2nd january ,2018 daily global regional local rice e newsletter

Daily Rice E-Newsletter

Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter January 02, 2018 Volume X | Issue I

 AGRICULTURE: Going upwards, lethargy in addressing key challenges may dampen prospects  China order lifts rice imports for 2017  Iranian customs bans rice imports order registration  Nigeria to stop rice importation in 2018: president  Pinoy rice farmers may lose $4B under tarifffree Asean  Will we be able to go beyond the rhetoric to face the water challenges ahead?  Right to food security  2018 will be a year of lifestyle change at DA  Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- January 1, 2018  Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- January 2, 2018

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter News Detail‌ AGRICULTURE: Going upwards, lethargy in addressing key challenges may dampen prospects Mohiuddin Aazim January 01, 2018 The prospects of key crops and the livestock sector in 2018 are somewhat promising but structural issues remain and need increased attention.Only three out of five key crops are expected to do well, showing an increase in production and a modest growth in yield, and the livestock sector also seems set to perform better than the year before.

Wheat, sugarcane and rice are all heading in the right direction, and we may see additional output and yield enhancement this year.

Officials and growers say the output of maize, however, may either remain stagnant or record a slight decline due to multiple reasons. If all goes well, cotton output, too, may touch the 13 million-bale mark but will still remain below the original target of 14.04m bales.

Two key challenges to crops that have so far continued to haunt the agriculture sector might also remain there in 2018 even if their severity weakens.The first is to bring the national average yield of key crops closer to the global average and the second is to improve supply and the value chain.

How closely we chase the objective of bridging the yield gap depends upon how seriously ongoing yield enhancement programmes based on seed research and modernisation of farming practices are implemented.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter Lethargy on this count will not only result in a slower growth of the crop sector but will also constrain the country’s ability to meet the growing demand for food grains and cotton at home, and to achieve the desired growth in the export of grains, food items and textiles.

If distortions in supply chain of crops are not managed well the country can neither maintain a sober inflation nor get a high per-unit value for food and textile exports.Cotton: The current season’s cotton output looks set to exceed 13m bales against the second assessment of the cotton crop assessment committee.

This is by no means a very optimistic assessment as by mid-December the country had already produced 10.685m bales.

Sindh is sure to contribute 4m bales, up from the earlier estimates of 3.7m bales—a number already achieved by mid-December.

However, even a 13m-bale output would not only be lower than the original target of 14.04m bales but also insufficient to cover growing demand from the textile sector after the recent spike in textile exports.

Had Punjab’s cotton output not come under pressure (despite an increase in the area under cultivation) due to climatic reasons, the total national production would be around 13.5m bales.

Wheat: The target for wheat output in the upcoming season is 26.46m tonnes, up from 25.75m tonnes in the previous season.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter A shortage of irrigation water and less or no rain in some wheat-growing areas might make the achievement of this target difficult, according to a Suparco assessment. But officials of provincial agricultural departments say, on the basis of field reports received so far, that the target could be achieved despite some reduction in the area under cultivation.

They are pinning their hopes on the projected increase in yields, thanks to the introduction of some new varieties in the past couple of years and a greater awareness created among farmers about the proper care of the crop.

According to Dawn reports, experiments on winter wheat are being conducted in four highaltitude regions. If encouraging results emerge, the country will begin growing this crop as well, though on a limited scale. The winter wheat crop is expected to offer a 20-30pc higher yield than spring wheat — an added advantage.

Rice: The rice harvest in 2017 is estimated to have reached 7.55m tonnes, according to officials who say that in 2018 production would cross eight million tonnes even if the area under cultivation remains the same.

Their optimism springs from a faster growth in production of coarse rice — thanks to an expanding use of high-yield varieties— and a modest increase in even Basmati rice.

For several years, Pakistan has been promoting the use of paddy seeds that survive and grow on less water and has also been teaching farmers how to reduce post-harvest losses.

Mechanised paddy harvesting and newer techniques of replanting the saplings, too, have been playing their role in boosting the rice output for some years now. Hopefully these trends should become stronger in 2018, officials of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) say.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter Sugarcane: The sugarcane output has been growing steadily leading to surplus sugar production in the country and a crash in domestic prices.

Sugar exports continue to bring in the much-needed foreign exchange into the country. Delays over the fixation of the support price of cane by provinces continue to occur, and the year 2017 was no exception.

Farmer lobbies persist in demanding an upward revision in support prices even when the same are notified. The same is expected to happen in 2018.

But on sugarcane farms we can expect changes: a straight 10pc increase in cane production (to 89m plus from 81.4m tonnes in 2017) and a rise in per-hectare yield to 64 tonnes per hectare from 62 tonnes per hectare, according to initial official projections, not yet finalised.

Maize: The maize output that exceeded 6.1m tonnes for the first time in 2017 may remain under pressure in 2018 for the simple reason that the 2017 output gain came from a big 12pc increase in the area under cultivation.

In 2018 this might not be the case and the area under cultivation could shrink, officials say, adding that total production could range between 5.3m and 5.5m tonnes.

They are, however, optimistic that the per-hectare yield of a little less than 4.6 tonnes in 2017 may actually rise to 5 tonnes per-hectare due to a wider adoption of high-yield varieties of the grain.

Livestock: In the absence of data obtained via physical animal surveys, authorities continue to make calculations about milk and meat production on the basis of inter census growth rates between 1996 and 2006.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter Much has changed since 2006 and the entry and progress of large milk and meat processing companies have changed the entire landscape of value-added livestock industries.

An increase in economic growth, the consequent rise in income levels in recent years and the proliferation of chains of super markets also continues to boost demand for dairy and milk products. That is why officials of MNFSR remain upbeat about growth in the livestock sector in 2018.

But whether an anticipated growth in the sector’s performance will also help in the export of meat and meat preparations and of food items in which milk is used as the main ingredient cannot be predicted right now as competition in export markets is getting tougher.

One way of looking at the high impact of grains and livestock sectors’ performance could be the growth of the food and beverages segment of large-scale manufacturing. Here, an 11.49pc expansion in output in FY17 topped by a further 14.24pc growth in five months of this fiscal year indicates that things are moving in the right direction. https://www.dawn.com/news/1380113/agriculture-going-upwards-lethargy-in-addressing-key-challengesmay-dampen-prospects

China order lifts rice imports for 2017 Cheng Sokhorng | Publication date 02 January 2018 | 08:19 ICT A woman harvests her rice crop at a paddy field in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district in 2016. Heng Chivoan

Cambodian rice exports in 2017 increased 17 percent by volume compared to the year before, with exporters pushing to fill orders under China’s expanded import quota while shipments to European markets remained steady, according to Agriculture Ministry figures.

A total of 635,600 tonnes of rice was exported to international markets in 2017, up from 542,144 tonnes the previous year, according to a Facebook post by Hean Vanhan, director general of the general directorate of agriculture at the ministry.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter

China, which agreed to accept 200,000 tonnes of rice from Cambodia in 2017 – doubling the previous limit – and will expand the quota to 300,000 tonnes this year, was the top destination for rice shipments.

Over five years, total rice exports have grown 67.78 percent from 378,800 tonnes in 2013, the figures show.

Chray Son, deputy director of Capital Food Cambodia, a Battambang province rice exporter, said the increase in exports to China was welcome, but Europe remained the market with high potential for future growth.

“Cambodian rice is becoming more popular and the quality is being recognised in the international market,” he said.

But rice exports were still small compared to neighbouring countries, and the industry would need to focus on quality seeds and building more storage, drying and irrigation facilities in order to reach its goal of exporting 1 million tonnes a year, Son added.

Som Song, director of Agricultural Development Chamroeurn Phal, an agricultural cooperative in Raing Kesei commune in Battambang province’s Raing Kesei district, said that even though 2017 was a profitable year, farmers in his area were still hampered by a lack of storage and drying facilities.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter “We do not have a place to dry our paddy rice, so we have to sell at a low price,� Song said.

The state-run Rural Development Bank (RDB) provided about $15 million in low-interest loans last year to two companies to build and operate rice storage warehouses and rice-drying facilities. Amru Rice is building one facility in Kampong Thom, while Khmer Food Group is constructing two in Prey Veng and Takeo provinces.

The facilities, which are each set to have the capacity to store 50,000 tonnes of paddy rice and dry approximately 1,500 tonnes of rice daily, are scheduled to be completed this month.

Meanwhile, another RDB project, based on a $15 million loan to Thaneakea Srov (Kampuchea) Plc in 2016, is also set to start operating in Battambang province this year with a massive 200,000-tonne capacity silo and warehouse facility and the ability to dry 3,000 tonnes of paddy rice a day. http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/china-order-lifts-rice-imports-2017

Iranian customs bans rice imports order registration

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January 1, 2018

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter TEHRAN- The Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) banned any registration for imports of rice until further notice, IRNA reported.

“Regarding the mass imports of rice, more than one million tons, during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21- August 22, 2017), which surpassed domestic consumption and pulled market into recession, no further order registration should be allowed,�

Iranian Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati wrote to Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari on December 20.

Accordingly, IRICA announced on Sunday that registration for imports of rice is forbidden until further notice due to the order of agriculture minister and exports and imports regulations of Iran Trade Promotion organization (TPO).

Iran harvests 2.4 million tons of rice per year after improving its second crop (in October), according to IRNA. The country has imported above one million tons of rice since the beginning of the year, IRICA released data shows.

The domestic demand for rice is fully met. http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/419931/Iranian-customs-bans-rice-imports-order-registration

Nigeria to stop rice importation in 2018: president Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-01 19:48:27|Editor: ZD

LAGOS, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday announced that the country would stop importation of rice from 2018, to encourage the production of local rice.

The president, who said this in his address to the nation in Abuja to mark the beginning of 2018, said it is in view of this reality that in 2015 he appealed to people to go back to the land.

Buhari said Nigerians must get used to discipline and direction in economic management as the days of business as usual are numbered.

"I am highly gratified that agriculture has picked up, contributing to the government's effort to re-structure the economy," he said.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter "Rice imports will stop this year. Local rice, fresher and more nutritious rice will be on our dishes from now on," he said.

"By the same token, I am today appealing to enterprising Nigerians with ideas and unemployed graduates and other able-bodied and literate men and women with ideas, not to just sit and wait for employment from the government or the Organized Private Sector," the Nigerian leader said.

According to him, great nations are built by enterprising people who turn their hands to anything that circumstances dictate, noting that the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government was slowly stabilizing the economy.

The president told the country that the diversification efforts embarked upon by the government had resulted in improved output, particularly in agriculture and solid minerals sectors.

He also maintained that the relative exchange rate stability had improved manufacturing sector performance.

The Nigerian leader, however expressed sadness over the unnecessary hardships inflicted on Nigerians during the Christmas and New Year celebrations following acute petrol scarcity across the country.

The president attributed the hardships to the activities of a few but heartless individuals working within the nation's oil and gas sector.

He reiterated the determination of his administration to get to the root of the persistent petrol scarcity, and ensure that whichever groups were behind this manipulated hardship would be prevented from doing so again.

President Buhari added that the activities of such unpatriotic individuals would not divert his administration's determination to uplift the quality of life of the citizens.

Fuel scarcity during festive periods is a recurrent feature in Nigeria, although it disappeared in the last two years.

The scarcity is said to be caused by greedy marketers who tried to take undue advantage of the high inter-state movements during the season.

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http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-01/01/c_136865080.htm

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter Pinoy rice farmers may lose $4B under tariff-free Asean

By Jasper Y. Arcalas January 1, 2018 Filipino farmers could incur losses of as much as $4 billion under a zero rice-tariff trade regime within the Asean, according to a recent study of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

In the study, titled “Market implications of the integration scenario of Southeast Asian rice markets,” authors Gen Furuhashi and Hubertus Gay projected the outcomes of rice trade within the Asean region under two scenarios by 2025: a zero-tariff regime and a fully integrated market. The authors noted that, under a zero-tariff regime, rice farmers in the Philippines would incur production losses of at least $2.082 billion, while under a fully integrated market they could lose $3.966 billion.

The value of the country’s rice production is estimated at $6 billion annually. The country is still importing rice, with the tariff imposed of on rice coming from other Asean member-countries set at 35 percent.

“As expected, the main changes in the overall welfare for consumers and producers depend on the trade situation of the respective country. Producers in exporting countries and consumers in importing countries gain from tariff reduction and further integration,” the study read.

“Conversely, consumers in exporting countries and producers in importing countries lose.”

Under a zero-tariff regime, Asean member-countries would eliminate their tariffs, while a fully integrated market would entail both the removal of tariffs and nontariff measures. Under the second scenario, the differences between domestic prices and border prices of rice would be eliminated within the region.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter “The first [scenario] involves the elimination of tariffs within the region, while protection vis-àvis countries outside the region remains unchanged,” the study read.

“The second scenario involves closer price integration across the region, again with protection versus countries outside the region unchanged. This scenario reflects the elimination of not just tariffs but of all forms of nontariff forms of protection that cause prices to diverge across the region,” it added.

The production losses would be due to the projected influx of cheaper rice imports from fellow Asean countries, according to the study.

The OECD projected that the Philippines’s rice imports, which accounts for 40 percent of the total regional volume, would reach 2.251 million metric tons (MMT) by 2025. Of the volume, 94.62 percent, or about 2.13 MMT, would come from Asean member-countries.

Under a zero-tariff regime, the Philippines’s rice imports would increase by 1.2 MMT, while a fully integrated Asean market would mean additional purchases of 2.6 MMT. “Any reduction in trade barriers for importing countries will inevitably lead to lower rates of national self-sufficiency. Those ratios are about 10 percent lower with full price integration in Indonesia and the Philippines,” the study read.

“However, despite this, the majority of rice consumed in these countries will still be sourced from domestic production—pointing to a large and competitive domestic rice sector remaining post reforms,” it added.

The OECD study concluded that the hike in rice imports would cut the Philippines’s selfsufficiency ratio to 80 percent under a zero-tariff regime and could fall to as much as 73 percent in a fully integrated market. The study noted that the Philippines has never achieved rice selfsufficiency.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter In 2016 the OECD estimated that Philippine rice production by 2025 would reach 13.67 MMT with a total rice consumption of 15.872 MMT. However, under a zero-tariff regime, the Philippines’s rice production would be cut by 441,500 metric tons (MT), or about 3 percent , while consumption would increase by 678,200 MT, or by 4 percent.

Under a closer market integration, local rice production would decline by nearly 1 MMT, while consumption could increase by 1.577 MMT. This translates to an output reduction of about 7 percent and a consumption increment of 10 percent.

The study also noted that, under the two scenarios, the producer price of rice in the Philippines would significantly fall, as a consequence of lower production volume and the influx of cheaper rice imports.

“Under the baseline, domestic prices are 50 percent higher than adjusted border prices in Malaysia, implying a modest degree of protection beyond that provided by tariffs; but much higher in the Philippines [over 100 percent] and Indonesia [nearly 100 percent]. Hence, a much bigger overall stimulus to regional trade would come from deeper price integration than from tariff reform alone,” the study read.

“The dismantling of high rates of price protection across the region would naturally imply substantial national price effects. In the more radical scenario of full internal liberalization, producer prices in importing countries—Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia—would fall by 39.3 percent, 45 percent and 26.2 percent, respectively, relative to the baseline,” it added.

However, under the two scenarios, the OECD study concluded that the change in the Philippines’s welfare would be positive, as increased rice consumption would outweigh the losses incurred by Filipino farmers.

The OECD estimated that under a zero-tariff scenario rice consumption by 2025 would result in earnings of $2.51 billion and $5.01 billion under an integrated scenario. The overall change in

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter welfare under a zero-tariff regime is pegged at $80.4 million and $697 million under an integrated market.

“The Philippines accounts for about two-thirds of the overall $125 million in gains most from the tariff reform scenario [due to reducing its own tariffs and the fact that it is the most important trader in the region]. Consumers gain approximately $2.5 billion from lower prices, while producers lose $2.1 billion,” the study read.

“The total welfare gains are over 15 times higher with full price integration, at $2.2 billion, with gains of $700 million to the Philippines and the remaining gains spread more evenly across countries. In importing countries, lower prices would deliver approximately $6.4 billion and $5 billion of gains to consumers in Indonesia and the Philippines, respectively, with a large share of those gains coming at the expense of producers,” it added.

Asean member-countries seek to create a fully integrated regional market by 2025, which includes improving food security, as stipulated under the Asean Economic Community Blueprint 2025. https://businessmirror.com.ph/pinoy-rice-farmers-may-lose-4b-under-tariff-free-asean/

Will we be able to go beyond the rhetoric to face the water challenges ahead?

Mohammad Hussain KhanJanuary 01, 2018

While water and agriculture experts in the country keep highlighting issues that have by now assumed critical proportions, the commitment to addressing them seems to be missing; while a rapid increase in population has increased water demand.Experts believe 93 to 95 per cent of Pakistan’s total surface water/freshwater is utilised in the agriculture sector and, according to a

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) presentation, the country has the lowest productivity per unit of water i.e. 0.13kg/m3 with India at 0.39kg/m3 and China 0.82kg/m3.

The agriculture sector’s contribution to GDP remains at 21pc but progressive growers agree that given the quantum of surface water utilised in the farm sector its efficiency leaves a lot to be desired.

Because of these shortcomings Pakistan comes up with lesser per-hectare yields of wheat, cotton, sugarcane and rice according to the Pakistan Ministry of National Food Security and Research 2014-15 statistics.

While water and agriculture experts in the country keep highlighting issues that have by now assumed critical proportions, the commitment to addressing them seems to be missing But policymakers have to go beyond the rhetoric on the integrated water resource management to be ready to face the challenges ahead if they aim to offset the impact of water scarcity.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter The country’s water challenges could be put into the following categories: inadequate storage, lack of water efficiency leading to a lower per-acre productivity, unchecked groundwater abstraction; lack of rational water pricing, canal inefficiency, and a contiguous but dilapidated irrigation infrastructure.

Under the Falkenmark Water Stress Indicator Pakistan is bracketed with nations under water stress, for our per-capita water availability remains less than 1,700m3. If a country’s water availability falls below 1,000m3 it is rated as a water scarce country. Until 2010 Pakistan’s water availability was around 1,223m3.

Ahmad Zeeshan Bhatti, a researcher at the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), opines that the International Institute of Water (IWMI) says countries that will not be able to meet estimated water demands in 2025, even after accounting for future adaptive capacity, are called “physically water scarce”.

Countries with sufficient renewable resources that would have to make a very significant investment in water infrastructure to access them are called “economically water scarce”. So as yet “we are economically, not physically scarce”, he says.

Pakistan stores 10pc of total surface freshwater with a 30-day carryover capacity (14 million acre-feet) achieved through Mangla and Tarbela dams, says a senior Wapda officer. India remains far ahead with a 170-day capacity.

Irrigation channels’ efficiency remains below 40pc for multiple reasons — chiefly sedimentation — though this could be increased to 80pc with lining as per one research.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter The desired investment attributes water infrastructure to inter-provincial discord and trust deficit.

Small and medium size dams are not built for want of resources in provinces although Sindh has lately completed the rain-fed Darawat dam in Jamshoro.

A senior Wapda officer, who deals with the water sector, believes that things have to go in tandem if sustainable growth is to be achieved. By building mega dams like Diamer-Bhasha and 90 small and medium sized dams, Pakistan can achieve 90-day carryover capacity, “although by 2050 our demand will have further increased” he bemoans.

He adds that due to ownership issues international funding is not feasible for the Diamer-Bhasha dam and that even after its completion it will offer only marginal relief as with its 6.4MAF storage, the impact of sedimentation losses in the existing dams can only be offset so that new achievable storage would remain between 1-2MAF. “If work starts on Bhasha it will takes nine years to complete. I don’t see a new storage being built in Pakistan in the next 5-7 years. Successive governments have preferred short-term projects for political mileage instead of long-term projects”, he observes.

“Water availability may not be a serious issue because it is management that actually matter,” he says.

Wapda has a list of seven future water projects for storage and run-of-the-river purposes which are at the early stage of submission. These projects include run of the river Dasu, Mohmand (0.67MAF) and Shyok dams (5.5MAF) for storage with the latter’s feasibility study to be completed in February this year.

As experts and policymakers lay emphasis on water storage, the issue of the dying Indus delta and sustainable environmental flows post-Kotri barrage has taken a back seat.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter Such flows — essential for deltaic region to check sea intrusion — are often described as a wastage of water, notwithstanding the fact that the sea continues to devour fertile agriculture lands in coastal districts of Badin, Thatta and Sujawal along Sindh’s 350km long coastline.

Around 3.5 million acres of land has been lost since 1980 with sea water intruding up to the Thatta-Sujawal bridge.

“Germanwatch in its Global Climate Risk Index 2017 has ranked Pakistan seventh in terms of vulnerability. This means we should revisit the 1991 Water Accord in the backdrop of the climate change as it must have impacted flows considerably.

“Likewise, the Indus Water Treaty can be amended to adjust to the requirements of climate change”, points out Dr Imran Saqib Khalid, who heads the environment and climate change unit at the Islamabad-based Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).

He says that groundwater abstractions on both sides of the borders remain massive and unchecked. “Satellite data shows that the groundwater aquifer tilts towards India”, he claims and urges policymakers to look at how to ensure quality, quantity and equity in water distribution.

But what Dr Imran Khalid suggests not does seem possible unless Pakistan has its National Water Policy in place. The policy’s draft has been submitted to the Council of Common Interests (CCI).

By 2050, says the UN’s World Water Development Report 2015, developing countries will have to increase food production by 60pc. It warns that “climate change will exacerbate the risks associated with variations in the distribution and availability of water resources”.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter The provinces need to rationalise water pricing in both agriculture and non-agriculture sectors to improve revenue generation and investment in irrigation. Canal water being cheap usually leads to wastages.

It is encouraging to see Sindh working on the draft of the agriculture policy as a component of the World Bank-funded Sindh Agriculture Growth Project (SAGP). The draft policy talks about ‘climate smart agriculture’.

Sindh Abadgar Board Vice President Mahmood Nawaz Shah says water pricing is also necessary for all sectors of the economy given the fact Pakistan is heading towards water scarcity.

Pakistan’s farm sector gets 95pc of the country’s total water resources while in rest of the world hardly 70-75pc of water is diverted to the agriculture sector.

“We need to have more per acre productivity with the same quantum of water coupled with investment in human resource, technology and a high efficiency irrigation system to achieve our objectives”, he says.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, January 1st, 2018 https://www.dawn.com/news/1380112/will-we-be-able-to-go-beyond-the-rhetoric-to-face-thewater-challenges-ahead

Right to food security Oli Md. Abdullah Chowdhury

12:00 AM, January 02, 2018 / LAST MODIFIED: 01:06 AM, January 02, 2018A report published in The Daily Star (December 23, 2017) regarding food security situation in Bangladesh revealed that Bangladesh stood 89th in the Global Food Security Index-2017, as the last one among the South-Asian countries.The Global Food Security Index considers the core

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter issues of affordability, availability, and quality across the 113 countries. The index is a dynamic quantitative and qualitative benchmarking model, constructed from 28 unique indicators, that measures these drivers of food security across both developing and developed countries.

Article 15 of the Constitution of the Peoples Republic Of Bangladesh state- “it shall be a fundamental responsibility of the state to attain, through planned economic growth, a constant increase of productive forces and a steady improvement in the material and cultural standard of living of the people, with a view to securing to its citizen- the provision of basic necessities of life, including food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care�. Bangladesh is vulnerable to climatic disaster and repeated floods caused great damage to rice crops this year. A section of rice millers allegedly hoarded rice and deliberately hiked prices after the country lost crops -primarily estimated at 20 lakh tonnes -- to flashfloods in Haor areas and fungal attack in the last Boro season.

The National Food Policy of 2006 represents an important departure from the past by applying a comprehensive and integrated approach to food security, including the availability, access and utilisation dimension of food security. Policy has outlined following three main objectives: Objective 1: Adequate and stable supply of safe and nutritious food Objective 2: Increased purchasing power and access to food of the people

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter Objective 3: Adequate nutrition for all individuals, especially women and children However, Cox's Bazar district administration imposed a weeklong ban on NGOs involved in distributing aid to Rohingyas at Ukhia and Teknaf starting from December 11, 2017.

Interestingly, government circular stated that the amount of food and non-food items being distributed by the NGOs among the refugees were more than what they require. Food availability does not necessarily guarantee food security and moreover, refugee children largely suffer from malnutrition.

Let alone refugees, a large segment of Bangladeshi population still suffers from food insecurity.

Recent price hike had an impact on food security and overall poverty situation. At least 5.2 lakh people have fallen into poverty because of rice price hike, according to a recent study of the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM). It has also caused a rise in head count poverty rate by 0.32 percentage points in past few months in the country.

There is a demand to promulgate food security act. Most of the countries of the world have right to food law but Bangladesh doesn't currently have one. It is high time to codify a law to ensure food security.

The Writer is a human rights worker. http://www.thedailystar.net/law-our-rights/right-food-security-1513798

2018 will be a year of lifestyle change at DA January 1, 2018, 10:00 PM

By Madelaine B. Miraflor 2018 is a year of lifestyle change for the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol For agriculture chief Emmanuel Piñol, this means focusing on food production for local consumption. Also, less overseas trips for agriculture officials to get export orders.Don’t mind the growth targets and projections on production. Piñol will never give one. What he wants is to get to the day when there’s less people complaining about being hungry, either through his doorstep at the DA office or commentaries on his popular Facebook account.“We will focus on what the Filipinos need,” he said.To do that, Piñol said the DA will have less participation in international marketing shows starting 2018.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter “Those roadshows will just make you go around places,” the DA chief said.According to him, the country “is wasting money going around the world marketing our products” when bulk of the country’s 100 million plus population are struggling to find something to eat.“We have always campaigned for exports, not realizing that the Philippines is a market of 100 million people and we could not even satisfy their [food] requirements. Like for example, we go around the world promoting our coffee and yet we are also importing coffee,” Piñol stressed.Based on a data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the value of agro-based products exports stood at US$2.4 billion from January to July this year, which is higher compared to the US$2 billion seen in the same period last year.From July, 2016 to July, 2017, agriculture exports also improved from US$4.8 billion to US$5.3 billion.During his more than a year stint as DA Secretary, Piñol has already been to China, Russia, Vietnam, South Korea, Argentina, among other countries, for different official purposes, most of which for the goal of marketing the country’s high value commodities and for accompanying President Rodrigo Duterte in his many state visits.

There was even a time when Piñol dreamed of making the Philippines a rice exporter.But that won’t happen again as the DA promised to continue with the “dramatic improvements” it has been doing in the past months.

“We already made dramatic improvements on the agriculture sector and this mainly because we have purpose and specific,” Piñol said.

“Like for example, guided by the directives of the President, we have to first satisfy the requirements of Filipinos and this is something that no other President has actually come up with in terms of policy statement. What he said is ‘produce enough for Filipinos and if there’s a surplus, that’s the time we will export’,” he further said.

It was in October when Piñol realized that there’s a need for DA to “tweak its priorities” when it comes to food production as more and more homegrown commodities are being shipped abroad to boost the country’s exports.

This was his response to Duterte’s skeptical remarks over agriculture lands being converted in a way that most of their yields are meant for exports.

According to Duterte, this is one of the main reasons why the country can’t be self-sufficient when it comes to food.This year, some of the international expos the country participated in include International Food Expo (IFEX) in Abu Dhabi; Shanghai New International Expo Centre

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter in China; Natural and Organic Products Europe (NOPE 2017) trade show in United Kingdom, among others.Food self-sufficiency is only met once the country already significantly reduced its dependence on imported goods, especially for staple food crops like rice.

As of now, the country is still dependent on rice imports when it comes to securing its buffer stocks.Duterte is particularly blaming the country’s inability to achieve food security to the thousands of hectares of land occupied by huge private plantations in Mindanao.Right now, Mindanao has the largest contiguous banana plantation in the world, which is owned by Tagum Development Corp. (TADECO). TADECO also happens to be one of the major banana exporters in the world.

Multinational firm Dole Foods Corporation also has a big pineapple plantation in the region.

Moving forward, Piñol said he wouldn’t do anything that will hurt exports as this is still an important part of the economy.“We will not attempt to discourage traditional exporters from changing their marketing strategy. In fact, we will support them at the same time we will intensify efforts to produce more of the commodities needed by the local market,” he further said.

First and hopefully the last avian flu outbreak His critics said Piñol may have overreacted in terms of dealing with the country’s first avian flu outbreak.But then again, he considers this as his “biggest challenge” for the year.It was in August when avian influenza (AI) was first detected and then later on in Nueva Ecija in August.When this happened, DA proceeded to ban the shipments of poultry products from the entire Luzon to other parts of the country, a decision it eventually reversed as if it shouldn’t have done it in the first place.

Agriculture lobby group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) said that because of the ban, which lasted for weeks, the country’s entire poultry industry stood to lose billions of pesos for an issue that would have been an isolated case. And it somehow did.“It was my biggest challenge for the year [as the Agriculture Secretary] but it was dealt effectively. Lessons were learned and things were handled well,” Piñol said.

Moving on from the incident, one of the areas that have been hit by bird flu in August can soon be declared free from the virus, while disinfection activities and re-stocking of birds in other towns are already on-going.Arlene Vytiaco, Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) head of Animal Disease and Control Section, earlier said that Jaen — one of the three areas in Nueva Ecija and Pampanga that were tested positive for AI in August — already passed four tests of swab sampling conducted by the government.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter Under the Avian Influenza Protection Program (AIPP), swab samples must be collected in affected areas every seven days before an area can be declared free from the virus. Samples must be done in five cycles.

Meanwhile, she said that disinfection activities in San Luis in Pampanga as well as in San Isidro and Jaen in Nueva Ecija already concluded in October, adding that re-stocking of sentinel birds in these areas are already on-going.

How to spend the budget in one year Food production, mechanization, lending program for farmers, dairy program — these are where the budget of the DA will go next year. At least for the most part.For next year, the agency and its attached agencies will get a budget of R60.6 billion.If the DA can utilize this all, then it may have a better chance to get a bigger fund in the next years to come.

To recall, Piñol was originally requesting of P220 billion for 2018. At some point, he even said before that he will not settle for a budget lower than P120 billion for next year.This, after the DA may have failed to allocate its funds to its proper use, which could also be the reason why it took so long for lawmakers to give the agency’s 2018 budget proposal a go.

There was a time when Senator Cynthia Villar, who serves as the chair of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, said she had to”realign” the budget for the agriculture sector so it can be used “on more important things.”

“I realigned (the budget proposal for agriculture). I put the budget to more important things. I didn’t add anything. I just fixed it in a way that rice seeds will be provided to PhilRice (Philippine Rice Research Institute) so they can distribute inbred seeds to cooperatives and irrigators. In that way, they can teach farmers how to plant inbred seeds that will give them yield of 6 metric tons (MT) per hectare,” Villar said in an earlier report.

According to her, there is now a misconception among the officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) over the use of hybrid rice seeds over inbred varieties.Back to present, Piñol hasn’t given up. If he can “can show that the agency spent its budget efficiently” in 2017, then it should prove the DA is capable of handling funds as much as P200 billion.For now, there’s a P60 billion upcoming 2018 budget and a R4-billion unspent fund out of its 2017 budget of P47 billion to worry about.

“We estimate around P4 billion to be left unused out of our budget for this year. But that’s not because we have the intention of not using it. It’s just we had to face some technical issues in some of our projects,” he explained.As for the agriculture sector’s growth for next year, Piñol said he “doesn’t want to estimate but there will be a dramatic growth” as the government is now more focused.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter For this year, he is hoping for the sector to perform well despite the back-to-back calamities that pestered the country in the latter part of the year. Last week, it has been reported that Tropical Depression Urduja has incurred as much as R1 billion worth of damage to the entire agriculture sector.

In the end, despite his accomplishments for the year, Piñol still apologized to Filipinos for the government’s shortcomings. “The best gauge in judging the performance of the Department would be in the sufficiency of basic commodities,” he said.

“I’m sorry that this is not being felt right now by Filipino consumers because despite our efforts to produce more, since there’s anomaly in the food supply chain, we will still not be able to bring down the price of the food. And something has to be done,” he finally stressed. https://business.mb.com.ph/2018/01/01/2018-will-be-a-year-of-lifestyle-change-at-da/

Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- January 1, 2018 Nagpur Foodgrain Prices – APMC/Open Market-January 1, 2018 Nagpur, Jan 1 (Reuters) – Gram prices reported higher in Nagpur Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) on good seasonal demand from local millers amid weak supply from producing regions. Fresh rise in Madhya Pradesh gram prices and reported demand from South-based millers also helped to push up prices.

About 150 bags of gram reported for auctions in Nagpur APMC, according to sources.

FOODGRAINS & PULSES GRAM * Gram varieties firmed up in open market on good seasonal demand from local traders amid tight supply from producing regions.

TUAR * Tuar varieties reported down in open market on lack of demand from local traders amid release of stock from stockists.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter * Moong varieties recovered strongly in open market here on increased buying support from local traders. * In Akola, Tuar New – 4,100-4,200, Tuar dal (clean) – 6,000-6,200, Udid Mogar (clean) – 7,800-8,800, Moong Mogar (clean) 7,300-7,600, Gram – 4,300-4,400, Gram Super best – 6,400-7,000 * Wheat, rice and other foodgrain items moved in a narrow range in scattered deals and settled at last levels in weak trading activity.

Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close Gram Auction 3,200-3,700 3,100-3,700 Gram Pink Auction n.a.

2,100-2,600 Tuar Auction n.a.

3,400-4,090 Moong Auction n.a.

3,900-4,200 Udid Auction n.a.

4,300-4,500 Masoor Auction n.a.

2,600-2,800 Wheat Mill quality Auction 1,600-1,684 1,600-1,686 Gram Super Best Bold 7,000-7,500 6,800-7,200 Gram Super Best n.a. n.a.

Gram Medium Best 6,000-6,500 5,800-6,200 Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a Gram Mill Quality 4,100-4,200 4,000-4,100 Desi gram Raw 4,800-4,900 4,700-4,800 Gram Kabuli 12,400-13,000 12,200-13,000 Tuar Fataka Best-New 6,200-6,500 6,400-6,600 Tuar Fataka Medium-New 5,900-6,100 6,000-6,300 Tuar Dal Best Phod-New 5,700-5,900 5,800-6,100 Tuar Dal Medium phod-New 5,300-5,600 5,500-5,700 Tuar Gavarani New 4,200-4,300 4,300-4,400 Tuar Karnataka 4,500-4,700 4,600-4,850 Masoor dal best 5,000-5,200 5,000-5,200 Masoor dal medium 4,700-4,900 4,700-4,900 Masoor n.a. n.a.

Moong Mogar bold (New) 7,500-8,000 7,200-7,700 Moong Mogar Medium 6,500-7,000 6,300-6,800

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter Moong dal Chilka 5,800-6,500 5,700-6,400 Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.

Moong Chamki best 7,500-8,000 7,500-8,000 Udid Mogar best (100 INR/KG) (New) 8,000-9,000 8,000-9,000 Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,800-7,000 5,800-7,000 Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 5,200-6,400 5,200-6,400 Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 5,100-5,500 5,100-5,500 Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 3,050-3,150 3,050-3,150 Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 3,100-3,200 2,900-3,000 Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 3,400-3,800 3,400-3,800 Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,000 1,900-2,000 Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG) 1,750-1,800 1,750-1,800 Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,300 2,100-2,300 Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,400 2,200-2,400 Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,100 1,900-2,100 Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a.

MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 3,000-3,600 3,000-3,600 MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,400-2,800 2,400-2,800 Rice BPT best (100 INR/KG) 3,200-3,700 3,200-3,700 Rice BPT medium (100 INR/KG) 2,800-2,900 2,800-2,900 Rice Luchai (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,500 2,300-2,500 Rice Swarna best (100 INR/KG) 2,600-2,700 2,600-2,700 Rice Swarna medium (100 INR/KG) 2,400-2,500 2,400-2,500 Rice HMT best (100 INR/KG) 4,000-4,200 4,000-4,200 Rice HMT medium (100 INR/KG) 3,500-3,700 3,500-3,700 Rice Shriram best(100 INR/KG) 5,000-5,300 5,000-5,300 Rice Shriram med (100 INR/KG) 4,600-4,800 4,600-4,800 Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 9,500-13,500 9,500-13,500 Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,000-7,500 5,000-7,500 Rice Chinnor best 100 INR/KG) 5,800-6,000 5,800-6,000 Rice Chinnor medium (100 INR/KG) 5,200-5,500 5,200-5,500 Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 2,000-2,200 2,000-2,100 Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 1,800-2,000 1,700-2,000 WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 29.5 degree Celsius, minimum temp. 10.6 degree Celsius Rainfall : Nil

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter FORECAST: Mainly clear sky. Maximum and minimum temperature would be around and 29 and 11 degree Celsius respectively.

Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, butincluded in market prices) https://in.reuters.com/article/nagpur-foodgrain/nagpur-foodgrain-prices-open-january-1-2018-idINL4N1OW0ZO

Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- January 2, 2018 Nagpur Foodgrain Prices – APMC/Open Market-January 2, 2018 Nagpur, Jan 2 (Reuters) – Gram prices showed weak tendency in Nagpur Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) on lack of demand from local millers amid high moisture content arrival. Easy condition on NCDEX, downward trend in other mandis and good arrival in Madhya Pradesh mandi also affected sentiment.

About 100 bags of gram reported for auctions in Nagpur APMC, according to sources.

FOODGRAINS & PULSES GRAM * Desi gram raw moved down in open market in absence of buyers amid good supply from producing regions.

TUAR * Tuar varieties ruled steady in open market here matching the demand and supply position. * Udid varieties, Batri dal and Lakhodi dal reported down in open market on poor demand from local traders. * In Akola, Tuar New – 4,100-4,200, Tuar dal (clean) – 6,000-6,200, Udid Mogar (clean) – 7,800-8,800, Moong Mogar (clean) 7,300-7,600, Gram – 4,300-4,400, Gram Super best – 6,400-7,000 * Wheat, rice and other foodgrain items moved in a narrow range in

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter scattered deals and settled at last levels in weak trading activity.

Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close Gram Auction 3,050-3,700 3,200-3,700 Gram Pink Auction n.a.

2,100-2,600 Tuar Auction n.a.

3,400-4,090 Moong Auction n.a.

3,900-4,200 Udid Auction n.a.

4,300-4,500 Masoor Auction n.a.

2,600-2,800 Wheat Mill quality Auction 1,600-1,700 1,600-1,684 Gram Super Best Bold 7,000-7,500 7,000-7,500 Gram Super Best n.a. n.a.

Gram Medium Best 6,000-6,500 6,000-6,500 Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a Gram Mill Quality 4,100-4,200 4,100-4,200 Desi gram Raw 4,800-4,900 4,800-4,900 Gram Kabuli 12,400-13,000 12,400-13,000 Tuar Fataka Best-New 6,200-6,500 6,200-6,500 Tuar Fataka Medium-New 5,900-6,100 5,900-6,100 Tuar Dal Best Phod-New 5,700-5,900 5,700-5,900 Tuar Dal Medium phod-New 5,300-5,600 5,300-5,600 Tuar Gavarani New 4,200-4,300 4,200-4,300 Tuar Karnataka 4,500-4,700 4,500-4,700 Masoor dal best 5,000-5,200 5,000-5,200 Masoor dal medium 4,700-4,900 4,700-4,900 Masoor n.a. n.a.

Moong Mogar bold (New) 7,500-8,000 7,500-8,000 Moong Mogar Medium 6,500-7,000 6,500-7,000 Moong dal Chilka 5,800-6,500 5,800-6,500 Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.

Moong Chamki best 7,500-8,000 7,500-8,000 Udid Mogar best (100 INR/KG) (New) 8,000-8,500 8,000-9,000 Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,800-7,000 6,000-7,000 Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 5,000-6,200 5,200-6,400 Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 5,000-5,500 5,100-5,500 Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 2,500-2,600 2,700-2,900

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 3,200-3,300 3,200-3,300 Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 3,400-3,800 3,400-3,800 Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,000 1,900-2,000 Wheat Mill quality (100 INR/KG) 1,750-1,800 1,750-1,800 Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,300 2,100-2,300 Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,200-2,400 2,200-2,400 Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,100 1,900-2,100 Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a.

MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 3,000-3,600 3,000-3,600 MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,400-2,800 2,400-2,800 Rice BPT best (100 INR/KG) 3,200-3,700 3,200-3,700 Rice BPT medium (100 INR/KG) 2,800-2,900 2,800-2,900 Rice Luchai (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,500 2,300-2,500 Rice Swarna best (100 INR/KG) 2,600-2,700 2,600-2,700 Rice Swarna medium (100 INR/KG) 2,400-2,500 2,400-2,500 Rice HMT best (100 INR/KG) 4,000-4,200 4,000-4,200 Rice HMT medium (100 INR/KG) 3,500-3,700 3,500-3,700 Rice Shriram best(100 INR/KG) 5,000-5,300 5,000-5,300 Rice Shriram med (100 INR/KG) 4,600-4,800 4,600-4,800 Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 9,500-13,500 9,500-13,500 Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 5,000-7,500 5,000-7,500 Rice Chinnor best 100 INR/KG) 5,800-6,000 5,800-6,000 Rice Chinnor medium (100 INR/KG) 5,200-5,500 5,200-5,500 Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 2,000-2,200 2,000-2,100 Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 1,800-2,000 1,700-2,000 WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 29.0 degree Celsius, minimum temp. 11.8 degree Celsius Rainfall : Nil FORECAST: Mainly clear sky. Maximum and minimum temperature would be around and 29 and 12 degree Celsius respectively.

Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, butincluded in market prices) https://in.reuters.com/article/northkorea-missiles-kimjongun-image/clad-in-light-grey-n-koreas-kim-goesfor-softer-image-in-new-year-address-idINKBN1ER0CP

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter Is GMO opposition immoral?

A bushel of soybeans in the Monsanto research facility in Creve Coeur, Mo. (Tom Gannam/Reuters) January 1 at 5:50 PM In his deeply flawed argument castigating opposition to genetically altered crops as anti-science and immoral, Mitch Daniels failed to mention the trove of scientific research documenting the harmful effects of the billions of pounds of the pesticide glyphosate that have been dumped on genetically modified crops and into our food chain [“Anti-GMO arguments are immoral,” op-ed, Dec. 28].

Evaluation of GMO crops that emphasizes independent science — rather than nonpublic research by pesticide companies — reflects that in 2015, the research arm of the World Health Organization analyzed all published glyphosate studies and determined the pesticide was a probable carcinogen. That finding prompted California to add glyphosate to its list of cancercausing chemicals.

Escalating use of GMO crops and glyphosate has triggered the growth of glyphosate-resistant superweeds across nearly 100 million acres in 36 states. To combat that, pesticide companies are now pushing use of the highly toxic, drift-prone pesticide dicamba on a new generation of GMO crops that tolerate both dicamba and glyphosate.

And the majority of GMO crops fuel environmentally destructive livestock production to feed the world’s unsustainable increase in meat consumption.

Nathan Donley, Olympia, Wash.

The writer is a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter I have long been perplexed that so many people continue to condemn foods made from genetically modified organisms that have been consumed by Americans and others for decades with no deleterious effects. My organization, the DKT Liberty Project, has been providing assistance to scientists and managers who are developing golden rice in the Philippines. Golden rice is a GMO that infuses ordinary rice with vitamin A and, if made available widely, could save the lives and eyesight of millions of Asian children. Yet malicious zealots have torn up and destroyed the experimental rice paddies where this lifesaving food is being developed.

Mitch Daniels was right: Depriving others, especially in the developing world, of bountiful and nutritious GMO foods is a moral travesty.

Phil Harvey, Washington Mitch Daniels rightly framed as “immoral” the scientifically baseless yet “concerted, deeppockets campaign” to persuade “a high percentage of Americans and Europeans to avoid GMO products” and “inflict their superstitions” on the world’s poor and hungry.

That “ ‘organic’ foods” industries help fund this anti-GMO hoax is no surprise. But readers may not know that some personal-injury lawyers are knee-deep in this manure pile, too. Just as elements of the plaintiffs’ bar financed a since-debunked 1998 study that falsely linked childhood vaccines to autism, helping measles make a comeback, trial lawyers’ deep pockets have also helped sustain anti-GMO mania as a means to precondition jury pools for the growing number of lawsuits they’ve filed against the critically important agricultural technology sector since early last decade.

Apparently, winning market share and lawsuits is more important to some people than feeding a hungry planet.

Darren McKinney, Washington

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter The writer is director of communications for the American Tort Reform Association. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-gmo-opposition-immoral/2018/01/01/2c9e6a54-ecc311e7-956e-baea358f9725_story.html?utm_term=.38fc6433e2b4

Nellore farmers incur huge losses THE HANS INDIA | Jan 02,2018 , 12:25 AM IST

Cattle grazing in paddy crop in Manubole mandal Nellore: The Nellore farmers have incurred huge losses due to late sowing of seeds and improper management methods in cultivating a new variety of rice which has been giving good yields for farmers in Telangana region. Now with no other option of earning from the crop, the farmers have left the crops for farm and pet animals for grazing.

According to sources, the farmers observed good yielding of RNR 15048 variety, Telangana Sona, which is much popular in some areas in Telangana. As the news about good yields got viral on the social media, some farmers in Nellore district started cultivating the said variety.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter However, they did not even consider of taking any advice from the agriculture scientists. They also got attracted to the false publicity and hype that the variety of rice was diabetic-friendly and had huge demand due to its low glycemic index and weight management properties. To earn good profits, 100s of farmers of Nellore district contacted local sellers and ordered for seed and sowed them in 100s of acres of land.

Hyderabad based Professor Jayashankar, Telangana State Agricultural University (PJSTAU), had developed the short term new rice variety. Farmers have cultivated the RNR 15048 variety in the district in Manubolu, Venkatagiri, Dakkili, Balayapalli, Rapur, Naidupet, Ozili, Chillakur, Kota, Chittamur, Vakadu and also in other mandals across the district.

It was like a craze to cultivate the new variety for good profits. But, it gave sleepless nights to Nellore farmers with no growth and failing to sustain due to unfavourable climatic conditions.

“It is basically a short duration crop with photosensitive nature. They are different from others and should be sown only during favourable climatic conditions. It is better after Nov 10 in the district during Rabi and after July in Kharif.

But, the farmers sowed in October which misfired leading to huge losses. There is no such evidence that they are low Glycemic Index. The farmers have to adopt perfect management of crops by taking advice from the scientists,” said B Ramesh Babu, Principal Scientist, Agriculture Research Station, Nellore.

In fact, the farmers purchased the seeds at higher cost when compared to normal BPT varieties.

The ARS scientists said they had warned the farmers to cultivate in a limited quantity for testing efficacy of the variety initially and then go for larger extent. But, disregarding suggestions of the scientists, they cultivated in hundreds of acres expecting good returns.

Farmers purchased the seed at Rs. 900 per bag for one acre and within 20 days they started facing problems due to unfavourable climatic conditions for the crop.

“I had cultivated the new variety in 20 acres and pests have attacked to the crop within 20 days after sowing. I had spent nearly Rs.25,000 per acre on the crop still incurring losses up to Rs.5 lakh. Now, the crop is being used for grazing the cattle,’ said K Venkateswara Rao, a farmer from Rapur mandal.

http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Andhra-Pradesh/2018-01-02/Nellore-farmers-incurhuge-losses-/349324

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter Farmers' fate pestered After an erratic monsoon, farmers in nine states are struggling with pest outbreaks Jitendra | 2018-01-01 14:18:11.0 It has been a double whammy for farmers this year. While still recuperating from an erratic monsoon, farmers in at least nine states—Odisha, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan—are reeling under severe pest attacks. This year's monsoon was characterised by long dry spells, followed by short spells of heavy rains that affected farmers in the nine states. And now, farmers are reporting widespread pest attacks. Brown Plant Hopper (BPH) infestation has already destroyed 180,000 hectares (ha) of rice plantations in 15 out of the 30 districts in Odisha, as per state government estimates. What is worse, farmers incurred a further loss as they had to opt for a premature harvest due to unexpected heavy showers between November 14 and 18.

An unprepared state government has instructed district collectors in 22 districts to take up pest control measures. Meanwhile, desperate farmers have burnt land patches hit by BPH, but pest attacks continue. The pest has also destroyed over 1,000 ha of the paddy crop in four Telangana districts—Karimnagar, Jagtial, Peddapalli and Sircilla. In Maharashtra, farmers are fighting the White Grub pest that has attacked sugarcane, groundnuts, soybeans, onion and paddy fields.

Even finger millet is under attack from the Ear Head caterpillar. "Pest attacks can lead to a 20 per cent lower yield in Maharashtra this year," says Pandurang Babasaheb Mohite, head, Entomology Department, College of Agriculture, Kohlapur, Maharashtra. Mohite, who is also the principal investigator at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-funded All India Network Project on White Grub, adds that sugarcane farmers in south and central Maharashtra, the key growing regions, have already suffered damage due to pest attacks.

In Assam's Lakhimpur district, paddy farmers have lost over 500 ha to a pest called Paddy Swarming caterpillar. Farmers in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have lost standing cotton crops to Pink Bollworm, a type of caterpillar. Pest attacks have also been reported across banana plantations in Karnataka. Dry spells during the monsoon have led to pest attacks and undergrowth in Kharif crops in Rajasthan's Hadauti region, triggering concerns among farmers ahead of the harvest season. Tobacco caterpillar, a typical soybean crop pest, has infested the crop. "It has already affected 20 per cent of the total crop area in the region," says Hari Prasad, Assistant Professor, Entomology, Agriculture University, Kota, Rajasthan.

West Bengal is facing a peculiar problem. After a wheat blast disease outbreak in Bangladesh, there are fears that the pest might spread to the state's border districts of Nadia and Murshidabad.

As a result, the Centre has announced a wheat crop holiday for three years in the two districts.

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Daily Global, Regional and Local Rice E-Newsletter "We are encouraging wheat farmers to grow pulses, lentils, mustard and plan to set up 200 mills to process pulses," says Pradeep Majumdar, agriculture advisor to the chief minister of West Bengal. "Wheat Blast disease originated in South America and reached Bangladesh due to poor quarantine measures. We need to be proactive so that it does not affect Indian farmers," says Gyanendra P Singh, Director, Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, Karnal, Haryana.

While most states in India lose 5 to 10 per cent of crops to pest attacks every year, the scale and intensity of the recent attacks is a cause for concern. Experts believe Climate Change, along with the indiscriminate use of pesticides, could well be the reason for this sudden surge in attacks this year.

Mohite says pests thrive in a dry and warm environment, and the recent spread of droughtaffected regions has made the environment conducive. "While there is no official data on pest outbreaks, it was extremely high in the drought years of 2014 and 2015. In 2016, when the monsoon was near normal, the country produced record grains," says Mohite.

This year, while the country received 841.3 mm rain between June 1 and September 30, just five per cent less than the normal, the distribution was unequal. The monthly rainfall pattern, which matters the most to a farmer, suggests that after heavy rains in June (4 per cent surplus) and July (2 per cent surplus), August (13 per cent deficit) and September (13 per cent deficit) was drier than usual. "The White Grub pest attack would not have been this widespread had it rained normally in August and September," says Mohite. Mayabini Jena of the National Rice Research Institute in Odisha says the rate at which pests lay eggs increases in a hot environment.

Angelika Hilbedc, who works with the Environment Science Department of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, says BPH attacks are due to overuse of pesticides that make pests resistant. "BPH outbreaks are more severe now because of the use of hybrid paddy along with fertilisers with high urea and ammonia content," says GV Ramanjaneyulu, agriculture scientist, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Hyderabad.

So what is the solution? Crop rotation, says Biswanath Bandopadhya, Head of Department, Entomology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Nadia, West Bengal. "BPH outbreaks had become a regular feature in the Hubli district in the past few decades. We successfully controlled the outbreaks by changing the paddy varieties grown in the area and the cropping pattern," he says.

Debal Deb, an Odisha-based plant scientist turned conservationist, says breaking away from the traditional farming practices have also increased pest outbreaks in the country. "The tradition of community bonfires during Diwali was a good way of containing pest population in villages.

Over the years, people have shifted to electric lights and this has meant a pest population explosion," he says.

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