27th april,2015 daily global rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

Daily

Global

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Rice E-Newsletter April 27 , 2015 V o l u m e 5, Issue I

Japan farmers cultivate rice's mystique as barrier to deal A powerful lobby stands in the way of two of the world's biggest economies completing a trade deal: Japanese rice farmers.Rice is the island-nation's staple grain and a powerful symbol of selfsufficiency. It is also among the thorniest issues holding up an agreement the two nations hope to unveil when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Barack Obama meet in Washington next week.

Herald Interview] Korea to defend rice market in TPP talks

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 1

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Published : 2015-04-27 20:33 Updated : 2015-04-27 20:33

Korea‘s top agriculture policymaker has emphasized that the government would not further open its rice market, even when the nation participates in the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership to establish a free trade zone among Pacific Rim countries. ―Our government is firmly set on excluding rice from the TPP‘s list of tariff concession,‖ said Lee Dong-phil, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs.―As regards to joining the TPP, our government‘s position is that we will do so after carefully weighing the national interest,‖ Lee said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald at the Sejong Government Complex.

Rice protection goes with the grain Two researchers with the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) have made a breakthrough that could assist rice growers around the world minimise the impact of a potentially devastating fungal disease.Research Officers Moin Salam and Bill MacLeod have been working with the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) to minimise the impact of rice false smut disease (RFSD) as part of a PhD program being conducted by a scientist from BRRI, Bodrun Nessa.While RFSD is not present in trial crops in the State's north or commercial crops in other States and territories, it is prevalent in the majority of rice growing areas on the Indian sub-continent, as well as Asia and the United States.

"Although RFSD was believed to be an indication of a bumper year, it can cause yield losses of up to 75 per cent, as well as a dark taint for which grain can be discounted," Mr MacLeod said."Many of the popular rice varieties in Bangladesh can have RFSD and fungicides are not particularly effective," he said." This research will assist rice growers to take action to reduce the proliferation of RFSD spores."In a world-first, the researchers discovered that RFSD was systemic, affecting the whole of the plant, providing a better overall understanding of the disease. Rice false smut disease balls/galls, are distinguished by hard golden balls that turn black and release billions of microscopic spores that contaminate the grain and subsequent crops.

Mr MacLeod said this new knowledge was being used to develop a yield loss chart and a disease forecasting model to assist rice growers implement farming practises to minimise the impact of RFSD.He said the research with Dr Salam, who has worked extensively with Bangladesh rice scientists and growers, would also benefit the broader Australian rice and grains industries."It is important for us to experience different environments and diseases to expand our thinking and approaches in the domestic environment," he said."This exchange has built a good relationship with

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 2

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine the Bangladeshi research institutes."The minister was responding to concerns in the nation‘s farming sector following a high-level U.S. official‘s indications early this month that Korea may have to lower its barriers against rice imports in order to join the TPP.Agricultural experts predict that the U.S. is expected to put pressure on Korea either to lower its 513 percent tariff rate on imported rice or to buy a certain quantity at a far lower tariff.

Lee Dong-phil This year, Korea opened its rice market to foreign suppliers after ending its 20-year import quota system.

The government notified the World Trade Organization that it would set a 513 percent tariff on imported rice.But five rice-exporting countries including the U.S. and China have opposed it at the WTO, demanding a drastic cut of the nation‘s tariff rate on rice imports. ―We will seek to persuade the five countries by emphasizing that the tariff rate was calculated in accordance with the WTO‘s official formula, respective of the principles of the global market order,‖ Lee said.

The minister expressed hopes that rice-exporting countries would take into consideration Korea‘s position on rice imports.―Rice is not a mere commodity, considering the nation‗s high dependency on it. Rice is cultivated in most of the 1.1 million farming households here, affecting their income,‖ he said. ―Importing more rice (at a lower tariff rate) will destroy the Korean rice producers.‖ ―The country suffers from an oversupply of rice because the national rice consumption has halved. Even so, we have abided by the WTO‘s global quota on rice imports,‖ Lee said, emphasizing that Korea has been ―more than faithful in meeting the WTO obligations.‖ The minister, who took office when President Park Geun-hye‘s government was inaugurated in 2013, expressed difficulties in walking the fine line between promoting trade liberalization and protecting the nation‘s farmers.―In the big picture, we need to go ahead with an open economy and make the most out of the global market order to sell our products,‖ he said.

For the Korean government, he believes, it is also important to join the TPP trade pact that oversees the mega-market home to 40 percent of the world‘s population and nearly 60 percent of global gross domestic product. The TPP is expected to include Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the U.S., Vietnam and Australia.

Lee saw South Korea as an already open economy in virtually all agricultural goods except rice. The country is already highly dependent on imported grains such as wheat, corn and beans, mostly consumed for animal feeds. ―Only five of the 150 WTO members disagree with South Korea‘s maintenance of the rice tariff,‖ Lee said, claiming the rice protection move was compatible with the global standard.China, one of the five contenders of the rice tariff, agreed to exclude South Korean rice and other sensitive agricultural goods upon initialing the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement on Feb. 25. Last year, the neighboring country sent about 53 percent of Korea‘s imported rice. The minister also sees ―smart farming‖ as one solution for the Korean farming industry that is pressured by rising agricultural imports.Among Korea‘s 1.1 million farming households, about 600,000 households make less than 5 million won ($4,600) annually, according to government data in 2010.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 3

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine ―The Korean farming society is facing a major crisis,‖ Lee said, vowing to help the farming societies earn more by turning to ―smart farming.‖ Lee conceded that there is no easy solution to agricultural reform.

The restructuring plan aims to raise farming households‘ income, by combining advanced technology to boost production and pioneer larger markets. Agricultural restructuring is inevitable for the country to raise the Korean food self-sufficiency rate to 50-60 percent from the current 49 percent, he added. ―Most of this bracket includes the aged, small-sized farmers who barely make about 3 million won ($2,770) a month,‖ Lee said. ―For them, we are trying to provide a happier agricultural environment where they can enjoy life with their families and friends, rather than forcing them to adopt the latest technology so they can make a massive income,‖ he added. The minister pointed out that Korea‘s limited farming space has reduced the agricultural production capacity. The average farmland here, 1.5 hectares per household, is far smaller than the 56 hectares of France or 187 hectares of the U.S., he added. ―We need to combine these small, individual pieces of farmland into the broader, ‗field-unit business entities,‘ where people can join forces to organize and mechanize the farming process,‖ Lee suggested. In addition to forming farming cooperatives, the country needs a major shift in production, such as turning rice paddies into farms, Lee said. The country‘s dependency on the paddies is too high, which makes the country partially vulnerable to the falling demand for rice, he added.

Lee noted the remaining 300,000 of the 1.1 million farming households have high potential to link their farming businesses to local tourism. ―Korea may be small in size, but every region has abounding local specialties, made of locally grown ingredients,‖ Lee said. Korea is home to more than 800 local breweries of makgeolli, or rice wine, which is worth exploring for tourists from here and overseas, the minister added.

He also expected the impact of the aging society will hit the hardest in the farming societies. Lee called for the government and civil support to pave the way for self-sustainable agricultural societies. ―If we fail to foster the ‗heirs‘ to self-sustainable farming, the local communities will not survive the free trade movement,‖ Lee said.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 4

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

."

Research Officers Bill MacLeod, Moin Salam and PhD student and BRRI scientist Bodrun Nessa examine rice heads.

Millers hoard rice for profit DC CORRESPONDENT | April 28, 2015, 01.04 am IST

Hyderabad: Irregularities in the procurement of levy rice from farmers in Telangana have been detected and sources say that a few officials of the Civil Supplies Corporation and millers have

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 5

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine colluded to deny the Minimum Support Price to farmers.Anticipating a huge shortfall in food grain production this year due to heavy damage to the Kharif and Rabi crops this year, millers have been resorting to hoarding rice meant for the public distribution system (PDS), say sources.Inquiries by the civil supplies department in Nalgonda district revealed grave anomalies in the quantum of rice procured by the Civil Supplies Corporation from farmers and the rice bought by the millers for milling.In Nalgonda district alone, a difference of 4 lakh metric tonnes was found between the rice procured and purchased.Millers had supplied 2.20 lakh MT of raw rice and 50,000 MT boiled rice to the Civil Supplies Corporation and Food Corporation of India during the Kharif season.For this, the millers would have to purchase 17 lakh MT of paddy, do the milling and supply to the corporation and FCI. However, inquiries revealed that the millers had purchased only 12.90 lakh MT, showing a deficit of 4 lakh MT.It came to the notice of the government that the millers had recycled the PDS rice illegally and sold the same to the corporation.Moreover, the total rice production in Nalgonda district in Kharif was only 8 lakh MT, raising questions of how they purchased 12.90 lakh MT in the first place.The government has been implementing the ―Mana Biyyam‖ scheme in Nalgonda, Khammam, Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Warangal districts, wherein the rice produced in each of these districts should be utilised in the same districts for distribution through PDS.As per norms, the public sector undertakings have to procure 25 per cent of levy rice from the millers but there are complaints that it bought as much as 50 per cent.Similar complaints came from other districts, following which the government asked the civil supplies department to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into these and find the fact

Revisiting 50 years of Indian rice research Compiled by Gene Hettel

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 6

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine In December 2014, I noted that 2015 would mark the 50th anniversary of India’s Directorate of Rice Research (DRR) and the Annual Rice Group Meeting of its All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project (AICRIP). So, at that time, J.K. Ladha, the International Rice Research Institute’s (IRRI) representative in India, and I encouraged a cadre of renowned Indian rice scientists and administrators to provide some brief recollections and testimonials, particularly espousing the exceptional partnership between India and IRRI. We also asked a long-time DRR breeder to provide her unique look at AICRIP’s legacy. Responses were heartening, enthusiastic—and enlightening. In addition to historical perspectives, topics ranged from achievements in hybrid rice and building India’s scientific capacity to addressing climate change. What follows here are some selected gleanings. Read the complete set of contributions here.

A time to celebrate, pause, and reflect In her detailed account of Five decades of AICRIP, N. Shoba Rani writes about the program‘s growth and contributions to the rice revolution in India. The acting director of the DRR/AICRIP for a time in 2014, she states that the Golden Jubilee of AICRIP, which received directorate status as the DRR in 19751, is a time to celebrate success and a time to pause and reflect on the way forward and to face new challenges. ―It is also a time to hear the heartbeat of the rice farmers,‖ she adds.

According to Dr. Rani, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) located AICRIP in Hyderabad in 1965 with a mandate at the time to develop an integrated national network of cooperative experimentation on all aspects of rice production. ―Accelerating breeding with the new semidwarf varieties arriving on the scene would be a key effort,‖ she says.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 7

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine IRRI‘s connection in India formally started with AICRIP The Rockefeller Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and IRRI were soon associated with the project to enhance the pace of rice research in the country.

According to S.K. De Datta, one of IRRI‘s first agronomists, serving there from 1964 to 1991, IRRI‘s collaborative research with India was formally launched shortly after AICRIP‘s establishment. ―ICAR appointed S.V.S. Shastry, a distinguished breeder and geneticist, as its coordinator and project leader while the Rockefeller Foundation designated Wayne Freeman as the joint coordinator,‖ says Dr. De Datta. ―Dr. Freeman also later served with distinction as IRRI‘s first representative in India.‖ As AICRIP‘s first manager, Dr. Shastry, who also served on IRRI‘s Board of Trustees in the early days (1970-73), saw his priority being project implementation and not so much bureaucratic things such as memoranda of understanding and streamlining administration. ―The focus was on the semidwarf cultivars, which covered the entire research area of the AICRIP center in Hyderabad,‖ he says.―The bread and butter of crop improvement is genetic enhancement and crop husbandry,‖ he adds. ―The genotypes must be matched with the biological and physical environment in which the crop is grown. IRRI and AICRIP met this challenge guided by the competence and vision of the scientists at both institutions.‖ The key to success: germplasm exchange According to the DRR‘s current director, V. Ravindra Babu, AICRIP‘s varietal improvement has involved the pooling of breeding material generated in more than 100 regional rice-breeding stations across India. ―This has allowed for testing under different rice ecologies and agroclimatic zones,‖ he says. ―The greatest advantage has been the free exchange of genetic material at both the national and international levels through IRRI‘s International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice or INGER.‖ ―India has benefited from its partnership with INGER by directly releasing 70 entries from diverse sources to date as varieties,‖ says D.V. Seshu, former IRRI plant breeder (1976-93) and an early INGER coordinator. ―The use of several hundred test entries as parents in various breeding programs led to the release of an additional 252 varieties in 24 Indian states. INGER entries were also used directly as either restorer or CMS2 lines that led to the release of around 40 hybrids in India.‖

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 8

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Developing hybrid rice from scratch Speaking of hybrid rice, the India- IRRI collaboration is a unique example of how to develop such a technology from scratch, according to Sant Virmani, IRRI plant breeder (1979-2005) and former leader of IRRI‘s Hybrid Rice Program. ―We encouraged India‘s private sector to develop and disseminate hybrid rice technology by freely sharing IRRI-developed hybrid materials and seed production technology with them,‖ says Dr. Virmani. ―This concerted effort resulted in the development and commercialization of hybrid rice by 1994. In recognition of this development, India, in collaboration with IRRI, hosted the 3rd International Symposium on Hybrid Rice in 1996. ―IRRI has supported the hybrid program in India by continuously sharing breeding materials and seed production technology and providing regular consulting services through visits by Institute breeders,‖ adds Dr. Virmani. ―Concurrently, IRRI has enhanced the capacity of Indian scientists and seed production personnel with postdoctoral, on-thejob, and short- and medium-term training in the Philippines as well as in India.‖ Capacity building is critical Others in the cadre also mentioned the critical importance of capacity building. Professional advancement for Indian scientists has been key, not only in hybrid rice development, but in many aspects of rice research.

According to Mano Pathak, former IRRI director of research and training (1974-89), the Institute‘s training programs were initiated to provide MS, PhD, and postdoctoral research programs. ―Additionally,‖ he says, ―short-term nondegree programs on rice production, pest and

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 9

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine soil management, and postharvest technology have been an important feature of the Institute‘s intensive training courses, some up to 6 months in duration.‖ Since 1965, Indian scholars who have trained and done research at IRRI tally around 110 PhDs, 15 MSs, 135 interns, and 15 research fellows. ―Many Indian scientists, who are part of the IRRI alumni network, now occupy key leadership positions in ICAR and the university system and are significantly contributing to the country‘s rice crop production and use,‖ points out Dr. Pathak. ―A major recent achievement in India-IRRI capacity building is in simulation modeling for climate change impact assessment and resource optimization for environmental sustainability,‖ adds Himanshu Pathak, Centre for Environment Science and Climate Resilient Agriculture, Indian Agricultural Research Institute. ―The various workshops and conferences on climate change and environment will go a long way in achieving sustainable livelihoods for millions of Indians.‖ Pradeep Sharma, vice chancellor of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, adds management of soil and water to the list that IRRI supports for capacity building in India. ―These two natural resources are threatened by overexploitation and misuse as well as by climate change,‖ he warns.

Global climate change: a pivotal issue Many in the cadre obviously had this issue on their minds—and with good reason. ―Global climate change—characterized by increasing temperatures, more variable rainfall, sea-level rise, and melting glaciers—is projected to significantly impact rice production in India and neighboring countries, and affect the food and livelihood security of millions,‖ says Pramod www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 10

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Aggarwal, regional program leader for South Asia of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS).

According to Dr. Aggarwal, India and IRRI share a long research collaboration to study the relationship between rice and the climate. ―For example, IRRI and ICAR scientists worked together to set up automatic methane gas measuring facilities, which were instrumental in producing revised estimations of methane gas emissions, leading to a downward evaluation of emissions from the agricultural sector.‖ He points out that now IRRI and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center(CIMMYT) are working with CCAFS on obtaining greenhouse gas estimates under different management practices in farmers‘ fields in several ―climate-smart villages‖ in India and South Asia. ―These studies will lead to the development of more robust measurement, reporting, and verification systems for methane gas emissions in rice paddies,‖ says Dr. Aggarwal.

Farmers in the climate-smart villages in eastern India have been given access to drought- and flood-tolerant rice varieties, such as Sahbhagi dhan and Swarna-Sub1, respectively, among many other adaptive practices. ―Water-saving and low-emission practices such as alternate wetting and drying and direct-seeded rice are an integral part of the climate-smart portfolio in these villages,‖ he adds.

APAARI‘s regional role In Asia, IRRI has interacted closely with the Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutes (APAARI) since its inception in 1990. APAARI and IRRI have had a long partnership in promoting and initiating rice research for development activities in India and South Asia, according to Raj Paroda, former APAARI executive secretary (1992-2014), ICAR director general (1994-2001), and IRRI Board of trustees member (1990-93). ―For example,‖ says Dr. Paroda, ―APAARI, on the advice of IRRI, published the book Hybrid rice in China, which helped promote hybrid rice research in India.‖Dr. Paroda added that APAARI helped facilitate the germplasm exchange activities of INGER in India, worked with IRRI and CIMMYT to initiate the Rice-Wheat Consortium for the Indo-Gangetic Plains in 1994, and enthusiastically endorsed the CGIAR‘s Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP) in 2010.

Impact of the Green Revolution All of the products and activities of the ongoing Green Revolution have had remarkable impact in India. ―During the 1960s, the country imported up to 10 million tons of food grains annually,‖ says Gurdev Khush, 1996 World Food Prize laureate and IRRI rice breeder and principal scientist (1967-2001). ―For the last 10 years, India has exported 4−6 million tons of food grains every year,‖ he says. ―The quantity of rice exported in 2013-14 was 10.7 million tons—more than any other country. Considering that the population of India has increased from 350 million in 1960 to the current 1.254 billion, this is a remarkable achievement.‖

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 11

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Mutual benefits and rewards ―IRRI and ICAR have always been natural partners,‖ says Dr. Swapan Datta, former ICAR deputy director general (crop science) and IRRI tissue culture specialist and plant biotechnologist (1993-2005). ―That dynamic partnership has become successful and beneficial for both institutions.‖ DRR director Babu agrees. ―IRRI has been a key R&D partner of the DRR for the last 50 years—and the rewards have been mutual,‖ he says. ―I am sure that, through continued collaboration between the two organizations as equal partners, we will be able to meet India‘s future challenges to rice production and productivity.‖ _________________________________________ Mr. Hettel is editor-in-chief of Rice Today and IRRI historian.

Govt to provide leverage to ignite rice, cassava chain Mr Fifi Kwetey, Minister of Agriculture, has given the assurance that government would provide the leverage to ignite and link up the value-chain in the production of rice and cassava.The policy backups, such as, a mandatory percentage cassava flour inclusion in wheat flour, should bring real spread-out opportunities along the chain, he statedMr Kwetey made the remark at Hodzo near Ho on a two-day familiarization tour of selected key agricultural firms in the Volta and Eastern Regions.Rice and cassava production were game changers, he stressed, adding, the two, could change economic fortunes of individuals and the nation.The Minister, on the first day visited the Brazil Agro-Business Group Limited, producers of rice on the vast plains around Kpenu, near Dabala and the Caltech Ventures Limited, which is in cassava production and processing at Hodzo, near Ho. www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 12

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Mr Kwetey, on the second day visited the rice fields of the Ghana Commercialization of Rice Programme (G-CORP) at Asutsuare.G-CORP is an Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a funded farmer-support project.The Minister also undertook a tour of the 1,200 hectare banana fields of the Golden Exotics Ghana Limited, a French banana export firm, sprawling the vast savannahs around Asutsuare.Mr Kwetey said clearly, cassava, a cross-vegetation root crop and rice were crops with very high stakes in Ghana‘s development.At all the stops, the Minister promised to actively tackle challenges faced by the firms, including tax rebates, spares for machinery land acquisition and access roads.

Mr Chris Quarshie, Managing Director of Caltech Ventures, said the company had been in business for nine years.He said current potential was 3,000 hectares cropping, but was doing only 1,000.Mr Quarshie said the company was expecting machinery after which, it would start the production of the derivatives on large scale.Some of the derivatives are ethanol and flour.

Mr Quarshie, who took the Minister round the farms and the industrial production unit, told the excited Minister that, producing cassava derivatives locally, could save the country half a billion dollars and more annually.Mr Roberto Jaconi, General-Manager Brazil Agro-Business Group Limited, briefing Mr Kwetey through an interpreter, said production was only 15 per cent of the expected 3,500 hectares, because there was slow response to requests for tax exemptions as incentives for machinery and other essential supplies.

He said Ghana had huge potential in rice production, but the produce must be ―treated and promoted with the same parameters of quality as the imported rice‖.Mr Jaconi believed that in the future ―rice production will play a strategic role in the economic and social aspect of the country‖.Both the rice and cassava enclaves, have out- grower schemes, which bring along scores of locals into production.

At the Kpong Irrigation Offices, Mr Sampson Kwabla Tetteh-Ekpa, President of the Osudoku Agricultural Cooperative Society, told the Minister that members suffered 50 per cent post-harvest losses.He said harvest was largely manual and that almost all equipment supplied the Cooperative Group, had broken down.The indication was that the Kpong Irrigation Dam was getting rickety, with pipes choky.Moses Adenusi, Project Co-ordinator of G-Corp, which provides, services for farmers and farming groups across the country said there was the need for farmers to have guaranteed source of quality rice seeds.He said brokered deals with millers against produce of farmers, under the aegis of G-Corp, had kept rice fields busy and the chain bustling.

Mr Peter Ajoeh, Agronomic Manager Golden Exotics, Ghana Limited, who took the Minister round the expansive banana fields, said plans were being pursued to eventually produce more and more of organic bananas, as the company had started the production of compost manure on site.He said the company which produces 90 percent of export banana in Ghana was Fairtrade certificated.Mr Ajoeh said difficulty in the acquisition of land was delaying expansion of the farms. http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/artikel.php?ID=356121

India-IRRI timeline spans the decades Compiled by Gene Hettel | Photos from IRRI archives

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 13

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Over the last five decades, this selection from IRRI’s historical timeline has many Indian connections tied to people and events.

1965

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) established the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project (AICRIP) in Hyderabad.

Indian breeder S.V.S. Shastry and Wayne Freeman, IRRI‘s representative in India, were designated as the first joint coordinators.

Benjamin Pearey Pal became the first director general of ICAR. He later served as an early member of IRRI's board of trustees (1967-70).

1967

Indian plant breeder Dilbagh S. Athwal joined IRRI‘s management team and ultimately served as the Institute‘s first deputy director general.

Andhra Pradesh farmer Nekkanti Subba Rao tested IR8 on his farm and supervised its first large-scale demonstration and multiplication.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 14

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine The India-IRRI partnership intensified when scientists from AICRIP and the Central Rice Research Institute in Cuttack began to visit IRRI headquarters in the Philippines.

1968

After threshing his first full harvest of IR8 resulting in a bumper rice crop, Indian farmer K.N. Ganesan saw that this variety, which ushered in the Green Revolution, would be changing his family's future. He was so impressed with the variety's performance that he named his second son, born that same day, IR8窶的R-ettu (Irettu) in Tamil.

1974

The first formal memorandum of understanding for cooperation in research and training was signed by the directors general ofICAR and IRRI. In 1974, Dr. S.V.S. Shastry (who served on the IRRI board of trustees, 1970-73) won the Borlaug Award for distinguished service of an Indian citizen to agriculture.

1981

The seminal book, Principles and practices of rice production,

by IRRI agronomist and principal scientistS.K. De Datta, was published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc. It

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 15

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine was the model for many future IRRI books picked up by reputable science publishers. In 1986, Dr.De Datta received the first International Soil Science Award from the Soil Science Society of America.

1982

M.S. Swaminathan became IRRI‘s fourth director general. He later won numerous honors and awards. In 1987, Swaminathan Hall at IRRI headquarters was dedicated in his honor. In 1991, he won the John and Alice Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievementand the Honda Prize. In 1999, he was named among the 20 most influential Asians of the 20th century by Time magazine.

1982

Amir U. Khan, IRRI agricultural engineer, received the International Inventor’s Award for Industry from Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf during ceremonies held in Stockholm. The award recognized his contributions to the farm machinery industry in developing countries such as the axial flow thresher.

1996

G.S. Khush, IRRI principal plant breeder, won the World Food Prize, with H.M. Beachell, former IRRI plant breeder. He has also won the Rank Prize for Nutrition in London (1998) and the Wolf Prize in Agriculture (2000). In 2002, in recognition of his 29 years as head of IRRI‘s Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division and leader of various research programs, the Collaborators‘ Center building was renamed Gurdev S. Khush Hall. The week-long 3rd International Hybrid Rice Symposium was held in Hyderabad.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 16

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

2002

ICAR hosted the first steering committee meeting of the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE) in New Delhi, India.

Sant Virmani, IRRI plant breeder, was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and received the International Service in Crop Science Award from the Crop Science Society of America. In 2005, he received India‘s Pravasi Bharatiya Samman

Award and Japan‘s International Koshihikari Rice Prize.

J.K. Ladha, IRRI soil nutritionist, was named a fellow of the American Society of Agronomy. Other recognition he has received includes: fellow of the Soil Science Society of America (2004), fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2009), and the International Service in Agronomy Award from the American Society of Agronomy (2011).

2003

In New Delhi, the achievements of agronomist Virendra Pal Singh were recognized as he departed IRRI after serving the Institute for 30 years where he worked to improve the rice-farming systems in unfavorable environments.

IRRI agronomist Vethaiya Balasubramanian received the International Fertilizer Industry Association International Award.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 17

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

2006

His Excellency A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, president of the Republic of India, and party visited IRRI Headquarters. He interacted with staff scientists, seeking solutions to problems faced

by Indian farmers.

The 2nd International Rice Congress in New Delhi attracted nearly 1,400 rice researchers, traders, millers, farmers, and agriculture ministers, including 400 delegates from 46 countries.

2007

Darshan Brar, head of IRRI's Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division, won the Koshihikari International Rice Prize, recognizing his rice research body of work. He also received the CGIAR Outstanding Scientist Award, honoring his original work that furthered CGIAR goals.

2008

More than 40 years after his work with IR8, Mr. Subba Rao distributed seed from his harvest of flood-tolerant Swarna-Sub1 to other farmers who multiplied it, ultimately leading to the significant spread of the variety in the region.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 18

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine In New Delhi. the South Asian wing of the project, Stress-tolerant rice for Africa and South Asia (STRASA), was inaugurated.

2009

An international agreement was signed between ICAR and IRRI to support and facilitate India's rice research, helping the nation's rice production at a time of unprecedented price volatility and subsequent need for revitalization of food production.

The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) was established to promote durable change at scale in the region's cereal-based cropping systems. CSISA India‘s activities focus on areas of the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains dominated by small farm sizes, low incomes and comparatively low levels of agricultural mechanization, irrigation, and productivity.

2011

The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology in Meerut honored IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler by naming its new soil- and plant-testing laboratory after him. He was also conferred with the honorary degree of doctor of science by the Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Pantnagar. In 2014 (photo), he was conferred with an honorary degree of doctor of science during the 35th convocation ceremony of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore.

Sam Mohanty, IRRI economist and Social Sciences Division head, won the prestigious Glory of India Award in New Delhi.

2012

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 19

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

The project, Improved Rice-based Rainfed Agricultural Systems in Bihar, was launched in India by the Catholic Relief Services and IRRI. Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, it targets drought- and flood-prone environments.

Dr. Zeigler inaugurated new and added office space for the IRRI India Office in New Delhi located at Rajendra Place.

The IRRI South Asia Rice Breeding Hub at the International Crops Research Institute for the SemiArid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India, was inaugurated by Dr. Zeigler and Dr. William Dar, director general of ICRISAT. The 6th International Hybrid Rice Symposium was held in Hyderabad. Around 450 delegates from 32 countries.

Ashish Bahuguna, secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, Government of India, signed a memorandum of agreement with IRRI to further strengthen IRRI‘s collaboration with India.

The global rice research agenda was the focus of a plenary talk given by Dr. Zeigler during the Third International Agronomy Congress held at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi.

In his Coromandel lecture, Cutting-Edge Rice Science for Food Security, Economic Growth, and Environmental Protection in India and Around the World, Dr. Zeigler noted that IRRI and India have been working together since the mid-1960s to develop and deliver ways to help Indian rice farmers improve their rice productivity.

2013

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 20

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Coromandel International Limited signed a memorandum of understanding with IRRI for cooperation in promoting and disseminating improved rice research technologies in India.

As part of the 2013-16 IRRI-India Work Plan, the Institute and the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University signed a memorandum of understanding to promote research, training, and exchange of information and technology on rice and its farming systems and value chains.

Bayer CropScience, IRRI, and ICAR sponsored an inaugural 2-day Rice Future Forum in New Delhi. Bas Bouman, director ofGlobal Rice Science Partnership, was one of the presenters.

Senior officials from India’s Ministry of Agriculture visited IRRI for a 2-day series of awareness and consultation meetings, particularly to discuss STRASA.

2015

In its Golden Jubilee year, the Directorate of Rice Research in Hyderabad is given national institute status under the ICARumbrella. It is now the Indian Institute of Rice Research.

It has been IRRI‘s privilege to have worked, trained, and learned together with Indian scientists over 5 decades to help improve the lot of rice farmers and to help feed the world's hungry.

Japan supports Ghana with $2.5 million Agricultural Machinery News Date: 27th April 2015

The Embassy of Japan has handed over agricultural machinery under Japan's Grant Assistance for Underprivileged Farmers (2KR) the Embassy said in a statement on Friday.

According to the statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, the total Grant is three hundred and thirty million yen (Â¥330,000,000) which is approximately GHC9.7 million or about $2.5 million.The

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 21

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine machinery comprises 77 agricultural tractors, with matching implements, 49 power tillers, 20 rice threshers, 11 rice reapers and 6 rice mills, which are to be distributed to farmers on hire purchase, it said.

"This grant assistance which started in 1981 is to contribute to the efforts of the Government of Ghana to mechanise agriculture and ensure food security, particularly rice production."The Embassy said Japan was committed to helping Ghana overcome its over-dependence on rice importation.

http://www.businessghana.com/portal/news/index.php?op=getNews&id=204079

Snp genotyping and analysis market: European unstable economy continuously tormenting market growth WhaTech Channel: Industrial Market Research Reports Published on Monday, 27 April 2015 23:02 Submitted by James Martin It is expected that this market will attain a value of US$17.65 billion by the end of 2019, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 7.5% between the period of 2013 and 2019. The market analysis report is prepared after extensive study of the SNP genotype and analysis market offering both the quantitative as well as qualitative analysis of this industry.

According to a recent research report published by Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global SNP genotype and analysis market had reached value of US$10.70 billion in the year 2012. It is expected that this market will attain a value of US$17.65 billion by the end of 2019, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 7.5% between the period of 2013 and 2019.The market analysis report is prepared after extensive study of the SNP genotype and analysis market offering both the quantitative as well as qualitative analysis of this industry Browse the full report polymorphism-market.html

athttp://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/snp-single-nucleotide-

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 22

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine The market study provides an in-depth analysis on the basis of the past performance, current condition, and future prospects of the SNP genotype and analysis market across the globe. It is titled as ―SNP Genotyping and Analysis Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019‖.The global SNP genotype and analysis industry is evaluated on the basis of technology employed, applications used, and the regional distribution of this industry.On the basis of technology, the global market for SNP genotype and analysis is categorized into Mass ARRAY MALDI-TOF, SNP GeneChips and Microarrays, SNP by Pyrosequencing, AB SNPle, Taqman Allelic Discrimination, and others.

Based on applications, pharmacogenomics and pharmaceuticals, agricultural biotechnology, diagnostic research, and breeding and animal livestock are the segments of the global SNP genotype and analysis industry.

Browse Request Sample @ http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=432 A significant amount of revenue is used up on research to develop diagnostic products those are similar to companion diagnostics, which would enable a preview of how a genome would open out as an individual and grow older. There is a high amount of intensity in researching the food crops such as wheat, rice, oats, maize, corn, and other grasses. SNP genotyping in agriculture attained approval long before other applications. The GeneChip Rice 44K array provided by Affymetrix is one of the trendy platforms for rice genotyping that determines variants that affect the yield.

SNP type assays of Fluidigm have been used by International Rice Research Institute that account for the largest ex-situ collection of rice germplasm in the world, and plays an important role in continuing this repository. The market for SNP genotype and analysis is expected to decline further as the efforts to introduce new technologies have been initiated. At the same time, slower and ineffective methods are being phased out.North America held the largest market share in 2012 among all other regions, namely Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. The unstable economy in Europe is tormenting the genomics market continuously, which SNP genotyping is a part of. The Asia Pacific SNP genotype and analysis market and various economies in Rest of the World are likely to hold the biggest potential during the period of 2014 to 2020, in terms of revenue.

Browse Full Article @http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/article/snp-single-nucleotidepolymorphism-market.htm

Japan Needs to Cut Rice Farmers Down to Size APR 26, 2015 6:00 PM EDT

By William Pesek

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 23

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been vowing for years to take on the vested interests impeding his country's economy. Until now, he hasn't done much to make good on those promises. But he was recently handed a perfect opportunity to do just that.Japan's 3.3 million rice growers, who together comprise only 2.5 percent of the population, now seem to be the biggest obstacle preventing Japan from completing one of history's biggest trade deals, the U.S.led Trans-Pacific Partnership.

By agreeing to cut Japan's tariffs on rice, Abe could save the TPP deal -- and show the country's other powerful economic interests that he means business. Why is the rice lobby so powerful?

It's a combination of history, culture and patronage. An island nation poor in natural resources, Japan has long been obsessed with self-sufficiency, particularly when it comes to food. Rice isn't just the country's staple grain -- it's an emotional symbol of nationalism; for millennia, Japanese have been taught that their cherished short-grain rice is the envy of the rest of the world. It's no coincidence that the Japanese word for rice, gohan, also means meal.In recent decades, rice has also become central to Japanese politics.

Farmers are the key constituency of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled with little interruption since 1955. Thanks to decades of careful gerrymandering, the votes of a few Japanese farmers working the land in Hokkaido or Kyushu now pack more punch than thousands of ballots cast in Tokyo or Osaka. No surprise, rice farmers have used their outsized influence to win massive tariffs on their foreign competitors.Although it's easy to see why Abe's party would be reluctant to confront rice farmers over those tariffs, it would be well worth the effort. And this isn't just about saving the TPP deal.

Twenty-eight months into office, Abe desperately needs to initiate structural reforms in order to pull Japan's economy out of its rut. The Nikkei stock exchange has nearly doubled under his leadership, but those gains won't hold for long if the country's economic fundamentals don't justify them.Abe's government has already made some efforts to dilute the power of farmers, but they've been timid, at best. The LDP is revising the agriculture laws that regulate Japan‘s farm cooperatives. Set up in the 1940s to fight famine, those cooperatives have evolved intoconglomerates that regulate supplies and sales, and dominate rural lending. Abe's government would like to open the farming industry to more diverse corporate ownership. It has also said it wants to double food exports, particularly beef, by 2020.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 24

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine But none of this addresses the so-called "778 percent problem." That's how high Japan's rice import levies can run. Tariffs on sugar, another so-called sacred product, are as high as 328 percent. Japan should scrap these comically exorbitant taxes -- or at least chop them down to double digits.If Abe does so, he should prepare for a prolonged fight. Japanese farmers have plenty of practice at complaining about globalization, and it's not clear where the sympathies of the Japanese public would lie. Many Japanese profess concern that their national culture is in danger of being trampled by outside influences -- and they're liable to include rice in their picture of national heritage. The vast majority of Japanese still say they would never consider buying rice from Thailand, India, Vietnam, Pakistan or the U.S., no matter how cheap. (China, with myriad and highly-publicized tainted-food scandals, needn't even try to win over Japanese

consumers.)

Abe would also have to muster the political will to take on his own party. He could start by following President Barack Obama's lead in framing a trade deal as a geopolitical imperative.

The first casualty of China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, after all, has been Tokyo's global stature. A TPP trade deal would strengthen Japan's U.S. alliance, and link both countries with others nations that together comprise 40 percent of the world's gross domestic product.

The TPP deal would also act as a Trojan horse for further domestic economic reform. Once Japan commits to opening its economy, its most inefficient businesses will have no choice but to change. Rice farms are undoubtedly among them, and Abe shouldn't shy from forcing them to get a head start.

To contact the author on this story: William Pesek at wpesek@bloomberg.net To contact the editor on this story: Cameron Abadi at cabadi2@bloomberg.net

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 25

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-04-26/japan-needs-to-cut-rice-farmers-down-tosize

The story of a salt-affected village M. G. Neogi 27 Apr, 2015 00:00:00

Increased salinity in dry season in the coastal belt is changing the areas which, once upon a time, were suitable for growing rice. The entire coastal areas are now severely affected by the intrusion of salinity into arable land, especially in dry season. Farmers were unable to reap a good harvest in Boro season because of high salinity intrusion into their cropland which is increasing day by day. Since then, farm households in the coastal belt are passing bad days, as most of them are subsistence farmers.Around 0.74 million hectares of land were cultivated in the coastal region, out of which around 0.38 million hectares are now salt-affected. A survey indicates that out of 0.38 million hectares of affected land, around 0.33 million hectares are affected by salt up to 1012 dS/meter (deciSiemes per meter) while the condition is worse in the remaining areas. Earlier, farmers used to cultivate rice in both dry (Boro) and wet (aman) seasons and get a very good yield. But now-a-days, they have given up Boro cultivation because of increased salinity in dry season and severe scarcity of salt-free irrigation water.

As a result, around 0.3 million hectares of land in the coastal region remain fallow now during the Boro season.To overcome this adverse situation, the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), under a joint collaboration with International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), have developed four salt-tolerant rice varieties for Boro season. BINA developed Binadhan-8 and Binadhan-10 while BRRI developed BRRI dhan47 and BRRI dhan55. All these four varieties have the capacity to fight salinity condition up to 10-12 dS/meter. These varieties have yield potential of five to seven tons per hectare under normal conditions in non-saline areas while the yield will be around three to five tonnes per hectare in saline-prone areas, depending on the degree of salinity.

In 2012-13, the STRASA-USAID-IRRI project established a number of demonstration trials and distributed small seed packets of these four salt-tolerant rice varieties to the farmers through the agricultural extension department and local partner NGOs as well as local private seed producers.Here is a case study on salt-tolerant rice varieties at Sreefalkathi village of Ishwaripur union under Shyamnagar upazila of Sathkhira district which is one of the worst Aila-affected areas. Around five hundred farm families reside in the village where rice farming is the only source of their livelihood. Most of the villagers have some land and they cultivate now only one crop in a year, which is aman rice, in monsoon.

But before Aila, farmers used to cultivate at least two crops in a year including Boro rice in dry season and earn a reasonable income from agriculture. Since Aila their lands have become too salty and they do not get reasonable harvests in Boro season.Each year, during dry season (November to May), salinity increases in the soil of this village. A white film of salt covers www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 26

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine paddy fields in such areas. This means that the soil contains salt. BRRI and BINA scientists predicted that the increasing trend of this white film will turn the area's landscape into barren lands in the near future. Nakshikantha, a partner NGO of IRRI, provided training to the Sreefalkathi farmers on "cultivation, seed production and seed preservation of salt-tolerant rice varieties" through government local agricultural extension officials, while the NGO provided seeds of salt-tolerant rice variety of Binadhan-8, Binadhan-10 and BRRI dhan47.During growing stage of rice plant, it was found that the number of tillers was less in their traditional (non-salt tolerant) rice variety, compared to salt-tolerant rice variety.

Also at the flowering stage, it was observed that a significant number of panicles of non-salt tolerant rice plants are becoming white with partial empty grains which resulted in poor yield.

The same scenario was observed in last couple of years when farmers failed to get a good harvest. Rice scientists confirmed that these are happening due to increased salinity.In the adjacent plot, where a farmer cultivated newly-developed salt tolerant rice varieties like Binadhan-8, Binadhan-10 and BRRI dhan47 no such symptoms were found and showed a very good performance. At the end of the season, the good yield made the farmers jubilant.The average yield of these demonstration farmers was around four tonnes per hectare which was quite satisfactory in salt-affected areas.

This encouraged the entire farmers' community to go for Boro rice cultivation again with these salt-tolerant rice varieties. The demonstration farmers have saved seeds for their own use while many farmers have taken seeds from them for the next season. Arafat Hossain of this village, who cultivated Binadhan-8, is now happy to see the outstanding performance of this variety, as rice could once again grow on his "salty land". He harvested more than four tonnes per hectare.

The project personnel and local elites requested the demonstration farmers not to consume the seeds of salt-tolerant rice variety this year, but to sell and distribute these to their neighbours, relatives and other farmers.IRRI is not providing any input to this village now, but just a followup along with partner NGOs and local government agricultural officials.

A reasonable number of farm families of Sreefalkathi, who have irrigation facilities, now cultivate Binadhan-8 and Binadhan-10 varieties. These newly-developed salt-tolerant rice varieties have started reaching the farmers' community through farmer-to-farmer seed distribution at the community level and the NGO is coordinating the activity.Dr. A. N. Singh of IRRI India recently visited Sreefalkathi village. During his visit, it was found that rice crops from non-salt tolerant varieties like BRRI were totally or partially damaged due to increased salinity intrusion, but the newly-developed salt-tolerant varieties in the adjacent field grew very well. Farmers of Sreefalkathi are now very happy to receive these two varieties which can grow easily in their 10-12 dS/meter "salty" land.It is now confirmed that suitable salt-tolerant rice varieties are now available in the country. If it is possible to bring fallow land in the coastal region under rice cultivation in Boro season by using salt-tolerant rice varieties, then it will be possiblPe to harvest at least one million tonne extra rice.

Dr. M. G. m.neogi@irri.org

Neogi

is

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Consultant

of

Page 27

International

Rice

Research

Institute.

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

APEDA News International Benchmark Price Price on: 24-04-2015 Product

Benchmark Indicators Name

Price

1

Chinese first grade granules, CFR NW Europe (USD/t)

2100

2

Chinese Grade A dehydrated flakes, CFR NW Europe (USD/t)

2000

3

Chinese powdered, CFR NW Europe (USD/t)

1800

1

Chinese sliced, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)

4600

2

Chinese whole, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)

5100

3

Indian Cochin, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)

3000

Garlic

Ginger

Guar Gum Powder 1

Indian 100 mesh 3500 cps, FOB Kandla (USD/t)

4295

2

Indian 200 mesh 3500 cps basis, FOB Kandla (USD/t)

1715

3

Indian 200 mesh 3500 cps technical grade, FOB Kandla (USD/t)

3750

Source:agra-net

For more info

Market Watch Commodity-wise, Market-wise Daily Price on 25-04-2015 Domestic Prices

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Unit Price : Rs per Qty

Page 28

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Product

Market Center

Variety

Min Price

Max Price

1

Amreli (Gujarat)

Other

1075

2985

2

Solapur (Maharashtra)

Other

1700

2025

3

Dhone (Andhra Pradesh)

Other

1500

1530

1

Amirgadh (Gujarat)

Other

1300

1465

2

Koraput (Orissa )

Other

1310

1330

3

Athani(Karnataka)

Local

1200

1300

1

Harippad (Kerala)

Other

2000

2500

2

Dasuya(Punjab)

Other

2500

3500

3

Nagpur(Maharashtra)

Other

2200

3000

1

Chala (Kerala)

Other

1800

1850

2

Deogarh (Orissa)

Other

1500

2500

3

Vyra(Gujarat)

Other

1200

1500

Jowar(Sorgham)

Maize

Mango

Cabbage

Source:agra-net

For more info

Egg

Rs per 100 No Price on 25-04-2015 Product

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Market Center

Page 29

Price

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine 1

Ahmedabad

292

2

Nagapur

257

3

Namakkal

280

Source: e2necc.com Unit Price : US$ per package

Other International Prices

Price on 24-04-2015 Product

Market Center

Origin

Variety

Low

High Package: 50 lb cartons

Onions Dry 1

Baltimore

2

Chicago

3

Dallas

Oregon

Russet

20

20

Idaho

Russet

14

16

Nevada

Russet

22

22 Package: 30 1-lb film bags

Carrots 1

Baltimore

California

Baby Peeled

24

25

2

Chicago

California

Baby Peeled

20

23.50

3

New York

California

Baby Peeled

20

22 Package: 18 lb containers bagged

Grapes 1

Baltimore

Peru

Red Globe

22

22

2

Chicago

Chile

Red Globe

24.50

24.50

3

Miami

Peru

Red Globe

24

24

Source:USDA

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 30

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

U.S. Rice Takes Center Stage at Worlds of Flavor Conference Top of mind NAPA, CA -- Asians are the fastest growing foreign born population in the United States and their influence is causing a seismic shift in American food culture. The integration of Asian flavors and styles into Western food is the biggest culinary mega-trend in American food service today so, it stands to reason, Asian cuisine was the theme at the Culinary Institute of America's (CIA) Worlds of Flavor Conference this year.And, as you might expect, rice was a featured ingredient. As one conference speaker remarked, "rice is the centerpiece of Asian cuisine and all the other ingredients are made to complement it."

USA Rice was a sponsor of the exclusive three-day event that had more than 700 attendees, including food service operators, professional chefs, food writers and bloggers, and restauranteurs. The California rice industry generously donated more than 130 pounds of rice for the conference. Sushi, Calrose, sweet, and U.S. jasmine were just a sampling of the domestic varieties used for chef cooking demonstrations and tastings.

In the CIA Test Kitchen with Chef Brandon Jew "Unlike with average consumers, it's no surprise to this audience that rice is grown in the United States," said USA Rice's Domestic Promotion Manager Katie Maher. "And while they are inspired by flavors from across the globe, the professional food community still wants to source their food locally and U.S.grown rice is a perfect fit for their menus."Brandon Jew, a professional chef from San Francisco who spoke at a seminar about grains said, "I think it's really important to source ingredients from where you are. For example, you can get excellent quality rice right here in California. I source locally when I can and even encourage my staff to visit our producers' farms to see where our ingredients come from."

In addition to being a conference sponsor, USA Rice also conducted two different flavor discovery tastings featuring USA Rice's Korean Spicy Tuna Rice Bowl prepared with Calrose rice and Beef Satay Rice Bowl made with U.S. jasmine rice. USA Rice also promoted MenuRice.com through conference materials and displayed many rice types available to chefs including parboiled, wild, and U.S. specialty varieties.

Chef Kimball Jones Chef Kimball Jones, who prepared and presented both USA Rice tastings, said, "My children were the guinea pigs when I was testing the recipes at home and now they're on a rice kick!"

Maher concluded: "As the popularity of Asian cuisine continues to grow, U.S. rice is well positioned to take advantage of this food trend. Whether it's an independent restaurant or higher volume venues like fast, casual restaurants and university cafĂŠs across the country serving Asian inspired dishes, we've shown that U.S. rice can be an integral component to the meal."

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 31

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Contact: Deborah Willenborg (703) 236-1444 Of course they're taking photos -- it's the CIA!

Crop Progress: 2015 Crop 39 Percent Planted WASHINGTON, DC -- Thirty-nine percent of the nation's 2015 rice acreage is planted, according to today's U.S. Department of Agriculture's Crop Progress Report.

Rice Planted, Selected States Week Ending April 26, 2014

State

April 19, 2015

April 26, 2015

2010-2014 average

Percent Arkansas

44

28

37

59

California

8

3

7

7

Louisiana

86

79

85

89

Mississippi

23

38

49

51

Missouri

40

2

3

53

Texas

78

61

64

87

Six States

43

32

39

54

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures CME Group (Preliminary): Closing Rough Rice Futures for April 27

Month

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Price

Page 32

Net Change

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

May 2015

$9.855

- $0.125

July 2015

$10.125

- $0.105

September 2015

$10.400

- $0.095

November 2015

$10.655

- $0.085

January 2016

$10.905

- $0.080

March 2016

$10.955

- $0.080

May 2016

$10.955

- $0.080

Datar Dhamaka in Oman - 29th outlet opens in Muscat Al Adil Group, now more than three decades old, marched towards another milestone – presence in three GCC countries – Dubai, Bahrain and now in Oman. It launched it‘s first outlet in Muscat, capital of Oman, and overall 29th outlet. The outlet was inaugurated by Dr. Dhananjay Datar, himself, Founder Chairman of Al Adil Trading & Supermarkets.At a press briefing, last fortnight, Dr. Dhananjay Datar, who is popularly known as Masala King, said that thousands of people thronged the inauguration of the new outlet, which is strategically located in the heart of Muscat, because there is a huge population of Indians, and there is a growing demand to satisfy their needs. ―Also, we are known for our extremely attractive inaugural discount offers, which lasts over several days after the launch.

So more crowds came in during the subsequent days too. We are looking at the fact that there is no single big store or supermarket which offers such a wide variety of Indian items, under one roof, as Al Adil does. Not only do we provide them their regular items, but also make provision of all things needed for the festivals of all Indian communities. We are confident of expanding our presence further in Oman, with more Al Adil supermarkets in the current year itself‖, beamed Dr. Datar.Dr. Dhananjay Datar has seen a meteoric rise, from a single store and humble beginnings in Dubai, to become the 14th most powerful & influential Indians in the Gulf, according to the Arabian Business ranking, which covers all the GCC Countries.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 33

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine He has been recognized by Forbes Middle East magazine, which has ranked him 44 in the top 100 businessmen, in the entire Arab world.In the almost 30 years since opening its first store in the UAE, Al Adil has acquired a cult-like status among Indian expatriates. Al Adil Trading under the dynamic leadership of Dr. Dhananjay Datar offers a wide range of products covering pulses, atta, masalas, spices, sugar, ghee, pickles, basmati rice, other rice varieties, biscuits, namkheen and many other products at half price to their customers.―Our policy is to reach out to our customers. We strongly believe in customer convenience. A major factor that adds to the convenience of customers is good location and proximity to where they are staying. Our store is easily accessible and provides a wide range of Indian foodstuff. Our products are noted for quality and over the years we have never had an instance of customer complaint on account of quality.

For Indian expatriates as well as for expatriates from other parts of the globe, we have become the preferred choice when it comes to getting their preferred foodstuff including authentic masalas and spices,‖ added Dr. Datar.―We are happy to state that we have grown in a major way from our modest beginning when we opened our first outlet in Dubai to cater to the needs of Indian Housewife. Customers used to come to our outlet since they were able to get what they want at reasonable prices. The tremendous response encouraged us to open more branches.

Today, thanks to the ever growing support base we have retail outlets in the UAE, Oman, Bahrain and India as well as 2 spices factories and 2 flour mill factories – a strong testimony to our hard work as well as identifying the needs of the customers and providing them with products that meet this need,‖ pointed out Dr. Dhananjay Datar.

―We have laid down very stringent quality norms and there is no compromise towards that. Our stringent quality control measure has helped us to win numerous awards and recognition from nationally and internationally acclaimed bodies,‖ he observed.Al Adil Supermarket also has the major brand PEACOCK. ―Under the Peacock brand umbrella we have all types of Spices, Pulses, Wheat, Atta, Rice and Indian Foodstuff items that are packed and sold in various packing sizes according to the customer requirement. We offer more than 8500 items imported directly from India. Under the Peacock brand we have all types of pickles, Ras Gullas, Gulab Jamun and confectionery items which are sourced from India and packed in various sizes as per our specifications. We are a certified 100% pure vegetarian store and has got the certification from Union Vegetarian International,‖ he added.

Democrat Gazette: "

Japan farmers cultivate rice's mystique as barrier to deal" Korea Herald: "K

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 34

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

OFF-SEASON RICE FARMING AREAS HIT 20-YEAR LOW 4/24/2015 RICE ONLINE (24-04-2015) OFF-SEASON RICE FARMING AREAS HIT 20-YEAR LOW CHAINAT, 24 April 2015 (NNT) – Off-season rice farming areas in four provinces along the Chao Phraya River has fallen to a 20-year low, according to the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE).Rice paddies in the provinces of Lopburi, Singburi, Chainat and Angthong have shrunken to a total area of 410,000 rai, due to a ban on off-season farming by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to mitigate the drought crisis.The ban is in effect from November 2014 to April 30, in order to ensure sufficient water supplies for consumption, environmental conservation and agricultural purposes during the dry season.

The OAE revealed a drop in rice yields in the four provinces corresponding to a 72 percent decrease in agricultural land use from last year. Other factors that affected the yield were cold temperatures and pest problems.However, the OAE disclosed that the ban on off-season farming has saved enough water for cultivation in May, adding that some farmers in the four provinces can resume cultivation activities."IIFL: "Thailand Rice Exports Down 2% This Year "

State's rice, proximity called ideal for Cuba Monday, April 27 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette To Carl Brothers of Stuttgart-based Riceland Foods Inc., Cuba is perfectly situated to take advantage of U.S.-grown rice rather than having it shipped thousands of miles from Asian nations such as Vietnam.

Thousands of tons of Vietnamese rice exports to China stuck at border gates TUOI TRE UPDATED : 04/27/2015 08:20 Hundreds of trucks carrying rice have been stuck at Ban Quan border gate with China in the last ten days.Around 30,000 tons of Vietnamese rice exports to China have been stuck at border gates amid efforts by Chinese authorities to tighten checks along the border.The sale and purchase of rice between Vietnamese suppliers and Chinese buyers have taken place in a way like in a market where buyers and sellers exchange goods for money, without any agreement reached before.In addition, the sale of goods has been made not only at border gates but also at any ‗trail‘ linking the two nations along their hundreds of kilometers of land border.So, those ‗secondary‘ border gates can be closed anytime for security issue, which puts a stop to the trading activities along the border.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 35

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

30,000 tons of rice under sunlight and rain

Hundreds of trucks fully loaded with rice have stayed motionless in areas around different such ‗secondary‘ border gates in the northern Vietnamese province of Lao Cai in the last ten days.

According to the Ban Quan border guard unit in Lao Cai‘s Bao Thang District, Chinese buyers have stopped importing rice from Vietnam in the last two weeks because their authorities have tightened checks along the border.The Lao Cai Department of Industry and Trade reported that Chinese buyers need no certificate of quality so Vietnamese traders rush to carry rice toward the border with China for export.

Now, the total amount of rice stuck in Lao Cai reaches some 30,000 tons which face the risk of decay, the department said.Le Ngoc Hung, deputy chairman of the Lao Cai People‘s Committee, said he has reported the problem to the central government.He added that Lao Cai has signed initial agreements with Chinese authorities to open four more border gates in Lung Po, Ban Quan, Na Loc, and another unidentified site to lift the blockade for Vietnamese rice to enter China.

Herald Interview] Korea to defend rice market in TPP talks Published : 2015-04-27 20:33 Updated : 2015-04-27 20:33 Korea‘s top agriculture policymaker has emphasized that the government would not further open its rice market, even when the nation participates in the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership to establish a free trade zone among Pacific Rim countries. ―Our government is firmly set on excluding rice from the TPP‘s list of tariff concession,‖ said Lee Dong-phil, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs. ―As regards to joining the TPP, our government‘s position is that we will do so after carefully weighing the national interest,‖ Lee said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald at the Sejong Government Complex.The minister was responding to concerns in the nation‘s farming sector following a high-level U.S. official‘s indications early this month that Korea may have to lower its barriers against rice imports in order to join the TPP.Agricultural experts predict that the U.S. is expected to put pressure on Korea either to lower its 513 percent tariff rate on imported rice or to buy a certain quantity at a far lower tariff.

Lee Dong-phil

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 36

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine This year, Korea opened its rice market to foreign suppliers after ending its 20-year import quota system.

The government notified the World Trade Organization that it would set a 513 percent tariff on imported rice.But five rice-exporting countries including the U.S. and China have opposed it at the WTO, demanding a drastic cut of the nation‘s tariff rate on rice imports. ―We will seek to persuade the five countries by emphasizing that the tariff rate was calculated in accordance with the WTO‘s official formula, respective of the principles of the global market order,‖ Lee said.The minister expressed hopes that rice-exporting countries would take into consideration Korea‘s position on rice imports.―Rice is not a mere commodity, considering the nation‗s high dependency on it.

Rice is cultivated in most of the 1.1 million farming households here, affecting their income,‖ he said. ―Importing more rice (at a lower tariff rate) will destroy the Korean rice producers.‖ ―The country suffers from an oversupply of rice because the national rice consumption has halved. Even so, we have abided by the WTO‘s global quota on rice imports,‖ Lee said, emphasizing that Korea has been ―more than faithful in meeting the WTO obligations.‖ The minister, who took office when President Park Geun-hye‘s government was inaugurated in 2013, expressed difficulties in walking the fine line between promoting trade liberalization and protecting the nation‘s farmers.―In the big picture, we need to go ahead with an open economy and make the most out of the global market order to sell our products,‖ he said. For the Korean government, he believes, it is also important to join the TPP trade pact that oversees the mega-market home to 40 percent of the world‘s population and nearly 60 percent of global gross domestic product.

The TPP is expected to include Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the U.S., Vietnam and Australia.Lee saw South Korea as an already open economy in virtually all agricultural goods except rice. The country is already highly dependent on imported grains such as wheat, corn and beans, mostly consumed for animal feeds. ―Only five of the 150 WTO members disagree with South Korea‘s maintenance of the rice tariff,‖ Lee said, claiming the rice protection move was compatible with the global standard.

China, one of the five contenders of the rice tariff, agreed to exclude South Korean rice and other sensitive agricultural goods upon initialing the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement on Feb. 25. Last year, the neighboring country sent about 53 percent of Korea‘s imported rice. The minister also sees ―smart farming‖ as one solution for the Korean farming industry that is pressured by rising agricultural imports.

Among Korea‘s 1.1 million farming households, about 600,000 households make less than 5 million won ($4,600) annually, according to government data in 2010. ―The Korean farming society is facing a major crisis,‖ Lee said, vowing to help the farming societies earn more by turning to ―smart farming.‖ Lee conceded that there is no easy solution to agricultural reform. The restructuring plan aims to raise farming households‘ income, by combining advanced technology to boost production and pioneer larger markets.

Agricultural restructuring is inevitable for the country to raise the Korean food self-sufficiency rate to 5060 percent from the current 49 percent, he added. ―Most of this bracket includes the aged, small-sized farmers who barely make about 3 million won ($2,770) a month,‖ Lee said. ―For them, we are trying to provide a happier agricultural environment

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 37

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine where they can enjoy life with their families and friends, rather than forcing them to adopt the latest technology so they can make a massive income,‖ he added.

The minister pointed out that Korea‘s limited farming space has reduced the agricultural production capacity. The average farmland here, 1.5 hectares per household, is far smaller than the 56 hectares of France or 187 hectares of the U.S., he added.―We need to combine these small, individual pieces of farmland into the broader, ‗field-unit business entities,‘ where people can join forces to organize and mechanize the farming process,‖ Lee suggested. In addition to forming farming cooperatives, the country needs a major shift in production, such as turning rice paddies into farms, Lee said. The country‘s dependency on the paddies is too high, which makes the country partially vulnerable to the falling demand for rice, he added.

Lee noted the remaining 300,000 of the 1.1 million farming households have high potential to link their farming businesses to local tourism. ―Korea may be small in size, but every region has abounding local specialties, made of locally grown ingredients,‖ Lee said. Korea is home to more than 800 local breweries of makgeolli, or rice wine, which is worth exploring for tourists from here and overseas, the minister added. He also expected the impact of the aging society will hit the hardest in the farming societies. Lee called for the government and civil support to pave the way for self-sustainable agricultural societies. ―If we fail to foster the ‗heirs‘ to self-sustainable farming, the local communities will not survive the free trade movement,‖ Lee said.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)

Tariff and rice import Abdul Bayes Bangladesh's rice regime is partly influenced by policies pursued in other countries, especially in nextdoor neighbour India. In this context, one can possibly recall that the country benefited hugely from imports of rice by the private sector in 1998. But, in fiscal year 2007-08, following export restrictions imposed by India, it suffered a serious setback. Thus, it is in the fitness of things that Bangladesh keeps a sharp watch on Indian food grains production and export-import trends and policy changes in the interest of farmers and consumers. This year, in the wake of a good harvest of medium quality rice in India and zero import duty on rice from the Bangladesh side, the importers got sufficient incentive to import lowpriced product and swell the market with its supplies. Eminent economist Mahabub Hossain has drawn our attention to the adverse ramifications of import in the face of good harvest at home and argued for imposing duty on import.

Rice millers and farmers' organisations have been pleading for imposing duty on rice import from India so that domestic prices remain at par with those of India. But the policy-makers turned a deaf ear to their pleas and failed to read the impacts of import of rice on the economy. This has cost the farmers heavily.

Not only the large and medium farmers but also half of small and marginal farmers sell paddy in the market. The traditional notion that it is only the large and medium farmers who lose from low prices of paddy in the market is not correct.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 38

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

However, very recently - and belated though - the Food Ministry seems to have come to realise the reality on the ground that cheap rice imports from India could be very expensive at this time and decided to impose duty on import of rice. This may stem the rot partially. We are told that the Food Ministry has asked the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to slap duty on rice imports from India as import of rice from there during the last few months has allegedly swelled the Bangladesh market to cause a fall in rice prices. This might have benefited consumers at the cost of the cultivators who may lose incentive to grow rice.If duty is not imposed on rice import, the consumers could be happy as they would be able to buy cheaper rice but producers, millions of whom are small and marginal farmers, would be hit below the belt.

For example, import cost of an Indian variety of rice called Swarna, also grown in border areas of Bangladesh, stood at Tk.24.50-Tk 25.20 per kg on March 03, 2015 when the price of local rice at that time was Tk.27/kg.

It should be mentioned here that of late India has turned out to be a major source of rice imports for Bangladesh although the product is also being imported from Thailand, Myanmar, Pakistan and Vietnam.

As far as rice import is concerned, India provides a few advantages over other sources. First is the nearness of India - quick transport from there helps face the shortage of rice during crisis. Second, rice price is relatively lower as the Indian government provides huge subsidy on rice trade. This is unparalleled in contemporary cases of subsidy.

For example, in 2001 and 2002, Indian exporters got rice from government stock at $170 per ton as against production cost of $253/ton. Rice was then dumped into Bangladesh market. India's food grain stock policy and its ramifications are worth mentioning. In 2001, stock of food in India was 62 million tonnes. J. Derez, a close associate of Amartya Sen, argued that if sacks of 62 million tons of food grains could be piled up one above the other, the distance could be one million km. Travelling such a distance would imply a journey to and from the moon. With a huge stock of food, India has, however, one of the worst records in nutritional deficiency. Finally, India exports boiled rice that is liked by Bangladeshis (except in Chittagong and Sylhet region).

As per newspaper reports, from July, 2014 to April 7, 2015, rice imports through private channel stood at about 1.3 million tons which is more than three times the total imports in the last fiscal (3,74,000 tons in fiscal 2013-14). In fact, the volume is a four-year high. Mainly two reasons could be adduced to the large inflow of rice into Bangladesh: zero duty on imports of rice and higher production of mediumquality rice in India. The ample supply on the heels of increased food grain production at home has resulted in lower prices of rice than last year. On an average, fine, medium and coarse quality rice declined by 2-4 per cent per kg.

Paddy prices have gone down as millers are reluctant to buy. The freshly harvested Boro is reported to be selling at Tk.13 per kg (Tk.500/maund or per 40 kg) when the production cost is Tk.20/kg (Tk. 800 per maund). Imports soared although the latest harvests of Aus, Aman and Boro were relatively good.

Production is higher than the domestic food grain requirement of about 30 million tons. Bangladesh produced 34.44 million tons of rice in fiscal 2013-14 up from 30.38 million a year ago (BBS).

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 39

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine The impact of duty imposed on import of rice would depend on the level of duty and its timing.

Imposition of duty to restrict rice import has already become late. A great deal of damage has already been done. In some areas, Boro harvest has begun and farmers are selling paddy. However, in larger parts of the country, harvest and sales on a large scale are yet to begin. Boro is the major rice crop. Its cultivation being very expensive, the farmers need to receive a fair price. Unless imports could be restricted to boost domestic price, the fair price may not reach farmers. Second, the duty level should be such that import becomes unprofitable.

It is, however, good news that the government has already declared procurement price for Boro rice at Tk.32 per kg which is one taka more from the last season. The government intends to buy one million tons of rice under a four-month scheme starting from May 01 and 1,00,000 tons of paddy at Tk.22 per kg.

Given that rice and paddy production costs are Tk.27.5 per kg and Tk. 20 per kg respectively, the breakeven price for Boro paddy stands at Tk. 800 per maund. Bangladesh should adopt market forces very carefully in the case of food grains. Interventions have to be there when market becomes a menace.

The writer is a Professor of Economics at: Jahangirnagar University. abdulbayes@yahoo.com

Try our aromatic Thai Green King Prawn Curry Ingredients • 150g Thai Jasmine rice • 3 tbsps vegetable oil • 400g king prawns • ½ courgette, diced • Handful mangetout, halved • 2 spring onions thinly chopped • 1 garlic clove, thinly chopped • 3cm piece of ginger root, grated • 1 tsp green curry paste • 250ml GF vegetable stock • 200ml light coconut milk • 1tbsp fish sauce www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 40

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine • Juice 1 lime • 2tbsps chopped coriander • 2 tbsps unsalted cashews – toasted Method 1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a hot wok over a medium heat and stir fry the prawns until pink, remove from the pan and set aside.

2. Add the remaining oil to the wok and stir fry the courgette, spring onions, garlic and ginger.

3. Stir in the curry paste.

4. Pour in the stock, coconut milk and fish sauce. Add the prawns and bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

5. Meanwhile bring a large pan of water to the boil and stir in the rice. Return to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Drain well and serve.

6. Add the lime juice and check the seasoning of the sauce.

7. Serve sprinkled with coriander and toasted cashews.

www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

Page 41

Contact for Newsletter Advertisement mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com Cell : +92 321 369 2874