2nd february,2015 daily global rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Rice E-Newsletter February 02 , 2015 V o l u m e 5, Issue I

Nigeria2015: Jonathan has failed in agriculture – APC February 1, 2015

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation, APCPCO, has accused the President Goodluck Jonathan administration of massive corruption in the country’s agricultural sector.―President Jonathan has failed woefully in the agricultural sector, and all the self-praise of the

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine administration on agriculture is simply a ruse,‖ the APCPCO said in a statement released on Sunday, February 1.

The statement, signed by Garba Shehu, pointed out that whereas President Jonathan had promised in 2010 to make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice and wheat production by 2015, ―the grim reality on the ground today is that Nigeria emerged as the world’s highest importer of rice in 2015, and a whopping $11 billion is spent annually by Nigeria to import rice, wheat, sugar and fish.‖The statement added that according to the former Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sarah Alade, Nigeria as at 2014 spends $4 billion on rice importation – that is about N600 billion annually on the importation of 2.1 million metric tonnes of milled rice. ―This is after the Federal Government had approached the China Exim Bank for a loan of $1.2 billion for the financing of 100 large-scale rice processing plants with a total capacity of 2.1 million metric tonnes.―The troubling truth today, is that Nigeria is nothing close to self-sufficiency in rice production and what we have at hand is a close web of corruption where government cronies stumble over each other to get import licenses for rice.‖ The statement also noted that a similar unacceptable situation pertained to the importation of wheat. ―According to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, Nigeria’s wheat consumption as at year 2000 was about two million metric tonnes. But, by 2010, wheat importation to the country had risen to four million metric tonnes and Nigeria spends N635 billion annually on wheat importation.―Five years into the Jonathan’s administration, Nigeria spends even more than we did in 2010 to import wheat; yet the government continues to brandish false achievements in the agricultural sector – a situation that is completely at variance with what President Jonathan promised Nigerians in 2010, saying that his government would make Nigeria save N635 billion annually on rice and wheat importation.‖ On fertilizer accessibility to farmers, the APCPCO faulted the claim by government that local farmers now have unhindered access to fertilizer through the Growth Enhancement Scheme.On the contrary, Mr. Shehu says that what gets to each farmer under the e-wallet arrangement, which he described as, ―excessively laborious and technically difficult for the farmers to work through‖ are two bags of fertilizer throughout the entire farming season, ―and government has not come out in one instance to tell Nigerians how much it receives as grants on fertilizer distribution to farmers from donor agencies.‖ ―The government will want to give us the impression that fertilizer is being given to farmers free of charge. But we know that what subsists is a 50 per cent subsidy per bag of fertilizer. Our farmers are being shortchanged under this so-called e-wallet arrangement because of lack of transparency.―We may be looking at another subsidy scam over fertilizer unless the Jonathan administration comes out clean to tell us how much it has received as grants over fertilizer and how it comes about the 50 per cent subsidy per bag of fertilizer,‖ Shehu said.The statement dismissed President Jonathan’s claims

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine of achievement in the agricultural sector, pointing out that ―throughout the periods preceding the Jonathan’s administration, the contribution of agriculture to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was at 7 per cent, while under the so-called transformation agenda of President Jonathan, agriculture’s contribution to the GDP has been consistent at 5 per cent – an all-time low. ―In any case, food commodities are items Nigerians buy on a daily basis. If the Jonathan administration was sincere with the statistics it reels out on agriculture, why would the government buy pages of newspaper advertorials and TV commercials to force bitter falsehood of its achievements down the throats of Nigerians? The Jonathan administration has failed woefully in its agricultural policies and the facts are self-evident out there at those food stalls in our markets.―In 2015, Nigerians know they spend far more to buy food than they did in 2010. That reality, in itself, is President Jonathan’s scorecard in agriculture,‖ the APCPCO concluded.

Signed: Garba Shehu Directorate of Media & Publicity APC Presidential Campaign Organisation Source with thanks: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/176092-nigeria2015jonathan-failed-agriculture-apc.html

Research takes backseat as police, army, CRPF turn Kulgam rice station into garrison Lack of political will allows them use major chunk of land: VC SKUAST Muhammad

Suhail Kulgam, Jan 31: The Regional Rice Research Station (RRRS) located in Khodweni area of this south Kashmir district resembles a fortified garrison with a large chunk of the facility occupied by

police,

army

and

paramilitary

forces.

Spread over hundreds of Kanals of Agricultural land as an extension centre of the SK University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUASTK) the RRRS also has a two-storey facility to house the researchers and the offices.

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However over the last half a decade a large chunk of the facility has been subsequently occupied by a police post, an Army unit, a SOG team and paramilitary CRPF personnel. The SKUAST administration in general and the RRRS administration in particular have been fighting tooth and nail to get the troops vacated off the facility; however the government and the civil administration have been turning a blind eye.VC SKUAST, Dr Tej Pratap, said he has been in constant touch personally as well as officially with the Chief Minister’s office since last many years now.―There has been a lack of political will to get the place vacated so that it can serve its purpose,‖ Pratap said.Sources at the station said initially there were only some CRPF personnel to guard the facility and things were working just fine till then. ―In 2010 however, during the unrest, the Khodweni-Qaimoh police post was damaged and they eventually shifted to our centre,‖ said G A Parray, Director of research at the centre, ―They have been here ever since.‖Moreover, during the recently concluded Assembly elections, an Army unit and a unit of police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) were also squeezed in at the facility.Parray is of the opinion that while the research at the station remains affected by such large number of troops housed in there; most problematic has been the police post. ―With police post there is always a large civilian footfall and the place almost always remains overcrowded.‖ said Parray, adding that he has been writing to all concerned officials including the Kulgam Deputy Commissioner (DC) and the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) South Kashmir range.Parray, while talking to Rising Kashmir, said he writes fresh letters to the concerned officials almost every week.Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kulgam, Nisar Ahmad Wani, acknowledged that the issue has been brought into his notice through proper channels time and again. ―I do understand that the place needs to be vacated. We are looking for alternate land somewhere in the vicinity so that the troops can be shifted there and the RRRS resumes doing whatever it was established for,‖ Wani said.Till then, however, the whole purpose of the centre remains hijacked and it continues to serve as a garrison.

Source with thanks: http://www.risingkashmir.com/research-takes-backseat-as-police-army-crpfturn-kulgam-rice-station-into-garrison/

Korea-India ties celebrated on Republic Day Diplomatic soiree is held after Park’s visit and before Modi’s Feb 02,2015

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine The Embassy of India last week commemorated the country’s 66th Republic Day with an event at the Millennium Seoul Hilton in Jung District, central Seoul, which was attended by approximately 400 people. Republic Day commemorates the adoption of India’s constitution and is one of the three national holidays celebrated in the South Asian country, along with the Independence Day on Aug. 15, and Gandhi Jayanti on Oct. 2. In a welcoming address on Jan. 26, Indian Ambassador Vishnu Prakash underscored Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s victory last May in a landslide election.

He also highlighted key diplomatic steps during the past year to strengthen ties between India and Korea, such as President Park Geun-hye’s state visit in January. Prakash also noted the plan by the Korea TradeInvestment Promotion Agency (Kotra) to establish Korea’s first industrial park in India, in the state of Rajasthan, adding that he was pushing ahead with organizing Modi’s state visit to Korea later this year. ―The past three years working in Korea were three great years - and the best three years of my life,‖ he said. ―I feel like [it has only been] three months‖ since landing here.Jeong Kab-yoon, the National Assembly vice speaker who participated as an honorary guest, said India is Korea’s ―friend and strategic partner,‖ and the brotherhood ―was strengthened while Ambassador Prakash was stationed here.‖Jeong leads a friendship association formed with Korean and Indian lawmakers.

Hanging on the wall behind the podium was a photograph of President Park shaking hands with Modi during their trip to Myanmar last November for the 25th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit. At the front of the banquet hall flanking the podium were several acrylic and oil paintings depicting Indian culture and society, all of which were provided by the Indian Art Museum in Seocho District, southern Seoul. A buffet of Indian dishes was arranged along the far left and right sides of the room, including chickpea salad, chicken curry, palak paneer (spinach and cheese curry), steamed basmati rice, dal makhani (lentil curry) and Cape Brandy bread pudding. Artists at the Indian Cultural Center, all dressed in traditional attire, provided entertainment for the international crowd with music and dance performances.Koreans wearing hanbok, or traditional Korean clothing, took to the stage later to dance and sing with their Indian counterparts.

Image: Indian Ambassador Vishnu Prakash, center; Jeong Kab-yoon, right, the National Assembly vice speaker; and Kim Ki-jai, the former minister of government administration and home affairs, light a traditional Indian lamp on Jan. 26 at the 66th Republic Day of India celebration held at the Millennium Seoul

Hilton

in

Jung

District,

central

Seoul.

By

Park

Sang-moon

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [selee@joongang.co.kr]

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Source with thanks: http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3000390&cloc=joongangdaily%7Chome%7Cnewslist1

Farmers welcoming lower gas prices across the country

By BRIAN FANNEY - Associated Press - Sunday, February 1, 2015 LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Falling energy prices mean tractors are cheaper to run, water is less expensive to pump and crops are more economical to ship. Arkansas farmers are benefiting from the same forces that have driven down gasoline prices, though falling gasoline prices take the cost of ethanol - and the money farmers receive to grow corn - down with them. ―It’s certainly a benefit for one side,‖ said Matt King, director of market information and economics for Arkansas Farm Bureau. ―But it hinders the other side.‖These Celebrities changed our lives forever, but left too soon.These 12 super foods speed up your weight loss and melt fat as soon as you start eating them!In 2014, the average Arkansas farmer spent about $61,000 on diesel fuel and other energy sources to farm 1,000 acres of land. That’s about 16 percent of the average farmer’s total operating cost.Those numbers could fall substantially this year.Diesel which powers irrigation wells, trucks and tractors - has been slower to decline in price than gasoline. But since December, retail prices have dropped from $3.61 a gallon to $2.93 a gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Farmers use mostly off-road diesel, which they don’t pay state and federal taxes on. King said prices are now around $2 a gallon for that form of fuel.Rabobank, a global financial services company with a focus on agriculture, said Wednesday that lower oil prices could have a large enough impact to make a noticeable difference in supermarket prices.The size of the drop in oil prices combined with the already significantly lower prices of agri-commodities will place substantial downward pressure on global food prices, possibly reaching multi-year lows,‖ said Clara van der Elst, a Rabobank analyst, in a news release.

And in Arkansas, cheaper fuel could have a large impact on rice growers. The average rice farmer spent $127,000 - $93,000 to run irrigation pumps and another $34,000 on diesel fuel to apply chemicals and fertilizer - for every 1,000 acres of land.In fact, rice farmers spend more than 21 percent of their operating costs on energy - far more than other farmers - because of the amount of water that needs to be pumped from the ground to grow the crop.K. Bradley Watkins, research assistant professor of agricultural economics for the University of Arkansas Rice Research and Extension Center, said many rice farmers have adapted to high prices by moving from diesel to electric pumps. ―There’s been a sizeable movement,‖ he said. ―When fuel costs really skyrocketed, especially for diesel, that’s when the transition really started.‖Though lower fuel prices will help farmers control the cost of growing their crops, other factors could mean farmers won’t see an increase in profit margins.King said fertilizer costs have yet to fall, though it is made from natural gas, which has declined in price. And the dollar is gaining strength while the economies of Canada

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine and Mexico — the United States’ largest trading partners — are hurting from low oil prices.―Our dollar has been fairly weak over the last few years, but we’re starting to see it strengthen,‖ King said. ―As the dollar gets more expensive, other countries buy less of our product.‖ Source with thanks: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/1/farmers-welcoming-lowergas-prices-across-the-coun/#ixzz3QdQJiyXY

Rice millers in C'nawabganj incur huge loss Many workers have become jobless as blockade disrupts supply chain, production RABIUL HASAN, Chapainawabganj A huge quantity of rice remains piled up at a husking mill at Atahar in Chapainawabganj Sadar upazila as transport is badly hampered due to the indefinite countrywide blockade enforced by BNP-led 20-party alliance. PHOTO: STAR

Rice millers in the district are incurring huge losses due to non-stop countrywide blockade enforced by BNP-led 20party alliance.Thousands of labourers of different rice mills have also become temporarily jobless as many rice millers have stopped or lessened production due to problem in sending the food grain to Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet and other places.

"I have suspended operation of four of the seven boiling units of my rice mill due to transport problem amid countrywide blockade," said Akbar Hossain, owner of Nabab Auto Rice and Feed Mills Pvte Ltd at Atahar in Sadar upazila."I usually collect paddy from Chapainawabganj, Naogaon and Dinajpur. After husking it in my mill, I supply the rice to the capital and other places but both procurement and supply works are now badly disturbed," said the owner of the large rice mill. Monsur Rahman, owner of Sagor Auto Rice Mill in the town, Mozammel Haque, owner of Haque Auto Rice Mill, and Mofizudddin, owner of Mafiz Auto Rice Mill in Atahar area of Sadar upazila, said they now produce much smaller amounts of rice that is supplied to markets within short distances only.

They are incurring losses as they have to continue paying labourers' wages, electricity bills and interests on bank loans, said the rice mill owners. Several rice mill workers including Torikul, Atikur, Anarul Islam and Habibur Rahman said they are passing hard days with their families as they have become jobless due to decreased production in rice mills. Some 15,000 labourers work in around 250 rice mills in the district and nearly 100 truckloads of rice is usually sent to the capital and different districts daily from Chapainawabganj, said Erfan Ali, owner of Erfan Agro Food Ltd and Raju Rice Mill.

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine But now only 10 to 20 trucks carry rice outside the district as truckers feel insecure to rent out their vehicles fearing vandalism and arson attacks by blockaders and the fair has increased by 100 to 150 percent, said Erfan, also president of rice mill owners' association in the district.

Published: 12:00 am Sunday, February 01, 2015 TAGS: production Rice millers huge loss nawabganj Source with thanks: http://www.thedailystar.net/rice-millers-in-cnawabganj-incur-huge-loss-62679

It's not the weather BUT corruption in your ministry causing trouble, Ismail Sabri!

Written by Gooi Hsiao Leung On 15.1.2015, I issued a statement highlighting the serious problem of excess supply of rice stockpile faced by rice millers in Kedah and Perlis due to corruption, abuse and mismanagement of the ST15% national rice subsidy program.I had warned that the problem of excess supply of rice in rice mills would have dire consequences on the entire supply chain of the rice industry, and raising immediate fears that farmers would be unable to sell their harvest this season or face high rejection rates for their paddy sold to rice millers.

My fears have now been confirmed with widespread news coverage in the past 3 days concerning farmers complaints of rice millers refusing to buy their paddy, causing 800 to 1000 m/t of paddy to be stockpiled daily in paddy purchasing centers’ of the Farmers Organization Authority (Lembaga Pertubuhan Peladang (LPP)) since the a week ago (22.1.2015). Perlis farmers are also complaining of steep rejection rates of up to 32% imposed by rice millers on paddy sold by the farmers.Shockingly, the Agricultural Minister blamed the ―weather‖ as the cause for the paddy stockpile crisis, citing that ―uncertain weather‖ had caused the farmers to plant late this season, and as such, he has instructed BERNAS to buy up all the excess stockpile paddy.

The Minister’s explanation in blaming the weather for the paddy stockpile problem is totally illogical and most ridiculous.The weather or late planting and harvesting of paddy does not cause paddy stockpile currently faced in Perlis. Even during the best harvesting seasons where Kedah and Perlis can together harvest up to 650k m/t of paddy per season, Kedah and Perlis rice millers have the capacity to process and mill 950k m/t of paddy each season.

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine The Minister is totally evading the real root cause of why rice millers are not buying paddy. As I have previously highlighted, it is because rice millers themselves are facing difficulty disposing stockpiled rice in their mills due to the blatant abuse and corruption in the government mismanagement of the national ST15% rice subsidy scheme.Each year, the government budgets around RM2.2 billion on subsidies and incentives on the rice sector from subsidizing farmers for the price of paddy (RM480 million), fertilizer subsidy (RM465million), incentive to produce paddy (RM563million), rice price subsidy (RM528million), paddy seed subsidy (RM85million), etc.

If the rice and paddy stockpile crisis persists and paddy harvested become damaged and spoilt because they are not sold, dried and processed, hundreds of millions spent on subsidies and incentives by the government will be totally squandered with farmers being the biggest victims.Without any further delay and lame excuses in blaming nature, I urge the Agricultural Minister to immediately make a visit to Perlis and Kedah to personally meet the farmers and rice millers to listen to their grievances and offer long term solutions to overcome the rice and paddy stockpile problem before it before it becomes a full blown national food security crisis.

Full article: http://www.malaysiachronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=451761:its-not-the-weather-butcorruption-in-your-ministry-causing-trouble-ismail-sabri&Itemid=2#ixzz3QdSHgTUc Source with thanks: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=451761:its-not-theweather-but-corruption-in-your-ministry-causing-trouble-ismail-sabri&Itemid=2#axzz3QdNkhujJ

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