31st march 2015 daily global rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

Rice E-Newsletter March 31 , 2015 V o l u m e 5, Issue I

IRRI introduces 28 rice varieties in Asia and Africa in 2014 Wednesday, 01 April 2015 05:56

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and its partners have announced that they had released at least 28 new rice varieties to eight countries in Asia and Africa last year IRRI is an international research and training organisation headquartered in the Philippines.

(Image source: IRRI) At the IRRI Breeders‘ from 23-27 March 2015, scientists implementing IRRI‘s breeding agenda shared the latest in their varietal improvement work.These newly-released varieties possess highyielding and stress-tolerance traits that can help farmers overcome challenges, such as the

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine negative effects of climate change, in their rice growing ecosystems. Some of the varieties include flood-tolerant for India, drought-tolerant for rain-fed rice areas for Nepal and salinitytolerant for Gambia and the Philippines.IRRI has released more than a thousand modern rice varieties in 78 countries since its founding in 1960.IRRI‘s head of breeding and leader of its global rice research partnership in varietal improvement Eero Nissila said, ―The work never stops.

New challenges arise due to climate change and decreasing resources, which is why we need to keep revisiting our agenda and stay responsive to the needs of our farmers and consumers.‖Critical improvements are being made to IRRI‘s breeding infrastructure, which needs to be more responsive to the requirements of current and future rice demand. Responsiveness requires increasing rice genetic gain in yield and pursuing an agenda that‘s driven by what consumers need and prefer. Taken together, these improvements are called Transforming Rice Breeding (TRB), funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

At the Breeders‘ Week, several updates were presented, which included development of profiles of rice preferred in selected countries in Southeast Asia and Africa; market research on types of rice consumers prefer; updates on the irrigated variety development pipeline that now benefits from an expedited breeding process; breeding hubs in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia; grain quality and how it integrates into the development of high-yielding rice varieties with desirable traits; managing information through bioinformatics; genotyping services; partnerships within the hybrid rice development programme; and exploration of rice‘s diversity for breeding. http://www.fareasternagriculture.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5413:irriintroduces-28-rice-varieties-in-asia-and-africa-in-2014&catid=1083&Itemid=98

Research and Markets: Penoxsulam Market for Rice, Aquatics and Other Applications - Global Industry Analysis 2015-2020 March 31, 2015 01:20 PM Eastern Daylight Time

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/vhgm7q/penoxsulam_market) has announced the addition of the "Penoxsulam Market for Rice, Aquatics and Other Applications Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2014 - 2020" report to their offering. ―Penoxsulam Market for Rice, Aquatics and Other Applications - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2014 - 2020‖ Penoxsulam is a post-emergence herbicide based on the acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitor. It is primarily used on rice crops to control broadleaf weeds. Penoxsulam is also used on grasses

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine and certain aquatic plants. This herbicide is also useful for the removal of unwanted plants on golf courses, sports fields, and lawns. Penoxsulam is available in two grades: technical grade and liquid product grade.The study segments the global penoxsulam market based on key regions and crop types. The major types of crops included in the report are rice, aquatics and other applications such as turf. Crop type analysis is further provided under each region, including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). Europe includes Western (including the EU and non-EU members), Central and Eastern Europe, while RoW includes South and Central America, Africa and the Middle East. The study comprises market analysis in terms of volume (tons) and revenue (US$ Mn). It includes penoxsulam market estimates for 2014 and forecast for the period from 2015 to 2020.The report on the penoxsulam market also covers the profile of the inventor company, Dow AgroSciences LLC, and a few other Chinabased manufacturers such as Shijiazhuang Xingbai Bioengineering Co., Ltd., and Hangzhou Tianlong Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Dow AgroSciences LLC launched penoxsulam in the U.S. in 2005.

Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Executive Summary Chapter 3 Penoxsulam Market - Introduction Chapter 4 Global Penoxsulam Market: Crop Type Analysis Chapter 5 Penoxsulam Market: Regional Analysis Chapter 6 Company Profiles - Dow Agro Sciences LLC - Hangzhou Tianlong Biotechnology Co Ltd - Shijiazhuang Xingbai Bioengineering Co., Ltd For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/vhgm7q/penoxsulam_market Contacts Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Sector: Agriculture http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150331006502/en/Research-Markets-Penoxsulam-MarketRice-Aquatics-Applications#.VRx6LdLF_Jc

Encouraging innovation and enforcing IP rights M S Siddiqui 31 Mar, 2015 00:00:00

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Enforcement of Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), including Intellectual Property (IP) rights, is important for encouraging innovation and creation, technological development, promotion of fair competition and protection of consumer rights. It is, however, observed that the protection and enforcement of IP rights in a least developed country (LDC) like Bangladesh are far behind the desired level.IP, as defined by the TRIPS Agreement, encompasses: i) copyright and related rights; ii) trademarks; iii) geographical indications; iv) industrial designs; v) patents; vi) layout-designs (topographies) of integrated circuits; vii) plant variety rights; and viii) protection of undisclosed information (trade secrets). IP rule is a part of WTO, set to open up the market and require corrected measure to cope with new open market competition with manufacturers and traders from other countries.

LDCs were granted an extension of the transition period under Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement until 1 July 2013 for protection of trademarks, copyright, patents and other IP rights as contained in the TRIPS Council Decision on 29 November 2005. It has been further extended until 1 July 2021 - or when a particular country ceases to be in the least developed category and if that happens before 2021. Since the newly passed extension is for the full TRIPS agreement, it could be considered to be applicable for all products, including pharmaceutical products.For pharmaceuticals, the 2001 Doha Ministerial Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health had already instructed the TRIPS Council to extend the period for them to comply with provisions on pharmaceuticals until 2016. By this time, laws and rules should be revised to avail the opportunity.Bangladesh is lobbying for extension of transition period up to 2021 for pharmaceuticals as well.

This is in consideration of its special requirements, economic, financial and administrative constraints, and the need for flexibility so that it is able to create a viable technological base.Although Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement requests developed country members to provide incentives for technology transfer to enhance the capacity of LDCs, there remain questions about the effectiveness of the provision in the context of Bangladesh.Developed countries with high technological base and strong intellectual property (IP) regime are progressing faster than developing countries. It is estimated that the industrialised countries hold 97.0 per cent of all patents, and global corporations own 90 per cent of all technology and product patents.

The LDCs have a deadline until January 01, 2016 to bring their patent regimes into compliance with TRIPS. LDCs in general and Bangladesh in particular, could not gain much from the knowledge-based world because of insufficient IP infrastructures.Major industrial sectors in Bangladesh like jute, readymade garments (RMG) and pharmaceuticals could not grow properly due to absence of need-based and appropriate R&D facilities. At present, the country desperately needs technology transfer agreements with other countries and international organisations, particularly in the field of pharmaceutical products, key manufacturing industries and agriculture.

Technologies used in Bangladesh are mostly imported and the scope of technology transfer is extremely limited. Patent registration at the local level is insignificant. The TRIPS Agreement contains some transitional rules that include a moratorium on non-violation complaints, technology transfer and technical assistance from the developed countries to the least developed countries in order to enable a sound and viable technological capacity building. Pharmaceutical industries approached a number of international pharmaceutical companies for technology transfer for production of some essential www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine medicines in exchange of granting exclusive marketing rights for a certain period. Unfortunately, responses did not match the expectations.

LDCs should develop their own Research & Development (R&D) capabilities and are in dire need of technical and financial support to benefit from global innovation and technological development. Apart from this, grants provided by the government to the public research institutions are not adequate in facilitating R&D and scientists and professionals who work behind these innovation processes are inadequately valued and rewarded.The private sector in Bangladesh is in a primary stage of financial strength and yet to gain capacity to invest in R&D. The public sector plays a dominant role in research initiatives in some organisations like Science Laboratory, Atomic Energy Commission, Engineering University etc. But the public sector cannot cope with the rising market demand. There is inadequate funding of education and R&D activities by various governments.

The universities and R&D institutions currently do not generate much income from internal resources to supplement government funding due to lack of policy supports.Many universities have researches only for educational thesis and can hardly meet the local demands and R&D institutions have mostly been amateurs in their relations with sponsors of R&D activities. Most universities and R&D institutions do not have intellectual property policies for safeguarding their interests in managing collaborative research activities. Only a few research organisations, such as the Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology (BUET), the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) have technology transfer agreements with some international organisations.

The BUET has technology transfer agreements with the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) of Thailand and some other international research organisations. The BARI has research agreements with Australian research institutions, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Centre (AVRDC) etc. The BRRI has a technology transfer agreement with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).There are no policy decision and direction on sensitive issues related to ownership, disclosure and distribution of income, consultancy, research contracts and commercialisation of inventions, innovations and research findings.

Bangladesh needs to develop its own infrastructure and strengthen its financial and administrative capacities to encourage innovation and enforcement of IP rights. It needs to develop an IP policy, formulate or strengthen some of the existing laws to make them TRIPS-consistent, restructure its institutions, and undertake training and awareness-raising programmes among the policy makers, IP enforcing agencies and users. Apart from these, it must preserve its genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklores with a view to gaining from commercialisation of these resources.International and local R&D and transfer of technologies involve a rich variety of contracts and transactions, including research contracts, collaborative projects, licensing, joint ventures, alliances, spin-offs and buyer-supplier relationships. Such collaborations can involve complex legal, commercial or management issues, often including related intellectual property rights.

The overseas technology-rich companies and other research organisations are not comfortable with their Bangladesh counterparts due to weak legal and policy support. Even the existing laws are not properly enforceable by the authorities.The links between R&D institutions and industry in most LDCs are weak compared to those encountered in developed countries and even in some Asian and Latin American

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine countries. Consequently, the flow of income to universities through consultancy, research contracts and the commercialisation of inventions, innovations and research findings is very low.

Intellectual property policy should bring harmony to the conflicting interests of all the stakeholders in generation and commercialisation of a patent. The commercial results, financial or others, should be distributed in a fair and equitable manner that recognises the contributions of the inventors and the institution as well as those of any other stakeholders. The policy guidelines are to be set for determining the rights and obligations of a university or R&D institution, the creators of intellectual property and their sponsors, with respect to inventions, discoveries and works created at the institution.

In case a university or R&D institution is a joint inventor with one or more individuals from other institutions or business entities and where income is shared between the participating entities, the patents are normally jointly owned by the participating institutions, and the rights to use the invention and the distribution of royalties among the institutions, is generally negotiated after confidential disclosure of the invention, but before registration of patent. But unfortunately Bangladesh has not been able to develop an appropriate IP regime.There are a few noteworthy researches in private sector. Recently, Bangladesh, and Shenzhen, China- Lal Teer Livestock Limited, an associate of Lal Teer Seed Ltd. with strong hybrid research programme, and BGI, the world's largest genomics organisation, jointly announced that they have completed the genome sequencing of water buffalo and the bioinformatics analysis.

This private sector-led research is a landmark achievement. Bangladeshi scientist Maqsudul Alam, a professor of the University of Hawaii decoded the genome of papaya in the US, rubber plant in Malaysia and jute in Bangladesh.Bangladesh has potential for innovation and creation and international cooperation. It can improve legal atmosphere and enforcement of law to bring the technology through investment and co-operation.

The writer is a Legal Economist. shah@banglachemical.com http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/03/31/86901

Hundreds join farmers’ field day March 31, 2015 SAN MATEO, Isabela, March 30 (PIA) - - More than 800 farmers from Cagayan Valley and the Cordillera Administrative Regions gathered here recently during this year‘s Farmers‘ Field Day sponsored by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)-Isabela.

Democrito Rebong II, PhilRice-Isabela Branch Manager, said the event aimed to showcase and share new ideas on technological developments in the agricultural sector.Rebong said the farmer-participants were trained to apply science and technology to modernize agricultural landscape and to increase their yields.For his part, Dr. Rex Navarro, PhilRice Consultant on Research Program on Climate Change,

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Agriculture and Food Security, urged farmers to use climate change resilient rice varieties that can withstand and survive flooding, drought and salty soil.

Navarro said that these improved varieties or ―climate change-ready rice‖ are showing substantial, positive impacts in the lives of poor farmers. (ALM/MGE/PIA-2 Isabela) http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/2791427773520/hundreds-join-farmers-fieldday#sthash.pWULMNWL.dpuf

APEDA NEWS Today's Leads Seller Leads

Buyer Leads

Market Watch Commodity-wise, Market-wise Daily Price on 30-03-2015 Domestic Prices Product

Unit Price : Rs/Qtl Market Center

Variety

Min Price

Max Price

Rice 1

Savli (Gujarat)

Other

2700

2850

2

Dhing (Assam)

Fine

2600

2900

3

Bonai (Orissa)

Other

2000

2300

1

Borsad (Gujarat)

Other

1250

1400

2

Dhing (Assam )

Other

1450

1600

3

Manvi(Karnataka)

Other

1580

1675

1

Chala (Kerala)

Other

4000

4100

Wheat

Orange

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine 2

Sirhind(Punjab)

Other

3000

4000

3

Ateli(Haryana)

Other

3500

3500

1

Vyra (Gujarat)

Other

1500

2000

2

Aroor (Kerala)

Other

2600

2800

3

Boudh(Orissa)

Other

2500

3000

Cauliflower

Source: agmarknet

for more products

Egg

Rs per 100 No. Price on 30-03-2015

Product

Market Center

Price

1

Ahmedabad

273

2

Nagapur

245

3

Hyderabad

235

Source: e2necc.com

International Benchmark Price Price on: 30-03-2015

Product

Benchmark Indicators Name

Price

Garlic 1

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

1800

2

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

2000

3

Chinese powdered, CFR NW Europe (USD/t)

1300

1

Chinese sliced, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)

4600

2

Chinese whole, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)

Ginger

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5100

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine 3

Indian Cochin, CIF NW Europe (USD/t)

3000

1

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

2250

2

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

1700

3

Indian 200 mesh 5500 cps basis, FOB Kandla (USD/t)

3001

Guar Gum Powder

Source:agra-net

for more products

Other International Prices

Unit Price : US$ / package Price on 30-03-2015

Product

Market Center

Origin

Variety

Low

High

Package: flats 1 layer

Mangoes 1 2 3

Atlanta

Peru

Kent

Dallas

Ecuador

Kent

Miami

Peru

Kent

18.25

18.25

7

7

6

7

Package: cartons film wrapped

Cucumbers 1 2 3

Atlanta

Mexico

Long Seedless

Dallas

California

Long Seedless

Miami

Mexico

Long Seedless

10

10.50

12

14

11

12

Package: 18 lb containers bagged

Grapes 1

Science Nay-Sayers in the West and their Cultural Counterparts in Sri Lanka Posted on March 31st, 2015

By Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada

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Galileo nearly got burnt at the stake for heresy when he claimed that the Earth orbited around the sun instead of being the fixed center of the God-created Universe. At that time most people were science Nay-Sayers. A century before Galileo, when Christopher Columbus defiantly sailed West seeking Eastern India, most people believed that the Earth was flat, as was evident to the eye. This view was common to almost all cultures, be it Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese or Hebrew.

Today many of us happily believe that people are well informed in this age of the internet and Google.Amazingly, the very opposite is also true. Rich counties like the USA or the Oil Kingdoms are not educated societies. Fundamentalist religions remains powerful and science Nay-Sayers are well funded and articulate. While the Western nations spend billions in scientific research, the average citizen prefers to use the fruits of science (i.e., technology) while refusing to come to terms with what he/she finds incomprehensible, counter-intuitive and often going against traditional beliefs and practices. Instead of expecting to build an improved world using science, Science Nay-Sayers take a very distopian view of modern knowledge. They, like their counterparts during Galileo‘s times, seek to find solace in returning to traditional ways‖, even though Humpty-Dumpty cannot be be put back, with some 22 million new people ( population of Sri Lanka!) added to the global population every two month!

Flat-earthists and science as Patta-Pal-Boru‖.

The rejection of information which is supported by over-whelming evidence has been greatly facilitated with the growth of the internet with its wired free-thinker‖ cults who want to rid themselves of the shackles of science‖ with its demand for evidence regard as `‖infantile‖, unreasonable‖, or even authoritarian‖. Even the shape of the earth is contested. The concaveearth‖ is hollow and we live inside it, facing the sun, moon and planets at the center; the stars are an illusion.

Dr. Mendis, a Peradeniya philosopher of the 1960s argued that directly perceived understanding has credence over abstract constructions fantasized‖ by the mind. His seminars were dead serious about the earth being flat. The nearly spherical-earth belief is rejected as a strongly held urban myth‖ or a Rudyard Kipling story. Mendis, a Catholic philosopher, held that all truth comes from God. So Mendis quit his University and became a Trappist monk. Philosophers who hold extremely idealist solipsist positions have been known from ancient times. Modern science skeptics like Bruno Latour or Nelson Goodman even regard science as a dangerous conspiracy hatched against society. I have discussed some of these in chapter 2 of my book entitled A physicist‘s view of matter and mind‖.

Dr. Nalin de Silva come two decades after Mendis, with a baggage of physics, Buddhism and Sinhla Jaathikathvaya‖ (roughly, nationalism‖). Dr. Silva‘s command of Physics has been www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine increasingly shaky, with his recent claims of a mass for the photon, based on his misunderstanding of Einstein‘ s famous equation (see the Lankaweb article. http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2015/03/17/the-accepted-meaning-of-einsteins-emc2-themass-of-the-photon-and-some-misconceptions-about-them/ ) Dr. Nalin de Silva is known in Sri Lanka for his claim that science is a Patta-Pal-Boru‖ (fullyfermented lie). Dr. Mendis referred to abstract mental constructs as fantasies‖ or urban myths‖.

Dr. Silva also rejects abstract knowledge. Knowledge‖ possessed by all ordinary people (the ‗pruthagjana‘), i.e., those who have not become Arhanths, is really false knowledge or Musa ‖ ( lies). He forgets that one of the precepts in Buddhism is to not to utter ‗Musaa-vaada‘. This is impossible to practice if the prutagjanas know only Musa!. Dr. Nalin de Silva (who is a pruthagjana), claims that only the Arhanths have true knowledge! This is simply the paradox of the Cretan who said that all Cretans are liars!

Dr. Silva‘s pruthagjana uses the sense data coming from his five senses and from the mind to make abstract constructions, or kathandara‖ (stories) which in the end become formulated into Patta-pal-boru‖ (fully-fermented lies). This rejection of scientific knowledge is also condemned as Western science‖ linked to the culture of the Judo-Christian religions‖. That modern science was a struggle against the myths of Creator-based religions is well known to historians of science. In fact, the Buddha was one of the earliest thinkers to emphasize the importance of the experimental method in the Gnana Sutra‖, where it is asserted that truth must be tested, just as a noble metal (e.g., GOLD) has to be distinguished from a base metal by testing it on the touchstone (for a discussion of this, see Tchirbatsky‘s book on Buddhist Logic‖, Vol. 1).

Although eastern science‖ is also based on Musa‖, that Musa is preferred by Dr. Nalin de Silva.

After rejecting science as abstract and falsely based on induction‖, Dr. Silva embraces the occult sciences and claims to be currently studying ‖extra-sensory perception‖. His notoriety here is in his trust of the words of a lady, a Pruthagjana, who hears the voice of God Natha‖, the God of the Naga tribes, absorbed into Buddhism as a Bodhisatva (as evident from a stone Inscription found at Mihintale).

Pesticides, Wi-fi radiation and Cancer claims.Allegedly, God Natha revealed the presence of Arsenic in the Rajarata environment, as the cause of Kidney diseases among its residents. Dr. Silva chastises Dr. Jayasumana for proposing Glyphosate‖ as a cause without the sanction of the God (deviyanta horaaa‖). There is no experimental evidence for the presence of significant amounts (e..g, even 10 parts per billion) of Arsenic or Glyphosate in the water table of the Rajarata. But Dr Silva regards that his type of knowledge is not subject to such authoritarian constraints as needing evidence‖.

Even in capitalist countries like the USA where social welfare and subsidies for the poor are treated as creeping communism, there is a strong distrust of big business and even public health or environmental policies (e.g., on global warming). A strong divide exists between scientists

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine and the public with respect to fertilizers, pesticides, as well as with cell-pone radiation (wi-fi).

Many members of the public oppose them in the belief that they cause cancer‖ (while perhaps happily puffing a cigarette !).

Even the WHO has yielded to NGO activism and declared the need for further rounds of investigation into the safety (or not) of wi-fi radiation. The 8 billion cell-phones, laptops, tablets, etc., that used wi-fi during the last 10 years, and the lack of any authenticated cases of cancer from wi-fi, imply that the probability of cancer from wi-fi in the next 10 years is less than one in eight-billion! Einstein‘s 1905 theory of the photo-effect which won him the Nobel prize tells us that wi-fi photons cannot cause the chemical changes needed for cancer. But such arguments do not move the Science Nay-Sayers propelled by public fear.

Leftist groups opposed to big business‖ use the public fears of fertilizers and pesticides against Agri-Giants‖ like Monsanto by inventing evidence‖ for what they perceive to be the public good‖. Dedicated anti-GMO activism of well established environmental‖ organizations like Greenpeace, caused some Directors to resign in protest against deliberate mis-information‖.

These Nay-Sayers of science have no hesitation of using science‖ to support their beliefs. When a recent WHO report on Glyphosate (Roundup‖) was released, the anti-GMO lobby ignored the most important parts of the report and zoomed in on the non-committal claims based on statistical interpretations of the data that could be construed to mean that Glyphosate is probably carcinogenic‖ on long exposure to it. The activists ignored the definitive finding that microorganisms treated with large doses of Glyphosate suffered no toxicity. Micro-organisms have no immune systems or well-developed waste elimination organs like the kidneys.

If toxicity exists, it is most visible at that level. Instead, this was downplayed, and an incident created by demanding Dr. Moore, a supporter of GMO foods and Glyphosate to drink a glass of Glyphosate if he actually believes it to be non-toxic! Glyphosate is not a food. But even with a food like sugar, NO one should gulp down a glass of maple syrup or Palm treacle claiming that sugar is non-toxic. Many people would pass out on ingestion of such large amounts of sugar.

Sugar is the favourite food of cancer cells; it causes type-II diabetes, obesity etc., and should be banned since our food provides enough of it.

The news media high-lighted the carcinogenic claims in lead articles, in synch with the 63% Nay-Sayers among the lay public. TruthOut.org‖, an advocacy news organ, claimed in early 2013 that Glyphosate causes chronic Kidney disease in Sri Lanka and Nicaragua. The WHO findings of the lack of significant amounts of Glyphosate in the affected areas in Sri Lanka was not revealed. A hypothesis‖ published in a private electronic journal‖ with no scientific standing was enough for TruthOut. One of the authors of the paper‖ had previously claimed that the aetiology of the disease had been revealed to her by divine intervention. From there,

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine TruthOut was quoted by other internet Gurus‖ like Dr. Mercola ( http://dhweb.org/health/RitterTruthout.html ) .

A survey by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAA) in January 2015 revealed that 85% of scientists supported GMO foods, while more than 60% of the public OPPOSED them. Thus, although a large scientific consensus exists, the Nay-Sayers make out that scientists are at loggerheads‖ about such matters.

The Golder Rice controversy.

Ms. Shiva Vandana, (SV) is an Indian anti-GMO activist who flaunts her scientific credentials‖, thought she abandoned science immediately after her Ph.D in an arcane area of physics, and not in agriculture, biology or chemistry. Dr. Patrick Moore, an ex-Director of Greenpeace who resigned from the NGO accuses Ms. Shiva Vandana for indirectly causing the death of millions of poor Indians by her campaigns preventing the use of golden rice‖ (a GMO rice that is fortified with carotene genes) in India ( http://www.allowgoldenricenow.org/ ).

SV is against farmers using even non-GMO high-yield hybrid seeds that mature quickly and need less water and manure. Her position is ideological, lauding traditional methods and traditional seeds‖. I have argued elsewhere that traditional rice varieties must be promoted for specialized niche markets‖, and as a source of bio-diversity, while the new varieties are essential to feed the population (http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2012/7/77370_space.html ).

Followers of Shiva Vanadana in Sri Lanka turn out to be, strangely enough, Marxist activists like the late Sarath Fernando of ‗Movement for National Land and Agricultural Reform‘ . They have recognized that the cries of traditional agriculture and rice‖ could be used for the purpose of organizing farmers for their objective, viz., the class struggle. These Nay-Sayers reject the green Revolution‖ of Borlug, and the tremendous achievements of the rice scientists of Sri Lanka at Bathalagoda and Kundasale.

Anti-pasteurization and anti-vaccination lobbies.

Some science Nay-Sayers deny the origin of many diseases via microbes and other pathogens.

Evil forces, Karma, divine wrath, dis-equilibrium among the tri-dosha,‖, i.e., va-pith-sem (air, bile and phlegm) are blamed. Scientific medicine is rejected and alternative medicine is held to be the correct approach. Public antipathy is found, especially in the wealthy, organic-food eating upper classes, demanding a free-choice‖ for themselves in regard to pasteurization of milk, the use of fluoridation of water to prevent dental disease, or the use of vaccines against measles and other illnesses. In Canada 28% of the public distrust vaccines, making the work of public health officials a nightmare. Un-vaccinated children contract the disease and create the potential for new mutants.

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Medical questions cannot be entirely dealt with using hard science since the human body is as yet too complex for present day knowledge. Mental processes have an immense impact on health but neuroscience is an extremely young science. Hence traditional knowledge integrated with science is the way forward, at least for now. What science recommended regarding cardiovascular diseases and nutrition has changed every few decades, and the public is bewildered. The Nay-Sayers of Science use this to advantage.

Bottle necks and information controls.Another reason for the rise of skepticism of science is the muffling of science by governments. Government scientists in Health or Agriculture have to state things that fit government policy‖. Even if fish stocks are dangerously low, this cannot be revealed. In the UK, scientists were not allowed to reveal the actual situation with regard to MadCow disease. Close collusion between government regulators and drug companies leads to the approval of inadequately tested drugs, or lack of penalties for hiding relevant data. Nuclear industry became unsafe as the regulatory agencies began to be funded by the industry itself, as happened in Japan!

Evolution has of course been a favorite issue with Science Nay-Sayers. A recent survey showed that 99% of scientists believed that humans have evolved from simpler‖ animals, while nearly 40% of the US public rejected it, with this latter number increasing much more in southern USA. It would be interesting to obtain data for a country like Sri Lanka, a high-literacy Asian country with a Buddhist culture. There is respect for science and knowledge in Traditional societies like China, Japan and India. The small but influential westernized urbanites and Post-modernist journalists are the intellectual vanguard of the Science Nay-Sayers in Asian capitals of countries like Sri Lanka or India.

Unfortunately, politicians ask researchers to fund their research from industry‖, and do industrially relevant research‖, while cutting independent funding available for research. The old idea of ivory tower‖ universities, independent of industry or even governments, and funding their research using their own wealth is feasible only for a few world renowned universities. It is the governments and the profit motive that have politicized science and killed the hen that laid the golden eggs‖.

Responses to “Science Nay-Sayers in the West and their Cultural Counterparts in Sri Lanka.”

March 31st, 2015 at 3:17 pm

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine The world authority on cancer, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the herbicide glyphosate ‗probably carcinogenic to humans‘ in its latest expert assessment [1, 2]. A Working Group of 17 experts from 11 countries met at IARC headquarters 3-10 March 2015 in Lyon, France. The meeting followed almost a year of review and preparation, including a comprehensive review of the latest available scientific evidence. The experts were selected on the basis of their expertise and most importantly, the absence of real or apparent conflicts of interest.

The Working Group considered ―reports that have been published or accepted for publication in the openly available scientific literature‖ as well as ―data from governmental reports that are publicly available‖. They evaluated five organophosphate insecticides and herbicides including glyphosate. The results, announced 20 March were as follows. The herbicide glyphosate and the insecticides malathion and diazinon were classified as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A). The insecticides tetrachlorvinphos and parathion were classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B).This is enough for us to consider these chemicals as dangerous. You can run round a circle and say otherwise. We don‘t believe it. Just give up mate. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2401378/Agent-Orange-Vietnamese-

Vietnam Rice Boom Heaping Pressure on Farmers, Environment Rice farmer Nguyen Hien Thien is so busy growing his crops that he has never even visited Can Tho, a town only a few miles from his farm in the southern Mekong Delta."When I was a child, we grew one crop of rice per year -- now it's three. It's a lot of work," 60-year-old Thien, who has been farming since he was a child, told AFP on the edge of his small paddy field.Experts say Vietnam's drive to become one of the world's leading rice exporters is pushing farmers in the fertile delta region to the brink, with mounting costs to the environment.The communist country is already the world's second largest exporter of the staple grain. But intensive rice cultivation, particularly the shift to producing three crops per year, is taking its toll on farmers and the ecosystem.

"Politicians want to be the world's number one or two rice exporter. As a scientist, I want to see more being done to protect farmers and the environment," said Vietnamese rice expert Vo Tong Xuan.A major famine in 1945 and food shortages in the post-war years led to the government adopting a "rice first" policy.This now generates far more of the crop than needed to feed Vietnam's 90 million population and has catalysed a thriving export industry.Rice yields have nearly quadrupled since the 1970s, official figures show, thanks to high-yield strains and the construction of a network of dykes that today allow farmers to grow up to three crops per year.The amount of land under cultivation in the Mekong Delta has also expanded and quotas are www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine in place to prevent farmers from switching to other crops.But experts are questioning who really benefits.According to Xuan, farmers don't reap the rewards of the three crop system -- the rice is low quality and they spend more on pesticides and fertilisers, which become less effective year by year.

Falling quality

He argues the delta would be better off if farmers cultivated a more diverse range of crops, from coconuts to prawns, with just the most suitable land used to grow rice.The country should consider abandoning the third crop and focus on improving quality and branding to sell Vietnamese rice at higher prices, he said.

Currently, the bulk of Vietnam's rice is exported at cut-price costs on government-to-government contracts through large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) like the Southern Food Corporation, known as Vinafood 2."Over the last five years, the trend is towards lower-quality rice," admitted Le Huu Trang, deputy office manager at the firm.Some argue that such SOEs have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo as they earn lucrative kickbacks from the huge contracts.

But even as salt water intrusion, drought and flooding increase in the delta -- to say nothing of agricultural chemical pollution -- it is also hard to convince farmers to change.

"The prevailing mindset is to grow three crops... we have to explain two crops is better," said Nguyen Tuan Hiep from the Co Do Agriculture company.Over the last 20 years, Co Do -- which is state-run but a flagship model of how the industry could evolve -- has identified the best ricegrowing land in the delta and helped farmers expand their farms.

They now work with 2,500 families on 5,900 hectares (14,600 acres) of land, enough for each family to make a living -- typically the average rice farm in the delta spans less than one hectare.

The firm invests heavily in high-quality seeds and improving irrigation, while also advising farmers on the best chemicals to use."Two crops is more sustainable long term -- the soil is not degraded, the environment isn't polluted, and value of the rice increases," Hiep said.

Ground zero'

Climate change is another factor threatening the delta, according to the World Bank Group's vice president and special envoy for climate change Rachel Kyte."This is really ground zero for some of the most difficult adaptation, planning challenges that any country in the world has," she said.

Ultimately Vietnam has tough choices to make, including whether to help people transition from a rice-based economy to aquaculture (fish or shellfish farming) or other crops, Kyte added.

The environmental costs of maintaining Vietnam's current level of rice production are also rising.

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

The system of dykes, which blocks flood water, are preventing soil nutrients from flowing freely and over time "soil fertility will fade", said Tran Ngoc Thac, deputy director of Vietnam's Rice Research Institute.Scientists there are busy trying to breed new strains of rice that require fewer fertilisers and can survive in extreme weather."If farmers don't change, if we can't find a suitable new rice strain, pollution will continue and incomes will drop," Thac said, adding these measures were essential to save the delta. http://news.sudanvisiondaily.com/details.html?rsnpid=248035

Better rice varieties

IRRI develops rice varieties for the benefit of rice farmers and consumers. We conduct research and training to improve rice for better grain quality and higher yield, resistance to pests and diseases, tolerance of environmental stresses, and less farm input requirement. We focus on the major rice ecosystems: irrigated, rainfed lowland, and upland systems.We employ conventional breeding and new tools in genetics and genomics—such as marker-assisted selection—as well as genetic modification.

We develop genetically superior and elite rice breeding lines and hybrid varieties. IRRI shares these breeding lines with our research and extension partners in rice-producing countries. We are www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine part of the International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice (INGER) that facilitates the evaluation and multilateral exchange of rice products and information including elite breeding lines. This helps our partners develop varieties in their own breeding programs. To date, IRRI has produced 843 rice varieties that have been released in 77 countries.IRRI's rice breeding work is part of the Global Rice Science Partnership (GRiSP), Theme 2: Accelerating the development, delivery and adoption of improved rice varieties.

http://irri.org/our-work/research/better-rice-varieties

Cooling Could Cut Calories In Rice The starch in rice can be converted to digestion-resistant forms by simply changing the cooking method, scientists say. Asian Scientist Newsroom | April 1, 2015 | General AsianScientist (Apr. 1, 2015) Scientists have developed a way to cook rice that could cut the number of calories absorbed by the body by more than half, potentially reducing obesity rates, which is especially important in countries where the food is a staple. These results were presented at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society. ―Because obesity is a growing health problem, especially in many developing countries, we wanted to find food-based solutions,‖ says team leader Sudhair A. James, who is at the College of Chemical Sciences, Colombo, Western, Sri Lanka. ―We discovered that increasing rice resistant starch (RS) concentrations was a novel way to approach the problem.‖

Starch is a component of rice, which contains both digestible and indigestible forms. Unlike digestible types of starch, RS is not broken down in the small intestine, where carbohydrates normally are metabolized into glucose and other simple sugars and absorbed into the bloodstream. Thus, the

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine researchers reasoned that if they could transform digestible starch into RS, then that could lower the number of usable calories of the rice. ―After your body converts carbohydrates into glucose, any leftover fuel gets converted into a polysaccharide carbohydrate called glycogen,‖ he explains. ―Your liver and muscles store glycogen for energy and quickly turn it back into glucose as needed. The issue is that the excess glucose that doesn't get converted to glycogen ends up turning into fat, which can lead to excessive weight or obesity.‖ The team experimented with 38 kinds of rice from Sri Lanka, developing a new way of cooking rice that increased the RS content. In this method, they added a teaspoon of coconut oil to boiling water. Then, they added a half a cup of rice. They simmered this for 40 minutes, but one could boil it for 20-25 minutes instead, the researchers note. Then, they refrigerated it for 12 hours. This procedure increased the RS by ten times compared to traditional, non-fortified rice.

How can such a simple change in cooking result in a lower-calorie food? James explains that the oil enters the starch granules during cooking, changing its architecture so that it becomes resistant to the action of digestive enzymes. This means that fewer calories ultimately get absorbed into the body. ―The cooling is essential because amylose, the soluble part of the starch, leaves the granules during gelatinization,‖ explains James. ―Cooling for 12 hours will lead to formation of hydrogen bonds between the amylose molecules outside the rice grains which also turns it into a resistant starch.‖ Reheating the rice for consumption, he notes, does not affect the RS levels. He says that the next step will be to complete studies with human subjects to learn which varieties of rice might be best suited to the caloriereduction process.

The team also will investigate whether other oils besides coconut have this effect. ——— Source: American Chemical Society; Photo: Shutterstock. Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff. Tags: College of Chemical Sciences, Obesity, Rice, Sri Lanka Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine at: http://www.asianscientist.com/2015/04/general/cooling-cutcalories-rice/ http://www.asianscientist.com/2015/04/general/cooling-cut-calories-rice/

President for focus on non-traditional markets to achieve $ 4b rice export target Tuesday, 31 March 2015 19:34 Posted by Imaduddin

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Tuesday said the apprehension of current trends, use of the latest technology and keeping in view market demands, were the prerequisite to realize the true potential of trade.He was addressing the 7th Export Trophy function of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) here.The President said Pakistani exporters should fully exploit the international market opportunities as per their true potential and besides the traditional markets in Europe and the US, they should also focus on countries of Far East and Central Asia.

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine He was confident that if serious efforts were made and these markets were focussed, Pakistan could achieve the rice export target of $ 4 billion per annum.Stressing the need of enhanced research and development, the President called for establishing more institutions of research and development for the guidance of people in different fields.He noted that the work on research and development had already been started, adding, there should be concerted efforts to make it more effective.The President said there should be an effective coordination and communication mechanism from the level of growers to exporters.

It would not only help strengthen this industry but would also bring improvement in every segment of this sector, he added.He noted with concern that no new rice variety was cultivated in the country during the last one and a half decade, adding, "if we focus on our fertile and best rice producing lands and our scientists make serious efforts, we can bring about a revolution in the area of rice cultivation and exports."The President said Pakistan-China Economic Corridor would amplify the importance of this region, adding, it would help transform Pakistan into a hub of regional trade activities.He also mentioned the challenges and hurdles in the way of country's progress and prosperity and said besides the masses, the traders and entrepreneurs would also have to play their due role in overcoming such challenges

http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/109-world-top-news/235924-president-for-focus-on-non-traditionalmarkets-to-achieve-$-4b-rice-export-target.html

GOB to Conduct In-Depth Review of Local Rice Industry Written by Administrator Tuesday, 31 March 2015 00:00 Belmopan. March 25, 2015.

The Government of Belize wishes to inform the public that it is fully aware of the request by a local importer to import rice from Guyana, and his claim that imported rice through that channel could be made available to the public at a price lower than the current market price. The Government is also aware that there is severe overproduction in Guyana and they have domestic pressure to market that product at any cost. The government, through the Ministries of Natural Resources and Agriculture, and the Ministry of Trade, Investment, Private Sector Development www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine and Consumer Protection, is conducting an in-depth review of the rice industry with an aim to ensure the best action for Belize as it relates to the production and supply of rice to the Belizean public. The first stakeholder meeting including producers was held last week before this became a media story.

As part of this review process, the Government will take into consideration the following factors: 1. The true cost of producing, quality, long-term availability, and level of processing of rice available within the CSME, compared to domestically produced rice.

2.

The various factors affecting the price and market channels of domestically produced rice.

3. A review of the price control mechanisms currently employed by the Government for food commodities, with an aim to ensuring that they remain relevant to the country‘s needs.

4. The importance of food security in the form of domestically produced food commodities and their ongoing availability to the Belizean public.

5. Belize‘s obligations as a member state in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

The Government further stresses that it will carefully consider all the above factors before taking any action in the rice industry. Any action based on insufficient and un-verified information could have a negative impact on our country‘s future as it relates to the long-term viability of industry, food security, FOREIGN EXCHANGE and trade. The Government further assures the public that any action taken in respect to the rice industry in Belize will consider the need to reduce the cost of living as a high priority.

Passionate rice advocate steps down from grower lobby group Ricegrowers' Association of Australia NSW Country Hour

By Laurissa Smith

Posted Mon at 2:57pm PHOTO: Ruth Wade is stepping down from her role as executive director of the Ricegrowers' Association of Australia (Ricegrowers' Association of Australia) MAP: Wagga Wagga 2650

The rice industry will farewell one of its biggest supporters this week. Ruth Wade, executive director of the Ricegrowers' Association of Australia (RGA), will officially step down from the role after nearly seven years www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine lobbying government on behalf of the industry.Media player: "Space" to play, "M" to mute, "left" and "right" to seek.

00:00 00:00 AUDIO: Outgoing RGA executive director Ruth Wade speaks about her time in the role (ABC Rural)

Ms Wade joined the Association when rice production had been decimated by the drought.

It was 2008 and the rice crop plummeted to its lowest level in 80 years."I think the year I came in we grew 19,000 tonnes of rice," Ms Wade said."I've said publically many times, I don't know how the industry, SunRice, or any of the growers survived that."Ms Wade said the drought and subsequent water policy reforms were a huge wake-up call for the industry."People now understand that their most precious resource, we can do nothing in these regions without water, has a value," she said."They're understanding what that value might be and they're starting to shape their future in a very different way to what it would have been.

While there were dreadful negatives in the drought, it was also a platform for a lot of learning and a lot of opportunity Ruth Wade, outgoing executive director of the Ricegrowers' Association of Australia

"So while there were dreadful, terrible negatives in the drought, it was also a platform for a lot of learning and a lot of opportunity."Since the drought, the RGA has made a conscious effort to involve young farmers in its key policy decisions.Ms Wade said as a result, the Association now has one of the highest levels of participation of young people in Australian agriculture.It is one of her proudest achievements."It's with great delight that I sit back and watch some of the succession planning that was curtailed by the drought, starting to come through," she said."I sit round our Central Executive table, about 22 people, more than half of them are well and truly next generation farmers, many of them under 35."So it's a phenomenal outcome."Ms Wade will continue to manage the on-farm irrigation efficiency program for the New South Wales Murray and Murrumbidgee Valleys.Dean Logan is the RGA's new executive director. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-31/ruth-wade-retires-from-rga/6358850

DA expects early harvest of rice crops due to El Nino March 31, 2015 Miriam P. Aquino SAN FERNANDO CITY, Mar. 31 (PIA) – Agriculture officials expect farmers to have harvested their rice crops to avoid losses from the dry spell.The El Nino phenomenon or drought, which affects Region 1, has started last September and is expected to last until July this year.Weather officials said the dry spell, which was felt during the last week of February in La Union, has affected both the agriculture and fishery sectors.Ning Peralta of the Department of Agriculture had advised farmers last year that they should have harvested their crops by the time the dry spell is at its peak. She said farmers were asked to plant early www.ricepluss.com R&D Section: Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine maturing variety of palay starting last year and suitable for gathering within three months."At this time that the peak of dry spell has started, farmers should now shift from crops that need less amount of water but still can survive the weather condition like corn, legumes, and nuts," Peralta said.

The DA set programs which will address the weather phenomenon in various stages.Aside from advocacy and information campaigns in the four Ilocos provinces, the DA also conducted a survey of vulnerable areas, subsidized seeds, conducted cloud-seeding, vaccinated poultry and livestock and distributed disinfectants.The education department is now enjoined to integrate in their lessons topics on El Nino and La Nina. Emphasis shall be on the nature, adverse effects and how each one can contribute in mitigating the effects of these weather disturbances.Of the 47 provinces identified by PAGASA to be vulnerable to El Nino the four region 1 provinces, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, and Pangasinan were included.Earlier this month, the City of San Fernando experienced fish kills in separate areas like barangays Biday, Bangcusay and Dalumpinas. (MCA/MPA/PIA1 La Union) http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/311427786449/da-expects-early-harvest-of-rice-crops-due-to-elnino#sthash.BokY1Z0B.dpuf

Kenya: New Hybrid Rice Expected to Double Production 31 MARCH 2015

By Maurice Alal Rice farmers in Busia County still grapple with low yields due to lack of quality seeds but this may change following the development of a new hybrid variety.For many years, Bernard Egesa, a rice farmer in Alupe, Teso South, has had poor yields from his two-acre piece of land."I would invest approximately Sh35,000 on my farm only to make Sh20,000 from 10 bags of rice instead of 40 bags," said Egesa.However, the hybrid rice, which is on trial at the Kenya Agricultural Research and Livestock Organisation (Karlo), will enable farmers to get higher yields.The new hybrid rice developed by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) has significant yield advantage which can enhance food security and improve farmer's livelihoods.

The rice is currently being pilot-tested at Alupe in Busia before being released to farmers by the Ministry of Agriculture.According to the AATF rice project manager Dr Kayode Sanni, there are 13 other sites such as Mwea and Ahero where the hybrid rice is piloted.Kayode said the variety will see small-scale rice farmers in Western Kenya have access to quality rice seeds that will boost their production."Rice is a strategic crop in Africa with more than 80 per cent being grown by small scale farmers. The demand for the crop is currently higher than the supply, thus the need to increase production," he said.Farmers are also faced with lack of market, with middlemen from Uganda buying at Sh15 instead of Sh35 per kilogramme."We are forced to sell our produce to middlemen from Uganda after the Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) declined to buy from us because of the low quality. I hope to reap big with the newly developed hybrid rice compared to the old varieties which I have been using for decade," said Egesa.

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Some of the rice varieties grown in the region include Nerica 1, 4, 10 and 11.It is estimated that the total rice consumption in Kenya is between 10 and 18kg per person every annually, or 300,000 tonnes, against an annual domestic production of between 45,000 to 80,000 tonnes.This huge gap, Kayode noted, is met through importation and Kenya spends about Sh92 billion to import rice annually.Kayode said the hybrid rice project will benefit researchers, seed traders and more than 150,000 farmers.John Kimani, a researcher at Karlo, said Kenya imports 75 per cent of rice from India and Pakistan among others to meet the domestic consumption of 520,000 metric tonnes annually."Rice uses low nitrogen and has high adaptability as farmers will not have to apply organic fertiliser," Kimani said.

Kayode said rice consumption is increasing at about eight per cent annually in many sub-Saharan African countries."Consumption and imports are increasing at a higher rate than yields per unit area. In addition, not much work has been done on the development of rice hybrids for Africa," he noted.According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, there has been a dramatic increase in total rice imports for East and Southern Africa.Kayode said the goal of the hybrid rice project is to improve food security and rural livelihood among small scale rice producers in Africa.He added that AATF is working with partners to develop hybrid rice, with significant yield advantage over the current exhausted seeds in Kenya.The partnership is developing hybrid rice germplasm that is adapted to Africa conditions using the two-line rice hybrid system technology, which uses only two-breeding lines to produce hybrids.

The partnership is also developing an information technology tool to predict temperature regimes and manage the hybrid rice production risk and also establish and train a network of researchers and seed production specialists.Kayode said the project will develop and distribute hybrids and hybrid parental lines for use by smallholder farmers in selected African countries."It will also ensure that the technology reaches farmers and increase their yields and income through private companies and public institutions in Africa. The project will also help build capacity of private firms to use the technology by training breeders and seed production specialists, establishing testing and technology exchange networks, and providing other technology required to help ensure the success of the partners," he added.Kayode noted that resulting trial data will be shared in the network and to the general breeding community. http://allafrica.com/stories/201503310587.htmlhttp://allafrica.com/stories/201503310587.html

Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- Mar 31 Tue Mar 31, 2015 2:28pm IST

Nagpur, Mar 31 (Reuters) - Gram and tuar prices firmed up again in Nagpur Agriculture Produce

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine and Marketing Committee (APMC) here on good buying support from local millers amid weak arrival from producing regions. Notable hike on NCDEX in gram, weak overseas supply and enquireies from South-based millers also helped to push up prices, according to sources. *

*

*

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FOODGRAINS & PULSES GRAM * Gram varieties ruled steady in open market here matching the demand and supply position.

TUAR * Tuar gavarani and tuar black showed weak tendency in open market in absence of buyers amid release of stock from stockists. * Moong dal chilka and Udid mogar best reported down in open market on poor buying support from local traders amid good supply from producing regions. * In Akola, Tuar - 5,800-5,900, Tuar dal - 8,500-8,700, Udid at 6,900-7,200, Udid Mogar (clean) - 8,000-8,300, Moong - 8,500-8,700, Moong Mogar (clean) 10,400-10,700, Gram - 3,500-3,700, Gram Super best bold - 4,400-4,500 for 100 kg. * Wheat, rice and other commodities remained steady in open market in thin trading activity because of unseasonal rains, according to sources.

Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close Gram Auction 3,000-3,370 2,970-3,350 Gram Pink Auction n.a.

2,100-2,600 Tuar Auction 5,200-6,290 5,100-6,050 Moong Auction n.a.

6,000-6,300 Udid Auction n.a.

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

2,600-2,800 Gram Super Best Bold 4,400-4,700 4,400-4,700 Gram Super Best n.a.

Gram Medium Best 4,100-4,300 4,100-4,300 Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a.

Gram Mill Quality 3,400-3,600 3,400-3,600 Desi gram Raw 3,450-3,500 3,450-3,500 Gram Filter new 3,800-4,000 3,800-4,000 Gram Kabuli 6,000-7,000 6,000-7,000 Gram Pink 6,400-6,600 6,400-6,600

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Tuar Fataka Best 8,700-8,900 8,700-8,900 Tuar Fataka Medium 8,400-8,600 8,400-8,600 Tuar Dal Best Phod 8,000-8,200 8,000-8,200 Tuar Dal Medium phod 7,500-7,800 7,500-7,800 Tuar Gavarani New 5,900-6,000 5,900-6,050 Tuar Karnataka 6,100-6,250 6,100-6,250 Tuar Black 8,800-9,100 8,900-9,200 Masoor dal best 7,200-7,400 7,200-7,400 Masoor dal medium 6,900-7,100 6,900-7,100 Masoor n.a. n.a.

Moong Mogar bold 10,500-11,000 10,500-11,000 Moong Mogar Medium best 9,500-10,200 9,500-10,200 Moong dal Chilka 8,600-9,500 8,800-9,600 Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.

Moong Chamki best 8,700-9,800 8,700-9,800 Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG) 8,700-9,100 8,700-9,200 Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 7,600-8,300 7,600-8,300 Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 5,900-6,200 5,900-6,200 Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 4,350-4,550 4,350-4,550 Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 3,150-3,350 3,150-3,350 Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 2,950-3,100 2,950-3,100 Watana White (100 INR/KG) 2,850-2,950 2,850-2,950 Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 3,500-4,500 3,500-4,500 Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,400-1,700 1,400-1,700 Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG) 1,750-1,850 1,750-1,850 Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 1,300-1,500 1,300-1,500 Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,350 2,100-2,350 Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,050 1,900-2,050 Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a.

MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 2,750-3,200 2,750-3,200 MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,600 2,300-2,600 Wheat 147 (100 INR/KG) 1,200-1,300 1,200-1,300 Wheat Best (100 INR/KG) 1,850-2,000 1,850-2,000 Rice BPT New(100 INR/KG) 2,400-2,850 2,400-2,850 Rice BPT (100 INR/KG) 2,900-3,200 2,900-3,200 Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,800 1,600-1,800 Rice Swarna new (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,300 2,100-2,300 Rice Swarna old (100 INR/KG) 2,500-2,700 2,500-2,700 Rice HMT new(100 INR/KG) 3,150-3,700 3,150-3,700 Rice HMT (100 INR/KG) 3,700-4,100 3,700-4,100 Rice HMT Shriram New(100 INR/KG) 4,200-4,500 4,200-4,500 Rice HMT Shriram old (100 INR/KG) 4,500-5,100 4,500-5,100 Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 8,500-10,500 8,500-10,500 Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 6,000-8,000 6,000-8,000 Rice Chinnor new (100 INR/KG) 4,400-4,600 4,400-4,600 Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG) 5,200-5,600 5,200-5,600

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 1,900-2,100 1,900-2,100 Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,250 2,100-2,250 WEATHER (NAGPUR) Maximum temp. 30.5 degree Celsius (86.9 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp.

19.1 degree Celsius (66.4 degree Fahrenheit) Humidity: Highest - n.a., lowest - n.a.

Rainfall : nil FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky. Maximum and minimum temperature would be around and 37 and 21 degree Celsius respectively.

Note: n.a.--not available (For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices.) http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/03/31/nagpur-foodgrain-idINL3N0WX3C820150331

UPDATE 1-USDA says extending farm bill signup for another week to April 7 (Adds details, USDA Secretary quotes)

By Christine Stebbins (Reuters) - U.S. farmers will have another week to enroll in the government's new subsidy programs under the five-year farm bill, with the deadline extended to April 7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday.

The final day for farmers to update their crop acreage and yield history, the first step to qualify for the new subsidies, will be extended to April 7. The farmers had already had the deadline to update their acreage data extended by one month to March 31.Participating grain farmers must choose between one of two new programs, a price average formula called Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and a fixed-price formula called Price Loss Coverage (PLC). Farmers need to commit to one or the other for the next five years.

"This is an important decision for producers because these programs help farmers and ranchers protect their operations from unexpected changes in the marketplace," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. "Nearly 98 percent of owners have already updated their yield and

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine base acres, and 90 percent of producers have enrolled in ARC or PLC," he said.Enrollment numbers are strong and continue to rise, Vilsack said, and the additional week will give producers more time to make their final decisions.

University economists who have been teaching farmers about the complicated new programs in recent months say ARC is a big favorite among corn and soybean farmers while PLC will likely be more popular with crops like wheat, sorghum, barley, rice and peanuts.Covered commodities include barley, canola, chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, sorghum, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, rice, safflower seed, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat.

Upland cotton is no longer a covered commodity. (Reporting by Christine Stebbins, editing by G Crosse)

Rice Leadership Class Finishes Session One: The Gulf Coast Dustin Harrell (l) and Greg Van Dyke (r) have questions for the engineering staff at the Lower Colorado River Authority in Texas NEW ORLEANS, LA -- After visiting rice facilities in Texas earlier this week, the 2015/17 Rice Leadership Class concluded the first session of the two-year program last Friday in Louisiana.

During their three-day

visit in the state, the class met with Farmers Rice Milling Company and toured

the

bioenergy

plant

that

supplies the company's electricity. At the South Louisiana Rail facility in Lacassine,

the

group

met

Mark

Pousson, an alumnus of the program, and toured their state-of-the-art rail

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine facility.

Dr. Steve Linscombe from the Louisiana State University Rice Research Station

reviewed the latest rice research information before the group visited JohnPac, Inc. in Crowley for a tour of their bagging facility.

"I'm thankful to have been given the opportunity to witness rice production in an area of the United States that is different from my own," said Nicole Creason, a producer from Jonesboro, AR. "For instance, the Zaunbrecher Brothers family farming operation was eye-opening to me because of the additional crawfish crop they are growing along with rice because diversification plays an integral part in agriculture." The final stop on the tour was New Orleans, where class members met with the Russell Marine Group to learn about river and barge logistics, toured a mid-stream barge/ship loading unit, and met with Eurofins to learn about DNA and GMO testing in rice.

"Coming from California, with our specific cultural practices and varieties we plant, and being able to see the same crop done in a different way has been eye-opening," said Greg Van Dyke, a producer from Pleasant Grove, CA. "Being able to talk with the other class members when we're traveling around, the conversations with other growers and industry people who have completely different backgrounds and different experiences, you learn a lot from other passionate people in the same industry."

Class members are rice producers Nicole Creason, Jonesboro, AR; Hudgens Jeter, Stuttgart, AR; Paul Johnson, Welsh, LA; Nat McKnight, Cleveland, MS; and Greg Van Dyke, Pleasant Grove, CA. Rice Industry representatives are Dr. Dustin Harrell, Rayne, LA, with LSU AgCenter and Collin Holzhauer, Harrisburg, AR, with Southern Rice and Cotton.

The Rice Leadership Development Program is sponsored by John Deere Company, RiceTec, Inc., and American Commodity Company through The Rice Foundation and is managed by the USA Rice Federation.

Contact: Chuck Wilson (870) 673-7541

2015/17 Rice Leadership Class: In the Bag

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine Crayfish From left: Collin Holzhauer, Fred Zaunbrecher, Greg Van Dyke, and Paul Zaunbrecher

And Rice!

Nat McKnight (l) and Hudgens Jeter at JohnPac

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures CME Group (Prelim): Closing Rough Rice Futures for March 31

Month

Price

Net Change

May 2015

$10.875

- $0.245

July 2015

$11.110

- $0.255

September 2015

$11.275

- $0.235

November 2015

$11.475

- $0.215

January 2016

$11.635

- $0.210

March 2016

$11.635

- $0.210

May 2016

$11.635

- $0.210

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