, which would further augment the existing generation capacity. The meeting was also briefed about the current loadmanagement plan. The prime minister stated that as a result of untiring efforts of the government, power generation had significantly increased since 2013. He added that the provision of the uninterrupted power supply has remained the priority of the present government in order to meet domestic, commercial and industrial requirements. The cabinet expressed satisfaction over the power situation and resolved to provide uninterrupted power to the consumers during the upcoming summer season and the holy month of Ramzan. The meeting also appreciated the efforts of the incumbent, as well as former minister for power for addressing sectoral issues. It was

emphasised during the meeting to lay greater focus on addressing administrative and management issues relating to transmission, distribution and recovery of power dues. The meeting also accorded approval for signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Pakistan and Somalia for rendering NADRAâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s services to the latter. Furthermore, approval was granted to initiate legislation on Geographical Indications Protection Bill, 2017. Geographical Indications (GIs) is a form of intellectual property rights which identifies a product originating from a specific area, whose quality or reputation is attributable to its place of origin. Possible GIs for Pakistan can include basmati rice, ajrak and pashmina shawls, Peshawri chappal, truck art, apricots, handicrafts and ornaments etc. The cabinet also approved the appointment of presiding officer for special court (offences in banks), Islamabad. It ratified the recommendations of Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases (CCLC) in its meeting held in February, and of Cabinet Committee on Privatization whose meeting was also held last month. In order to discourage cigarette smoking, the cabinet approved banning of the sale of loose cigarettes by amending the Prohibition of Sale of Cigarettes to Minors Rules, 2010.

Moreover, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Sartaj Aziz briefed the cabinet in detail regarding measures to enhance cotton production and exports from Pakistan. Approval was also accorded for the transfer of Pakistan Central Cotton Committee and cotton related matters from Ministry of Textile Industry to Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/03/06/pmbriefed-on-power-situation-in-country-ahead-ofsummer/

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Why corrupt politicians want Buhari out – Taiwo Published 1 day ago on March 8, 2018 By WALE ELEGBEDE reports

Hon. Musibau Taiwo is a former Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly. In this interview, he speaks on the state of the nation, the anti-corruption war of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his plans to vie for the House of Representatives seat in 2019, among other issues. WALE ELEGBEDE reports What is your assessment of the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration? We need to give thanks and appreciation to God. If the United States of America is God‘s own country, I would say God lives in Nigeria. If we look at where we are coming from, we will see that it is not easy and we should thank God for where we are. Yes, we had a problem, a very serious economic meltdown, I always wonder why President Muhammdu Buhari took over, when we had economic meltdown, why didn‘t former president Goodluck Jonathan come back and let people see what will happen.

But, because Nigeria is where God lives, it didn‘t happen that way, if it happens in some other countries serious crisis would have happened. We have a mini-economy, we have just one source of income, we depend totally on oil and economic meltdown attacked oil and people are not looking at that.

The price of a barrel of oil went as low as $28 per barrel and it was being produced at $30 per barrel, which means we were producing at a loss. That was when someone took over power and there was nothing in our foreign reserves. People did not ask how the government of Jonathan was paying workers salaries, they were borrowing money to pay salaries of workers before he left office.

Fortunately for us, God gave us a president that is not interested in our money. I don‘t even know what Buhari wants because I always pray to God that if I get to his age, I don‘t want to bother myself about Nigerian problem again. He came and campaigned with change, he talked about security and anti-corruption. You want to combine two serious things. I always tell people that if you want to fight corruption, you must be very smart because if you are not smart, you don‘t know the number of people you are fighting with.

Also, corruption is more powerful than the state, corruption is more exposed than the state, corruption is more intelligent than the people that are fighting it. You don‘t even know the number of people you are fighting. Corruption starts from the office, from the office attendants, the secretary in the office. You should start from those ones first that is what Buhari wants to fight.

He was able to present himself to Nigerians through his records and what he has done in the past. Science and Quran have proven many things to us. Science has proven that no two fingerprints are the same, which means no two human beings can be the same.

But, he must look for people he could work with not that they have the same minds with him, but he recruited them. Because corruption is more powerful than the government, corrupt people decided to exchange naira to the dollar at any cost.

Then we were at the lowest ebb and we were having fewer dollars in the system, we were selling naira based on demand and supply and the cost of buying dollar went up. The value of your local currency is synonymous to the value of the nation. Today, we need to give credit to the President for the anti-corruption crusade because it has brought about changes. We need to praise Buhari and encourage him to go further.

How would you explain to the common man the benefit of the anticorruption crusade of this government? I remember before the last election when they were talking about the performance of former President Jonathan in agriculture. Now we have been able to see the efforts of the current government on changing the system. Due to the devaluation of naira and over-dependence on grains from abroad, the price of a bag of rice went as high as N20,000, nobody asked how the price went down to about N14,000 a bag. For instance, Lagos and Kebbi states government collaborated to cultivate rice through partnership, which was brought about LAKE Rice and that encouraged others.

Today, Ogun State is working on Ofada rice. Research has shown that foreign rice is one of the agents of diabetes, but we know that Ofada rice is the best treatment for a diabetic patient. Those are for the common men. They came up with the Treasury Single Account (TSA). The President is interested in making money for Nigeria elsewhere. We are looking at our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). We are now looking elsewhere to make Nigeria stronger. Lagos State is building rice processing machine to meet the quality of Lagos. In the past, we could not cook Nigerian Jollof from LAKE Rice, but now that is possible. Now, we can see that there is a solution to our problems.

People are interested in the corrupt minded Nigerians that want to fight back, they want to fight Buhari. I am happy with Buhari, the economic recession in America lasted about 10 years, but we are almost out of it. Look at what Alhaji Aliko Dangote is doing by building a refinery in Nigeria.

This is not just about oil production, but we will get several by-products of oil from that and it would help our economy. Now I am not in government, so I can say this. I am not saying the government is 100 per cent, but they are trying. They are now encouraging people to bring that money back, which would increase the quality of naira and that would help the value of naira as they would use the money to buy naira.

But despite this, the Transparency International has rated the Buhari government low… I don‘t know the criteria they are using. But, they listen to news; nobody will expect Nigeria to be free from corruption overnight. All these things are in the news because we are now looking for the money. The money had been there, Transparency International will keep talking about corruption because it is still in the news. I was in power and I know the amount of money I could get legally. People are now talking of billions of naira, they are stealing more money than they need. We are still corrupt now, that is why they say monkey and snake eat money.

Do you think the APC will still do well in the 2019 elections with all the divisions in the party now? It is a normal thing for democracy. For instance, I contested with 10 aspirants in 2015. We don‘t have factions in the party. That is why President Buhari told our National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to go round and make peace in the party and I can assure you that he will unite all because of his pedigree. You should remember that we are strange bedfellows, we are a rainbow coalition.

So, you should expect that. In the past, we used to talk about true federalism, devolution of power, state police and others under the Action Congress (AC) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), but now they are all embracing those things. It is not easy to bring people from different parts of the country together.

People say that the governors would oppress people with state police during elections, but the election is just six months out of four years, what of the other over three years that there are no elections. It is a process when people talk about party ideology, I

laugh. Ideology comes over time, it doesn‘t come on a day. So, they are now thinking along our thoughts. Inter party crisis is normal.

Where do you expect to be in 2019 having been out of office for some years now… I am not going back to the Lagos State House of Assembly. I am interested in the House of Representatives. I have so many things I want to discuss there.

For instance, I worked on Anti- Trust Fund in the state Assembly and I did my research and went as far as the US. But, when I got to a stage, I was told that anything trust is on the exclusive list. Trust has to with a lot of things. For instance, you want to open a company, it has to do with trust. Even in the consumer protection, they need the law to put things right.

There is another thing that bothers me, in the United States, if you are not born there, you cannot be their president.

There is nothing like indigeneship in our constitution, we only have citizenship. People from the east or any part of the country could contest for any position in Lagos State, they have contested for state and federal assembly, they even want to contest for the position of the governor. If we want it to be that way, it has to be across board, it should not be only in Lagos State. Share this:         

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Lawyers to Ekweremadu: Coup not an option Published 9 hours ago on March 9, 2018 By Correspondents

Some senior lawyers have expressed concerns over a statement credited to the Senate deputy president, Ike Ekweremadu that the country‘s democracy is receding and as such it is not unlikely for the military to take over. The lawyers, who spoke in separate interviews with New Telegraph, were unanimous that despite the numerous challenges the country is facing, military coup should not be an option to be considered by anyone. According to them, the era of military regime in the country is gone for good because the worst form of democratic government is better than the best military regime. Among those who spoke with our correspondents include Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN), Seyi Sowemimo (SAN), Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Monday Ubani and Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN). Others are the president of Public Interest Lawyers League (PILL), Dr. Abdul Mahmud, a rights activist and public analyst, Rotimi Wusu; Abuja based lawyer, Fred Itoro; a former chairman of NBA, Oyo branch, Mr. Adekunle Babalola and the chairman, NBA, Abeokuta branch, Ibrahim Atanda Though they agreed with Ekweremadu that the nation‘s democracy is indeed under threat, they said rather than a military intervention, the political elite must close ranks to address the country‘s challenges. Chief Ahamba said those presiding over the country‘s affairs should be alive to their responsibilities and avoid creating an enabling environment for the military to take over. He said: ―We should not create an enabling environment for the military to take over the affairs of the country. The enabling environment will arise when anarchy is allowed to take over the country. In that situation, it is either a civil war or coup. So, let us not allow this situation to continue. ―Those presiding over the country‘s affairs should take charge and put things in proper perspective. However, I don‘t think the military should take over under any circumstance.

But, if things go out of hand, we might have a repeat of what happened in Zimbabwe here. ―We have to be careful. A situation whereby citizens of a country are being murdered in cold blood as it happened in Benue State and other areas in Nigeria calls for concern. The situation might go out of hand if the relations of these victims of the dastardly acts decided to take revenge. No one can know to what extent it will go. So, let those in charge act towards prevention rather than waiting for a cure. I believe what the Senate deputy president is trying to alert the nation to is the need to prevent rather than cure.‖ Sowemimo (SAN), on his part, said Ekweremadu‘s statement should be taken in positive light with a word of caution. According to him, ―the statement by the Senate deputy president, Ike Ekweremadu, goes to really reinforce what Nigerians might be thinking now about our democracy, which is really under threat. There is the need for us to be cautious in our approaches to issues between now and the next election. So, we must take his utterances as words of caution and try to amend our ways by retracing our steps. ―Though some people might see the statement as tantamount to treason and capable of undermining democracy, I think we shouldn‘t see it that way. Except we want to deceive ourselves, a lot of Nigerians are worried with the situation of the country. So, I want to advise that we see the statement in positive light and take it with a word of caution.‖ Ubani, who described the statement of the Senate deputy president as unwarranted, said the solution to Nigeria‘s problems does not lie in the taking over of its affairs by the military. His words: ―I don‘t expect that kind of statement from somebody of his status. Is he not the Senate deputy president? Are they not the one in power? If they wittingly or unwittingly invite the military, all of them will bear the consequence. So, I don‘t think it is an appropriate statement for him to make. ―They should find solutions to whatever the problems are and I don‘t think military rule is the best solution to our problems. The political elites must come together and proffer solutions to the challenges confronting the country.‖ Also reacting to the comment, Ozekhome (SAN), however said the Senate deputy president was right even as he described the military‘s involvement in politics as an aberration. ―Sure, he (Ekweremadu) is right. Although, I do not support a military take over for the simple reason that it conscripts the democratic space, the point must be made that studies of the political temperature, using the barometer of lack of democracy dividends, blatant violation of human rights, rule of law and total abnegation of democratic concepts, Ekweremadu should be commended for this timely warning. Nigerians have

never been so democratically trashed as now,‖ he said. Dr. Mahmud, who described Ekweremadu‘s statement as reckless, said: ―It‘s a reckless statement made by the Senate deputy president. No matter the imperfections and flaws of our civil governance, it does not call for the return of military autarchy. ―The constitution is the basic law and any contraption not recognised by section 1(2) CFRN 1999 is illegal. In fact that section clearly states that our republic shall be governed in accordance with the provisions of the CFRN 1999. ―Is military rule possible in Nigeria? No! The ills of our country today can be traced to the era of military autarchy and the likes of Ekweremadu should be using legislative instruments to purge our country of the vestiges of that era.‖ Wusu also condemned Ekweremadu‘s statement. ―The worst democracy is better than military rule. That is to say Nigeria, as it is today is not ready for a military rule. ―Nigeria‘s democracy is not under threat. Rather it is the political class under threat of losing their grip on power. Nigerians are now more aware about governance and 2019 gives us a big opportunity to change the narratives to suit the people,‖ he said. Itoro, on his part, noted that Ekweremadu had just spoken out the truth and that his advice should be taken before it is too late. His words: ―His statement is purely the truth and nothing but the truth. When you look at the trend of governance, you will agree with the deputy Senate President that the Democracy of the country is under threat.‖ Babalola who also faulted Ekweremadu said: ―It is just unfortunate that such a statement is coming from the Senate deputy president, who is expected to uphold and protect the tenets of democracy. He should be arrested for treasonable felony for even suggesting the likelihood of military takeover.‖ Also speaking, Atanda said Nigerians do not want the military to return to power and that the people will not welcome an unconstitutional idea. He said: ―In the first instance, military rule is absolutely unconstitutional. So, the issue of whether we are even ready or not does not even come in. It is something that is legal that you can say maybe it can come or not. It‘s absolutely unconstitutional.‖ The Akure chapter of the NBA also faulted Ekeremadu‘s claim. Chairman of the chapter, Mr. Tunji Oso, said the statement credited to the Senate deputy president was unfortunate, uncalled for and an invitation to a coup. Oso said there are enough institutional frameworks to deal with any infractions to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and so, there is no need for a military putsch. According to him, the judiciary should be strengthened so that whoever feels aggrieved could go to court and challenge the actions of those in government. ―We are no longer secure, people are killed in their hundreds on daily basis and this is a government that ought to protect lives and property of its citizens. We saw children of

underage voting in Kano during the local government election and they are saying it did not happen; that it happened in Kenya, when actually it happened in Kano. The government has been all lies all through, it has never told Nigerians the truth,‖ he said. Share this:

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Labour vows to resist military intervention Published 9 hours ago on March 9, 2018 By Correspondents

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Nigerians: Coup, no longer fashionable Afenifere, Ohanaeze, ACF speak

The organised labour, yesterday, vowed to ensure that Nigeria‘s democracy is not short lived by any form of military intervention. This is as a cross section of Nigerians also rejected the idea of military takeover, saying it is not only unconstitutional but no longer fashionable. They were reacting to Wednesday‘s warning by the Senate Deputy President, Dr. Ike Ekweremadu, that Nigeria risks military intervention if the ugly trend of incessant political violence, intimidation and killings were not tackled by the present administration. Labour under the aegis of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), in their separate reactions, said they will resist any incursion into the polity by the military. The General Secretary of the NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, told one of our correspondents in Abuja that under no circumstance will Nigerian workers support military rule in the country. According to him, the era of military junta in the country is a thing of the past and no longer welcome to resurface in the nation‘s polity. His words: ―For the NLC, We believe the era of military intervention in our politics is over and we must give a chance for democratic culture to grow and deepen. Under no circumstance will we support any military intervention. We will resist any attempt by the military to truncate democracy in Nigeria,‖ he said.

TUC president, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, on his part, said Nigerians will not allow the military to destroy the hard work put in place in ensuring a democratic process in the country. ―Democracy has come a long way and no military junta can play on the intelligence of Nigerians. It is unacceptable and Nigerians will march out and say no to them. Our democracy has come to stay,‖ he said. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which also condemned in strong terms the idea of coup in the country, said military takeover, can never be an alternative to a people-oriented government. ASUU president, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, in an exclusive interview with New Telegraph, said what Nigeria is experiencing is an intra-class crisis among the ruling class, but warned that the series of violence may drive the country towards anarchy. He, however, said: ―Military can never be an alternative to a people-oriented government. We have experienced their incursions in the past, but what was the result? What we are experiencing is an intra-class struggle among the ruling elite and the violence is a reaction from the people, the impoverished as a result of their primitive accumulation of wealth. ―To address this challenge, we must have a people-oriented government which will afford Nigerians the opportunity to run their government themselves rather than the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other imperialist institutions dictating the control of the economy.‖ The Joint Action Front (JAF), a coalition of labour unions and rights group, in its reaction suggested that rather than allowing the return of military in Nigeria, the people should organise themselves and enthrone a people-oriented government. Secretary of JAF, Comrade Abiodun Aremu, said he could not fathom any reason why someone would ever imagine military take-over in Nigeria. ―All I will say is that the people should organise and take over their own government,‖ he said. Chairman of Oyo State chapter of the NLC, Comrade Waheed Olojede, who also spoke on the issue said‖ ―It is out of place for people to be talking of military take-over now, when the entire world is tending towards democracy. Nigeria has been practicing democratic governance for many years, but we must know that in spite of the shortcomings in the system, the worst democracy is better than the best military rule. I don‘t subscribe to such statement because all over the world, military rule is no longer popular.

―But for such a statement to have come from a person of such status as Senate deputy president, it means that the government should look inwards. It is high time they took cautionary steps to avert such possibility. In view of the present situation, where Nigerians are expressing disenchantment with the activities of their leaders, the government should wake up to address the demands of the populace. Afenifere chieftain, Senator Femi Okurounmu, who spoke with our correspondent in Abeokuta, argued that it was the military that ruined Nigeria and brought the country to its knees and so any intervention by soldiers would not be welcomed. He said: ―Nigerians don‘t want any military takeover again. In fact, I will say Nigerians don‘t ever want any more military rule in the country. Number one, military rule is out of fashion all over the world. It is anti-democracy and democracy is the government of the people. Military rule is autocratic; it is a kind of dictatorship. ―Secondly, military rule is what has brought Nigeria to its knees the way it is today. It is the military that ruined Nigeria mostly. They were the ones who departed from our federal constitution and imposed a unitary constitution upon which a section of the country has been ruling the country almost the way it wants. Therefore, to say that the military is to take over, we shall just be jumping from frying pan to fire. ―Thirdly, in Nigeria, military rule favours the northerners. Military rule never favours us in the south because the Nigeria Army is almost a Northern Army. The Southerners there are just there as more or less as onlookers, as passengers. A military takeover will mean that another Fulani man will take over and rule us the way he wants arbitrarily. For these three reasons, we don‘t want military rule. The people must fight for their own freedom. We must fight for our own liberation. There is no alternative to freedom.‖ Also speaking, First Republic Aviation Minister, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, said any military takeover of government will lead to the disintegration of the country. Though the elder statesman acknowledged that events in the country suggest that all is not well, he ruled out military option, describing it as outdated. ―What is happening in government now is capable of leading to military takeover, but in Africa and world over military coup is no longer a popular enterprise, so it should not to be contemplated. But those in government should be careful because any military takeover will lead to disintegration of Nigeria.‖ Former Minister of Mines and Steel Development and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Sarafa Ishola, said the country will come out worse under military rule. His words:‖Military rule will not solve our democratic problems for us. Democracy is evolution. After every military intervention, we come up worse than where we picked from.

If you look at the pattern from First Republic, Second Republic and Third Republic, it‘s usually the same. Democracy is an evolution; we would have our problem, we would learn from it and we would progress. We should all work together and make sure that we don‘t truncate this hard won democracy.‖ National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, in his reaction said: ―It is fearful and frightening when a Senate deputy president begins to raise fear about coup. I think for those of us who fought and lost our freedom to have this democracy established, it is a sad development. It is also a statement on the performance of the APC. ―They are shutting down the freedom of speech, people are being killed all over the place and the President is not doing anything about. I think it‘s time for the APC to start behaving in line with the constitution and stop all these impunity acts. They should know that we are in a democracy.‖ But, a former governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, who said a coup is still possible in Nigeria, stated that worsening living conditions will make it feasible. He said: ―A coup is still possible in Nigeria because of the hunger and suffering in the land. There is still class exploitation and oppression and infighting among the perpetrators at the moment. We can‘t prevent a coup as long as injustice and oppression of the people continues. Those controlling the political system at the moment are there for their selfish interest; that of the nation is secondary. ―This explains the negative state of the nation, particularly the suffering of the people. The Nigerian ruling class believes that they will continue to enslave the people and get away with it, but the question is: What makes Nigeria different from countries where coups have taken place. The only way to stop a coup in Nigeria is freeing the people from slavery.‖ Pan Yoruba social-cultural group, Afenifere, in its reaction agreed with the Senate deputy president that the nation‘s democracy is under threat. Secretary of the group, Bashorun Seinde Arogbofa, who spoke in Akure, Ondo State capital, said the threat is as a result of insecurity that pervades the country, deliberate disobedience to rule of law and the use of security agents to harass opposition politicians. His words: ―Where is democracy when there is no security of lives and property? Where is democracy when you can kill your neighbour without any consequences? Where is democracy when some people are roaming around the town with AK47 rifles, killing farmers as security personnel look the other side?‖ The Afenifere scribe added that unemployment, collapse of the economy and breach of fundamental rights of citizens are issues that can lead to truncating of Nigeria‘s democracy. But, Secretary of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Anthony Sani, who disagreed with Ekweremadu‘s view, said the military knows that it would be rejected if it embarks on a

coup. His words: ―I do not share the opinion of the Senate deputy president, Senator Ike Ekwremadu, that coup is possible in Nigeria. This is because soldiers themselves know that coup is no more in fashion, considering how international platforms do not take kindly to coups at this time. ―As to the submission that our democracy is under threat, it is important to know that our democracy is work in progress. This is because democracy, premised on triple foundation of justice, liberty and common decency is not a natural order of things, but attained through ceaseless hard work by both the leaders and the led.‖ Apex Igbo body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo on its part, said Ekweremadu was right in his statement that the nation‘s democracy is under threat and that he was even mild about it. National Publicity Secretary of the group, Prince Uche Achi- Okpagha, in an interview with our correspondent, noted that the country has never been divided more than ever since the inception of the Muhammadu Buhari administration. ―The Senate deputy president did not even describe Nigeria‘s democracy situation very well because the situation is even more than he talked about. May be, because he is at the top echelon of the National Assembly, he was mild about it. Nigeria is divided more than ever since the inception of this administration. There is sectionalism in appointments, where virtually every key position went to the North and as we were crying of that, more and more appointments were made and they all went to the North. The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), however, came hard on Ekweremadu for saying that coup is possible in Nigeria. The pan northern group said the situation in the country did not warrant the comment attributed to the Senate deputy president, as what he was reacting to concerns a few individuals. Speaking through its National Chairman and former Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Coomasie, ACF said the situation in the country can still be dealt with by the judiciary. He added that soldiers know that coup is no longer fashionable. ―What are the indicators that made him to say that? Some of these things are just by few individuals and cannot be used to judge the whole democracy and I believe that whatever it is can be handled by the judiciary. It is not enough for somebody of the status of the Senate deputy president to say that democracy is under threat and coup is possible in Nigeria; no I don‘t think so.‖ An APC stalwartin Kaduna State, Alhaji Salisu Tanko Wusono, called for Ekweremadu‘s arrest, noted that intra party wrangling within some states is not enough to say coup is possible. Share this:

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Ondo: APC, PDP in a state of inertia ahead of 2019 Published 11 hours ago on March 9, 2018 By Babatope Okeowo

Ahead of the forthcoming general elections in Ondo State, Babatope Okeowo reports that the major political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have not shown any serious intent to contest the election Unlike other states, governorship election would not hold in Ondo State until 2020. Thus, in the 2019 general elections, only the presidential, National and State Assemblies elections would affect the various constituencies in the Sunshine State.

All Progressives Congress In Ondo State, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is sharply divided between those who are loyal to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) and those in the camp of the embattled former chairman of the party, Hon Duerimini Isaacs Kekemeke. In the camp of the governor is the acting Chairman, Ade Adetimehin, members of the State Working Committee, Commissioners, Local Government executives of the party and government appointees. This camp is formidable because they effectively occupy the party secretariat and controls the government. Also, two of the three serving senators, the majority of the House of Representative members and the APC‘s caucus in the State House of Assembly. However, in the camp of Kekemeke is Senator Robert Ajayi Boroffice, the Senator representing Ondo North senatorial district, Dr Segun Abraham, the runner-up in the APC‘s governorship primaries of September 2016; Chief Felix Aiyegbusi, Alhaji Amoda Bello, Mr Gboyega Adedipe and some aggrieved members of the party. Since the ‗suspension‘ of Kekemeke as chairman by the loyalists of Akeredolu and the installation of Adetimehin as the acting chairman, members of the party have been sharply divided over who is the authentic leader of the party in the state. This division is affecting the preparation of the party for the 2019 general election. The apprehension of the party stalwarts stemmed out of the as the litigation over the dispute is still pending before the Federal High Court sitting in Akure, the state capital. While Kekemeke is the elected Chairman of the party, some members of the State Executive Committee (SEC) led by the Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Adesanya have directed the Deputy Chairman, Adetimehin, to be the Acting Chairman having pronounced Kekemeke suspended. Adesanya said the State Executive Council (SEC) have unanimously passed a vote-ofno-confidence on the State Chairman for failing to discharge his responsibilities, neglect and dereliction of duty, among other offenses, in compliance with Article 21(D)(vi), of the Constitution of the APC.

According to him, a three-man facts finding disciplinary committee put in place found Kekemeke guilty and advised him to resign. Adetimehin was unanimously chosen to act as the state chairman. But Kekemeke dispelled the action of the ‗rebellious‘ members and said he remained the Chairman of the party until the next congress that would usher in a new set of executives. His words ―I am the chairman of APC in Ondo State. As a matter of fact I am the only elected officer of the party in the state, there was only a congress and that congress elected me and I defeated my incumbent deputy.‖ Although the National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun, has given Adetimehin letter of appointment as acting Chairman, Kekemeke described the letter as ‗black market‘ letter as Oyegun has no power under the APC‘s constitution to appoint state officials. The fear in many quarters is that the party may have parallel congresses where two executives would emerge. The dispute may lead to litigation which may affect the preparations of the party for the next year general elections.

Peoples Democratic Party Although the factional crisis that rocked the State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has healed, the scar is still very much alive as leaders of the party are still suspicious of one another. The loss of the last governorship election in the state has further created a wedge between the immediate past governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and the candidate of the party, Mr Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), with leaders of the party pitching their tents with either of the duo. The thinking in the camp of Jegede was that Mimiko betrayed the party‘s candidate in order to have protection of the APC- led federal government. It must be noted that Mimiko won in his Ondo East and West Federal constituency for the party‘s candidate. Despite this, supporters of Jegede believed that Mimiko played ‗game‘ with the election. The fact that the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has not invited Mimiko for questioning since he left office gave credence to the insinuations that the erstwhile governor was in alliance with the APC-led Federal Government. Similarly, the fact that Akeredolu has not set up any probe panel to investigate Mimiko‘s tenure despite the fact that the two of them belonged to opposition political parties further fuelled the speculation that Mimiko and APC leaders are in accord before the last governorship election. They also opined that since Mimiko left office about a year ago, he has not granted an interview to express his view about the national happenings despite the obvious misgovernance at the federal level. Being a leader of the party and with the firm grip of the structure of the PDP in the state, it is obvious that the PDP has been in comatose since Mimiko left office about a year ago because of his nonchalant attitude to the party.

The rumour mill in the political circle is that Mimiko is on his way to the new coalition proposed by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo or to the APC. The inability of his supporters to read his body language has put the opposition party in sleeping mode since it left the government for the opposition in February 2016. Mimiko is also keeping his cards close to his chest making it difficult to read his political moves. The drift in the opposition party has led to the defection of those elected under the platform of the party to ruling APC. For instance, the PDP which had 21 members after the 2015 general election is left with seven. The only Senator of the party, Yele Omogunwa has defected to APC while members of House of Representatives are left with three members. The only life injected into the party is those interested in contesting various positions in the party ahead of 2019 elections. The aspirants have been organizing different meetings to galvanize support for their ambitions. The party has also started ward meetings in order to keep in touch with the grassroots. However, the silence and inability to read the body language of the leader of the party; Mimiko has not made the party to embark on aggressive marketing as the party as presently constituted is a sheep without shepherd.

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Groupe Nduom Foods Company Limited, an entity of Groupe Nduom, a multinational conglomerate, has shown its determination to become an active producer in the Ghanaian food manufacturing industry. The company which is currently into rice production is poised to expand its tentacles to cover crop production like cassava, maize, sorghum, soya and cashew. The company invested in the Worawora Rice Mill based in the Northern part of the Volta Region, in 2016 and has since replaced the milling equipment with new ones. This mill currently produces 100 metric tons of rice a day. The company is in the process of building one more mill in the Central Region and another one in the Northern Region so as to increase its production capacity to 300 metric tonnes a day by the end of this year. In December last year, the compnay sold some of its rice to an American based charity, which is supporting about 18 missions across the country. The charity organisation has been supporting several orphanages and other charity projects across the country. According to Mr. Percival Ofori Ampomah, the US based charity was formerly importing about 274 metric tons of rice into Ghana for consumption but has now stopped this rice importation after building a relationship with Groupe Nduom Foods. The tremendous role that the company is currently playing in the country cannot be over emphasized. ―We have seen a very high rate of imports, which is not good for the economy. Ghana, in 2016 alone, imported close to 2 billion dollars‘ worth of food – in a country that has plenty of land, very highly qualified people, and plenty of skills. Though some personnel are not trained, at least you have people who are able to operate machinery. So, why is this happening in Ghana? It‘s a clear example of the Dutch disease. This is

something that needs to be addressed,‖ World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Henry Kerali, made these statements at a stakeholders‘ forum organised by the American Chamber of Commerce, Ghana recently. These sentiments can also be backed by statistics from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) which shows that more than 60% of rice consumed in Ghana is imported which puts a huge pressure on our foreign exchange reserves thereby also putting pressure on the Ghana cedi. It is against this backdrop that Groupe Nduom Foods has targeted and, is already making strong inroads to hit with a modular approach with the addition of other mills to increase rice production so that millions dollars of import bills can be substituted. ―As we build more factories and expand processing capacity, we increase our demand for paddy rice, which means more work for local farmers and most importantly more money to the farmer to support his family. While these factories themselves will create a large number of jobs for the local communities in which they are cited, the real gains in terms of employment will come from the impact our out grower operations will have on the farmers and the farming communities,‖ General Manager Mr. Ampomah explained further. He said these are some of the strategies and steps that the company has put in place to lead in the transformation of the food manufacturing industry to become an exporter in the near future. The company is optimistic that by making such strategic investments, it will help create a trail for other investors to follow and invest in the sector and build more factories and expand processing capacity.

http://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/business/industr y/201803/346197.php Worldwide Rice Bran Oil

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IRRI DG Dr Matthew Morell visits BRRI UNB NEWS Wednesday 07 March, 2018 08:20:17 pm

Dhaka, Mar 7 (UNB) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Dr Matthew Morell visited Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) in Gazipur on Wednesday.

http://unb.com.bd/bangladesh-news/IRRI-DG-DrMatthew-Morell-visits-BRRI/64812

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Researchers Develop New Method to Improve Crops Technique using plant's own DNA could produce crops that are more resistant to drought and disease By University of Georgia | March 07, 2018

William Jordan (left) and Lexiang Ji look over one of many sets of Arabidopsis thaliana, which were used to research a new plant breeding technique.PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIAA team of University of

Georgia researchers has developed a new way to breed plants with better traits. By introducing a human protein into the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana, researchers found that they could selectively activate silenced genes already present within the plant.

Using this method to increase diversity among plant populations could serve to create varieties that are able to withstand drought or disease in crops or other plant populations, and the researchers have already begun testing the technique on maize, soy, and rice. They published their findings in Nature Communications. The research project was led by Lexiang Ji, a doctoral student in bioinformatics, and William Jordan, a doctoral student in genetics. The new method they explored, known as epimutagenesis, will make it possible to breed diverse plants in a way that isn‘t possible with traditional techniques. ―In the past this has been done with traditional breeding. You take a plant, breed it with another plant that has another characteristic you want to create another plant,‖ said Jordan. ―The problem with that is getting an individual that has all of the characteristics you want and none of the characteristics that you don‘t want. It‘s kind of difficult. With our new technique, you can modify how the genes are turned on and off in that plant without having to introduce a whole other set of genes from another parent.‖ The idea for the method evolved originally from working in the lab with department of genetics professor Robert Schmitz, the corresponding author on the study. In his lab, researchers were studying DNA methylation, which controls expressed genetic traits, and creating maps of where DNA methylation is located in many plant species, including crops. When DNA methylation is removed, researchers found that they could selectively turn on previously silenced genes in the underlying genome of the plant. ―We saw repeatedly that lots of genes are silenced by DNA methylation and thought it was kind of curious,‖ said Schmitz. ―There are lots of discussions you can have about why these exist, but the reality is that they are there. So we wondered, how can we leverage them? Let‘s use the plant already in the field and reawaken some of those silenced genes to generate trait variation.‖ Related Article: A Sweet Route to Greater Crop Yields To turn these dormant or silenced genes on, researchers introduced a human enzyme, known as a ten—eleven translocation enzyme, to plant seedlings using specially modified bacteria as a delivery vector. Introducing this human protein allows researchers to remove DNA methylation and thereby turn on previously silenced genes. Figuring out the best way to introduce the protein to the plant species has been a trial and error process. With Ji‘s expertise in bioinformatics, researchers are able to look at large sets of data about their experiment and make decisions on how to best proceed with the project.

―The data has really helped us brainstorm and coordinate what we should do next,‖ said Ji. ―That was particularly important in the beginning of this project because we just didn‘t know what was going to happen with this new technique.‖ ―Thousands of years ago you‘d plant out hundreds of plants and one of them does really well so you‘d breed out generations of that plant. Doing this though, you narrow down the genetic diversity until they‘re basically very, very similar,‖ said Jordan. ―While that‘s beneficial for yield or other plant characteristics that you might want, if there‘s a stress that they‘re not well adapted to because they‘re all so similar they‘re all going to respond in the same way. That creates a potentially vulnerable crop.‖ ―If they don‘t have the genetic differences to respond, then it can really wipe out crops,‖ added Schmitz. ―This isn‘t a savior, but it‘s an alternative strategy that has not been tried before. The idea is to access genes that people haven‘t been studying because they‘re not expressed but they‘re there. We think this method to reactivate these genes could lead to increased trait variation which could be useful for biotechnology applications.‖ The study, ―TET-mediated epimutagenesis of the Arabidopsis thaliana methylome,‖ was published in Nature Communications March 1, 2018, and is available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467018-03289-7

http://www.labmanager.com/news/2018/03/researchers -develop-new-method-to-improvecrops#.WqKM7Oxubm4 USA Rice Offers Aid to Mexico's Most Vulnerable Populations By Asiha Grigsby

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO -- Spreading the word about U.S. rice is not only an opportunity to create global partnerships but also a strategic element in the fight against hunger for the world's most vulnerable populations. In several major Mexican metropolitan cities, U.S. rice was used to inform and nourish as part of outreach by community meal programs here that are facilitated by the Mexican government's Ministry of Social Development and Comedores Comunitarios (community kitchens).

In January, USA Rice sponsored three foodservice seminars for community kitchens in Mexico City, Mexico State, and QuerĂŠtaro. These establishments function much like soup kitchens in the United States by offering hot meals for the hungry and people of limited resources. The meals offered in the community kitchens featured U.S. rice as a healthy, nutritious ingredient necessary in the fight against hunger. Guest chefs explained the health benefits and versatility of U.S.-grown rice, and stressed the importance of proper cooking techniques. They shared wholesome recipes that are easy to prepare. The demonstrations were followed by interactive cooking instruction and Q&A sessions. "These community meal programs are doing their part to make a positive change in the health and well-being of people in Mexico's cities," said Brian King, chairman of USA Rice and chairman of the USA Rice Western Hemisphere Promotion Committee. "USA Rice provides hands-on instruction for foodservice workers to ensure these community kitchens are providing the best, most healthful offerings for those in need."

1. 2.

Business Âť Myanmar fixes 2018 paddy price at K500,000 per 100 baskets

Myanmar fixes 2018 paddy price at K500,000 per 100 baskets HTOO THANT 08 MAR 2018

Myanmarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi speaks during the Myanmar Rice Federation Stakeholder Forum 2018 at Myanmar International Convention Center 2 in Naypyitaw. Photo - EPA

A floor price for paddy has been set at K500,000 for every 100 baskets of rice for the 2018 paddy harvesting period, the Myanmar Rice Federation announced Tuesday at the Myanmar Rice Federation Stakeholder Forum 2018 in Nay Pyi Taw. (One basket weighs 46lb or 20.86kg).

It is the first time Myanmar is setting a floor price for locally harvested rice. All MRF member rice mills, rice traders and agents and private companies will buy rice that meet with designated quality standards, at the new price, the announcement said. The floor price excludes high-grade rice such as Paw San Hmwe and Ae-MaHta. These varieties of rice will trade at the prevailing market price of between K700,000 and more than K1 million per 100 baskets. The 2018 basic price set by MRF will cover ordinary rice varieties grown by the majority of Myanmar farmers. As rice prices are usually volatile during harvesting periods, a basic floor price has been set to protect farmers against runaway losses.

paddy-price-2.jpg

Photo: EPA The MRF will adjust the basic paddy price in the future by reviewing production costs and benefits as well as domestic and international rice prices. It is the first time Myanmar is setting an annual floor price for paddy. The move is expected to enhance cooperation between traders and farmers, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said at the forum. ―I would like you all to see it as the beginning of effective cooperation within the agricultural sector. I hope to see improvement,‖ she said. ―Buyers will be able to buy good quality paddy at a fixed price. But there is also fixed quality. Not all rice will be sold at K500,000,‖ said Dr Thant Myint, Union Minister for Ministry

of Commerce. Quality of rice While a floor price will help farmers weather the price volatility, some pointed out that meeting the rice quality necessary under those prices may be challenging. Among the requirements is ensuring the final rice moisture content is at least 14 percent. This is because overly wet paddy results in extra drying costs and spoilage. ―The main challenge is the moisture content. The famers do not know the rice must have 14pc moisture content. They also face difficulties drying out the paddy

as it sometimes raining during the harvesting of monsoon paddy. It is not very easy for us,â&#x20AC;&#x2013; said U San Win, a farmer from Lewe.

paddy-price-3.jpg

Myanmar farmers plant rice ahead of the summer season in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, 06 March 2018. Nyan Zay Htet/The Myanmar Times ―Our country is poor. It is not easy to afford that many moisture meters and other measuring equipment. It will be convenient if the government provides drying machines for us,‖ said U Win Thant, secretary of the Rice Millers Association of Magwe Region. He added that a standard measuring unit for weighing rice should be fixed to ensure consistency and fairness. Aggregating price In Myanmar, more than 1,300 baskets of paddy are produced yearly. As the selling system in each region is different, farmers are also concerned about how the MRF will buy paddy from the various regions, U San Win said. In Ayeyarwaddy Region for example, sellers personally deliver paddy to their customers. But in other regions, the buyers have to go to the sellers. ―We have to go to the farmers‘ houses to buy paddy in Magwe,‖ he said. U Win Thant said problems that arise as a result of the new fixed price system will be solved as they arise. ―We will do practically. We will find out the solutions depending on the problems,‖ he said.

https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanmar-fixes-2018paddy-price-k500000-100-baskets.html

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Bisc 357 students use CRISPR genome editing technology in an effort to improve the ability of rice and wheat to flourish in hot and dry conditions.

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SPORTS RESEARCH COMMUNITY LEARNING FACULTY AND STAFF SFU IN THE NEWS ARCHIVES FEEDBACK Bisc 357 students use CRISPR genome editing technology in an effort to improve the ability of rice and wheat to flourish in hot and dry conditions. LEARNING SFU students use CRISPR genome editing technology in hopes of improving yields of rice and wheat March 07, 2018 Tweet Facebook Pinterest Email Print Hands-on training for using a new gene-editing technology called CRISPR is giving SFU biological sciences undergrads new insight into how rice and wheat might be genetically altered to improve yield. By Diane Mar-Nicolle The United Nations predicts that by 2050 our growing global population will require 70 per cent more food than is available today. Compounding this enormous shortfall is a loss of agricultural land to urbanization, and the effects of global warming—particularly high temperatures—on crop growth. SFU biological sciences faculty Jim Mattsson and Kathleen FitzPatrick, together with students in their Genetic Engineering (BISC 357) course, are working towards a solution using CRISPR genome-editing technology. “Rice and wheat are essential to diets around the world,” says Matsson. “That’s why there is a worldwide effort to improve rice and, eventually, wheat so they can be productive at higher temperatures.” His students are using the cutting-edge CRISPR technology to decipher which rice and wheat genes need to be modified to improve growth. Plant species such as sugarcane and millet, for example, have naturally evolved to produce at higher temperatures, but that hasn’t happened in their relatives, rice and wheat. Mattsson figures that by identifying the genes responsible for forming veins in millet leaves (more veins permit greater photosynthesis and therefore growth), it should be possible to reverse engineer more veins in rice and wheat plants. So during the fall 2017 term, Mattsson and FitzPatrick challenged their students to learn how to use CRISPR to identify the genes behind the evolution of heat stress tolerance in millet. With this successfully accomplished, future

classes will compare these millet genes to their cousin genes in rice to see how the rice genes need

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to be changed or reverse engineered to gain heat tolerance. “The students were thrilled to discover that they had successfully put together DNA fragments capable of inactivating, one by one, over 30 individual genes in living millet plants,” says Matsson. “They knew the theory behind CRISPR, but to get a chance to actually splice genes was pretty exciting for them.” Student Serina Li says, “I found that the course provided me with a really good foundation for the molecular cloning techniques and applications that are currently used in labs. “We were working on specific projects while learning the techniques involved, so that we were able to apply what we learned right away. This was one of my favourite aspects of the course, as it made the material easier to learn and also was more relevant to how one would conduct these types of experiments as a real scientist.” Around the world, scientists have high expectations of CRISPR technology, mainly for treating human disease. Mattsson is equally delighted with CRISPR’s prospects for plant engineering. He says, “In my class alone, students are discovering what genes are doing with a precision and scale that was unheard of just a few years ago.” Bisc 357 students achieved lab results that may improve rice and wheat plants' abilities to flourish in hot and dry conditions. Admission Programs Learning Research Community About Maps + directions Library Academic Calendar Road Report Give to SFU CONNECT WITH US Facebook Twitter YouTube CONTACT US Simon Fraser University 8888 University Drive Burnaby, B.C. Canada V5A 1S6 Terms and conditions © Simon Fraser University SFU News This site SFU.ca A-Z DIRECTORY SIGN IN HOME CONTACT US ABOUT SFU NEWS PEOPLE SPORTS RESEARCH COMMUNITY LEARNING FACULTY AND STAFF SFU IN THE NEWS ARCHIVES FEEDBACK Bisc 357 students use CRISPR genome editing technology in an effort to improve the ability of rice and wheat to flourish in hot and dry conditions. LEARNING SFU students use CRISPR genome editing technology in hopes of improving yields of rice and wheat March 07, 2018 Tweet Facebook Pinterest Email Print Hands-on training for using a new gene-editing technology called CRISPR is giving SFU biological sciences undergrads new insight into how rice and wheat might be genetically altered to improve yield. By Diane Mar-Nicolle The United Nations predicts that by 2050 our growing global population will require 70 per cent more food than is available today. Compounding this enormous shortfall is a loss of agricultural land to urbanization, and the effects of global warming—particularly high temperatures—on crop growth. SFU biological sciences faculty Jim Mattsson and Kathleen FitzPatrick, together with students in their Genetic Engineering (BISC 357) course, are working towards a solution using CRISPR genome-editing technology. “Rice and wheat are essential to diets around the world,” says Matsson. “That’s why there is a worldwide effort to improve rice and, eventually, wheat so they can be productive at higher temperatures.” His students are using the cutting-edge CRISPR technology to decipher which rice and wheat genes need to be modified to improve growth. Plant species such as sugarcane and millet, for example, have naturally evolved to produce at higher temperatures, but that hasn’t happened in their relatives, rice and wheat. Mattsson figures that by identifying the genes responsible for forming

veins in millet leaves (more veins permit greater photosynthesis and therefore growth), it should be possible to reverse engineer more veins in rice and wheat plants. So during the fall 2017 term, Mattsson and FitzPatrick challenged their students to learn how to use CRISPR to identify the genes behind the evolution of heat stress tolerance in millet. With this successfully accomplished, future classes will compare these millet genes to their cousin genes in rice to see how the rice genes need to be changed or reverse engineered to gain heat tolerance. “The students were thrilled to discover that they had successfully put together DNA fragments capable of inactivating, one by one, over 30 individual genes in living millet plants,” says Matsson. “They knew the theory behind CRISPR, but to get a chance to actually splice genes was pretty exciting for them.” Student Serina Li says, “I found that the course provided me with a really good foundation for the molecular cloning techniques and applications that are currently used in labs. “We were working on specific projects while learning the techniques involved, so that we were able to apply what we learned right away. This was one of my favourite aspects of the course, as it made the material easier to learn and also was more relevant to how one would conduct these types of experiments as a real scientist.” Around the world, scientists have high expectations of CRISPR technology, mainly for treating human disease. Mattsson is equally delighted with CRISPR’s prospects for plant engineering. He says, “In my class alone, students are discovering what genes are doing with a precision and scale that was unheard of just a few years ago.” Bisc 357 students achieved lab results that may improve rice and wheat plants' abilities to flourish in hot and dry conditions. Admission Programs Learning Research Community About Maps + directions Library Academic Calendar Road Report Give to SFU CONNECT WITH US Facebook Twitter YouTube CONTACT US Simon Fraser University 8888 University Drive Burnaby, B.C. Canada V5A 1S6 Terms and conditions © Simon Fraser University ShareThis Copy and Paste

https://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/stories/2018/03/sfustudents-use-crispr-genome-editing-technology.html

Popular Rice Prize Wheel Returns to Farm & Gin Show By Lesley Dixon

MEMPHIS, TN -- USA Rice hosted a booth last weekend at the 66th annual Mid-South Farm and Gin Show, providing attendees with information about the U.S. rice industry and activities conducted by USA Rice via games, pamphlets, and giveaways. The show included ag updates by Carl Brothers, senior vice president and COO of Riceland Foods and USA Rice board member, and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.

USA Rice staff engaged visitors of all ages with the now-famous Think Rice Wheel, a trivia game that awards correct answers about U.S.-grown rice with prizes such as branded letter openers, and crayons and coloring books. Contestants compete by spinning the big wheel and answering multiple-choice questions based on a variety of rice topics. The game is always a hit, particularly with the younger crowd, and staff working the wheel were never short on participants throughout the two-day trade show. "This year was really successful," said Jenni Bryant of USA Rice, who staffed the booth both days. "The wheel really grabbed people's attention, especially the kids. But adults got into it too. I think everybody who played learned something new about rice." Bryant also said the foot traffic around the booth was non-stop, and busier than previous years. "Engagement with both USA Rice members and other show attendees was at an all-time high," added Mary Jemison, who works at USA Rice's field office in Louisiana and introduced the trivia wheel to the USA Rice booth several years ago. "We had a lot of repeat attendees - people who recognized our booth and our brand from previous shows we've participated in and went out of their way to find us again." Friday's ag update meeting kicked off with a discussion by Carl Brothers about the outlook for U.S. rice exports and domestic markets, noting that while the U.S. is seventh in the world trade market share, domestic usage is up 92 percent since 1980. Secretary Perdue addressed the crowd on Saturday and talked about the Farm Bill, trade, regulation, and legislative issues of concern to rice farmers, such as Waters of the United States (WOTUS) and the recent confirmation of Bill Northey as undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service. He also visited the exhibit hall where he met with attendees and took in the latest farming machinery on display.

Rice Webinar: Thursday March 8 Tune in Thursday, March 8 at 3:00 p.m. Central Time, for a new rice webinar hosted by Dr. Bobby Coats, with the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the University of Arkansas. Rachel Trego, an international economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture

Foreign Agricultural Service responsible for analyzing the global wheat and rice markets and reporting on supply and demand and price information, will discuss the global rice market and China's role within it. Go here to register for the webinar.

Bangladesh developing more biotech crops, says Matia UNB NEWS Tuesday 06 March, 2018 07:13:22 pm

Dhaka, Mar 6 (UNB) – Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury today acknowledged the positive impact of biotech crops and their potential to help Bangladesh meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger by 2030. Inspired by the success of the country's first commercially released biotech crop in 2013 – Bt. brinjal – the minister said, Bangladesh is now developing three more crops derived through applications of agrobiotechnology. These are: vitamin-A rich Golden Rice, bollworm resistant Bt. cotton and late blight resistant potato. Speaking at a stakeholder workshop on Golden Rice at CIRDAP International Conference Centre in Dhaka on Tuesday, Agriculture Minister expressed the government‘s firm resolve to support genetically modified crop cultivation in the country. Matia Chowdhury said, ―We do not have enough land for cultivation but have a huge population. What else will we have if people die for the absence of food for the stance on pure foods? We also do not want to struggle from the aristocratic conservativeness that we will not accept, assimilate new technology by breaking our taboo to increase production.‖ Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) organised the daylong workshop where IRRI Director General Dr. Matthew Morell, its Regulatory Affairs and Stewardship Leader Donald MacKenzie, BRRI DG Dr. Md. Shahjahan Kabir, IRRI Bangladesh Representative Dr Humnath Bhandari and senior ministry officials also spoke with Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council Dr. Md. Kabir Ikram-ul Haque in the chair. During the session key officials and policymakers for agriculture, environment and biosafety were appraised of the latest developments on Golden Rice. IRRI's regional representative for South Asia, Dr. Nafees Meah, and its Head of Communications Temina Lalani-Shariff were also present, among others.

―Bangladesh has emerged as a global model for combating hunger and obtained great success in becoming a country of food surplus from chronic food shortages. [Now,] we are trying to make our staple nutritionally enriched to build a hunger free and healthier nation,‖ said BRRI Director General Dr. Md. Shahjahan Kabir. At present, rice contributes 70 percent of the daily caloric intake of the Bangladesh population, while the national consumption of vitamin-A is estimated at half the recommended daily allowance. Advances such as beta-carotene fortified GR2E Golden Rice are an important part of an overall strategy to reduce vitamin-A deficiency in the country. Spearheaded by BRRI in Bangladesh and a flagship product of IRRI‘s Healthier Rice program, GR2E Golden Rice is the first nutritionally enhanced Genetically Modified (GM) rice to receive regulatory approval for use in food. GR2E Golden Rice recently completed its regulatory application with Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ). IRRI Director General Dr. Matthew Morell affirmed that a robust regulatory landscape is essential to amplify the impact of Golden Rice and other nutritionally fortified rice varieties such as high zinc rice. ―FSANZ‘s approval process, which ensures the highest standard of health protection, provides a model for decisionmaking in all countries wishing to reap the benefits of Golden Rice‖ asserts Morell. The application for environmental and food safety assessment of GR2-E BRRI dhan29 Golden rice was lodged with the Ministry of Agriculture on November 26 last year and the Ministry of Environment and Forest on December 4 the same year. Morell adds, ―Each regulatory application that Golden Rice completes with national regulatory agencies, including those currently under process in Bangladesh takes us one step closer to bringing Golden Rice to the people who need it the most.‖

http://www.unb.com.bd/bangladesh-news/Bangladeshdeveloping-more-biotech-crops-says-Matia- /64701

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Basmati Rice Market Research Report 2023: Industry Trends, Market Overview and Top Company Profiles March 6, 2018 - by akshay.j - Leave a Comment

Basmati Rice Market report 2023 focuses on the major Types and Applications for the key players. Basmati Rice market research report also provides analysis of the market share, segmentation, revenue forecasts and geographic regions of the market. The Basmati Rice market research report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of Basmati Rice Industry.

Short Details About Basmati Rice Market : Basmati rice has a typical pandan-like (Pandanus amaryllifolius leaf) flavour caused by the aroma compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline. Basmati grains contain about 0.09 ppm of this aromatic chemical compound naturally, a level that is about 12 times more than non-basmati rice varieties, giving basmati its distinctive spicy fragrance and flavour. This natural aroma is also found in cheese, fruits and other cereals. It is a flavoring agent approved in the United States and Europe, and is used in bakery products for aroma.,The global Basmati Rice market will reach xxx Million USD in 2017 and CAGR xx% 2011-2017. The report begins from overview of Industry Chain structure, and describes industry environment, then analyses market size and forecast of Basmati Rice by product, region and application, in addition, this report introduces market competition situation among the vendors and company profile, besides, market price analysis and value chain features are covered in this report. Ask for Sample PDF of Basmati Rice Market Report @ https://www.360marketupdates.com/enquiry/request-sample/11304107 Basmati Rice Market Report provides detailed analysis of the market with structure along with forecast of the various segments and Analysis of the Global and North America Basmati Rice market. Key Manufacturers of Basmati Rice Market: LT Foods, Amira Nature Foods, Best Foods, KRBL Limited, Kohinoor Rice, Aeroplane Rice, Tilda Basmati Rice, Amar Singh Chawal Wala, Hanuman Rice Mills, Adani Wilmar, Galaxy Rice Mill, Dunar Foods, Sungold And many more… Basmati Rice Market Types : Indian Basmati Rice, Pakistani Basmati Rice Basmati Rice Market Applications: Direct Edible, Deep Processing Regions of Basmati Rice market:     

Have Any Query? Ask Our Expert for Basmati Rice Market Report @ httpss://www.360marketupdates.com/enquiry/pre-order-enquiry/11304107

Through the statistical analysis, the report depicts the global Basmati Rice market including capacity, production, production value, cost/profit, supply/demand and import/export. The total market is further divided by company, by country, and by application/type for the competitive landscape analysis. Key questions answered in Basmati Rice market report:       

What will the market size be in 2023and what will the growth rate be? What are the key Basmati Rice market trends? What is Key Top Manufactures this market? What are the challenges to Basmati Rice market growth? What are the Basmati Rice market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global Basmati Rice market? What are sales, revenue, and price analysis by types and applications of Basmati Rice market? What are sales, revenue, and price analysis by regions of Basmati Rice market?

Price of Report: $ 2980 (Single User License) Purchase Report @ https://www.360marketupdates.com/purchase/11304107 The report then estimates to 2023 market development trends of Basmati Rice market. Analysis of upstream raw materials, downstream demand, and current market dynamics is also carried out. In the end, the report makes some important proposals for a new project of Basmati Rice market before evaluating its feasibility. SOURCE Opinion Investor https://opinioninvestor.com/

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Rice Flour Market Research Report: Market Analysis on the Future Growth Prospects and Market Trends Adopted by the Competitors, Regions with Forecast by 2022 March 6, 2018 - by akshay.j - Leave a Comment

The Global Rice Flour Market research report is a valuable source of guidance and direction. It is helpful for established businesses, new entrants in the market as well as individuals interested

in the market. The Rice Flour Market report provides important statistics on the existing state of the said market. With the slowdown in world economic growth, the Rice Flour industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth, the past four years, Rice Flour market size to maintain the average annual growth rate of 2.01% from 6350 million $ in 2013 to 6740 million $ in 2016, Industry analysts believe that in the next few years, Rice Flour market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2021 , The market size of the Rice Flour will reach 7560 million $. Request Sample Report for Detailed Information @ https://www.360marketupdates.com/enquiry/request-sample/11120247 Rice Flour market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players including as per bellow: Burapa Prosper, Thai Flour Industry, Rose Brand, CHO HENG, Koda Farms, BIF, Lieng Tong, Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods, Pornkamon Rice Flour Mills, Huang Guo Rice Flour Market by Product Type Segment Analysis, Industry, Channel(Consumption Volume, Average Price, Revenue, Market Share and Trend 2014-2022): Product Type Segmentation (Rice Flour, Brown Rice Flour, Glutinous Rice Flour)Industry Segmentation (Rice Noodle and Rice Pasta, Sweets and Desserts, Snacks, Bread, Thickening Agent), Channel (Direct Sales, Distributor) Segmentation Several important areas are covered in this Rice Flour market research report, Some key points among them:    

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What Overview Rice Flour Says? This Overview Includes Diligent Analysis of Scope, Types, Application, Sales by region, manufacturers, types and applications What Is Rice Flour Competition considering Manufacturers, Types and Application? Based on Thorough Research of Key Factors Who Are Rice Flour Market Key Manufacturers? Along with this survey you also get their Product Information (Type, Application and Specification) Rice Flour Manufacturing Cost Analysis –This Analysis is done by considering prime elements like Key RAW Materials, Price Trends, Market Concentration Rate of Raw Materials, Proportion of Raw Materials and Labour Cost in Manufacturing Cost Structure Rice Flour Industrial Chain Analysis Rice Flour Marketing strategies analysis by Rice Flour Market Positioning Pricing and Branding Strategy Client Targeting Rice Flour Effect Factor Analysis

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Technology Process/Risk Considering Substitute Threat and Technology Progress In Rice Flour Industry Consumer Needs or What Change Is Observed in Preference of Customer Political/Economical Change What is Rice Flour forecast (2018-2022) Considering Sales, Revenue for Regions, Types and Applications?

For Any Query on Rice Flour Market, Speak to Expert @https://www.360marketupdates.com/enquiry/pre-order-enquiry/11120247 Rice Flour Market Report covers the manufacturers‘ data, including: shipment, price, revenue, gross profit, interview record, business distribution etc., these data help the consumer know about the competitors better. Rice Flour market report also covers all the regions and countries of the world, which shows a regional development status, including market size, volume and value, as well as price data. The Region Coverage as per bellow:     

North America Country (United States, Canada) South America Asia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea) Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy) Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC)

Price of Report: 2350 (Single User Licence) Purchase Rice Flour Market Report @ https://www.360marketupdates.com/purchase/11120247 In the end, the Rice Flour Market report includes investment come analysis, and development trend analysis. The key rising opportunities of the fastest growing international Rice Flour industry segments are coated throughout this report. This report additionally presents product specification, producing method, and products cost structure. Production is separated by regions, technology and applications. In conclusion, it is a deep research report on Global Rice Flour market. If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want. SOURCE Opinion Investor https://opinioninvestor.com/

https://opinioninvestor.com/rice-flour-marketresearch-report-market-analysis-on-the-futuregrowth-prospects-and-market-trends-adopted-by-thecompetitors-regions-with-forecast-by-2022/110727/

Red Rice Market Analysis, Overview, Growth, Demand And Forecast Research Report To 2022 March 6, 2018 - by Mangesh Kanase - Leave a Comment

The ―Red Rice Market‖ Report offers an inclusive and decision-making overview, including definitions, classifications and its applications. The Red Rice market is anticipated to reflect a positive growth trend in forthcoming years. The essential driving forces behind the growth and popularity of Red Rice market is analysed detailed in this report. Ask Sample of Red Rice Market Report @ https://www.360marketupdates.com/enquiry/request-sample/11095487 Red Rice Market Report Provides Comprehensive Analysis as Following:             

Market segments and sub-segments Market size & shares Market trends and dynamics Market Drivers and Opportunities Competitive landscape Supply and demand Technological inventions in Red Rice industry Marketing Channel Development Trend Red Rice Market Positioning Pricing Strategy Brand Strategy Target Client Distributors/Traders List included in Red Rice Market

Global Red Rice market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Red Rice sales volume, Price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players including:

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Company 1 Company 2 Company 3 Company 4

Inquire for further detailed information about Red Rice Market Report @ https://www.360marketupdates.com/enquiry/pre-order-enquiry/11095487 The Red Rice Market report provides basic information about Red Rice industry, definition, classification, application, industry chain structure, industry overview; international market analysis. This report studies sales (consumption) of Red Rice market, focuses on the top players, with sales, price, revenue and market share with volume and value for each region. On the basis of Product Type, Red Rice market report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into:    

Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Type 4

On the basis on the end users/applications, Red Rice market report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, including:    

Application 1 Application 2 Application 3 Application 4

Purchase Full Report @ https://www.360marketupdates.com/purchase/11095487 Along with Red Rice Market research analysis, buyer also gets valuable information about global Red Rice Production and its market share, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin, Supply, Consumption, Export, Import volume and values for following Regions:      

North America Europe China Japan Middle East & Africa India

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South America Others

Red Rice Market highlights following key factors:        

A complete background analysis of Red Rice industry, which includes an assessment of the parental market. Emerging trends by segments and regional markets. Significant changes in market dynamics & market overview. Market breakdown up to the second or third level. Market shares and approaches of key players in Red Rice market. Current and predictable size of Red Rice market from the perspective of both value and volume. Reporting and estimation of recent industry developments. References to companies for establishment their position in the market

Thus, the Red Rice market report provides comprehensive analysis covering all the major regions, competitors, and dynamic aspects of the Red Rice industry.

https://opinioninvestor.com/red-rice-market-analysisoverview-growth-demand-and-forecast-researchreport-to-2022/115587/

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But who would have thought these home brews can actually improve your mental well-being ?(Photo: iStockphoto/ Altered by FIT)

Cheers! Raise a Glass of Rice Beer For Your Mental Well-Being SAHANA GHOSHUPDATED: 06.03.18 CHEW ON THIS5 min read 1.1k ENGAGEMENT ï&#x201A;·

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For tourists, soaking in the spirit of Northeast India often translates into tasting the local brew, dominated by fermented rice beverages such as Apong from Arunachal Pradesh or „Xaj Pani‟ of the Ahoms. But who would have thought these home brews can actually improve your mental well-being ? Bring me a tumbler already! Too caught up to read? Listen to the story here: Consumption of cereal-based beverages such as rice beer, is intricately linked with the socio-cultural heritage of the northeast and eastern states in India. They are naturally loaded with a variety of probiotics (live microorganisms that, when consumed in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host). Now, researchers are exploring how rice-based drinks from Northeast India could potentially be used as therapeutics (or as an adjunct to other treatments) for tackling anxiety, depression, stress and improve overall mood.

Rice Beer to Make You Happy Rice beer preparations, having potentially positive effects on mood and anxiety-like symptoms, can be potent psychobiotics- a cocktail of probiotics and prebiotics (nutrition for the probiotic microbes) that can influence your mental well-being, say experts. It‟s only in the last 10 to 15 years, that the gut-brain connection (gut microbes regulate mental health and state of mind) was cemented by scientific research. Diet is a vital factor in regulating the gut–brain link. As recently as 2013, Irish scientists introduced the term ‘psychobiotic’. At that point, it was referred to as a subset of probiotics: microbes with a positive impact on mental health. Prebiotic was added to its fold subsequently.  

Infact, a new book “The Psychobiotic Revolution” delves deeply into the concept of „you are what you eat‟ and „you are what your gut microbes eat‟. Experts estimate that globally, a staggering 5000 varieties of fermented food and beverages are being consumed by billions. And 90 percent of naturally fermented foods

and alcoholic beverages are still produced at home in traditional style. Fermented foods and beverages account for approximately one-third of the human diet globally. Rice-based alcoholic beverages are very popular in many countries including India, China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and many others. In India, it is prepared by different tribes of northeast India, West Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand.

Ahom, Jou Bishi, Xaj Pani... Rice Beer is Part of Our Tradition In Assam, the beverage is known by different names: Apong by Mising, Xaj Pani by Ahom and Jou Bishi by Boro tribes. Infact every tribe has its own recipe to prepare the â&#x20AC;&#x17E;starter cakeâ&#x20AC;&#x; (often in the form of round balls or flat cakes) that's used to kick-start the fermentation process. These starters are crafted from rice powder, herbs and leaves (guava, pepper, jackfruit etc.) and contain functional microorganisms that biochemically transform steamed rice into the brew.

Popular rice beers are Apong, Xaj Pani and Jou Bishi.(Photo: Sahana Ghosh)

No celebration, ritual or even funeral is complete without rice beer. Containers or pots whittled out of dried, hollow gourds or bamboo add to the appeal of these brews.

For the Rabha tribes, drinking of rice beer is an important part of the Khoksi puja. Some tribes also offer it to their deceased forefathers. In Bihu, one of the most important festivals of

Assam, it’s an integral part of the celebration. It is also associated with hospitality and is served as a welcome drink. Mojibur Khan, Researcher, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Guwahati  

The microbial consortium and the process of fermentation of these beers not only enhance nutrition, they also infuse them with a dose of probiotics. How does it happen? The process involves breakdown of starch into sugars by microbes (in a process called amylolysis), followed by conversion of the sugar to alcohol ( alcoholic fermentation by yeasts).

During the course of fermentation, a group of metabolites such as lactic acid, alcohol, enzymes, antimicrobial substances, aromatic compounds, organic acids etc. are produced. Mojibur Khan  

Rice Beer to Beat the Stress In folklore, rice beer is believed to have positive health effects including stimulation of the immune system, reduction of the cholesterol levels, prevention of gastrointestinal ailments and expelling worms. It also gives a kick - stimulates the brain and shoots down stress!

As a substantial portion of the population consumes it regularly, our research group has been actively trying to understand the effects of traditional rice beer on human health. One of our objectives in this study is to understand it’s effect on human gut microbiota and if it has, then how it effects the ‘gut-brain axis.’ Mojibur Khan  

To assess this, studies were carried out in mouse model, where they were fed with different preparations of rice beer at a pre-determined rate and for a specified period.

Results indicate that the animals that consumed the solid fraction of rice beer (containing microbes, rice debris and undissolved solids) and the low alcoholcontaining diluted rice beer, showed reduced anxiety-related symptoms. The same groups of animals also had better learning capacity and memory. These findings were presented by research scholar Bhuvan Bhaskar at a conference organised by IIT-Guwahati. Treatment with rice beer reduced anxiety and improved the memory, which is an indication of psychobiotic effect. Studies on the components of rice beer associated with such effects are on going. Bhuvan Bhaskar, Research Scholar  

So What‟s Next... The group is exploring the possibilities of developing such psychobiotics from rice beer. “Rice beer consists of dietary fiber, nutraceuticals, lactic acid bacteria etc. and therefore, may have influential role in changing the micro-environment of the gut by producing metabolites. These may activate the neural network of gut and transmit the information to the mid regions of our brain, which may lead to secretion of different neurotrophic factors for regulating the psychiatric illness,” Khan explains. Sikkim University‟s officiating vice chancellor JP Tamang, a veteran researcher on fermented foods and beverages, says fermented beverages produced by using such starters in India are generally mildly alcoholic (4–5 percent) and have several health benefits. “Ethnic fermented beverages and alcoholic drinks have the potential to grow into a robust industry if proper scientific and technical support are applied to the existing indigenous practices of home based alcoholic fermentation,” Tamang adds. (Sahana Ghosh is a microbiologist-turned-journalist. She writes on science and environment and is interested in science in remote areas.) First Published: 06.03.18 1.1k ENGAGEMENT     

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All They Want To Do is Die The Supreme Court has upheld passive euthanasia and sanctioned Living Will in a landmark order. But ‗active‘ euthanasia, seeking death when you are healthy, is still very much illegal. Pause Unmute

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This Couple Wants to Die: Where Does the Euthanasia Debate Stand? SHARE, SAVE, COMMENT      

She is 78. He is 88. And all they want to do is die. Narayan and Iravati Lavate are healthy, financially stable, and leading a routine life in Mumbai. But they see no purpose in going on living.

The Supreme Court has upheld passive euthanasia and sanctioned Living Will in a landmark order. But „active‟ euthanasia, seeking death when you are healthy, is still very much illegal. If the law doesn’t help us, we’ll take the law in our hands. I will kill her and I will go to the gallows and face the consequences. Narayan Lavate  

The Lavates‟ never wanted children and they don't have any. So, they say they have “no ties” holding them back. “We have to die some day or the other, so why not go early? The earlier the better,” adds the 88-year-old. HEALTH NEWS SAMEEKSHA KHARE UPDATED: 01H 45M AGO READ FULL STORY

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Seed Researchers Reviving Food Traditions Mar 06, 2018 11:20AM ● Published by Emily Stevenson

By Emily Stevenson Photos provided by Clemson University As high-end chefs are regarded as demi-gods and diners require more and more from their culinary experiences, ingredients beyond the generic, flavorless grocerystore staples are in hot demand. Researchers and scientists across the state are helping revive crops and food traditions from the antebellum era and beyond that were thought to be gone with the wind. Brian Ward, a research scientist with the Plant and Environmental Science Department, Coastal Research and Education Center of Clemson University, is one of those folks. “I specialize in organic vegetable production and also in old heirloom crops, bringing back crops that have gone away because modern lines have been bred to be more productive,” he says. One such example is the Carolina African Runner Peanut. Brought over to the United States by slaves in the 1600s, it was the premier peanut in the south, beloved for its sweet flavor and high-quality oil. However, the crop was nearly extinct by the Great Depression, overlooked in favor of the Virginia or Valencia peanuts. To bring back the peanuts, at the urging of chefs such as Husk’s Sean Brock, Ward collaborated with David S. Shields, a historian specializing in both food and

agriculture. Only 40 seeds of the Carolina African Runner Peanuts remained on earth, but Shields tracked them down, where they were preserved in a cold-storage seed vault at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He and Ward were eventually given 20 of the seeds to grow. Of the 20, 12 lived the first year, resulting in a harvest of 1,200 seeds. The next year, Ward planted 900 of the 1,200, with a resulting 60,000 seeds. The third year, Ward planted 45,000 seeds. The yield was more than one million. At that point, it was safe to start distribution.

―That‘s when I distributed all over the Southeast to peanut butter companies, candy companies, vaccine companies to test out,‖ says Ward. Another distribution point for Ward’s peanut crop: chefs such as Brock. In a Jan. 19 article for Food and Wine magazine, Brock admits that if one of the peanuts happens to fall to the floor, the staff knows not to throw it out. Instead, they wash it off carefully and put it right back in the ingredient lineup.

History & Heritage The importance of heirloom crops goes further than mere culinary decadence. “In the beginning, the great impetus was the demand from the chefs, but what happens is that people go to the restaurants and taste the stuff and realize there are tastes there that they remember from their grandmothers, or something like that,” says Shields, a Carolina Distinguished Professor at the University of South Carolina’s College of Arts and Sciences, and the chairman of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation. He traces the search for heirloom crops back to the 1990s, when people began

looking at the food being made in the Lowcountry - and found it lacking. “They knew they had the recipes right, but the flavor wasn’t coming out,” Shields says. “We took a look, and the problem was that people were making Hoppin’ John using California canned black-eyed peas and mahatma rice. They weren’t using the things that originally made Hoppin’ John savory.” Glenn Roberts, founder of Anson Mills and president of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation, puts it this way: “When I first moved to Charleston, everyone said they ate rice and worshipped their ancestors, but it was Uncle Ben’s,” he says. “Now they’re eating Carolina Gold or Charleston Gold *rice+.” Roberts describes the “Carolina Rice Kitchen,” or the cuisine native to Georgia and South Carolina, as a fully formed cuisine, meaning that it is a place-based culturally identifiable food system, from the ground up, that was shared by a large population. Although prevalent throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, it was essentially lost by World War II. “There wasn’t a lot of, ‘Oh, I can’t wait to have indigenous Carolina cuisine,’” says Roberts. “The idea of Carolina rice having an identity disappeared almost completely for decades.” The crucial bit, though, is that the state had the cuisine - and has the documentation to prove it. “We’re one of the few places in America where the documentation is rock-solid,” Roberts adds. There are plenty of primary sources referencing well-known crops and recipes. Shields says it’s these flavorful, original heirloom crops that built the original cuisine of the Lowcountry and made it famous.

“The loss of flavor, in a way, caused those cuisines to decline into mere cookery,” he says. “We want them to be cuisines again and to have all the potentials that existed prior to that.” Further, traditional Carolina cuisine was shared by everyone across the state—rich, poor, free, slaves, and everyone else. “This is everybody’s history who grew up during those periods,” says Ward. “It wasn’t just one group of people. The historical aspect is important.” Roberts says that understanding the genetic system behind the cuisine is still the biggest challenge in resurrecting lost ingredients. But the reemergence of these crops brings with it a host of other questions: How to make it fair to all communities, not just researchers and scientists? How to make these ingredients fair-trade food for everyone, not just the wealthy? How to honor food that may or may not have belonged to any one sector of society at any given time? “There’s a whole canon of the Carolina Rice Kitchen that belongs to slaves and freemen that was not shared in the planters’ society, and vice versa,” he says. “How do you untangle that? It goes to social and political things that are way above my pay grade, but you can’t ignore them.” Dollars & Sense In the world of heirloom agriculture, there’s more than just nostalgia and history at play. Agriculture is one of South Carolina’s largest industry clusters, with a roughly $3 billion impact annually. Heirloom crops, especially if grown organically, demand extremely high prices compared to traditionally grown modern crops. “The aspect to give growers another niche or opportunity to make money is important,” says Ward. “There’s a huge monetary incentive for growers.”

One of Ward’s current projects includes work on organic watermelons. Until now, organic melons haven’t really existed because they are susceptible to disease, particularly soil-borne diseases. Ward has experimented with grafting, taking a watermelon top and grafting it to the bottom of a squash or gourd plant, which are in the same family. However, the squash has a large amount of disease resistance in its root system, making the watermelon suddenly resistant to soil-borne diseases. Ward and his team received good yields, particularly by the third year of planting. A grower saw the yields and decided to plant 10 acres of the organic grafted watermelons. He had a fair amount of success - both harvest-wise and monetarily. “The current price of watermelons was 10 cents a pound,” says Ward. “But to sell organic watermelons, he got 46 cents a pound. He was getting tremendous return.” According to Ward, that’s not an uncommon phenomenon. “There’s so much money to be made by growers,” he says. “There’s paperwork involved, but it’s not overwhelming like a lot of growers think it is, and the profits can be quite lucrative. There’s money to be made in organics.” Be that as it may, those who work in agriculture often do so for the love of the industry, not monetary gain. Roberts says that they don’t typically monetize the heirloom seeds they’ve revived. “We want to make it available to everyone,” he says. “We work for public good, pro bono.” Shields agrees. “I do this thing as a pro bono expression of my responsibility as a Carolina Distinguished Professor,” he says. “I let the farmers profit because they’re putting their time and labor on the line.”

http://www.greenvillebusinessmag.com/2018/03/06/168372/seed-researchers-reviving-food-traditions

Seed Researchers Reviving Food Traditions Mar 06, 2018 11:20AM ● Published by Emily Stevenson

looking at the food being made in the Lowcountry - and found it lacking. “They knew they had the recipes right, but the flavor wasn’t coming out,” Shields says. “We took a look, and the problem was that people were making Hoppin’ John using California canned black-eyed peas and mahatma rice. They weren’t using the things that originally made Hoppin’ John savory.” Glenn Roberts, founder of Anson Mills and president of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation, puts it this way: “When I first moved to Charleston, everyone said they ate rice and worshipped their ancestors, but it was Uncle Ben’s,” he says. “Now they’re eating Carolina Gold or Charleston Gold [rice+.” Roberts describes the “Carolina Rice Kitchen,” or the cuisine native to Georgia and South Carolina, as a fully formed cuisine, meaning that it is a place-based culturally identifiable food system, from the ground up, that was shared by a large population. Although prevalent throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, it was essentially lost by World War II. “There wasn’t a lot of, ‘Oh, I can’t wait to have indigenous Carolina cuisine,’” says Roberts. “The idea of Carolina rice having an identity disappeared almost completely for decades.” The crucial bit, though, is that the state had the cuisine - and has the documentation to prove it. “We’re one of the few places in America where the documentation is rock-solid,” Roberts adds. There are plenty of primary sources referencing well-known crops and recipes. Shields says it’s these flavorful, original heirloom crops that built the original cuisine of the Lowcountry and made it famous.

http://www.greenvillebusinessmag.com/2018/03/06/168372/seed-researchers-reviving-food-traditions

Floating rice: The climate-resilient alternative for Cambodia’s food production Grown in floods and thriving without pesticides, floating rice offers Cambodia a sustainable alternative for its eco-friendly food production amid threats from climate change. image: data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICT AEAOw== A Cambodian boy rides on a buffalo on his way back from a floating rice field. Once common in the Lower Mekong Basin, this eco-friendly farming method is drifting towards disappearance in the region. (Photo: Pichayada Promchertchoo)

image: data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICT AEAOw==

By Pichayada Promchertchoo @PichayadaCNA 06 Mar 2018 06:30AM (Updated: 06 Mar 2018 07:33PM)

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is enough to get work done before the annual floods, when water fills his land and rice begins to float. A resident of Tnot Village in Kampong Thom province, Bunthorn is among a few remaining farmers in Cambodia who still grow floating rice in deep water. The technique is a traditional farming method that could offer a sustainable, eco-friendly alternative for the country‘s rice production in the face of climate change. ―Floating rice grows with floods,‖ Bunthorn said. His rough, sunburnt skin hints at decades of toiling in harsh weather. ―No matter how deep it is, the rice can survive. It can float high above the ground and doesn‘t need much care until harvest time.‖ image: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/image/9940252/0x0/3008/2008/3c5b763ba50e13e2adbadd15 62e88f31/zp/-pp--tapestry-rice2.jpg

A boy rows his boat on submerged land, heading towards a floating rice field. Many farmers in Kampong Thom province still grow rice in deep water during flooding season, when water from Tonle Sap River inundates a vast area of land. (Photo: Pichayada Promchertchoo)

Grown in floods and thriving without pesticide, floating rice – sometimes known as deep water rice – has nourished generations of people in the Lower Mekong Region. In Cambodia, the traditional cultivation is still present around Tonle Sap Lake, in low-lying provinces such as Kampong Thom, Kampong Chhnang, Siem Reap, Pursat and Banteay Meanchey. The unique characteristic of floating rice is its ability to elongate and adapt to floods. The stem lengthens as water rises, with heights ranging between 1 and 6 metres. For three months, usually from August to October, its foliage floats and ripens on the surface, while deep water keeps pests at bay. During the submergence, Bunthorn says sediment from the floods turns into natural fertiliser and helps farmers like himself minimise the use of agrochemicals. ―We don‘t have to pay for chemical fertiliser or pesticides. We just need rainwater and floods. Our produce, as a result, is organic and healthy." image: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/image/9940266/0x0/3008/2008/151b5f60a9442d85c76705a4 826ab6b/Pe/-pp--tapestry-rice4.jpg

Farmers in Tnot Village are on their way home after harvesting floating rice. The plant is cropped once a year and takes several months to grow - one of the main reasons why many Cambodian farmers have switched to double-cropped, dry-season varieties. (Photo: Pichayada Promchertchoo)

The crops‘ resilience to inundation and low reliance on agrochemicals has led researchers to believe there are many benefits of growing floating rice in the Lower Mekong Basin, particularly in Cambodia. Based on a study by USAID and the Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change, Cambodia is among the most vulnerable countries in Southeast Asia to climate change impact. ―Increased frequency of large storms will result in more flooding and related costs, especially in low-lying areas such as the extensive floodplains surrounding Tonle Sap Lake including southern and central parts of Kampong Thom province,‖ the study said. Among the most vulnerable crops, it adds, are dry-season and lowland rain-fed rice. Last year alone, Cambodia‘s National Committee for Disaster Management reported 3,456 hectares of rice crops were damaged by rain and the overflowing of rivers, not mentioning more than 300 hectares of other crops. FLOATING RICE: A FADING CULTURE In Tnot Village, the threat of flooding does not worry deep water rice farmers so much. "Floating rice can withstand floods; it grows well when water rises. The farming itself is also easy and that‘s why it‘s still alive,‖ Bunthorn said. ―If Mother Nature gives us good weather, the harvest can reach 3 tonnes a year.‖ image: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/image/9940260/0x0/2960/1976/516343c0d07ef4aba647e1dab 8868059/eu/-pp--tapestry-rice3.jpg

Floating rice grows with floods. The stem can elongate up to 6 metres while its foliage floats and ripens on the water surface. (Photo: Pichayada Promchertchoo)

Farming is the only career he has known since the age of 18. As a little boy, he used to follow his father to their rice field, where he learnt the art of farming rice in deep water. Like other families in the village, his has been growing floating rice for generations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a tradition he hopes will live on. But data from the Agriculture Ministry shows floating rice continues to disappear from Cambodiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s floodplains. Its major decline was recorded around 1975-1979, when the country witnessed one of the darkest chapters in its history. During four years under the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia went through a mass genocide that is believed to have wiped out up to 2 million people or a quarter of its then population. Under the leadership of Pol Pot, millions of people were forced to farm in the countryside as the regime hoped to turn the society into an agrarian utopia. As a result, single-cropped floating rice was deemed valueless and higher-yielding types were used to accelerate rice production. Much of its cultivation has been replaced by dry-season varieties, which allow farmers to harvest twice or thrice a year. image: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/image/9940420/0x0/3008/2008/ecb66814d3e99a648028425d 55c270fb/YN/-pp--tapestry-rice7.jpg

During flooding season, floating farmers catch wild fish in their inundated rice fields as they turn into a fertile fishing ground. (Photo: Pichayada Promchertchoo)

―The market for dry-season rice is expanding in Cambodia. The crops only take three months to grow and that‘s why farmers are switching to this type,' said Chim Choeung, member of the Kampong Svay Commune Council in Kampong Thom. "They can earn more this way." In Cambodia, rice is the staple food and primary commodity. In 2017, the country exported more than 635,000 tonnes of rice and recorded a 17.3 per cent growth from the previous year, according to the Agriculture Ministry. As the country develops, the government is determined to further increase rice production as it aims to transform Cambodia into the world‘s ―rice basket‖. image: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/image/9941436/0x0/3008/2008/628854e38594fa17d3f680eec 948dcf1/gf/-pp--tapestry-rice7.jpg

By supporting high-yield rice varieities, the government aims to transform Cambodia into the world's "rice basket" and better compete in the global rice market. (Photo: Pichayada Promchertchoo)

Still, global rice market remains a competitive space dominated by India, Thailand and Vietnam. Last year, Cambodia saw its two neighbouring countries export more than 17 million tonnes of rice, 11.25 million tonnes from Thailand and 5.9 million tonnes from Vietnam. MORE CHEMICALS, MORE YIELDS In a bid to up its game, the Cambodian government has been promoting short-term high-yield rice cultivation, which targets a continued expansion of dry-season rice farming area. What followed was a sharp decline of floating rice farming. image: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/image/9940268/0x0/2956/1973/8778c620bbe7a55aea465733 8dd6b55a/Uz/-pp--tapestry-rice5.jpg

Many floating rice farmers in Cambodia do not own farming machinery and use oxen or water buffaloes and wooden ploughs to cultivate their land. (Photo: Pichayada Promchertchoo)

In 1975, there were 410,000 hectares of the crops in Cambodia, according to research by the Australian National University‘s Fenner School of Environment and Society. By 2015, the area had shrunk by 88.6 per cent to 46,759 hectares. ―While high-yield variety rice has a clear domestic and international market acceptability, the same cannot be said for floating rice,‖ said Dr Van Kien Nguyen and Assoc Prof Jamie Pittock in their research. The crops, they added, are unpopular in urban markets and largely consumed by farmers, who believe in their health benefits. image: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/image/9940408/0x0/2469/1648/626e2f719d5f1cd6a8f63d09f 1c4690a/GE/-pp--tapestry-rice6.jpg

Floating rice farming is the main source of income for many people living around Tonle Sap Lake, lowlying areas that are seasonally inundated by Tonle Sap River and the Mekong. (Photo: Pichayada Promchertchoo)

In Tnot village, the sale of floating rice is falling gradually. ―In the past, everyone here was growing floating rice. But today many people have changed to dry-season rice because of higher yields. They grow it for export,‖ said rice seller Thorn Thol. But despite its shorter cultivation period, Thol said dry-season rice requires more care, more fertiliser and pesticides. ―When farmers plough the land, they‘ll have to spray pesticide. When rice starts to grow, they‘ll spray it again. Other chemicals are also used to stop weeds. And when the rice plants are tall, more pesticides are applied,‖ she said. ―It‘s not great for your health. But many people prefer dry-season rice farming." For the likes of Bunthorn however, whose land is submerged every year, a change in farming method is unlikely. "We can't change the nature of our land," the farmer said. In front of him, his floating rice field looks like a golden sea in the sun. Water is good this year and he is looking forward to the harvest. For more on this and other projects around Southeast Asia, tune in to Tapestry: The Heart of ASEAN on Channel NewsAsia every Tuesday from Feb 27 to Mar 27 at 11pm. Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/floating-rice-cambodia-foodproduction-alternative-9937896 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/floating-ricecambodia-food-production-alternative-9937896

Researchers develop new method to improve crops

March 6, 2018 by Jessica Luton, University of Georgia

William Jordan (left) and Lexiang Ji look over one of many sets of Arabidopsis thaliana, which were used to research a new plant breeding technique. Credit: UGA

A team of University of Georgia researchers has developed a new way to breed plants with better traits. By introducing a human protein into the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana, researchers found that they could selectively activate silenced genes already present within the plant. Using this method to increase diversity among plant populations could serve to create varieties that are able to withstand drought or disease in crops or other plant populations, and the researchers have already begun testing the technique on maize, soy and rice. They published their findings in Nature Communications. The research project was led by Lexiang Ji, a doctoral student in bioinformatics, and William Jordan, a doctoral student in genetics. The new method they explored, known

as epimutagenesis, will make it possible to breed diverse plants in a way that isn't possible with traditional techniques. "In the past this has been done with traditional breeding. You take a plant, breed it with another plant that has another characteristic you want to create another plant," said Jordan. "The problem with that is getting an individual that has all of the characteristics you want and none of the characteristics that you don't want. It's kind of difficult. With our new technique, you can modify how the genes are turned on and off in that plant without having to introduce a whole other set of genes from another parent." The idea for the method evolved originally from working in the lab with department of genetics professor Robert Schmitz, the corresponding author on the study. In his lab, researchers were studying DNA methylation, which controls expressed genetic traits, and creating maps of where DNA methylation is located in many plant species, including crops. When DNA methylation is removed, researchers found that they could selectively turn on previously silenced genes in the underlying genome of the plant. "We saw repeatedly that lots of genes are silenced by DNA methylation and thought it was kind of curious," said Schmitz. "There are lots of discussions you can have about why these exist, but the reality is that they are there. So we wondered, how can we leverage them? Let's use the plant already in the field and reawaken some of those silenced genes to generate trait variation." To turn these dormant or silenced genes on, researchers introduced a human enzyme, known as a ten-eleven translocation enzyme, to plant seedlings using specially modified bacteria as a delivery vector. Introducing this human protein allows researchers to remove DNA methylation and thereby turn on previously silenced genes. Figuring out the best way to introduce the protein to the plant species has been a trial and error process. With Ji's expertise in bioinformatics, researchers are able to look at large sets of data about their experiment and make decisions on how to best proceed with the project. "The data has really helped us brainstorm and coordinate what we should do next," said Ji. "That was particularly important in the beginning of this project because we just didn't know what was going to happen with this new technique." "Thousands of years ago you'd plant out hundreds of plants and one of them does really well so you'd breed out generations of that plant. Doing this though, you narrow down the genetic diversity until they're basically very, very similar," said Jordan. "While that's beneficial for yield or other plant characteristics that you might want, if there's a stress that they're not well adapted to because they're all so similar they're all going to respond in the same way. That creates a potentially vulnerable crop." "If they don't have the genetic differences to respond, then it can really wipe out crops," added Schmitz. "This isn't a savior, but it's an alternative strategy that has not been tried before. The idea is to access genes that people haven't been studying because they're not expressed but they're there. We think this method to reactivate these genes could lead to increased trait variation which could be useful for biotechnology applications.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-03-method-crops.html#jCp https://phys.org/news/2018-03-

method-crops.html

No SRP on rice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; DTI

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Share it! Updated March 7, 2018, 7:02 AM

By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat The imposition of a suggested retail price on rice will have to be decided by the economic managers and the Department of Agriculture (DA), according to Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon M. Lopez.

Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez (ALBERT ALCAIN/PPD / MANILA BULLETIN)

Lopez said this yesterday after meeting with the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) to assess prices of basic and prime commodities. An SRP on rice was raised during a Senate hearing on rice. â&#x20AC;&#x2022;An SRP on rice is a policy issue so it is not just a decision of the NPCC but of the economic managers and the Department of Agriculture,â&#x20AC;&#x2013; said Lopez, who chairs the NPCC. The price of regular milled rice has increased from P37 to P40 per kilo, well-milled also went up to P42 from P40 last year and premium rice to P46 from P45 last year. The special rice was also up to P55 from P50 last year. Lopez, however, made clear they are not reimposing the era where SRPs have to be approved by the DTI. The only thing the DTI is doing is to influence or a moral suasion on manufacturers on their pricing scheme. Prices stable Lopez also reported that prices of basic goods and commodities have remained stable and that the DTI has tightened its monitoring to prevent profiteering and influence to keep prices within suggested retail prices down to the grassroots level.

Lopez said that his agency monitors prices on a weekly basis and that out of 20 basic items carried in the supermarkets and groceries only one can be said to have imposed higher price than the SRPs. There was no instance also that a retailer has been caught profiteering, which is a price higher than 10 percent. In fact, other products, such as refined sugar, have gone down by P5-P50 this year from P55 last year. Agricultural products are also stable while some items such as tomatoes and papayas have reduced prices. Canned goods The canned goods manufacturers have already informed DTI of their intention to raise prices by P1 to P2 due to higher cost of tinplates and the foreign exchange rate, but Lopez said their computation showed the increase should only be between 36 to 50 centavos per can. He, however, said that they will not prevent a price adjustment as long as this is limited to one or two brands only. A sardines brand has minimal price hikes but the same brands have lower prices in the regions. The DTI is also launching the ―Suking Tindahan‖ to sari-sari stores that will volunteer to adhere to the SRP prices in an effort to ensure that prices remained at the SRP level even up to the grassroots level. Those with the badge of ―Suking Tindahan‖ will have the benefit of getting supplies from manufacturers at wholesale rates. Tags: Department of Agriculture, DTI, National Price Coordinating Council, No SRP on rice – DTI, NPCC, Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, SRP, Suggested retail price

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/03/06/no-srp-on-rice-dti/

Duterte doesn't want NFA chief Jason Aquino speaking on rice supply The decision comes after Cabinet members agreed Jason Aquino made a misleading claim that there was a rice shortage, causing prices to increase

Pia Ranada @piaranada Published 3:29 PM, March 06, 2018 Updated 7:07 PM, March 06, 2018

DECISIONS, DISCUSSIONS. President Rodrigo Duterte presides over the 23rd Cabinet Meeting in Malacañang. Malacañang file photo

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte wants only the National Food Authoriy (NFA) Council to make announcements about rice supply in the country. This was among the major decisions made during the Cabinet meeting on Monday, March 5, Malacañang announced on Tuesday, March 6.

"The President said that, henceforth, all information on the country's rice supply must emanate from the NFA Council," said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque during a Palace press briefing. This comes after senators slammed NFA Administrator Jason Aquino for making a public pronouncement on the shortage of NFA rice which caused panic among consumers and an increase in the prices of rice, a critical commodity for Filipino households. This "misleading" claim of Aquino was discussed during the Cabinet meeting. "There was an acknowledgment that statements made by the NFA administrator caused panic, which probably caused prices to rise," said Roque. The NFA Council, members of which were present at the Cabinet meeting, explained that there is no rice shortage in the country. According to Roque, the Cabinet "agreed" this was the case. "It was agreed that there is no rice shortage because the figure of only 1.5 days of rice was misleading. [The supply duration of] 1.5 days is only if it is NFA that is the only rice supplier in the Philippines, which is not the case," said Roque. The NFA Council, chaired by Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr, explained that NFA rice constitutes only a small portion of the country's rice supply. Most of the supply is provided by commercial traders. While Aquino was not present at the Cabinet meeting, Duterte ordered that he be asked to attend a Cabinet Cluster meeting in April. The rift between Evasco and Aquino, said to be close to Special Assistant to the President Bong Go, is well known. When Aquino refused to comply with NFA Council orders on import permits for traders, Evasco wanted him fired. â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Rappler.com https://www.rappler.com/nation/197539-duterte-jason-aquino-speak-rice-supply

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March 9, 2018

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Rice Theft: Police Quizzes Edo PDP Chair 3 days ago 

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Chief Dan Orbih: PDP chairman in Edo State Jethro Ibileke/Benin Edo State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Dan Orbih was on Tuesday quizzed by the State police command over allegations of fraud in the distribution of relief items for internally displaced persons in Benin by the state government. Orbih had at a recent press conference, accused the State Government of allegedly diverting over 4,000 bags of rice donated by the Nigeria Customs Service to internally displaced persons in Uhogua. It was gathered that Orbih was invited by the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Johnson Kokumo, following a petition by the Governor, which urged the police to ask the PDP chairman to proof the criminal allegations. The petition which was signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Osarodion Ogie, and addressed to the police commissioner, read in part: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The purpose of this complaint is to formally bring these weighty and unsubstantiated allegations to

your attention and to request a thorough investigation with a view to establishing the veracity or otherwise of same. “It is the contention of the Edo State Government that Chief Dan Orbih should be called upon to provide evidence of the serious crimes he has alleged to have been committed by the Edo State Government and to furnish your command with facts, details and proof of the allegations he has made in the public domain.” A police source disclosed that Orbih made a statement and was questioned for several hours by police officers at the Command headquarters in Benin. The development however sparked a protest by supporters of the party, who accused the State Government of using the police to intimidate the opposition. Speaking shortly after his interaction with the Police Commissioner, Orbih said his statement to the police substantiated his claims. “From my own statement, it has been well established that the government of Edo State misappropriated the rice meant for the IDPs. I also want to commend the Edo State Police Command for the mature and professional way they have handled this issue. “Now that they (State Government) have decided to ask the police to be investigating, we will be giving more information so that they can write more petitions to the police for investigation. “I think these are very weighty allegations. In my own opinion, it is being put forward by the government to incite members of the public against the PDP in Edo State. In a democracy, there must be opposition,” Orbih said.

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https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2018/03/06/r ice-theft-police-quizzes-edo-pdp-chair/ Ogbeh and Thailandâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s rice export by Editorial | March 6, 2018 12:45 am

Last week Friday at the meeting of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) and the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers of Nigeria (FEPSAN) presided over by president Muhammadu Buhari at

the presidential villa, Abuja, minister of agriculture, claimed Nigeria‘s reduced rice import from Thailand has decline by about 95 percent and has led to the collapse of seven rice mills in Thailand and raised unemployment rate to four percent in the country. Ogbeh was quoted as saying: ―… two weeks ago, the Ambassador of Thailand came to my office and said to me that we have really dealt with them…But I asked what did we do wrong and he said unemployment in Thailand was one of the lowest in the world, 1.2 per cent, it has gone up to four per cent because seven giant rice mills have shut down because Nigeria‘s import has fallen by 95 per cent on rice alone. ―So, Mr President we thank you for the support and we thank all the agencies and those of you in the private sector for your resilience…‖ Even the president recently claimed that Nigeria‘s rice import was down by 90 percent and that rice import will be completely stopped this year to encourage local production. However, a simple check reveals that both the president and minister of agriculture were greatly mistaken and the figures they advertised are not true. First, Thailand‘s rice export has been on a continuous growth trajectory, reaching a record high of 11.2 million tonnes last year. Data shows rice exports grew at 37.2 percent year-on-year. Information available on the Rice Exporters Association of Thailand website shows Nigeria‘s import of rice for the last three years has been negligible – 58, 260, 644, 131 and 23, 192 metric tonnes in 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively. Second, the unemployment figure in Thailand stands at 1.3 percent as at January 2018. So, it is neither true that rice mills have been shut down due to Nigeria‘s low imports nor that unemployment figure has gone up to four percent in Thailand. Even if we are to believe the minister that Thailand‘s ambassador made that claim, he has a responsibility to cross-check and not make claims that are obviously false and which makes a mockery of us as a country. Although the government has been claiming success and taking the glory for reducing rice imports, the reality is more nuanced and doesn‘t cover us in glory like the minister and president want us to believe. Rice importation through the land borders have been banned since 2015 and can only be brought in legally through the ports at a discouragingly high tariff of 70 percent. So, technically Nigeria has banned rice importation. However, as legal importation to Nigeria drops drastically, neighbouring countries such as Benin, Cameroun, Niger and others have greatly increased their import of parboiled rice, which ironically, is consumed only in Nigeria. Data by the Thai Rice Exporters Association shows that Benin Republic‘s imports from Thailand from January to November 2017 stood at 1.64 million metric tonnes, a 32 percent increase from 1.24 million metric tonnes within the same period in 2016, and an increment of 104.45 percent from 805,765 metric tonnes exported to Benin republic in 2015. Cameroun also imported 663, 667 metric tonnes of parboiled rice from Thailand between January and November 2017, a 47.64 percent increase from 449, 513 within the same period in 2016, and 449, 297 metric tonnes in 2015. It is safe to say that most of the imports to these countries end up in the Nigerian market through smuggling. An investigation carried out by BusinessDay some months ago also shows that smuggling is rife along the official border points and despite the claim that rice importation is banned through the borders, traders continue to import the commodity through official border points usually after settling customs officials. To add to our woes, the price of the smuggled rice are way lower than those of locally produced rice, which means the problem will remain with us for a long time to come. It is noteworthy that the government wants to ensure self-sufficiency in rice production. But this must be done in the right way and with regards to the realities on the ground. The bandying of false data and official import figures the reality will continue to make a mockery of us as a country.

https://www.businessdayonline.com/ogbeh-thailands-rice-export/

Kebbi can produce 50% rice needs of Nigerians – Commissioner 3 days ago 0 247 0

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Kebbi: Rice millers explain high cost of local rice

By Rotimi Ijikanmi Kebbi State has assured the nation it has the capacity to deliver 50 per cent of the rice needs of Nigerians with the continuous support of Federal Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s Anchor Borrowers Programme. The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Garba Dandiga, conducting a team of journalists on inspection of 50 kilometre by 20 kilometre FADAMA rice plantation in Suru on Monday.

The Minister of Information and Culture , Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had on Sunday led the newsmen to Kebbi to assess the progress of rice revolution championed by the federal government in the state. Dandiga said 16 local government areas were in serious rice production in the state and millions of youths and retirees were engaged in rice farming across the state. Specifically, the commissioner said that with expectations of bounty harvest in 2018, the Suru Fadama farms will turn out 2.5 million tons of paddy. He recalled that in 2017, 1.5 million tons of paddy were harvested from the Suru farms. Dandiga said that there were eight bigger paddy farms across the state supported with value chains of mills and markets. He said Suru is an organised rice value chain with method that ensures that every bag and lorry load of paddy out of the place is recorded. The Commissioner said that in order to boost production, the government recently procured 100 tractors, 300 power tillers, 300 thrashers and 200 reapers to support the farmers.

Price of local rice drops

He said the state government was giving the tractors at subsidised rate upon a part payment by interested farmers who would be given time to pay the balance in instalment. Dandiga commended the federal government for its fertiliser policy which he said were readily available to farmers at a cheaper rate of N5,500 per bag compared to N9000 price in the open market. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that earlier, the team had inspected the Lambunmaba Fadama rice farms in Kamba, a border community with Niger Republic.

One of the farmers, Alhaji Ibrahim Salihu said Niger Republic was about one kilometre from the town and the borderline were a lined up of local palm tree. He said they co-exist peacefully and during planting and harvesting seasons they source labour from Niger Republic to work on the Fadama rice farms Salihu said the major challenge of farmers was sourcing petrol to power generator that pumped underground water from the wells dug in the farms. NAN reports that during the inspection there were movement of motor bikes each ferrying not less than eight 50 litres jerry cans of petrol into the farms. Salihu called on government to provide solar powered pumping machines for the farmers to ease their sufferings and to prevent possible smuggling of petroleum products across the border.

A man carries a bag of Lake Rice

At Oroba Fadama farms also in Kamba Dandiga, the agric commissioner said the rice plantations span 40 kilometres and the farmers were preparing for dry season cultivation. NAN reports that the commissioner also conducted the team on inspection of a rice mill under construction also at Kamba in Dandi local government area. He said the mill owned by an indigenous entrepreneur was borne out of the rice revolution to ensure offtakers for paddy. Alhaji Mahmudu Fanna, the district head of Kamba said that the mill had two production lines of 120 tons and 250 tons daily productions respectively.

The team were also at Kamba rice market where Fanna told newsmen that not less than 10 truck loads of paddy were sold daily to the big rice millers.(NAN) http://www.nan.ng/agriculture/kebbi-can-produce-50-rice-needs-of-nigerians-commissioner/

New irrigation method drives agriculture in Anambra ON MARCH 7, 20184:56 AMIN AGRIC, NEWS1 COMMENT By Vincent Ujumadu AWKA- AGRICULTURE, which is one of the four pillars on which Governor Willie Obianoâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s administration is anchored, is getting the desired attention in most of the food production belts of the state, thanks to the support by the FADAMA III Additional Financing and the international donor agencies, including the World Bank, which introduced new irrigation method currently being enjoyed by farmers in the state. â&#x20AC;˘Governor Willie Obiano (3rd right) being briefed by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Afam Mbanefo, on the operation of the irrigation system. Known as Center Pivot Irrigation System, the technology is capable of providing irrigation water to farmlands of about 100 hectares radius within minutes, with the result that rice production now takes place in Anambra State three times in a year including the dry season. Boreholes to service the new system have been sunk in Ogbaru, Ihiala and Ifite Ogwari, while the one at Ogboji would be serviced by surface flooding. It is expected that the contractors that installed the irrigation systems would manage them for one year during which period they would train farmers to take ownership of the project and sustain them. Eight local government areas where FADAMA is intervening with the new irrigation technology in rice and cassava production are Ogbaru, Ihiala, Anambra West, Anambra East, Orumba North, Orumba South, Ayamelum and Awka North. In the eight local government areas, which are where rice is grown in large quantity, the expectation is that there would be increase in yield from the current 345,000 metric tons to 600,000 metric tons this year. To facilitate the envisaged increase in production, FADAMA is seriously improving infrastructure in the affected areas. For instance, 11 roads are being constructed in the hard- to-reach areas where cluster farmers have been operating. The roads are located at Ogbakuba in Ogbaru, Aribo in Anambra West, Aguleri in Anambra East, Ihiala, Ogboji, Ezira and Ufuma all in Orumba, as well as in Omor, Anaku, Igbakwu/Ifite Ogwari all in Ayamelum. With the roads in place, evacuation of produce had become easy. The boost in agriculture became very visible in the past three years, especially in rice and cassava production, with yield tripling within the period. Already, three aggregation centers for the storage of produce have been established at Ifite Ogwari, Amanuke and Atani. The state project coordinator of FADAMA

III, Mr. Chukwuka Egbueh told South-East Voice that the idea was to ensure that produce would no longer waste as there would be proper storage all year round. As part of the efforts to sustain increase in yield, FADAMA had also set up Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprise (AEHE), at Omor to enhance mechanised farming. According to Egbueh, the enterprise is being managed by farmers themselves, adding that so far, they had lived up to expectation. He explained that to date, 6,160 farmers have benefitted directly from FADAMA in terms of land mechanisation, agro inputs, production and processing, as well as in capacity-building, just as 18 youth and women groups have been assisted through the provision of rice mills, tricycles, rice threshers, de-stoners, among others. He also said that FADAMA had built drying slabs at Umumbo, Ogbaru, Amanuke and Ifite Ogwari to ensure faster drying of rice, adding that the 600,000 metric tons target would surely be met with the inputs made by the state government. Egbueh said that following the success recorded in rice production, cassava had been added because of the comparative advantage Anambra State has in the growing of cassava. ―Before now, FADAMA was intervening in rice production only, but we added cassava in 2017 and sorghum may be added this year because conducive environment for growing them has been provided,‖ he said. The state governor, Chief Willie Obiano is expected to commission the irrigation projects this month. In the meantime, the governor has been inspecting the progress of work preparatory to the inauguration. At Egwe Agwa Ogbakuba in Ogbaru Local Government Area and Ubahuekwem Ihiala, the elated governor said with the plans being made, Anambra State would become net exporter of rice as its local demand would soon be surpassed. ―What is happening in the agricultural sector is good for us. When we came in, Anambra State was producing only 80 metric tons of rice, but today, the state is producing 345,000 metric tons annually. The success we made in rice production has encouraged us to go into cassava and sorghum,‖ he said. Obiano added that the Onitsha-based SabMillar Breweries was a ready market for the sorghum to be produced in the state. According to the governor, the installation of the new irrigation system in four locations in the state was to ensure all year round rice production, with the attendant multiplier effect of empowering about 2500 farmers in the state. He explained that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, had agreed to provide funds to Anambra State government to buy off all the paddy rice produced in the state, while millers would buy all the paddy rice from government, adding that by so doing, the issue of unsold rice produced by the farmers would not arise. He also said the state government would support the training of youth farmers to update their knowledge in modern agriculture and commended the people of the state for keying into the state government‘s agricultural policy. The joy of the farmers knew no bounds as they commended the state government and FADAMA for helping them enjoy modern farming. Mr. Christian Ogbodo, a farmer, said it was the first time help was coming from government since he started farming over 20 years ago ―I never believed that vehicles can drive to this location, but here we are seeing a motorable road constructed for us. Now we can take our crops to the cities with ease and sell, which is something we never dreamt of in the past,‖ Ogbodo said.

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/03/new-irrigation-method-drivesagriculture-anambra/

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Home Business Indian companies re-branding Pakistani rice fraudulently—REAP Claims

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Indian companies re-branding Pakistani rice fraudulently— REAP Claims By Yasir Zeb March 6, 2018

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According to Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) Indian companies are trying to rebrand Pakistan rice and export to Indonesia with their own label on it. REAP has called upon the ministry of commerce and urged them to take necessary action against this fraud which is being conducted by various Indian companies. REAP has also warned its members to be aware of these companies and avoid trade with them in order to stay away from illegal activities.

Indonesian governmental body BULOG has disseminated rice procurement tender and awarded tenders to various countries including India, the contract winners are required to fulfill the order in 30 days, some Indian companies approached their trade partners in Pakistan for delivering Irri-6 in order to dispatch the consignment to Indonesia on time. Pakistanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Irri-6 is much better in quality and price as compared to Indian Irri-6 therefore; Indian companies are asking Pakistani exporters for procurement of Irri-6. According to Senior Vice Chairman REAP, Rafique Suleman, Indian companies are approaching Pakistani exporters for procurement with the condition that they will not print anything on the rice bags. Rice collected from Pakistan will be exported to Indonesia with Indian brand name and address on it, which is extremely unlawful and illegal, it also hurts our name, REAP strongly condemns such acts, he added. REAP has already sent letters to Federal Advisor on Finance Dr. Miftah Ismail, Revenue and Economic Affairs, Ministry of National Food Security & Research, Ministry of Commerce, Chairman Federal Board of Revenue FBR, Secretary Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), Chief Collector Customs Enforcement, Collector Customs Exports and some others in order to take timely and necessary action against this development. Pakistani rice export has started progressing in the last couple of years and came out of the crisis with the efforts of Pakistani departments including REAP, the department is working hard for the betterment of Pakistani Rice Export globally but these kinds of fraudulent activities could hurt Pakistani rice exports the Chairman said. This is neither legal nor in the interest of Pakistan, authorities should not tolerate this matter and take it seriously, he added.

He said, we have also asked the ministry of commerce about the status of Indian labeled rice which is actually Pakistani rice, they confirmed that it is 100% illegal and strict action would be taken against those who are involved in such activity. REAP is working hard to promote Pakistani Rice in international markets, REAP is to organize Biryani Festival on Pakistan Day March 23 which will be attended by a delegation from Mauritius, on one side REAP is promoting rice exports to the international audience and these illegal activities are being done in the background is not going to work together, we must protect our name and ensure transparency in exports.

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