7th January 2019 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newlsetter

January 07 ,2019 Vol 10 ,Issue 1

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Despite Climate Change, There Will Be Enough Food for 10 Billion in 2050 Food security is not the problem, but nutrition security could be.

Ronald Bailey|Jan. 3, 2019 2:50 pm

TimeEven in the worst-case climate scenarios, the world's farmers will be able to produce more than enough affordable calories to feed 10 billion people in the year 2050. So concludes a team led by the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign agronomist Gerald Nelson, whose study appeared recently in Nature Sustainability; Nelson has summarized the results in an op-ed for The Washington Post.

While that's excellent news, Nelson and his colleagues are worried that a diet rich in carbohydrate calories from abundant wheat, rice, corn, sorghum, and potatoes will be deficient in vital micronutrients needed to maintain health. "Micronutrient shortages such as Vitamin A deficiency are already causing blindness in somewhere between 250,000 and 500,000 children a year and killing half of them within 12 months of them losing their sight," notes Nelson. "Dietary shortages of iron, zinc, iodine and folate all have devastating health effects."

Nelson argues that crop breeders need to shift their research emphasis from food security to nutrition security. "A major effort must be made to increase the productivity—the yield per hectare—of nutrient-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and beans," he urges. "By enhancing their productivity, we'll make them more available and affordable."

Certainly that would help. But an additional strategy would be to use modern biotechnology to enhance the nutritional value of such staple crops as wheat, rice, corn, sorghum, and potatoes.

This is exactly what Swiss researchers have sought to do by developing golden rice, which boosts the amount of the vitamin A precursor beta-carotene in that grain. Unfortunately, fearmongering anti-biotech ideologues have for nearly two decades managed to block the commercial development of golden rice, thus condemning hundreds of thousands of children in poor countries to blindness and death each year.

Other biofortification researchers have used biotech to create rice that boosted folate in that grain by 150-fold; folate in lettuce by 15-fold; folate in beans by 84-fold. Crop breeders have used

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biotech to create rice varieties with higher iron and zinc content. Tomatoes, carrots, and lettuce varieties have been bioengineered to increase iodine levels.

Activists who continue to oppose the deployment of crops created by safe modern biotechnology will only exacerbate the challenges posed by the climate change they claim to worry about. https://reason.com/blog/2019/01/03/despite-climate-change-there-will-be-eno

Relax delivery norms, rice millers urge state govt Jan 7, 2019, 8:58 AM; last updated: Jan 7, 2019, 8:58 AM (IST) Nitish Sharma Tribune News Service Ambala, January 6 With the elections just three months away, the millers in the state have again started building pressure on the government to relax the norms for custom milling of rice.

Unhappy with the quality of grain, the rice millers have been seeking relaxation in the permissible limits of discoloured, broken and damaged yield while delivering it to the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

Raj Kumar Singla, president, Rice Millers‘ Association, Ambala, said: ―Untimely rainfall badly affected the quality of the grain. The millers who procure paddy have to return 67-kg per quintal rice to the FCI, in which 3 per cent damaged, 3 per cent discoloured and 25 per cent broken grain is allowed. However, as per the loss this year, there is a need to increase the permissible limits to 5 per cent damaged and discoloured each and 30 per cent broken.‖ ―Even the yield has been on the lower side this time. So, we demand that the millers should be allowed to return 64-kg per quintal rice instead of 67 kg,‖ he added.

Singla further said: ―The Uttar Pradesh Government has recently relaxed the norms and reduced it to 64-kg per quintal rice and a similar step must be taken by the state. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has written a demi-official letter to the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution requesting him to relax the norms, but we are yet to hear anything from him.‖ Sources, however, said: ―Millers have 58.5-lakh million tonnes (MT) of rice belonging to the state procurement agencies, against which they have to deliver 39.2 lakh MT to the government.

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If the demand of the rice millers is accepted, it will amount to a financial burden of over Rs 580 crore to the state government."

They said there were about 1,100 rice millers in Haryana, of which 200 were big ones. ―If their demand is accepted, each of them is set to get an additional benefit between Rs 2 crore and Rs 5 crore. Also, the UP example given by the millers is also irrelevant as the total procurement of paddy there is hardly 3 lakh MT.‖ https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/haryana/relax-delivery-norms-rice-millers-urge-stategovt/709749.html

Chinese scientists succeed in developing clonal seeds from hybrid rice Source:Xinhua Published: 2019/1/6 7:41:14 Chinese scientists have succeeded in developing clonal seeds from hybrid rice, said an online paper published in Nature Biotechnology Friday night. The team, led by Wang Kejian, from the China National Rice Research Institute and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, conducted simultaneous genome engineering of meiosis and fertilization genes in developing the clonal seeds.

Usually, beneficial phenotypes are lost in subsequent generations owing to genetic segregation.

But with the clonal seeds, the heterosis, or hybrid vigor of the hybrid rice, can be passed on to produce high-yielding crops.

"The success has proved the feasibility of apomixis for hybrid rice, which is significant theoretically. I hope that with their further research, the seeds will be put into production soon," said Yuan Longping, the "father of hybrid rice." Statistics show that China has planted 16 million hectares of hybrid rice, about 57 percent of the total planting area of rice across the country. The annual output of hybrid rice is about 2.5 million tonnes. http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1134686.shtml

Scientists boost plant yield by 40% through ‘genetic hack’ James Marshall January 6, 2019 The research is part of the efforts of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an global research project which influences engineered crops to use photosynthesis more efficiently

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and in that way increase the productivity of food. They report that these engineered plants developed faster, grew taller, and produced about 40 percent more biomass, most of which was found in 50-percent-larger stems.

Researchers are growing increasingly concerned about the ability of the world to feed a growing population in a time of serious climate change.

It's expected that agricultural demand will increase globally by 60-120% by the middle of this century compared to 2005. However, crop yields are now only increasing by less than 2% per year, suggesting there will be a significant shortfall in meeting this demand. Instead, scientists are increasingly looking to improving the process of photosynthesis as a way of increasing food productivity. They found that these synthetic shortcuts boost productivity by 40 percent, and will now apply this breakthrough to boost the yield of food crops. That process is called photorespiration, and it makes plants produce way less food than they otherwise could.

Green plants containing the protein rubisco use sunlight to convert water and atmospheric carbon dioxide into life-sustaining organic compounds, such as glucose.

Most crops are plagued by a photosynthetic glitch.

It's the first time that an engineered photorespiration fix has been tested in real-world agronomic conditions, having been trialled on a tobacco plant.

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"Rubisco has even more trouble picking out carbon dioxide from oxygen as it gets hotter, causing more photorespiration", co-author Amanda Cavanagh, an IL postdoctoral researcher working on the RIPE project said in a statement.

"It's been estimated that in plants like soybeans, rice and fruit and vegetables, it can be a significant drag on yield by as much as 36%".

Now, researchers from the University of IL and U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service have figured out a way to engineer plants with a built-in photorespiratory shortcut that makes them 40% more productive in real-world conditions.

One important holdback is that the photosynthesis glitch becomes more prevalent under the conditions of higher temperature and drought. This dramatically reduced the resources needed to detoxify the plant. They also form a fully closed canopy in the field similar to many food crops.

However, they plan to genetically engineer other plants such as soybeans, cowpeas, rice, potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants.

However, the authors recognise that using genetic modification is controversial in many parts of the world.

"The research that's necessary to prove that it has low environmental impact and is safe for consumption takes a minimum of ten years and many more dollars in research funds to make sure that this is a good and safe food product", said Dr South.

While it will probably take over 10 years for this innovation to be converted into food crops and accomplish regulatory approval, RIPE and its supporters are focused on guaranteeing that smallholder farmers, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, will have sovereignty free access to the majority of the undertaking's achievements. http://clicklancashire.com/2019/01/05/scientists-boost-plant-yield-by-40-through-genetic-hack.html

Inflation of rice in Pakistan Rice is such a natural thing every religion people are eating. Unfortunately, in Pakistan now a day‘s rice rate is being increased. In a day millions of people are eating rice in Pakistan. When the rice is being high price, the poor people can‘t eat. The big reason of inflation in rice is that, day by day Pakistan carnally is being because of this, rice become expensive. I request to the government of Pakistan to take strong action towards this issue and make the inflation rate of rice decreased.

SHABEER QADIR, https://nation.com.pk/06-Jan-2019/inflation-of-rice-in-pakistan

Chinese scientists succeed in developing clonal seeds from hybrid rice Source: Xinhua| 2019-01-06 00:49:42|Editor: Yang Yi

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HANGZHOU, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have succeeded in developing clonal seeds from hybrid rice, said an online paper published in Nature Biotechnology Friday night.

The team, led by Wang Kejian, from the China National Rice Research Institute and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, conducted simultaneous genome engineering of meiosis and fertilization genes in developing the clonal seeds.

Usually, beneficial phenotypes are lost in subsequent generations owing to genetic segregation.

But with the clonal seeds, the heterosis, or hybrid vigor of the hybrid rice, can be passed on to produce high-yielding crops.

"The success has proved the feasibility of apomixis for hybrid rice, which is significant theoretically. I hope that with their further research, the seeds will be put into production soon," said Yuan Longping, the "father of hybrid rice."

Statistics show that China has planted 16 million hectares of hybrid rice, about 57 percent of the total planting area of rice across the country. The annual output of hybrid rice is about 2.5 million tonnes. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/06/c_137722346.htm

Wild rice task force calls for new stewardship council

By John Myers / Forum News Service on Jan 5, 2019 at 4:45 p.m.

A governor's task force on wild rice reached no consensus on major changes to protect the plants in Minnesota but instead suggests creating a permanent stewardship council to develop wild rice protections and plants for the future. Forum News Service file photo

ST. PAUL -- A task force appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton last May aimed at finding ways to protect, preserve and promote wild rice across Minnesota has ended with several recommendations but no new consensus on state regulations.The task force‘s final report, made public Friday, Jan. 4, said the issue of protecting wild rice is too complex for the members to solve over a few months. ―Given the extraordinary complexity of the subject matter and the short timeline for the task force, task force members felt they would be remiss to make final recommendations on some complex areas of the topic without additional efforts and voices,‘‘ the final report notes.

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Instead, task force members said their primary recommendation is to create a new, apparently permanent state Wild Rice Stewardship Council to develop long-term solutions to wild rice problems and long term protections for wild rice lakes and rivers.

The proposed stewardship council members ―would represent a wide range of interests and perspectives, and be charged with making interdisciplinary recommendations on the management, monitoring, outreach research, and regulation regarding wild rice,‘‘ the final report notes, adding that the new council would be tasked by the state to recommend a statewide standardized monitoring program, recommend a comprehensive, statewide management plan for wild rice; encourage more research on wild rice; and develop a ―roadmap‖ for protecting wild rice from sulfate.

Dayton formed the task force by executive order in May 2018. The 14 members met nine times over three months to find ways to address the ―regulatory, economic, and scientific challenges associated with protecting wild rice.‖ The final report outlines several recommendations to the Minnesota Legislature and to incoming Gov. Tim Walz to both protect wild rice and support continued economic development and job creation across the state, including developing better relations between state and tribal interests;

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instructing the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to improve its variance process; and declaring the first week of September ―Wild Rice Week‖ to build awareness of the value of wild rice in Minnesota.

The task force — comprised of representatives from Red Lake Nation, Dakota Tribes, iron mining and copper mining corporate officials, environmental advocacy groups, scientists, state and local government agencies and others — agreed on basic tenets of protecting wild rice and clean water; ensuring the viability of Minnesota communities; respecting tribal sovereignty; the need to address biological, chemical, and hydrological threats to wild rice; and sharing the burdens and benefits of any solutions the state develops.

Kathryn Hoffman, who heads the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and was a member of the task force, said effort ―made significant progress toward finding common ground on solutions to protect wild rice‘‘ despite the limited timeframe. ―The recommendation to form a Wild Rice Stewardship Council with full representation from all 11 federally-recognized Native American tribes, bands, and communities in the State of Minnesota is critical for continued momentum forward,‘‘ Hoffman said Friday in a statement. ―We hope that Gov.-elect Tim Walz and the Minnesota Legislature adopt its recommendations so that we can continue to work together toward science-based solutions that protect wild rice.― An industry representative on the task force did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the report Friday afternoon.

The task force didn‘t answer the question of potential sulfate pollution of wild rice beds from industrial pollution, especially mining, and from sewage treatment plants. Scientists who have studied the issue say sulfates can convert to sulfides in some waters and harm development of wild rice. But there is disagreement between industry scientists and others on how much impact those sulfides have, especially in waters with different iron contents and chemistry.

The final report offered a vague statement on sulfate saying that, while most researchers agree the sulfate/sulfide process harms wild rice ―there are wild rice waters that do not fit this relationship where wild rice thrives. The rate at which sulfate is converted to sulfide, and how wild rice plants are affected, is an active area of scientific discussion.‖ 9|www.riceplusmagazine.blogspot.com , mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com

The report also notes that while the Pollution Control Agency has forwarded an equation to determine the sulfate/sulfide/wild rice relationship for individual lakes and rivers ―other researchers have disagreed with this approach and think the equation does not sufficiently capture the dynamic biological, chemical, and hydrological relationships related to the effects of sulfate on wild rice. Some researchers believe the equation-based approach proposed by MPCA was over-protective of wild rice, and others believe it was under-protective.‖ https://www.dglobe.com/news/government-and-politics/4552819-wild-rice-task-force-calls-newstewardship-council

Scientists Tout New Way to Boost Photosynthesis January 3, 2019NATHAN SOLIS

(CN) – A study released Thursday offers a glimmer of hope for more efficient crops that can better fill up on warm sunlight and grow bigger and healthier.

Plant photosynthesis is at the center of the study, published in the journal Science, helmed by researchers from the University of Illinois and U.S. Department of Agriculture who say they have engineered a bio-shortcut for plants to become 40 percent more efficient in gathering sunlight and converting that into energy.

An unmodified plant (right) grows beside a modified plant (left) engineered with an alternate route to shortcut photorespiration—a circuitous and energy-expensive process that costs yield potential. The modified plants are able to reinvest their energy and resources to significantly boost productivity. (Photo credit: Claire Benjamin/RIPE Project) Researchers say this could potentially feed up to 200 million more people from the amount of energy that is otherwise lost when plants are taxed and use energy-expensive means to gather nutrients from the sun.

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This anti-photosynthesis process can be engineered out of plants by introducing new pathways to help plants better turn carbon dioxide and water into sugars that make them grow.

Over a two-year period, researchers stress-tested this process on 1,700 tobacco plants, which grew faster, taller and produced about 40 percent more biomass. ―Reclaiming even a portion of these calories across the world would go a long way to meeting the 21st Century‘s rapidly expanding food demands – driven by population growth and more affluent high-calorie diets,‖ said Donald Ort, the Robert Emerson professor of plant science and crop sciences at the University of Illinois.

The team will next apply the process to soybean, cowpea, rice, potato, tomato, and eggplant crops, but don‘t expect to see any of these results in the produce aisle anytime soon as it will take at least a decade for the technology to become common practice.

Meanwhile, in another study on light and heat published Thursday in the journal Science, physicists from Rice University in Texas have created the world‘s first laser-cooled neutral plasma. It‘s no small feat, as the team used laser cooling on clouds of rapidly expanding ions to temperatures about 50 times colder than deep space.

Plasmas tend to naturally occur in very hot places, like the surface of the sun or in a lightning bolt, but in order to study the matter, scientists had to cool, slow and trap particles with intersecting laser beams.

This allows physicists to study coupled plasmas outside of where they naturally occur, like at the center of Jupiter or in white dwarf stars due to their intense gravity-squeezing of ions.

Lead scientist Tom Killian, professor of physics and astronomy at Rice, said his team is not aware of the practical payoff at this point, but the work allows for the study of exotic states of matter.

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―Nobody predicted that laser cooling atoms and ions would lead to the world‘s most accurate clocks or breakthroughs in quantum computing. We do this because it‘s a frontier,‖ said Killian.

The research was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Department of Energy‘s Office of Science. https://www.courthousenews.com/scientists-tout-new-way-to-boost-photosynthesis/

BREAKING: Customs Officials ‗Intercept‘ Dangote Truck With 150 Bags Of Smuggled Rice "One Dangote truck carrying one hundred and fifty bags of foreign rice was intercepted along Mayo-Belwa road on the last day of the year,‖ he stated. "The driver escaped but we are sure that Dangote, being a responsible corporate entity, will identify and apprehend the driver and hand him over to us for prosecution.‖

BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORKJAN 04, 2019

A Dangote truck has been intercepted with smuggled rice by men of the Nigeria Customs Service in Adamawa State, SaharaReporters can report.Kamardeen Olumoh, Comptroller of Customs, Adamawa/Taraba command, paraded the truck to newsmen in Yola on Friday. "One Dangote truck carrying one hundred and fifty bags of foreign rice was intercepted along Mayo-

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Belwa road on the last day of the year,‖ he stated.

"The driver escaped but we are sure that Dangote, being a responsible corporate entity, will identify and apprehend the driver and hand him over to us for prosecution.‖

Comptroller Olumoh further disclosed other seizures made by the command, including rice, used clothing and petroleum products with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of over N59 million.

Giving a breakdown of seizures during the preceding year, he said: "The command was able to make sixty-one seizures, which were mainly foreign rice, totalling 1,740 bags.

Also seized were used vehicles, secondhand clothing and 21,270 litres of petroleum products with a DPV of N59,781,006.81.

"Three suspects are being tried in relation to the smuggling offences,‖ he said.

Olumoh however lamented that the command's revenue generation for the year was below expectation, a development he blamed on insecurity and flooding within the command.

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"The command generated N168,294,227.83 from January to December 2018 as against N186,113,181.28 generated in 2017.

"However, the amount fell short of the revenue target of N197,301,635.98 for the year in review.

"This can be attributed to challenges faced by officers and men of the command which include, the current state of insurgency in the region, sectarian situation in the Republic of Cameroon and recurring communal clashes in both Adamawa and Taraba states.‖ http://saharareporters.com/2019/01/04/breaking-customs-officials-%E2%80%98intercept%E2%80%99dangote-truck-150-bags-smuggled-rice

How Delta is encouraging rice production ON JANUARY 6, 20194:56 AMIN VIEWPOINT1 COMMENT By Festus Ahon As part of the Federal Government‘s moves to ensure food sufficiency and security, the Delta State government through its Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurs Programme, YAGEP, has begun the production of rice in 10 kilogram packs. Okowa YAGEP, which is part of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa‘s job creation programme, was established to create decent and gainful youth employment through the agricultural value chain, boost agricultural productivity as well as

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diversify the economy of the state. The design of YAGEP integrates agricultural training (instructional and fieldwork), personal effectiveness training, enterprise incubation, agricultural entrepreneurship training, farm enterprise establishment in clusters and mentorship. Under the YAGEP, a total of 757 previously unemployed youths have been trained, established and mentored in agricultural enterprises over the three successive years/cycles of implementation – 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/2018. The YAGEP rice initiative started in 2017 with the cultivation of 74 hectares at Ugili-Amai, Ndokwa West Local Government Area. Subsequently in 2018, the initiative involved the cultivation of 42 hectares of rice at Deghele, Sapele Local Government Area and 54 hectares at Mbiri, Ika North East Local Government Area.

During the 2018 production year, the process involved 48 youth trainees working under close tutorials, facilitation and guidance of the Office of the Chief Job Creation Officer through knowledgeable and experienced resource persons from within and outside the state. The rice value chain initiative involves instructional and field-based training, farm enterprise incubation and establishment of youths through the entire process of rice production, processing, packaging, branding and marketing.

The programme activities include soil tests and site selection, land preparation (clearing, ploughing and harrowing), seed treatment and planting, soil treatment, weeds prevention and control, fertilizer application, prevention and control of pests and diseases and birds scaring.

Other operations include harvesting (cutting and packing), threshing, drying, winnowing, washing/parboiling, milling, destoning and packaging/bagging. The cultivation, harvesting, threshing, drying, parboiling, milling, destoning and bagging operations were carried out with participation of the YAGEPreneurs. All the inputs, technologies and materials used in the rice production and processing and packaging operations were provided by the Office of the Chief Job Creation Officer. The Chief Job Creation Officer, Prof Eric Eboh in a chat with Sunday Vanguard said; ―the trainees have been programmed to acquire skills for practical knowledge, entrepreneurship and self-employment in the rice value chain, comprising rice farming, rice preprocessing, rice processing and rice marketing. ―As strategy, the trainings are integrated in the rice production and processing activities in order to achieve maximum impact and sustainability. The trainees were taken through the entire range of rice production activities – soil tests and site selection, mechanical land clearing and land preparation, seed treatment and sowing, soil treatment and management, pest and disease control measures, weed prevention and control measures, birds prevention and control measures, harvesting, threshing, winnowing, parboiling, milling, packaging and branding. ―The performance of the trainees in the two rice farm clusters – Deghele and Mbiri – is satisfactory.

The trainees, otherwise called YAGEPreneurs, will apply the knowledge and skills to continue production and maintain self-employment. Effects on the economy of the state. ―Rice is one of the priority agricultural commodities in the state. The production of YAGEP rice has boosted economy of the state as well as demonstrated the potentials for creating youth employment

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through the rice value chain. The rice production system adopted under YAGEP provides critical demonstration effects on the rice economy of the state, as it involved the application of best agricultural practices. ―Many farmers have learnt new improved rice production techniques and practices through the YAGEP rice production process and are poised to applying same in their respective farm enterprises. Statistics derived from recent economic data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicates that agricultural sector in Delta State has grown at an annual average of 13.3% from 2015-2017, compared to 8.6% from 20132015. This accelerated growth of agriculture in the past 3 years (that is, since 2015) is a clear evidence of the positive impacts of YAGEP on the economy of the state. ―In addition, the success of YAGEP has encouraged youths towards seeking selfemployment through agricultural entrepreneurship. This is reflected by the increasing demand for admission into YAGEP‖. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/01/how-delta-is-encouraging-rice-production/

Customs impounds Dangote truck with smuggled foreign rice in Adamawa

By Emmanuel Ande, Yola 05 January 2019 | 4:11 am Ogun community appeals to Buhari, Fashola over outage

In a renewed fight against the smuggling of foreign rice and other goods into the country, the Nigerian Customs service has impounded a Dangote truck with 150 bags of foreign rice in Mayo-Belwa local government in Adamawa state.While briefing journalists yesterday in Yola, Area Commander of Adamawa/Taraba command, Comtroller Kamardeen Olumoh, said that the driver of the truck escaped after his men shot the tires of the vehicle when the driver attempted to run away with the illegal goods.

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Olumoh said that his command last year generated N168 million, falling short of N29 million, which was their target for 2018, blaming the short-fall on the activities of insurgents, farmers/herders clashes in both Adamawa and Taraba as well as flooding which has affected the roads and the sectarian situation in the Republic of Cameroon.

He stated that his command has seized 1,740 bags of foreign rice, vehicles and other goods including petroleum products with a duty paid value of N59.7 million, pointing out that three suspected smugglers are being tried in relation to smuggling offences.

The rice revolution

6th January 2019 With the exponential growth in local rice production, stakeholders say Nigeria has moved closer to ending rice importation.Olakunle Olafioye, Olanrewaju Lawal (Kebbi), Geoffrey Anyanwu (Awka) and Obinna Odogwu (Abakaliki) The claim by the United States Department of Agriculture Culture Agency that Nigeria is likely to become the world‘s second largest rice importer in 2019, may not hold water after all as findings by Sunday Sun revealed that the nation is on course in its determination to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production.

In its latest report, Rice Outlook, released recently, the US had projected that Nigeria would become second largest rice importer this year, with China becoming world‘s largest importer of rice.

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Contrary to this claim, findings by Sunday Sun in some select rice producing states in the country showed that the Federal Government is on course with its commitment to making the nation self-reliant in rice production.

As parts of the current administration‘s commitment to boost rice production in the country, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the Anchor Borrowers Programme on November 17, 2015.

The programme is aimed at providing farm inputs in cash and kind to small-holder farmers in order to boost local production of commodities, including rice; stabilize inputs supply to agro-processors and address the country‘s negative balance of payments on food.

The result is the exponential growth in local rice production, which stakeholders claimed has now moved Nigeria closer to ending rice importation.

Sunday Sun gathered that within two years, rice importation from Thailand fell from 644,131 metric tons in September 2015 to 20,000 metric tons in September 2017, a drop of over 90 per cent.

The development is contrary to the claim made by the American report: ―On an annual basis, consumption and residual use is projected higher in 2018/19 in Angola, Benin, Burkina-Faso, Cambodia, Cote d‘Ivoire, Cuba, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. ―China and Nigeria are projected to remain the largest rice importing countries in 2019, followed by the EU, Cote d‘Ivoire, and Iran. Nigeria and Egypt are projected to account for the bulk of the 2019 import increase. Imports in 2019 are also projected to be larger than a year earlier for Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d‘Ivoire, EU, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, Mali, Senegal, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. ―Global rice consumption (including a residual component) in 2018/19 is projected at a record 488.4 million tons, down 0.1 million tons from the previous forecast but up more than 1 per cent from a year earlier.‖ Stakeholders in Nigeria, however, dismissed the report, describing it as erroneous and misleading just as findings by Sunday Sun in some rice producing states confirmed federal and state governments‘ relentless efforts to make Nigeria a force to be reckoned with in rice production.

In Kebbi State, despite the devastating effects of flood this year, about 200,000 rice farmers who cultivated over 500,000 hectares rice farm still recorded bumper harvest.

Findings by Sunday Sun showed that only the rice farmers along the banks of River Rima and River Niger were mostly affected by the flood while other rice farmers in the high land (outside river banks) recorded good harvest.

Speaking with Sunday Sun, Chairman, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), in the state, Alhaji Mohammed Sahabi Augie, disclosed that since rice farming was not restricted to the rainy season, flooding which was experienced in many local government areas in the state did not affect production of paddy rice for rice mills in the state.

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Augie explained: ―Our membership is increasing every day and that is why more rice mills are springing up in the state. Before, it was only Labana Rice Mill, but today, we have WACOT in Argungu, there is another one in Kamba and Dangote Group is planning to establish their rice-processing compact in Yauri.

If they have not been getting enough raw materials, that is, paddy rice, how would they be establishing more rice mills? ―I can tell you today that what we have harvested so far could sustain our rice mills in the state for the next six months. So, before they exhaust, we would have recorded another bumper harvest.‖ Augie while reacting to the report that Nigeria would be among the largest importers of rice in 2019, described the report by the US agency as propaganda aimed at rubbishing the Federal Government‘s efforts. ―Nigerians and rice farmers have not had it so good like this. Today, there an organized market for rice farmers to sell their paddy rice directly to the companies and making profits not through agents again who have been making money and subjecting us to debts. What I think state governments should do now is to introduce their own agriculture initiatives just as the Federal Government introduced the Anchored Borrowers Scheme, which has yielded positive impact today. We are getting more new rice farmers, therefore, there is a need to have more extension service agents to teach our new entrants technology and skills on rice plantation.‖ In Ebonyi State, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Moses Nomeh, confirmed to Sunday Sun that the state has been receiving support from the Federal Government to boost its rice production. ―We are benefiting from the Federal Government‘s Anchor Borrowers Scheme. And it is part of the things we are using to drive agriculture in Ebonyi State. In 2017, we got N3 billion and we distributed it to 14,642 farmers in the state. ―We are also benefiting from the Federal Government‘s loan. We have also got equipment from the Federal Government. For example, they gave us threshers which we are sharing now,‖ he added.

But despite the support received from the Federal Government, Sunday Sun gathered that rice farmers in Ebonyi State still face a number of challenges.

Findings showed that a good number of rice farmers are yet to have access to reliable supply of high quality local paddy, particularly as the dry season production is almost non-existent in the state.

Similarly, access to credit facility is still a major challenge just as land preparation remains the farmers‘ nightmare; and post-harvest processing, among others.

An executive member of the Abakaliki Rice Mill Owners Association (ARMOA) and Rice Millers Association (RMA), Mr Augustine Obasi, told Sunday Sun that in addition, flooding, illegal activities of rice importers and smugglers are other sources of concern to rice farmers in the state.

In Anambra State, the state government‘s determination to hit 600,000 metric tons in rice production is on course as the state currently produces 345, 000 metric tons.

Confirming this to Sunday Sun, the Technical Assistant to the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Chinedu Nwankwo, said: ―When it comes to rice production in Anambra, the state currently has 345,000 metric

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tons and going by the target the state has from the governor‘s administrative blueprint, we are expected to hit 600,000 metric tonnes by 2020. ―When it comes to the possibility of achieving it, yes the state can achieve it based on the machinery the government, the governor and the initiatives of the commissioner have put on ground. The state has a very good focus.

―Over N3.5 billion has been set aside to ensure land development and the support Governor Willie Obiano is giving in terms of provision inputs. For this year, a total sum of N195 million has been set aside for the procurement of inputs to achieve the expected target of the year for the state. ―Also looking at the partnership and investment system of the state, now the state has very good investors on ground, people like Coscharis Group, which has over 3000 to 5000 hectares of land it is cultivating.

Also there are other investors in rice production and so on, all these are being channeled to achieve the set target.‖ Coscharis rice farm

In terms of reducing post-harvest loss, the state, Sunday Sun gathered, is strategically set to assist processors by providing equipment and other necessary support.

In spite of this, rice farmers in the state still have to contend with flooding, according to Okonkwo. ―One of the major challenges the state is facing at the moment is flooding. Anambra is one of the states affected by the flood in the country and a good number of our farmlands were affected. We have over 20,000 hectares of rice farms that were affected and it was devastating, especially when these farmers had already positioned themselves for harvest, only to encounter flood. It was a major setback.

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―But be that as it may, the state is not relenting. Not long ago, the governor launched the dry season farming and rice production is one of the areas by repositioning the state in provision of water pump for dry season, irrigation facilities in some locations like Ayamelum, Ogbaru and Ihiala. Also a good number of farmers have been assisted with water pumps and tube wells. ―Apart from that we have been able to observe that the residue moisture complex of the state is good enough to enable production of dry season rice that will give, you know yield rate in dry season is too high, so what we are doing in Anambra is very strategic and transparent in that aspect and I believe we are on course. ―2020 is possibility and is even the target of the ministry for the dry season where we say that zero hunger is possible. Not only zero hunger, we are also looking at healthy farmer, healthy farm scheme, so with this two schemes, we will be able to increase and if not surpass the expected target in rice production,‖ he boasted.

Despite the success recorded so far in its bid to make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production, the Federal Government is not relenting. As part of the effort to crash the price of local rice, the Federal Government has disclosed its plan to disburse N60 billion to subsidise rice production.

The Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, made the disclosure after a meeting of the National Council on Food Security presided over by President Buhari last year.

Ogbe said: ―There is a subsidy programme coming up. Government has approved N60 billion to support the rice industry to bring down prices. But we are going to handle it differently. ―We don‘t want to get into petroleum subsidy problem. So, a committee is looking at it with the Ministry of Finance. We think that it is better for us to lend money to the millers, farmers and distributors at a very low interest rate, so that the capital doesn‘t disappear, so they have cheaper credit to do their business that should impact on the price of rice in the market. When we are ready we will let you know.‖ He added that the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) had concluded plans to restructure the Bank of Agriculture, to make it possible for investors and farmers to buy shares in the bank. ―It will eventually become the farmers‘ bank. And we hope that in the process this will bring down interest rates reasonably maybe five percent or a little higher, so that agriculture will become attractive and people can raise capital to invest,‖ he said.

Ogbeh also said that the Federal Government had approved N24 billion as compensation for flood victims across the country. https://www.sunnewsonline.com/the-rice-revolution-stakeholders-take-stock/

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Wild rice task force calls for new stewardship council

By John Myers on Jan 4, 2019 at 5:42 p.m.

A governor's task force on wild rice reached no consensus on major changes to protect the plants in Minnesota but instead suggests creating a permanent stewardship council to develop wild rice protections and plants for the future. (file / News Tribune) A task force appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton last May aimed at finding ways to protect, preserve and promote wild rice across Minnesota has ended with several recommendations but no new consensus on state regulations.

The task force's final report, made public Friday, said the issue of protecting wild rice is too complex for the members to solve over a few months.

"Given the extraordinary complexity of the subject matter and the short timeline for the task force, task force members felt they would be remiss to make final recommendations on some complex areas of the topic without additional efforts and voices,'' the final report notes.

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Instead, task force members said their primary recommendation is to create a new, apparently permanent state Wild Rice Stewardship Council to develop long-term solutions to wild rice problems and long term protections for wild rice lakes and rivers.

The proposed stewardship council members "would represent a wide range of interests and perspectives, and be charged with making interdisciplinary recommendations on the management, monitoring, outreach research, and regulation regarding wild rice,'' the final report notes, adding that the new council would be tasked by the state to recommend a statewide standardized monitoring program, recommend a comprehensive, statewide management plan for wild rice; encourage more research on wild rice; and develop a "roadmap" for protecting wild rice from sulfate.

Dayton formed the task force by executive order in May 2018. The 14 members met nine times over three months to find ways to address the "regulatory, economic, and scientific challenges associated with protecting wild rice."

The final report outlines several recommendations to the Minnesota Legislature and to incoming Gov. Tim Walz to both protect wild rice and support continued economic development and job creation across the state, including developing better relations between state and tribal interests; instructing the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to improve its variance process; and declaring the first week of September "Wild Rice Week" to build awareness of the value of wild rice in Minnesota.

The task force — comprised of representatives from Red Lake Nation, Dakota Tribes, iron mining and copper mining corporate officials, environmental advocacy groups, scientists, state and local government agencies and others — agreed on basic tenets of protecting wild rice and clean water; ensuring the viability of Minnesota communities; respecting tribal sovereignty; the need to address biological, chemical, and hydrological threats to wild rice; and sharing the burdens and benefits of any solutions the state develops.

Kathryn Hoffman, who heads the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and was a member of the task force, said effort "made significant progress toward finding common ground on solutions to protect wild rice'' despite the limited timeframe.

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"The recommendation to form a Wild Rice Stewardship Council with full representation from all 11 federally-recognized Native American tribes, bands, and communities in the State of Minnesota is critical for continued momentum forward,'' Hoffman said Friday in a statement.

"We hope that Gov.-elect Tim Walz and the Minnesota Legislature adopt its recommendations so that we can continue to work together toward science-based solutions that protect wild rice."

An industry representative on the task force did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the report Friday afternoon.

The task force didn't answer the question of potential sulfate pollution of wild rice beds from industrial pollution, especially mining, and from sewage treatment plants. Scientists who have studied the issue say sulfates can convert to sulfides in some waters and harm development of wild rice. But there is disagreement between industry scientists and others on how much impact those sulfides have, especially in waters with different iron contents and chemistry.

The final report offered a vague statement on sulfate saying that, while most researchers agree the sulfate/sulfide process harms wild rice "there are wild rice waters that do not fit this relationship where wild rice thrives. The rate at which sulfate is converted to sulfide, and how wild rice plants are affected, is an active area of scientific discussion."

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The report also notes that while the Pollution Control Agency has forwarded an equation to determine the sulfate/sulfide/wild rice relationship for individual lakes and rivers "other researchers have disagreed with this approach and think the equation does not sufficiently capture the dynamic biological, chemical, and hydrological relationships related to the effects of sulfate on wild rice. Some researchers believe the equation-based approach proposed by MPCA was over-protective of wild rice, and others believe it was under-protective."

Minnesota, meet your new governor — teacher, coach, soldier, sci-fi fan and eternal optimist

Federal prisoners served steak by unpaid guards during shutdown

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/government-and-politics/4552478-wild-rice-task-force-callsnew-stewardship-council

A new way to genetically tweak photosynthesis boosts plant growth Tobacco plants with a simplified process of photorespiration grew 40 percent bigger

BY MARIA TEMMING 2:00PM, JANUARY 3, 2019

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FIELD TEST Field tests with plants under real-world farming conditions have revealed how tweaking plants‘ genetic instructions for a process called photorespiration increases crop yield.

BRIAN STAUFFER/UNIV. OF ILLINOIS

A genetic hack to make photosynthesis more efficient could be a boon for agricultural production, at least for some plants.

This feat of genetic engineering simplifies a complex, energy-expensive operation that many plants must perform during photosynthesis known as photorespiration. In field tests, genetically modifying tobacco in this way increased plant growth by over 40 percent. If it produces similar results in other crops, that could help farmers meet the food demands of a growing global population, researchers report in the Jan. 4 Science.

Streamlining photorespiration is ―a great step forward in efforts to enhance photosynthesis,‖ says Spencer Whitney, a plant biochemist at Australian National University in Canberra not involved in the work.

Now that the agricultural industry has mostly optimized the use of yield-boosting tools like pesticides, fertilizers and irrigation, researchers are trying to micromanage and improve plant growth by designing ways to make photosynthesis more efficient (SN: 12/24/16, p. 6).

Photorespiration is a major roadblock to achieving such efficiency. It occurs in many plants, such as soybeans, rice and wheat, when an enzyme called Rubisco — whose main job is to help transform carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into sugars that fuel plant growth — accidentally snatches an oxygen molecule out of the atmosphere instead.

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That Rubisco-oxygen interaction, which happens about 20 percent of the time, generates the toxic compound glycolate, which a plant must recycle into useful molecules through photorespiration. This processes comprises a long chain of chemical reactions that span four compartments in a plant cell. All told, completing a cycle of photorespiration is like driving from Maine to Florida by way of California. That waste of energy can cut crop yields by 20 to 50 percent, depending on plant species and environmental conditions.

Using genetic engineering, researchers have now designed a more direct chemical pathway for photorespiration that is confined to a single cell compartment — the cellular equivalent of a Maine-to-Florida road trip straight down the East Coast.

Paul South, a molecular biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Urbana, Ill., and colleagues embedded genetic directions for this shortcut, written on pieces of algae and pumpkin DNA, in tobacco plant cells. The researchers also genetically engineered the cells to not produce a chemical that allows glycolate to travel between cell compartments to prevent the glycolate from taking its normal route through the cell.

NEW AND IMPROVED Modifying tobacco plants‘ genetic instructions for photosynthesis increased the growth of tobacco plants by about 40 percent (one at left) compared with unmodified plants (one at right).

CLAIRE BENJAMIN/RIPE PROJECT

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Unlike previous experiments with human-designed photorespiration pathways, South‘s team tested its photorespiration detour in plants grown in fields under real-world farming conditions.

Genetically altered tobacco produced 41 percent more biomass than tobacco that hadn‘t been modified. ―It‘s very exciting‖ to see how well this genetic tweak worked in tobacco, says Veronica Maurino, a plant physiologist at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf in Germany not involved in the research, but ―you can‘t say, ‗It‘s functioning. Now it will function everywhere.‘‖ Experiments with different types of plants will reveal whether this photorespiration fix creates the same benefits for other crops as it does for tobacco. South‘s team is currently running greenhouse experiments on potatoes with the new set of genetic modifications, and plans to do similar tests with soybeans, black-eyed peas and rice.

The vetting process for such genetic modifications to be approved for use on commercial farms, including more field testing, will probably take at least another five to 10 years, says Andreas Weber, a plant biochemist also at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf who coauthored a commentary on the study that appears in the same issue of Science. In the meantime, he expects that researchers will continue trying to design even more efficient photorespiration shortcuts, but South‘s team ―has now set a pretty high bar.‖ https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-way-genetically-tweak-photosynthesis-boosts-plantgrowth

Do plants favor their kin?

Elizabeth Pennisi See all authors and affiliations Science 04 Jan 2019: Vol. 363, Issue 6422, pp. 15-16 DOI: 10.1126/science.363.6422.15

Summary More than a decade ago, a Canadian biologist planted the seed of the idea that plants help close relatives. Many plant biologists regarded it as heretical—plants lack the nervous systems that enable animals to recognize kin recognition, so how can they know their relatives? But with a series of recent findings, the notion that plants really do care for their most genetically close peers—in a quiet, plant-y way—is taking root. Some species constrain how far their roots spread, others change how many flowers they produce, and a few tilt or shift their leaves to minimize shading of neighboring plants, favoring related individuals. The new work may even

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have a practical side, suggesting ways to increase crop yields.

Scientists Tweak Photosynthesis and Enhance Crop Development by 40 %

by Denis Bedoya | Jan 4, 2019 | News A slow enzyme named rubisco has left plenty of room for improvement.

Without photosynthesis, life as we know it wouldn‘t exist on Earth. When plants convert light energy into chemical energy, they release oxygen as a byproduct. But over the past millennia, they‘ve slowly become less effective at production. Researchers at the U.S Department of Agriculture and the University of Illinois have engineered a correction and figured out how to make crops that are 40 percent more productive in real-world farming conditions.

The problem lies with an enzyme known as rubisco, short for ―ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase.‖ Rubisco has a crucial role in the photosynthetic process: It takes inorganic carbon dioxide and transforms it into organic carbon. However, for an enzyme that plays a crucial role for all life on Earth, scientists describe it as ―remarkably inefficient.‖ Most enzymes can process thousands of molecules in the time it takes rubisco to process two or three.

Plants typically make up for this by creating lots and lots of rubisco—so much that it‘s the most ample enzyme on Earth. And for the most part, it‘s worked. Rubisco has been converting carbon dioxide into organic carbon to the extent that Earth‘s current atmosphere is rich with oxygen.

But the inefficient enzyme has encountered another difficulty. It‘s begun to confuse its natural diet of carbon dioxide molecules with oxygen. That‘s no good for photosynthesis. When rubisco grabs oxygen, as scientists say it does around 20 percent of the time, it forces the plant to undergo an energy-consuming process known as photorespiration. During photorespiration, a plant sends its enzymes through three different compartments within the plant cell. ―Photorespiration is anti-photosynthesis,‖ says lead author Paul South, a research molecular biologist with the Agricultural Research Service, in a press statement. ―It costs the plant precious energy and resources that it could have invested in photosynthesis to produce more growth and yield.‖ Over two years, the research team attempted to develop a more efficient version of photorespiration. Testing through 1,700 plants, they created three. These new methods of photorespiration using alternate sets of promoters and genes, allowing plants to achieve the same results while expending far less energy, ―Much like the Panama Canal was a feat of engineering that increased the efficiency of trade, these photorespiratory shortcuts are a feat of plant engineering that prove a unique means to greatly increase the efficiency of photosynthesis,‖ says Stephen Long, the Ikenberry Endowed University Chair of Crop Sciences and Plant Biology at Illinois and director of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE).

In field studies, these engineered plants were able to develop plants faster, grow taller, and produce around 40 percent more biomass.

Although only tested in tobacco (an ideal test subject due to its relative genetic simplicity and big ol‘ leaves) scientists now hope to expand testing to crops that make up the staples of many diets around the globe: soybeans, cowpeas, rice, potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants. Scientists

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anticipate a decade-long journey towards gaining regulatory approval for the new engineering across the glob.

After that process, smaller farms in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia could have royaltyfree access to these engineered plants producing more oxygen than they have in a long time.

Source: University of Illinois http://infosurhoy.com/cocoon/saii/xhtml/en_GB/news/scientists-tweak-photosynthesis-andenhance-crop-development-by-40/

Chinese scientists succeed in developing clonal seeds from hybrid rice Source: Xinhua| 2019-01-06 00:49:42|Editor: Yang Yi

HANGZHOU, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have succeeded in developing clonal seeds from hybrid rice, said an online paper published in Nature Biotechnology Friday night.

The team, led by Wang Kejian, from the China National Rice Research Institute and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, conducted simultaneous genome engineering of meiosis and fertilization genes in developing the clonal seeds.

Usually, beneficial phenotypes are lost in subsequent generations owing to genetic segregation.

But with the clonal seeds, the heterosis, or hybrid vigor of the hybrid rice, can be passed on to produce high-yielding crops.

"The success has proved the feasibility of apomixis for hybrid rice, which is significant theoretically. I hope that with their further research, the seeds will be put into production soon," said Yuan Longping, the "father of hybrid rice."

Statistics show that China has planted 16 million hectares of hybrid rice, about 57 percent of the total planting area of rice across the country. The annual output of hybrid rice is about 2.5 million tonnes. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/06/c_137722346.htm

Wild rice task force calls for new stewardship council

By John Myers on Jan 4, 2019 at 5:42 p.m.

107

A governor's task force on wild rice reached no consensus on major changes to protect the plants in Minnesota but instead suggests creating a permanent stewardship council to develop wild rice protections and plants for the future. (file / News Tribune)

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A task force appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton last May aimed at finding ways to protect, preserve and promote wild rice across Minnesota has ended with several recommendations but no new consensus on state regulations.

The task force's final report, made public Friday, said the issue of protecting wild rice is too complex for the members to solve over a few months.

"Given the extraordinary complexity of the subject matter and the short timeline for the task force, task force members felt they would be remiss to make final recommendations on some complex areas of the topic without additional efforts and voices,'' the final report notes.

Instead, task force members said their primary recommendation is to create a new, apparently permanent state Wild Rice Stewardship Council to develop long-term solutions to wild rice problems and long term protections for wild rice lakes and rivers.

The proposed stewardship council members "would represent a wide range of interests and perspectives, and be charged with making interdisciplinary recommendations on the management, monitoring, outreach research, and regulation regarding wild rice,'' the final report notes, adding that the new council would be tasked by the state to recommend a statewide standardized monitoring program, recommend a comprehensive, statewide management plan for

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wild rice; encourage more research on wild rice; and develop a "roadmap" for protecting wild rice from sulfate.

Dayton formed the task force by executive order in May 2018. The 14 members met nine times over three months to find ways to address the "regulatory, economic, and scientific challenges associated with protecting wild rice."

The final report outlines several recommendations to the Minnesota Legislature and to incoming Gov. Tim Walz to both protect wild rice and support continued economic development and job creation across the state, including developing better relations between state and tribal interests; instructing the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to improve its variance process; and declaring the first week of September "Wild Rice Week" to build awareness of the value of wild rice in Minnesota.

The task force — comprised of representatives from Red Lake Nation, Dakota Tribes, iron mining and copper mining corporate officials, environmental advocacy groups, scientists, state and local government agencies and others — agreed on basic tenets of protecting wild rice and clean water; ensuring the viability of Minnesota communities; respecting tribal sovereignty; the need to address biological, chemical, and hydrological threats to wild rice; and sharing the burdens and benefits of any solutions the state develops.

Kathryn Hoffman, who heads the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and was a member of the task force, said effort "made significant progress toward finding common ground on solutions to protect wild rice'' despite the limited timeframe.

"The recommendation to form a Wild Rice Stewardship Council with full representation from all 11 federally-recognized Native American tribes, bands, and communities in the State of Minnesota is critical for continued momentum forward,'' Hoffman said Friday in a statement.

"We hope that Gov.-elect Tim Walz and the Minnesota Legislature adopt its recommendations so that we can continue to work together toward science-based solutions that protect wild rice."

An industry representative on the task force did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the report Friday afternoon.

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The task force didn't answer the question of potential sulfate pollution of wild rice beds from industrial pollution, especially mining, and from sewage treatment plants. Scientists who have studied the issue say sulfates can convert to sulfides in some waters and harm development of wild rice. But there is disagreement between industry scientists and others on how much impact those sulfides have, especially in waters with different iron contents and chemistry.

The final report offered a vague statement on sulfate saying that, while most researchers agree the sulfate/sulfide process harms wild rice "there are wild rice waters that do not fit this relationship where wild rice thrives. The rate at which sulfate is converted to sulfide, and how wild rice plants are affected, is an active area of scientific discussion."

The report also notes that while the Pollution Control Agency has forwarded an equation to determine the sulfate/sulfide/wild rice relationship for individual lakes and rivers "other researchers have disagreed with this approach and think the equation does not sufficiently capture the dynamic biological, chemical, and hydrological relationships related to the effects of sulfate on wild rice. Some researchers believe the equation-based approach proposed by MPCA was over-protective of wild rice, and others believe it was under-protective." https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/government-and-politics/4552478-wild-rice-taskforce-calls-new-stewardship-council

Scientists boost plant yield by 40% through ‘genetic hack’ James Marshall January 6, 2019 The research is part of the efforts of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an global research project which influences engineered crops to use photosynthesis more efficiently and in that way increase the productivity of food. They report that these engineered plants developed faster, grew taller, and produced about 40 percent more biomass, most of which was found in 50-percent-larger stems.

Researchers are growing increasingly concerned about the ability of the world to feed a growing population in a time of serious climate change.

It's expected that agricultural demand will increase globally by 60-120% by the middle of this century compared to 2005. However, crop yields are now only increasing by less than 2% per year, suggesting there will be a significant shortfall in meeting this demand. Instead, scientists are increasingly looking to improving the process of photosynthesis as a way of increasing food

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productivity. They found that these synthetic shortcuts boost productivity by 40 percent, and will now apply this breakthrough to boost the yield of food crops. That process is called photorespiration, and it makes plants produce way less food than they otherwise could.

Green plants containing the protein rubisco use sunlight to convert water and atmospheric carbon dioxide into life-sustaining organic compounds, such as glucose.

Most crops are plagued by a photosynthetic glitch.

It's the first time that an engineered photorespiration fix has been tested in real-world agronomic conditions, having been trialled on a tobacco plant.

"Rubisco has even more trouble picking out carbon dioxide from oxygen as it gets hotter, causing more photorespiration", co-author Amanda Cavanagh, an IL postdoctoral researcher working on the RIPE project said in a statement.

"It's been estimated that in plants like soybeans, rice and fruit and vegetables, it can be a significant drag on yield by as much as 36%".

Now, researchers from the University of IL and U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service have figured out a way to engineer plants with a built-in photorespiratory shortcut that makes them 40% more productive in real-world conditions.

One important holdback is that the photosynthesis glitch becomes more prevalent under the conditions of higher temperature and drought. This dramatically reduced the resources needed to detoxify the plant. They also form a fully closed canopy in the field similar to many food crops.

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However, they plan to genetically engineer other plants such as soybeans, cowpeas, rice, potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants.

However, the authors recognise that using genetic modification is controversial in many parts of the world.

"The research that's necessary to prove that it has low environmental impact and is safe for consumption takes a minimum of ten years and many more dollars in research funds to make sure that this is a good and safe food product", said Dr South.

While it will probably take over 10 years for this innovation to be converted into food crops and accomplish regulatory approval, RIPE and its supporters are focused on guaranteeing that smallholder farmers, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, will have sovereignty free access to the majority of the undertaking's achievements. http://clicklancashire.com/2019/01/05/scientists-boost-plant-yield-by-40-through-genetic-hack.html

Scientists Tweak Photosynthesis and Boost Crop Growth by 40 Percent A slow enzyme named rubisco has left plenty of room for improvement.

By David Grossman

Jan 5, 2019 JAMES BALTZ/COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL

Without photosynthesis, life as we know it wouldn't exist on Earth. When plants convert light energy into chemical energy, they release oxygen as a byproduct. But over the past millennia, they've slowly become less effective at production. Researchers at the U.S Department of Agriculture and the University of Illinois have engineered a correction a nd figured out how to make crops that are 40 percent more productive in real-world farming conditions.

The problem lies with an enzyme known as rubisco, short for "ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase." Rubisco has a crucial role in the photosynthet ic process: It takes inorganic carbon dioxide and transforms it into organic carbon. However, for an enzyme that plays a crucial role for all life on Earth, scientists describe it as "remarkably inefficient." Most enzymes can process thousands of molecules in the time it takes rubisco to process two or three.

Plants typically make up for this by creating lots and lots of rubisco—so much that it's the most ample enzyme on Earth. And for the most part, it's worked. Rubisco has been

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converting carbon dioxide into organic carbon to the extent that Earth's current atmosphere is rich with oxygen.

But the inefficient enzyme has encountered another difficulty. It's begun to confuse its natural diet of carbon dioxide molecules with oxygen. That's no good for photosynthesis.

When rubisco grabs oxygen, as scientists say it does around 20 percent of the time, it forces the plant to undergo an energy-consuming process known as photorespiration. During photorespiration, a plant sends its enzymes through three different compartments within the plant cell. ―Photorespiration is anti-photosynthesis,‖ says lead author Paul South, a research molecular biologist with the Agricultural Research Service, in a press statement. ―It costs the plant precious energy and resources that it could have invested in photosynthesis to produce more growth and yield.‖ Scientists Don Ort (left), Paul South (center) and Amanda Cavanagh (right) studying their engineered plants next to plants that undergoing photorespiration naturally.

CLAIRE BENJAMIN/RIPE PROJECT

Over two years, the research team attempted to develop a more efficient version of photorespiration. Testing through 1,700 plants, they created three. These new methods of photorespiration using alternate sets of promoters and genes, allowing plants to achieve the same results while expending far less energy, ―Much like the Panama Canal was a feat of engineering that increased the efficiency of trade, these photorespiratory shortcuts are a feat of plant engineering that prove a unique means to greatly increase the efficiency of photosynthesis,‖ says Stephen Long, the Ikenberry Endowed University Chair of Crop Sciences and Plant Biology at Illinois and director of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE).

In field studies, these engineered plants were able to develop plants faster, grow taller, and produce around 40 percent more biomass.

Although only tested in tobacco (an ideal test subject due to its relative genetic simplicity and big ol' leaves) scientists now hope to expand testing to crops that make up the staples of many diets around the globe: soybeans, cowpeas, rice, potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants.

Scientists anticipate a decade-long journey towards gaining regulatory approval for the new engineering across the glob.

After that process, smaller farms in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia could have royalty-free access to these engineered plants producing more oxygen than they have in a long time https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a25749934/usda-university-illinoisphotorespiration-rubisco-crop-growth/

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Bangladesh fifth largest wheat importer Iftekhar Mahmud . Dhaka | Update: 13:54, Jan 06, 2019

Bangladesh has emerged as the fifth largest wheat importer in the world, with its import of the grain increasing by 36 per cent over the past five years, according to a report of the United Nation‘s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Among the fastest growing importing countries, Bangladesh imported 5.5 million tonnes of wheat in the last fiscal. FAO predicts this is likely to increase to 6 million tonnes in the current fiscal year.

Even just five years ago, Bangladesh was not among the top 10 wheat importing countries of the world.

Changing in food habits and increased health awareness has made people to turn more to wheat, consequently raising the demand of the grain, said former director of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science Nazma Shahin told Prothom Alo. ―People nowadays eat less rice as wheat contains more protein and provides more energy. On the other hand, rice contains starch that may cause diabetes. Also, wheat is cheaper than rice,‖ Shahin explained.

The top four countries ahead of Bangladesh in importing wheat are Egypt, Indonesia, Algeria and Brazil. These countries imported 507 million tonnes wheat in the previous fiscal year.

The top exporting countries are the United States, Russia, Canada, Australia and Ukraine.

According to the FAO report, overall wheat production increased by 20 per cent over the past five years.

The production increased from 900,000 tonnes to 1.2 million tonnes in 10 years.

Usually the wheat available in the local market is mixed with corn. Corn production has also increased to 39 million tonnes last year. Most of the corn is mixed with wheat to prepare poultry and fish feed.

Meanwhile, government statistics show, the risk of diabetes is increasing among the adults of the country. The government‘s 2006 survey on non-communicable diseases (Steps 2006) showed about 5.5 per cent of adults were suffering from diabetes while another similar survey (steps 2018) showed 6.4 per cent of adults suffer from this disease in Bangladesh. That means more than 7.6 million people are suffering from diabetes.

Physicians advise eating roti (flat bread) instead of rice to control blood sugar levels. Apart from this, many people eat rice once a day and bread in the two meals other meals, out of health

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awareness. There is thus an increased consumption of roti, bread and wheat products in the country.

With growing urbanisation and increased per capita income, the consumption of roti, fish, meat and dairy products will increase, says country representative Akhter Ahmed of Bangladesh Policy Research and Strategy Support Program (IFPRI). ―A large number of working people eat out nowadays in Bangladesh. This is positive, but the quality of food in the outside eateries should be ensured,‖ he added. *This piece originally published in Prothom Alo print edition has been rewritten in English by Farjana Liakat https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/news/189251/Bangladesh-fifth-largest-wheat-importer

Bulacan airport ready to take off HIDDEN AGENDA - Mary Ann LL. Reyes (The Philippine Star) - January 6, 2019 - 12:00am Just recently, several overseas Filipino worker groups have asked both the Office of the President and the Department of Transportation to fasttrack negotiations for a new international airport in Bulacan.

These OFW groups are of course referring to the P735-billion proposed New Manila International Airport in Bulakan, Bulacan of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) which has already been approved by the NEDA Board and will be subject to a Swiss Challenge in 2019.

These groups, according to their letter, are longing for a world-class airport that can unlock the country‘s growth potential.

Susan Ople, who heads the Blas F. Ople Policy Center which also signed the petition, said her group wrote the letter as an expression of support not just to the building of a new airport in Bulacan but also for other major infrastructure projects that would lead to job creation and OFW reintegration.

She said that optimism is high that once these critical projects begin, the floodgates for more jobs and potential investments will be flung wide open and that hopefully, more OFWs would be enticed to return and reunite with their families because more local jobs would be open to them.

Other groups that signed the petition are the Integrated Seafarers of the Philippines, OFW Watch, OFW Chamber of Commerce, OFW Council of Leaders-KSA, Kabalikat ng Migranteng Pilipino, Kapisanan ng mga Kamag-anak ng Migranteng Manggagawang Pilipino, LBS Recruitment Solutions Corp., Philippine Association of Migrant Workers & Advocates, Kaibigan ng OCWs, OFW Committee, Zonta Club of Quezon City, United Filipino Seafarers, Ang

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Kaagapay ng Bawat OFW, Filipino Malaysian Cultural Sports and Workforce Training Program, and Bulacan Federation of OFW Family Circle Officers.

They said that Bulacan province is fast becoming the next growth area. It is adjacent to Metro Manila and a strategic neighbor of Pampanga, thus accelerating and strengthening the growth corridor for investments and tourism for the Central Luzon-Northern Luzon corridor.

Their clamor is truly understandable. Airport development is linked to economic development and having a world-class airport at no expense to our government should be a priority.

The NEDA Board chaired by President Duterte earlier gave the green light to the concession agreement with SMC for the proposed Bulacan airport, paving the way for a Swiss Challenge to the unsolicited proposal early this year.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said that during the NEDA Board meeting held before Christmas, the Cabinet-level, interagency body approved the concession agreements for the proposed airport.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA chief Ernesto Pernia said the Swiss Challenge is scheduled this month.

A new world-class airport financed solely by the private sector but benefitting the whole nation is one infrastructure project that should receive the full support of the Duterte administration.

NFA to buy locally Sen. Cynthia Villar has reminded Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel PiĂąol that the National Food Authority (NFA) will not be able to sell cheap rice to the public under the Rice Tariffication Bill, which was approved on third and final reading by both Congress.

Villar told PiĂąol that the NFA is no longer allowed to import rice under the new law but only allowed to buy from local farmers.

Earlier, President Duterte said that even with rice tariffication and liberalization of the rice industry, the NFA shall continue to provide the public, particularly the less fortunate, with rice that is affordable and safe.

Once the bill is signed into law by the President, the NFA will be directed to buy palay from local farmers and together with DA, will focus on developing a cost-efficient system that will help reduce the production cost of locally-produced rice and stabilize rice prices.

Villar, the principal author of the bill, added that the rice subsidy of the Department of Social Welfare and Development amounting to P28 billion should be bought from the local farmers.

The quantitative restriction on importation of rice by the Philippines allowed by the World Trade Organization expired on June 30, 2017.

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The Philippines has to liberalize the importation of rice so Congress passed the law on rice tariffication to protect Filipino farmers from imported rice.

The tariff will be 30 percent on rice imports from ASEAN countries as per agreement and 50 percent from the rest of the world.

Proceeds from the tariff will be given to the farmers in the amount of P10 billion a year for the next six years to make the farmers competitive by mechanization (P5 billion), better seed production (P3 billion), and cheaper credit from Landbank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines (P1 billion).

Ten percent shall be made available for extension services provided by PhilMech, PhilRice, Agricultural Training Institute, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority for teaching skills on rice crop production, modern rice farming techniques, seed production, farm mechanization and knowledge/technology transfer through farm schools nationwide. Seventy percent will go to TESDA, and 10 percent each to ATI, PhilRice and PhilMech.

Villar, chair of the committee on food and agriculture, also informed Pinol that the NFA will not be abolished with the implementation of the rice tariffication bill.

She said that only the regulatory and importation functions of the NFA will be removed, but the agency will remain, to solely focus on buffer-stocking with its inventory acquired from domestic farmers.

Villar explained that NFA will now be required to buy from local farmers for buffer-stocking purposes, instead of importing rice.

According to the senator, the budget for the NFA should be pegged at around P7 billion, strictly for the maintenance of a buffer stock to stabilize the rice supply and allow it to sell subsidized rice to the poor and to release emergency supplies during periods of calamity.

She added that with the NFA committed to buying domestically at P17 per kilo, with an additional P3 incentive, the price of NFA rice might be P33 per kilo, a level seen sufficient to achieve break-even levels.

Contrary to misconceptions, she said the bill includes a package of support programs that will help farmers adjust to competition under a tariffied regime.

Under the bill, Filipino farmers will have a fighting chance against farmers from neighboring ASEAN countries as cheaper rice will start flooding the market.

According to Villar, the bill creates the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund or Rice Fund consisting of an annual appropriation of P10 billion for the next six years following the approval of this act.

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https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/01/06/1882567/bulacan-airport-ready-takeoff#RyK7OIKVrs2EhPe4.99

Scientists question govt policies responsible for rising area under water-intensive rice crop They questioned the government over potato is being thrown on roads, and onions being sold at Rs 2 per kg in wholesale market and Rs 20 per kg in retail.

Written by Anju Agnihotri Chaba |Phagwara |Published: January 7, 2019 5:45:39 am

Reducing area under paddy crop in Punjab has been a big issue for every successive government for over past two decades as water table is depleting 90 cm every year. In the ongoing Indian Science Congress, the agricultural scientists questioned the policies, which are responsible for growing rice on 3 million hectares in Punjab, besides the reason of providing water subsidy on paddy, a highly water-intensive crop resulting in depleting water table.

They questioned the government over potato is being thrown on roads, and onions being sold at Rs 2 per kg in wholesale market and Rs 20 per kg in retail. ―I have been hearing about diversification of crop in Punjab for the past two decades, but just the opposite has happened when the area under rice has increased from 21 lakh hectares in 2001 to over 30 lakh hectares in 2017-18,‖ said senior scientists Dr Rajbir Singh, Agriculture Technology Application Research Institute, under Government of India. He adding that rice is sustainable crop in Punjab and cannot be replaced by any other, but definitely the area under it can be reduced if the government helps farmers by providing better price for other crops.

He was speaking at a session on Rice Production System in India. H S Sidhu, a senior Research Engineer with Borlaug Institute of South Asia centre at Ladhowal in Ludhiana, said that rice and wheat have no replacement and are the most sustainable crops in Punjab. ―But, we need to change farm practices for it so that our land and water can be protected from degradation, for which government support is highly essential.‖

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Sujay Rakshit, Director of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Institute of Indian Institute of Maize Research (ICAR, IIMR), Ludhiana, said that when the government is providing free power to irrigate rice and procuring at a minimum support price, why farmers will go for other crops, which do not have any support price. ―Sometimes farmers face huge market problem. It is up to the government to make such policies so that other crops can get fair price.‖

Concluding the session, senior scientist of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Darshan Singh Barar said the government needs to give better price for every crop and have processing units like for making chips from potato and ketchup from tomato.

Prior to this Japanese scientist Kazuyuki Inubushi, Chiba University, Japan, informed the session that how they are working on reducing water usage in rice cultivation by adopting various techniques. Engineer Sasi Elumali suggested ways to manage paddy stubble.

At that NFA the fact that if a if to cut off Scientists question govt policies responsible for rising area under water-intensive rice crop

They questioned the government over potato is being thrown on roads, and onions being sold at Rs 2 per kg in wholesale market and Rs 20 per kg in retail.

Written by Anju Agnihotri Chaba |Phagwara |Published: January 7, 2019 5:45:39 am

Reducing area under paddy crop in Punjab has been a big issue for every successive government for over past two decades as water table is depleting 90 cm every year. In the ongoing Indian Science Congress, the agricultural scientists questioned the policies, which are responsible for growing rice on 3 million hectares in Punjab, besides the reason of providing water subsidy on paddy, a highly water-intensive crop resulting in depleting water table.

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They questioned the government over potato is being thrown on roads, and onions being sold at ―I about diversification crop Rshave 2 perbeen kg inhearing wholesale market and Rs 20ofper kg in in Punjab retail. for the past two decades, but just the opposite has happened when the area under rice has increased from 21 lakh hectares in 2001 to over 30 lakh hectares in 2017-18,‖ said senior scientists Dr Rajbir Singh, Agriculture Technology Application Research Institute, under Government of India. He adding that rice is sustainable crop in Punjab and cannot be replaced by any other, but definitely the area under it can be reduced if the government helps farmers by providing better price for other crops.

He was speaking at a session on Rice Production System in India. H S Sidhu, a senior Research Engineer with Borlaug Institute of South Asia centre at Ladhowal in Ludhiana, said that rice and wheat have no replacement and are the most sustainable crops in Punjab. ―But, we need to change farm practices for it so that our land and water can be protected from degradation, for which government support is highly essential.‖

Sujay Rakshit, Director of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Institute of Indian Institute of Maize Research (ICAR, IIMR), Ludhiana, said that when the government is providing free power to irrigate rice and procuring at a minimum support price, why farmers will go for other crops, which do not have any support price. ―Sometimes farmers face huge market problem. It is up to the government to make such policies so that other crops can get fair price.‖oncluding the session, senior scientist of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Darshan Singh Barar said the government needs to give better price for every crop and have processing units like for making chips from potato and ketchup from tomato.Prior to this Japanese scientist Kazuyuki Inubushi, Chiba University, Japan, informed the session that how they are working on reducing water usage in rice cultivation by adopting various techniques. Engineer Sasi Elumali suggested ways to manage paddy stubble. . https://indianexpress.com/article/india/scientists-question-govt-policies-responsible-for-risingarea-under-water-intensive-rice-crop-5526079/

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Eyes in the sky: Space technology aiding Meghalaya to expand boro rice cultivation by by Sahana Ghosh on 7 January 2019 

Space technology is helping identify areas suitable for growing and expanding cultivation of boro rice which is sown in winter and harvested in spring/summer.

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By using satellite images and data in cohesion with ground reports on parameters such as slope, soil and climate, researchers at North Eastern Space Applications Centre mapped potential areas for expansion of boro rice cultivation.

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This technique will help bridge demand-supply gap for rice in Meghalaya, utilise available land in winter for rice sowing and save time and money.

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Meghalaya’s department of agriculture has initiated steps for application of the findings by taking a policy decision to link the activity for growing boro rice with the Indian government’s National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) program.

In Meghalaya‘s tough hill terrains that limit field visits, space technology is aiding the selection of areas that are suited for growing and expanding cultivation of boro rice which is sown in winter and harvested in spring/summer, officials said.

Boro refers to a special type of rice cultivation on residual or stored water in low-lying areas after the harvest of kharif (winter) rice. Space technology has zoomed in on potential stretches in the state and offered a bird‘s eye view of tracts that are best suited for growing boro season rice.

This will help bridge the demand-supply gap in Meghalaya where 81 percent of the population is dependent on agriculture but the net cropped area is proportionately quite less: only about 10 percent of the total geographical area of the state.

So to identify areas for expansion of boro rice in Meghalaya, the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) at the request of Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Meghalaya, tapped into a suite of geospatial technologies.

These technologies such as remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems are a range of modern tools contributing to the geographic mapping and analysis of a range of dataabout people, such as population, income, or education level and also about landscapes.

Space tech can reduce time lost on trial and error ―By using satellite images and data with ground information on parameters such as slope, soil and climate, we mapped potential areas for expansion of boro rice cultivation. This was one of the first of its kind project in the northeast,‖ Pratibha T. Das of NESAC told Mongabay-India.

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Having space technology focus on potential areas saves time and money in implementation by skipping the field trial stage, explained Das. In an email communique to Mongabay-India, officials at Meghalaya‘s agriculture department also reiterated that this approach eliminates the trial and error method ―saving time, effort and money and scale of implementation in a given (short) period of time.‖ Das further said: ―Even though the identified areas are small, the agriculture department need not conduct field trials; they can directly select the potential areas from the maps and start cultivation.‖

Boro rice farm in West Garo Hills, Meghalaya. Photo by Meghalaya Agriculture Department.

The mapping exercise covered landscapes spread across nearly 5000 square km at elevation below 200 metres and excluding forest, built up and barren rocky areas. The findings published in Current Science show that out of 4903 sq. km study area only 807 sq. km (16.5 percent) is suitable for boro rice cultivation.

Though 16.5 percent area is suitable for boro rice, only 0.8 percent (6.35 sq. km) area is highly suitable, which is found in West Garo hills district. Around 581.74 sq. km is marginally suitable whereas 219.07 sq. km area is moderately suitable.

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―The data tells us that slope, soil texture, soil fertility (acidity) and soil drainage are the major limiting factors/problems, because of which maximum areas are found marginally and moderately suitable for boro rice expansion,‖ said Das. Based on problems/limitations of the land, land users and planners can decide on crop management strategies to increase productivity, she said.

Thematic maps like soil drainage, soil texture, soil depth, flooding and gravel/stoniness and land use maps were dovetailed with soil sample analyses and digital elevation models to get a clear picture on ground.

Soil samples were collected from 121 locations and analysed, revealing that sandy clay soil texture, that was best fit for boro rice, was distributed in six percent of the area examined.

Space data can strengthen ground data Ecology and sustainable development professor Ruth DeFries at Columbia University, New York, stressed though satellite data can provide a bird‘s-eye view to observe many features of the landscape, one needs to factor in social and community dynamics. ―The project to map potential areas for rice cultivation using satellite data makes it possible to identify suitable locations over large areas, which is much more difficult from the ground,‖ said DeFries.

However, she said, satellites cannot detect social and community dynamics, so one needs to combine different sources of information for a complete view of which places would be ecologically and socially suitable for cultivation.

The most important aspect for accessing the suitability of boro rice is availability of surface or groundwater for irrigation during the dry season, especially in the months of February, March and April, pointed out Parvesh Kr. Chandna, Scientist – Remote Sensing & GIS, South Asia at International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

The conditions suited for boro rice production are level fields, warm temperature, adequate sunshine hours and assured irrigation. These conditions are generally found in low altitude plain areas that are close to water sources (surface or groundwater irrigation), the state government‘s agriculture department added. ―Fortunately, Garo hills have a good potential for ground water exploitation, especially in the alluvial plains of the West Garo Hills. According to the analysis of the Central Ground Water Board of the Government of India, these alluvial plains have large replenishable reserves of ground water and the current utilisation of groundwater is very low,‖ the agriculture department explained.

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Chandna agrees on this (potential for groundwater exploitation) but also elaborates on the choice of crops. ―If we have potential for ground water development, then the next question is whether we are choosing the most profitable crop, considering the total water requirements for boro rice and the availability of alternative options (high profitable cash crops) in dry season in comparison to wet season where rice is the only option,‖ Chandna told Mongabay-India.

Space technology combined with field data is helping Meghalaya‘s agriculture department expand areas under cultivation of boro rice. Photo by NASA/Wikimedia Commons.

Meghalaya on a rice mission The move to expand area of rice grown in the boro season comes under the Meghalaya State Rice Mission (MSRM) aimed at narrowing the gap between rice production and consumption by doubling the production of rice – a major staple food of the northeastern state, accounting for over 80 percent of the food grain production.

In West Bengal and Bangladesh, expansion of irrigation, essential for supporting the boro rice production, led to a rapid increase in boro rice area and production during the past two decades and Meghalaya can benefit by deploying a similar strategy of expanding the boro season area, the state agriculture department opined.

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Previous estimates from the rice mission document peg the consumption at approximately 400,000 tonnes annually during the years 2010-11. This estimate is double the rice produced during that period.

―Rice recorded an annual production of 3,01,076 metric tonnes during the year 2015-16 at an average productivity of 2.72 metric tonnes per hectare. Our spring rice/boro paddy produces an average yield of 4.28 metric tonnes per hectare under assured irrigation,‖ the agriculture department said.

In Meghalaya the rice crop is distributed in three rice ecosystems. They are low altitude rice that covers 70 percent of total rice growing areas, mid altitude rice covers 25 percent and high altitude rice that covers five percent.

In a report submitted to NITI Aayog, Indian government‘s think tank, the Meghalaya government has said that the under-utilisation of land during the winter season has resulted in shortage of rice for the ever-increasing population.

In addition, with assured irrigation, boro paddy yield is double the average yield per hectare compared to sali rice. ―Boro paddy gives an average yield of 4 MT per hectare compared to the average yield of 2 MT per hectare of sali paddy,‖ according to the report.

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Further, winter planting is free from flash floods and is well-suited for SRI (System of Rice Intensification) technique with yields of 6-7 MT per hectare, the report said, justifying the augmentation of boro paddy cultivation in areas where this practice was not in vogue.

With the NESAC data at disposal, the department of agriculture has initiated steps for application of the findings by taking a policy decision to link the activity for growing boro rice with the Indian government‘s National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) program. ―This will achieve both the objective of providing assured employment under NREGA and also productive output and income for the NREGA wage earner cum farmer,‖ an agriculture department official said.

Agriculture in Meghalaya. Photo by Sharada Prasad CS/Wikimedia Commons

Baton Rouge, New Orleans area Business Briefs for Jan. 6, 2019 

JAN 6, 2019 - 12:15 AM

Keep La. Beautiful grant applications starting Keep Louisiana Beautiful will begin accepting letters of intent for its 2019-2020 Healthy Community Grant on Jan. 15, with letters due to the organization by Feb. 12.

The Healthy Communities Grant provides funding to support local projects and programs that bring about behavioral changes needed to improve, preserve and protect the natural beauty of Louisiana. Grant funds of $2,500 to $8,000 per project are available to encourage community action in the areas of litter and waste reduction; recycling; reusing; litter enforcement; and environmental education, as they relate to the organization's mission of promoting personal, corporate and community responsibility for a clean Louisiana.

The program, which provided $92,000 for projects throughout Louisiana in 2018, is a reimbursement grant and is open to nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, schools and universities, organization affiliates, and pre-certified affiliates.

After a first selection round from letters of intent, applicants will be invited to submit a formal application, due on March 25. The funding cycle for the Healthy Communities Grant will run from Aug. 1 to May 1, 2020.

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Partnership promotes disaster preparation The Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have formed a partnership to help improve financial preparedness of individuals and families before a natural disaster.

The organizations will develop comprehensive training for financial professionals and aid in the financial preparedness of people across the country.

Using feedback and expertise from accredited financial counselors, the organizations will develop an emergency saving and financial curriculum for finance professionals to use with clients. From there, the organizations will develop resources and tools that encourage people to prepare financially for disasters by saving for emergencies, maintaining adequate insurance for potential hazards and safeguarding critical documents.

Information is at ready.gov/financial-preparedness.

Agriculture tech, data conference planned The LSU AgCenter will host a conference on data and technology in agriculture from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 29 at the State Evacuation Shelter on U.S. 71 near Alexandria.

Several AgCenter experts will present information about digital and precision agriculture — fields of study that deal with using technology to collect and interpret data to make farming more efficient.

Terry Griffin, an assistant professor at Kansas State University, will deliver a keynote address on the value of ―big data‖ to agriculture.

After a lunch break, Louisiana farmers will take part in a panel discussion on data topics.

The conference also will feature a trade show, giving attendees a chance to talk to representatives of leading Louisiana agri-businesses. Vendors interested in having a booth should contact AgCenter agent R.L. Frazier at rfrazier@agcenter.lsu.edu.

Rice farmer meetings address 2019 crop The LSU AgCenter will hold a series of meetings to help rice farmers prepare for their 2019 crop, while the Rice Council and Louisiana Rice Growers Association are planning a joint annual meeting.

Don Groth, resident coordinator of the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station, said the LSU AgCenter events will provide advice on choosing varieties, land preparation, controlling pests, the new farm bill and new technologies.

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―We‘ve got a much better understanding about how to use new herbicides, fungicides and insecticides that were released to the market last year,‖ Groth said.

The sessions, which will include lunch, will be held on the following dates:    

Jan. 9 at the Ville Platte Civic Center, 704 N. Soileau St. Registration is at 7:30 a.m. and the program 8 a.m.

Jan. 10 in Abbeville at the Vermilion Parish Farm Bureau meeting room, 3139 Veterans Memorial Drive. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. and the program at 9 a.m.

Feb. 14, the Northeast Louisiana Rice Forum at Iona Golf Course, 10 Country Club Lane, Rayville. Registration is at 8:15 a.m. and the event at 9 a.m.

A meeting for central Louisiana growers is anticipated in late February in Mansura. The date and time are pending.

Also on Jan. 9, the Rice Council and Louisiana Rice Growers Association will hold their annual joint meeting in Jennings at The Grand Marais, 919 N. Lake Arthur Ave. A trade show begins at 4 p.m., followed by the meeting.

Chinese scientists succeed in developing clonal seeds from hybrid rice Source:Xinhua Published: 2019/1/6 7:41:14 Chinese scientists have succeeded in developing clonal seeds from hybrid rice, said an online paper published in Nature Biotechnology Friday night. The team, led by Wang Kejian, from the China National Rice Research Institute and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, conducted simultaneous genome engineering of meiosis and fertilization genes in developing the clonal seeds. Usually, beneficial phenotypes are lost in subsequent generations owing to genetic segregation. But with the clonal seeds, the heterosis, or hybrid vigor of the hybrid rice, can be passed on to produce high-yielding crops. "The success has proved the feasibility of apomixis for hybrid rice, which is significant theoretically. I hope that with their further research, the seeds will be put into production soon," said Yuan Longping, the "father of hybrid rice."

Statistics show that China has planted 16 million hectares of hybrid rice, about 57 percent of the total planting area of rice across the country. The annual output of hybrid rice is about 2.5 million tonnes. http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1134686.shtml

Experts stress need to wean Punjab farmers off rice cultivation IP Singh

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| TNN | Jan 7, 2019, 07:52 IST

Phagwara: Experts participating in the Indian Science Congress being held at Lovely Professional University questioned government policies on rice production and flagged issues of economic and ecological sustainability in Punjab. They also questioned provision of free power to farmers and stressed the need to modify subsidy policies to encourage groundwater conservation. According to them, current policies encourage exploitation of water.

Different aspects of rice production, its cultivation in Punjab and associated challenges were discussed at a symposium on ―Rice production system in India and South Asia: Challenges and opportunities.‖ Presenting his case study, LPU vice-chancellor Dr Ramesh Kanwar, a prominent hydrologist, presented facts about exploitation of underground water and suggested solutions. Citing data on Punjab‘s water needs for major crops, he said while wheat required 450-500mm water, maize required 500-550 and rice required 900-1200 mm. However, average rainfall from 2008 to 2015 stood at just 480 mm, he said, adding that rice needed 1,900 litres of water for one kg production, around three times than that required for wheat. Also, he said, 90% of irrigation needs in Punjab were being met by exploiting groundwater.

Since government policies were designed to favour rice production, farmers were not left with many choices, Kanwar said, adding that free power to farmers encouraged exploitation of water.

He suggested offering incentives to farmers who replace rice with some other crop.

He also pressed the case for elimination of rice as a major cereal crop (not complete elimination but wherever sustainable) as it was an unsustainable crop, provision of up to 75% subsidy to farmers to adopt micro irrigation systems, provision of 75% subsidy for rainwater harvesting, building major water reservoirs to store 5% monsson water and making Punjab a fruit and vegetable exporting state.

Prominent research scientist and rice cultivation expert Dr D S Brar moderated a panel discussion in which experts agreed on the fact that even as an overnight switchover was not possible, area under rice cultivation can be reduced by incentivizing other crops.

Experts said water consumption should be regulated and ways to save water should be subsidized. Taking a dig at government policies and priorities, Dr Brar said pulses grown even in Jagraon area did not find remunerative prices. Issues of soil degradation and stubble management were also discussed. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

ICAR’s new rice to withstand saline conditions TNN | Updated: Jan 7, 2019, 05:50 IST

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Representative image PANAJI: Old Goa-based ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute (CCARI) has developed two new rice varieties in the Goa Dhan series to replace the existing Jyoti variety of rice in the state. The seed is expected to yield 4.6 tonnes of rice per hectare this agricultural season, experts said.

―The Jyoti variety of rice is coarse and is a bigger-sized grain that is often consumed after boiling.

However, the crop doesn‘t survive in salt areas; our attempts to grow it in saline area didn‘t yield positive results. This new variety has all the characteristics of Jyoti and can be grown in saline areas,‖ said director of the institute, E B Chakurkar. Though farmers in Goa have largely been using the Jaya and Jyoti varieties of rice, the commonly cultivated Jyoti, is prone to shattering in case of rainfall. Previous varieties in the series, Goa Dhan 1 and Goa Dhan 2, were developed by ICAR last year and its seeds were distributed among farmers to be cultivated in the last Rabi season in khazan lands. Goa Dhan 3 and 4 are being released with the aim of replacing the Jyoti variety. ―We have sent the rice varieties for government approval. It is likely to be planted in June-July and the crop is expected to yield 4.6 tonnes of rice,‖ Chakurkar said. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/icars-new-rice-to-withstand-salineconditions/articleshow/67410817.cms

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