3rd December,2018 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter

Decemberr 03 ,2018 Vol 9 ,Issue 02

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New Rice, Cowpea To Fetch Country Ghc800 Million

Savanna Agricultural Research Institute and the Crop Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have developed nitrogen efficient rice and biological resistance cowpea to help the country gain over GHc800 million annually if adopted.

An economic assessment by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) showed that the country stood to gain GHc230 million annually if she adopted the nitrogen efficient rice as the crop was drought resistant and utilized its nitrogen from the atmosphere making it to do well.

Dr Paul Boadu, Research Associate at FARA, who gave economic analysis of both crops, said ―We observe that most of the rice produced in the country is lowland rice but due to climate change and effects of drought, they are not able to do well but the nitrogen efficient rice is actually a highland rice that does well in lowland areas as well.‖ He was interacting with journalists as part of the ongoing Agric Fair, which opened in Tamale on Friday kick-starting activities towards this year's National Farmers' Day celebration slated for Friday, December 07, in the Northern Regional Capital.

His interaction with the journalists was facilitated by Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB), which is one of the institutions that have their produce, products and activities on display at the ongoing Agric Fair.

Dr Boadu said adopting this rice would offer a lot of benefits to farmers as their incomes would improve whiles consumers also stood to gain as prices would reduce making them save money.

Statistics shows that annual rice imports cost the country about a billion dollars hence the need to adopt the new variety to salvage the situation.

Dr Boadu also spoke about the biological resistance cowpea saying ―The net benefit assessment of the crop also shows that the country stands to gain about GHc578 million every year if the variety is adopted by farmers.‖

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He said ―Farmers usually spray about nine times before harvesting cowpea but the new variety is able to resist insects and pests such that they do not affect it so adopting it means a reduction in production cost leading to a reduction in prices that farmers sell the produce.‖

http://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/local/social/201812/369335.php

Ghana can earn GH¢800m from new rice and cowpea varieties – Scientist 17 hours ago General News, Lead Story Leave a comment

The Savanna Agricultural Research Institute and the Crop Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have developed nitrogen efficient rice and biological resistance cowpea to help the country earn over GH¢8000 million annually if adopted.

An economic assessment by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) showed that the country stood to earn GH¢230 million annually if she adopted the nitrogen efficient rice as the crop was drought resistant and utilized its nitrogen from the atmosphere making it to do well.

Dr Paul Boadu, Research Associate at FARA, who gave economic analysis of both crops, said ―We observe that most of the rice produced in the country is lowland rice but due to climate change and effects of drought, they are not able to do well but the nitrogen efficient rice is actually a highland rice that does well in lowland areas as well.‖ He was interacting with journalists as part of the ongoing Agric Fair, which opened in Tamale on Friday kick-starting activities towards this year‘s National Farmers‘ Day celebration slated for Friday, December 07, in the Northern Regional Capital.

His interaction with the journalists was facilitated by Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB), which is one of the institutions that have their produce, products and activities on display at the ongoing Agric Fair.

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Dr Boadu said adopting this rice would offer a lot of benefits to farmers as their incomes would improve whiles consumers also stood to gain as prices would reduce making them save money.

Statistics shows that annual rice imports cost the country about a billion dollars hence the need to adopt the new variety to salvage the situation. Dr Boadu also spoke about the biological resistance cowpea saying ―The net benefit assessment of the crop also shows that the country stands to gain about GH¢578 million every year if the variety is adopted by farmers.‖ He said ―Farmers usually spray about nine times before harvesting cowpea but the new variety is able to resist insects and pests such that they do not affect it so adopting it means a reduction in production cost leading to a reduction in prices that farmers sell the produce.‖ Professor Walter Alhassan, Former Director General of CSIR said both varieties were good to revolutionize the country‘s agricultural sector urging government to adopt them as part of the Planting for Food and Jobs programme to help boost food production and nutrition of the people. https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2018/12/02/ghana-can-earn-gh%C2%A2800m-from-new-rice-andcowpea-varieties-scientist/

DA: Lessen rice wastage in Ph On Dec 2, 2018

Filipinos should be responsible rice producers and consumers to prevent wastage.

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This is the theme of the Department of Agriculture‘s Philippine Rice Research Institute in its ―Be RICEponsible‖ campaign. ―We want to disseminate the importance of rice as a staple food not only for the Filipinos but half of the population of the globe,‖ DA Regional Executive Director Remelyn Recoter said (DA aims to lessen rice wastage in PHL).

Also, the ―Be RICEponsible‖ campaign will aim to promote a strong relationship between farmers as producers and consumers as eaters.

The DA stressed rice must not only be produced, but should also be valued.

It cited data from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute showing every Filipino wasted around three tablespoons of rice in a day in 2013.

Such wastage could have fed around 4.6 million mouths in that year alone.

Because of this, it said producing safe, nutritious and affordable, accessible rice depends not just on farmers but also on the consuming public.

Western Visayas remains rice-sufficient except for Negros Occidental.

The DA said the rice sufficiency levels include Iloilo at 176%, Antique at 173%, Capiz at 137%, Guimaras and Aklan both at 107% and Negros Occidental at 86%.

http://politics.com.ph/da-lessen-rice-wastage-in-ph/

Support for rice tariffication, except for free distribution of inputs Published December 1, 2018, 10:00 PM

Dr. Emil Q. Javier I find myself in full support of the rice tariffication bill (Senate Bill 1998) now pending with the President. The lifting of quantitative restrictions in the imports of rice but with a modest tariff protection of 35% will make us compliant with our commitments under World Trade Organization/General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. But even more importantly, it will help bring down the retail price of rice, making rice more affordable especially for the poor.On the other hand, liberal

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imports of cheap rice from Vietnam and Thailand will depress farm gate prices of palay to the detriment of farmers. Hence, the need for a Rice Competitive Enhancement Fund (RCEF) to help farmers raise their productivity and improve their competitiveness with imports. The RCEF will be initially funded with appropriations from Congress and gradually replaced with proceeds collected from rice tariffs.

Moreover, the National Food Authority (NFA) which is tasked with managing our grain supply will be spared from its conflicting, money-losing mandates of 1) supporting palay prices to protect income of farmers, and 2) selling rice to consumers at a loss to make Filipinos more food secure.

Instead, NFA will be asked to focus on maintaining the country‘s grain reserves for emergencies and for food distribution during calamities. With its vast network of rice mills, warehouses and distribution centers, NFA will be a formidable logistics service provider to government without the historical humongous losses.

Caveats on the RCEF However I have two caveats on the proposed RCEF. Firstly, the original Agriculture Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF), after which RCEF is modelled, was grossly mismanaged even with the direct supervision of the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM). Congress should have learned its lessons by now and ought to institute robust controls to prevent a repeat of the disaster that was ACEF. Secondly, more rice research and development, more extension and training of farmers and more liberal farmer access to credit are appropriate uses of RCEF. But the free distribution of inputs like seeds, fertilizers and farm machines is well-meaning but misdirected.

Senate Bill 1998 provides at least P4 billion a year for free distribution of farm equipment. The draft bill correctly diagnosed that one of the major causes to our high cost of palay production versus that of Vietnam and Thailand is labor particularly during land preparation, harvesting, and threshing.

Thus, the imperative to introduce more machines and equipment not only to reduce labor costs but also to minimize losses, improve product quality and optimize timeliness of farm operations.

The bill likewise provides at least P3 billion each year for seeds. However, it is not clear whether the recipient farmers will pay for the seeds.

But giving away farm machines whether to individual farmers or cooperatives is not a cost effective way of helping farmers gain access to these inputs. We have been giving away seeds, fertilizers and farm equipment all these years with no visible lasting outcomes. Worse, we have been witness to the depressing spectacles of ghost farmers, ghost deliveries, overpricing, and non-existent after-sales services for equipment.

During the previous administration P12 billion were allocated to the Department of Agriculture for farm mechanization. Before we throw in another P20 billion the next five years, we should demand an accounting of where the money went. I recall that the first act of the current Agriculture Secretary was the immediate dispatch of the rusting farm machines in the motorpool in his own region office.

The better way is to facilitate the access to credit of enterprising farmers and/or their cooperatives with which to purchase these machines. This way we avoid the rent–seeking

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propensity/opportunities unfortunately inherent in government procurement. Since the farmer and/or the cooperative are paying with their own money, they will insist on the best products with the least price, and with assurance of after-sales service/guarantees.

The subsidies for equipment will go a longer way and serve more farmers if they were channeled to part or full subsidies for crop insurance to protect farmers from catastrophic natural and biotic losses. The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation is grossly undercapitalized and can use some of these funds. Or for more generous bank guarantees to encourage banks to lend more to small farmers.

Countryside farm service providers It does not make economic sense for individual farmers to purchase machines which they will use only for a few days each cropping season because of their small landholdings.

However there are already many good examples of enterprising farmers who rent out their machines and provide farm services to their neighbors for a fee. Many of them are good at maintaining their motorcycles and therefore graduating to maintaining/repairing small tractors is no big deal. Land Bank of the Philippines should have a special window for lending to such countryside service providers with chattel mortgages on the machines as collateral. ***** Dr. Emil Q. Javier is a Member of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and also Chair of the Coalition for Agriculture Modernization in the Philippines (CAMP).

For any feedback , email eqjavier@yahoo.com.

https://business.mb.com.ph/2018/12/01/support-for-rice-tariffication-except-for-free-distribution-ofinputs/

China Homelife/Machinex to take place at BCEC between December 17 & 19 Saturday, 01 December, 2018, 08 : 00 AM [IST] Our Bureau, Mumbai China Homelife/ Machinex India, India‘s largest China sourcing business-to-business (B2B) exhibition, is slated to take place at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, between December 17 and 19, 2018. It will witness the participation of the top 100 Chinese exporting companies.

While exhibitors at China Homelife source directly from over 1,500 leading suppliers from China dealing in a host of products, the Machinex Trade fair will cater to buyers looking at a wide range of high-quality products, including food processing and packaging machinery, and innovations and

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designs at competitive prices.

It is organised by Meorient International Shanghai, and managed by Winmark Exhibitions, Mumbai.

This event is certified by the International Exhibition Association UFI Paris, and is one of the major international exhibitions in the world.

Ashish Gupta, managing director, Winmark Exhibitions said, ―Every year, we see an increase in the business partnerships at China Homelife and China Machinex 2018. As a part of the management team, I‘m honoured to contribute to the development of the Indian economy, and play a vital role in building sustainable business relationships between China and India.‖ The exhibition is also a lucrative opportunity for importers, traders, buyers and exhibitors to build social connections and interact with the industry‘s key decision makers.

This year, China Homelife and China Machinex India has collaborated with equipment manufacturing exporter and holistic solution provider Guangdong BFC Technology Co, Ltd, which was established in July 2012, and has created the Buy From China (BFC) brand.

BFC is a cross-border B2B platform, which has set out to export a whole factory, inclusive of machinery, from China to the required area. From providing whole equipment services and production line planning to handling any export services, it is an end-to-end factory set-up and solutions provider.

It will help to not only diverge out a path for investors, but also would help micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in becoming large-scale by acting as consultants and set-up experts.

At the China–Economic Forum, which will commence at 10am on December 17, delegates representing BFC will discuss this in-depth and showcase case-studies of successful BFC projects.

At the show, technical specialists from 16 sectors will be present at the Buy Factory from China stall to help the visitors and provide in-depth knowledge. They would represent a number of sectors, including bottle blowing production fruit package and rice cooker production.

BFC‘s chief executive officer will be present at the show to provide insights in a number of sectors, including agricultural and food processing. http://www.fnbnews.com/Top-News/china-homelifemachinex-to-take-place-at-bcec-between-december-17-19-45193 http://www.ghananewsagency.org/economics/new-rice-cowpea-to-fetch-country-gh-800-million142531\

New rice, cowpea to fetch country GHȼ 800 million

By Albert Futukpor, GNA

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Tamale, Dec 01, GNA – Savanna Agricultural Research Institute and the Crop Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have developed nitrogen efficient rice and biological resistance cowpea to help the country gain over GHȼ 8000 million annually if adopted.

An economic assessment by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) showed that the country stood to gain GHȼ 230 million annually if she adopted the nitrogen efficient rice as the crop was drought resistant and utilized its nitrogen from the atmosphere making it to do well.

Dr Paul Boadu, Research Associate at FARA, who gave economic analysis of both crops, said ―We observe that most of the rice produced in the country is lowland rice but due to climate change and effects of drought, they are not able to do well but the nitrogen efficient rice is actually a highland rice that does well in lowland areas as well.‖ He was interacting with journalists as part of the ongoing Agric Fair, which opened in Tamale on Friday kick-starting activities towards this year's National Farmers' Day celebration slated for Friday, December 07, in the Northern Regional Capital.

His interaction with the journalists was facilitated by Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB), which is one of the institutions that have their produce, products and activities on display at the ongoing Agric Fair.

Dr Boadu said adopting this rice would offer a lot of benefits to farmers as their incomes would improve whiles consumers also stood to gain as prices would reduce making them save money.

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Statistics shows that annual rice imports cost the country about a billion dollars hence the need to adopt the new variety to salvage the situation.

Dr Boadu also spoke about the biological resistance cowpea saying ―The net benefit assessment of the crop also shows that the country stands to gain about GHȼ 578 million every year if the variety is adopted by farmers.‖ He said ―Farmers usually spray about nine times before harvesting cowpea but the new variety is able to resist insects and pests such that they do not affect it so adopting it means a reduction in production cost leading to a reduction in prices that farmers sell the produce.‖ Professor Walter Alhassan, Former Director General of CSIR said both varieties were good to revolutionize the country‘s agricultural sector urging government to adopt them as part of the Planting for Food and Jobs programme to help boost food production and nutrition of the people.

GNA

China orders gene-editing scientist to halt work John Burger | Nov 30, 2018

Ling / Imaginechina / AFP RICE MARKET REVENUE | MARKET SHARE | TYPES | APPLICATIONS| OPPORTUNITIES | VENDORS | FORECAST TO 2023

Officials call He Jiankui's experiments "immoral."

China is cracking down on the scientist who says he helped in the birth of twins whose genomes were edited.

The People‘s Republic said Thursday it is investigating He Jiankui and called his actions ―immoral.‖ Beijing has suspended his work.

Like many countries, China allows gene-editing experiments on embryos for research purposes, but only if they remained viable for no more than 14 days. In other words, it‘s okay to edit the genome of an embryo, but that nascent human life must not be allowed to develop as a pregnancy and be born.

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U.S, laws prohibit scientists from pursuing such research, Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told STAT. ―It was illegal before last week and it‘s illegal now,‖ Collins said. ―And until there‘s a strong reason to change that perspective, it will continue to be so here in the United States.‖ Dr. He announced on Monday that he used the powerful but not yet fully tested CRISPR-Cas9 technique to edit a gene in an IVF-created embryo, giving the resulting twins, he claimed, protection from the virus that causes AIDS. The girls‘ father reportedly is HIV-positive, and He said he was doing the work to help such people recover a sense of hope in life.

According to the New York Times, Xu Nanping, China‘s vice minister of science and technology, said He‘s work was still being investigated, but based on news reports, he said, He appeared to have ―blatantly violated China‘s relevant laws and regulations‖ and broken ―the bottom line of morality and ethics that the academic community adheres to.‖ ―It is shocking and unacceptable,‖ Xu was quoted by the state broadcaster China Central Television on Thursday as saying. ―We are resolutely opposed to it.‖ He‘s announcement, on the eve of an international symposium about gene-editing, held in Hong Kong, generated strong reaction from scientists and ethicists around the world, many of whom warned that the safety of CRISPR. Concerns include the possibility that editing a gene to favor resistance to one disease may leave the person open to infection for another. Also, there is continued wariness of CRISPR because the editing will affect the genes of successive generations.

On Monday, a group of 122 Chinese scientists issued a statement calling Dr. He‘s actions ―crazy‖ and his claims ―a huge blow to the global reputation and development of Chinese science.‖ Collins said the NIH was taking preliminary steps to investigate a Rice University researcher who served as He‘s graduate advisor when He pursued graduate study at the Houston university and who has acknowledged participating in his protege‘s research.

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―I think all of us are wondering about the role of Michael Deem,‖ Collins told STAT, ―who by his description was present at the consenting of couples that took part in this gene-editing enterprise.‖ The health science website said: Since Deem is an American scientist at an NIH grantee institution, Collins said, the agency has requested additional information from the university. Rice has already denied knowledge of He‘s work or Deem‘s role in it, and on Monday announced it had begun its own investigation. Deem has not responded to requests for comment. https://aleteia.org/2018/11/30/china-orders-gene-editing-scientist-to-halt-work/

CRISPRed Food: How Gene Editing Is Expected To Change Our Crops — And Supermarket Shelves November 30, 2018 

Carey Goldberg

closemore

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This is part of our series "Lab to Table: The Future of Our Food." Stories are airing every Monday until Dec. 17. In the spring, the series will continue with another week of stories.

Delicate green shoots float in glasses of water, the pale tendrils of their roots coiling beneath the surface. Seedlings sprout from clumps of peat the size of a child's fist. Foot-high stalks rise from quart pots of soil under bright grow lights.

All are familiar sights to some gardeners. But no amateur gardener has ever done what research associate Kieran Ryan is doing in this lab: He's shining ultraviolet light on a Petri dish scattered with grains of rice, to see under a microscope which ones glow red — as part of the process of editing their genes.

"You can see how some of these seeds glow and some of them don't," he says.

"There's one in the middle there that doesn't glow."

Ryan and his boss, Olly Peoples, are seeking grains that don't glow, a visual signal that the process using CRISPR — the technique that makes it easier than ever before to tweak genes — to edit one rice gene is complete.

"It's an interesting gene," says Peoples, CEO of Yield 10, an AgTech company — that's agricultural high-tech — in Woburn, Mass. "This gene is almost like a master traffic light. So it slows plant growth."

The company's research in particularly fast-growing prairie grass found that this traffic light gene's activity was turned down in the grass. "So what we've done is, we've essentially said OK, if it's turned down in this high-yielding plant, let's use CRISPR to turn it down in rice," he says. "So, more or less, what he's done is essentially turned that gene off."

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Grains of rice being checked for which ones glow. (Photo: Jesse Costa/WBUR) Yield10 is aiming to make major crops like rice much more productive. It's using data science to pinpoint key genes that affect growth, and then altering them using CRISPR. The company has already reported dramatic initial results from gene-editing to boost yield in camelina, a plant related to flax.

Peoples portrays the company's work as part of a rising wave of gene-editing that could lead to another 'Green Revolution,' like the huge leap in grain production back in the '50s and '60s — one that's needed as the global population grows. But he says gene-editing could affect agriculture across the board, not just yields.

"It's really a spectrum," he says. "It's everything from the high-yield energy crops all the way down to flavor. Appearance. The non-browning apple. The non-browning mushroom. Lettuce that doesn't wilt. We're in the heavy lifting section, we literally are. The good thing is, it's looking like the shovel is pretty good."

"It's everything from the high-yield energy crops all the way down to flavor. Appearance.

The non-browning apple. The non-browning mushroom. Lettuce that doesn't wilt."

Olly Peoples, CEO of Yield10

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Last week, a Chinese researcher caused an uproar when he revealed that he had used CRISPR on human embryos. Other scientists and ethicists protestedthat it's unsafe and highly premature to start using CRISPR on babies.

But the picture is different when it comes to using CRISPR to modify foods. Genetic modifications have been common on American farms for decades, and now, a whole new generation of geneedited foods — CRISPRed foods, if you will — is on its way, from low-gluten wheat to white button mushrooms that resist browning and heart-healthier soybean oil.

From Picking The Best Seeds To GMOs For millennia, plant breeding just meant selection: farmers would choose the better plants and sow those seeds. The 20th century saw the advent of a new method called mutation breeding, says professor Tim Griffin, division chair of agriculture, food and environment at the Friedman School at Tufts University.

That means, for example, "Let's take this rice and irradiate it to cause mutations, and see if that gets us something," he says. "That's been done since the '40s."

It has been used mainly in big crops like wheat, corn, rice and soy. Then, in the 1990s, came the first generation of GMO — genetically modified — crops.

Griffin offers one classic example: "They took a gene from bacteria that lives in the soil. They got it into corn and then that corn was resistant to glyphosate, which is a weed killer. And that exchange of the gene is not something that you would just expect to happen in nature, because on one hand, it's a corn plant and on the other, it's a soil microbe."

Opposition to GMOs has focused largely on the increased herbicide use they enable. Nevertheless, in the U.S., corn, soy beans, cotton and sugar beets are now overwhelmingly GMO. The biggest difference between GMO crops and the new gene-edited foods is that CRISPR is generally used like a molecular scissors, snipping out genes rather than inserting new ones from other organisms.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this spring that it doesn't plan to regulate most CRISPRed crops. The thinking is that they could have been produced with conventional breeding.

"There should be an orderly transparent process for what goes into our food supply. And for a long time, this has not been the case."

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Steve Gilman, of the Northeast Organic Farming Association But exactly how gene-edited crops — and animals, for that matter — should be regulated remains very much in play.

"The problem is that they are GMOs, and it's also a very new and unproven technology that needs a lot more work before it's turned loose" into the marketplace, says Steve Gilman, policy coordinator for the Northeast Organic Farming Association.

He's among those who challenge the notion that CRISPRed crops should be regulated less because they pose fewer risks.

"There should be an orderly transparent process for what goes into our food supply," he says. "And for a long time, this has not been the case. It's been ruled by Big Food, and this is just another case of the technology surging forward in the search of profits."

"No. No more tech," says Julie Rawson, executive director of the association's Massachusetts chapter. "Let's just get back to doing what nature has taught us to do for thousands of millions of years, to raise food in conjunction with nature, and in harmony and in appreciation of nature, instead of dominating it and killing everything in sight."

But at a Boston conference on CRISPR this summer, a prominent organic farmer, Klaas Martens, made headlines when he expressed (very qualified) support for gene editing: "I think there are some uses of CRISPR that would be fully compatible, in my opinion, with the goals of organic agriculture. There are some others that would not be compatible, and I would hope that as an industry, we could go forward and discuss the different uses."

At the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, biotech project director Gregory Jaffe calls similarly for an examination of whether gene-editing involves inherent risks and how to manage them on a case-by-case basis.

"I'm not pre-supposing that everything needs to be regulated or that nothing needs to be regulated," he says. "I think probably the devil's in the details — some of both," and what's needed is "not just applying old laws into a new technology, like fitting a square peg into a round hole. We should actually look at this in a science, evidence-based manner and move forward after that."

Jaffe is a member of a new national Coalition for Responsible Gene Editing in Agriculture. With industry support, the coalition is trying to work out guiding principles for developers of gene-edited crops and animals.

So Would You Buy CRISPRed Food?

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In the coming years, you'll likely start seeing CRISPRed foods on the shelves. But you may not always know you're seeing them. Jaffe believes a pending federal law about disclosing or labeling what's called "bio-engineered food" probably will not include gene-edited foods.

But some CRISPRed foods may actively advertise their gene-edited benefits. Jaffe says that a Minnesota company called Calyxt is expected to start selling "heart-healthier" soybean oil next year.

"If you were a consumer, you'd have to look hard to find this oil," he says, "but the point being there are products that are moving to the farm — and to the food supply."

At Yield10 Bioscience, a Massachusetts company working on gene-edited crops, research associate Kieran Ryan holds a Petri dish of rice edited with the goal of boosting growth. (Photo: Jesse Costa/WBUR) Some non-browning apples have been reported to have reached store shelves in the Midwest, but for now — at least in the coming months -- it's highly unlikely that you'll encounter CRISPRed food in the supermarket. Most of those novel edited foods — the non-browning mushrooms and tastier tomatoes -- are still only at the proof-of-concept stage.

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Until now, consumers had little reason to like GMO foods: the modifications mainly made food easier to grow for farmers, not more appealing to shoppers. A new poll from the Pew Research Center finds consumers pretty evenly split on whether they think GMO food is better for your health, or worse. But Tim Griffin from Tufts says that could shift.

"I think the nutrition and health side of it is probably the game-changer," he says. "And it'll be interesting to see what happens to broader opinions about this if a consumer could look at it and say, 'Oh, that actually might be better for me.' " So it's not too early to ask yourself: If a label promises you better nutrition through CRISPR, how will you feel about that?

"From the science side, it's really quite a remarkable time," says Griffin. "But a lot of uncertainty — and uncertainty scares some people, some consumers. Others, not so much."

This segment aired on December 3, 2018. Audio will be available soon.

Scientists Develop New 'Climate Proof' Crops with Help of Nuclear Technology Sarah Kiehne, IAEA Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications

―Guillemar‖ heat temperature stress tolerant rice contributes towards food security in Cuba. (Photo: F. Sarsu/IAEA)

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New rice and green bean plants are now being rolled out to help farmers grow more of these staple foods despite higher temperatures caused by climate change. These new ‗climate proof‘ crop varieties were developed as part of a five-year project aimed at helping countries to improve food security and adapt to changing climate conditions. The project specifically addressed the improvement of tolerance of rice and bean plants to high temperatures in drought-prone areas. ―Climate change is forcing food producers and farmers to change how they approach agriculture,‖ said María Caridad González Cepero, a scientist at the National Institute of Agricultural Science in Cuba. ―New plant varieties, such as these ‗climate proof‘ rice and bean plants, offer a sustainable option for adapting to some of the negative effects of climate change, which is important for ensuring food security today and in the future.‖ One of the major consequences of climate change has been the extreme fluctuation in global temperatures. Higher temperatures have a direct and damaging effect on plant development and yields. In many agricultural locations worldwide, temperature extremes are causing plants to suffer, including staple crops such as rice and green beans, also known as the common bean, which are essential to the diets of millions of people worldwide.

To help protect crop-based food sources, a group of plant breeders, plant physiologists, agronomists and plant biotechnologists and experts from the IAEA, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), teamed up to develop new ‗climate proof‘ crop varieties through a five-year IAEA coordinated research project.

The team began by studying how rice and common bean plants react to normal and aberrant – meaning any climate condition to which a variety of crop is not normally adapted to – climate conditions, and identifying genes related to heat tolerance and higher yields. With this information, they targeted plants with desired traits and bred for these traits using irradiation to speed up the natural process of mutation in plants. This breeding process increases diversity of plants‘ traits, allowing scientists to more quickly test and select plants with the desired characteristics. The result was a series of ‗climate proof‘ rice and common bean plants that can tolerate high temperature conditions better while producing higher yields compared to local varieties.

One of these new rice varieties called ‗Guillemar‘, which is drought tolerant, is now being used in Cuba and has boosted crop yields by 10 per cent. Other countries such as India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Tanzania and Senegal, are also preparing to release new, high-yielding rice varieties suited to each countries‘ temperature conditions, while experts in Colombia and Cuba have had success with new varieties of heat-tolerant, higher yielding common bean and tepary bean plants, which they expect to release to farmers by 2020-2021.

More food, more knowledge Developing new plant varieties can help farmers grow more food and adapt to climate change, but they also help scientists learn more about how plants are affected by climate change and ways to refine and improve the plant breeding process.

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Over the course of this five-year project, the team created methods for screening the physiological, genetic and molecular components of plants as well as for accurately assessing the plants‘ genetic makeup to identify, select and breed plants with desired traits.

A pre-field screening technique, for example, was refined to help plant breeders accelerate the evaluation of plant varieties in controlled conditions such as a greenhouse or growth chamber. This approach allows them to effectively narrow down the number of possible plants for further field tests from a few thousand to less than 100. By slimming down the options, it can reduce research and development time from around three to five years to one year, which means new plant varieties can reach farmers more quickly to help them stay ahead of climate change and prevent food insecurity.

Many of the team‘s methods and techniques are now being made accessible to other researchers to research further. They are being made available through IAEA coordinated research and technical cooperation projects with other teams of scientists, as well as through more than 40 publications, including a recently published open-access guidebook on Pre-Field Screening Protocols for Heat Tolerant Mutants in Rice. ―Climate change is identified as one of the major challenges faced by the planet, and crop adaptation to variations in climate is critical to ensure food and nutrition security,‖ said Fatma Sarsu, an IAEA scientist and the lead officer of the project. ―Interdisciplinary research involving plant breeders, physiologists and molecular biologists is key to the development of new varieties adapted to extreme environments such as drought and high temperatures. Our collaborative research is taking a major step towards addressing crop adaptation to climate change through the development of these rice and bean varieties.― https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/scientists-develop-new-climate-proof-crops-with-help-ofnuclear-technology

Politicians create problems, scientists solve them J MULRAJT+ TThe economic system of the world measures GDP growth as a measure of success. GDP growth is, however, an extractive process; it extracts natural resources which God has created over millions of years. In so extracting, or over-extracting, it creates another set of problems, namely, climate change, which are, and will continue, to have, natural, social and economic consequences.

In their must-read book, ‗Natural Capitalism‘, authors Paul Hawkin, Amory Lowins and Hunter Lowins, suggest that instead of GDP growth as a measure of success, we should concentrate on ‗natural‘ capitalism.

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For example, the P&L of, say, a coal mining company would, under its expense side, debit the ‗royalty‘ paid and not the replacement cost of the extracted coal.

This results in wastage. In order to boost GDP growth, China overbuilt homes. The construction of these resulted in a demand for steel, cement, glass and other things, all extracted. GDP growth touched double-digits. Was that cause for celebration?

Empty homes of China No. A fifth of China‘s homes, or 50 million homes, are empty. What this means is that credit for GDP growth was taken earlier, but the assets created remain unused. The resources, though, have been extracted from the earth, with consequences for the environment.

What consequences?

Greenpeace, for example, points to disappearing glaciers in western China‘s provinces of Qinghai and Gansu. These glaciers are the source of rivers that supply drinking water to 180 crore people. A fifth are already gone.

The problems created by politicians‘ penchant for GDP growth, irrespective of the cost to future generations, are solved by scientists. Israel leads in water management. The country recycles 80 per cent of its sewage waste water, using the recycled water for agriculture and public works. This compares to only 30 per cent in India.

Looming food crisis Shortage of water will, obviously, affect food production, and thanks to myopic economic policies, humankind is also hurtling towards a food crisis.

Here, too, science is coming to the rescue. Some 350 crore people use rice as a staple food. Rice production cannot keep pace. Now agri scientists have made breakthroughs in ‗scuba rice‘, which survives long periods of flooding, and alkaline resistant ‗sea rice‘ already growing on China‘s northern coast. China plans to plant ‗sea rice‘ on 20 million hectares in its northern Shandon province, which is alkaline, after which it can feed 80 million people.

Natural gas is now a fuel of choice, for environmental reasons. ONGC and OIL can increase production of natural gas by a third, from 90 mmscmd if they get a higher price for it. Achieving the increase would require a capex of $10 billion. However, the government has arm-twisted OIL to spend ₹1,085 crore to buy back 4.45 per cent of its stock, in order to reduce the government‘s fiscal deficit.

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The global stock market will get a boost from the statement of Fed Chairman Jeremy Powell, that the US Fed may make fewer than the expected three rate hikes in 2019. The Indian stock markets would be influenced by the election results of five States, due on December 11. Investors should lie low till then, unless they can read electoral crystal balls.

(The writer is India Head — Finance Asia/Haymarket. The views are personal.) https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/politicians-create-problems-scientists-solvethem/article25634356.ece

Bear hug Updated: December 2nd, 2018, 17:50 IST

In July this year, the Centre had raised the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy by Rs 200 — way below the state government‘s demand of Rs 2,900 per quintal. The hike, though very small, was expected to bring in a semblance of relief to the lot of farmers who claimed the MSP could not cover their input costs. Inasmuch as Orissa has taken to decentralised procurement of paddy, the

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onus of ensuring maximum number of farmers sell their produce at MSP singularly rests on the shoulders of the state government. For, the state government through the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC) procures over 90 per cent of the total paddy that comes to mandis.

The kharif procurement season begins from October while the delivery of rice by millers continues till September end. Odisha does not have a uniform pattern for harvesting. In districts such as Bargarh, Kalahandi, Sonepur, part of Sambalpur, Balasore and Ganjam farmers cultivate two crops.

These districts have also an early harvesting season resulting in early arrival of paddy at the market yards. The government should therefore ensure that procurement centres in these districts are up and running latest by October end. However, mandis in most of these districts are yet to open.

There are still uncertainties on when procurement will start as millers are yet to sign agreements with the district administrations. The delay in opening of mandis has coerced farmers to sell their produce to traders, invariably at prices way below the MSP. Reports come up on traders from Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh doing brisk business in some districts.

This is a cyclical problem in the state. Every year, farmers face such hurdles. Delayed opening of mandis, prolonged wait at mandis to dispose stocks, under-realisation of prices, delayed payments, arbitrary cutting in quantities by rice millers are among the hazards that farmers invariably face. The administration is aware of these issues. Still it lets it persist. Procurement is a critical component in the chain of activities associated with farming. Unless it is made totally seamless and easy to access, farmers can never get remunerative prices. There is no justification why the government cannot open mandis from as early as early November. The philosophy behind opting for decentralised procurement by the state government was to ensure that maximum number of farmers would receive the benefits of MSP. Farmers borrow hugely from informal sources right from sowing to harvesting of paddy. Early disposal of produce helps them promptly repay loans. Poor farmers cannot afford to hold on to their stocks for long as most do not own stockyards for paddy. There is also the issue of moisture. For them, quick disposal of paddy is no less important than prices. Delay in procurement pushes them to sell paddy to traders. Reports have come that traders from Andhra Pradesh are camping in Agarpada, Bant, Aradi and Barpada areas in Bhadrak and buy paddy. In some districts, these traders have engaged local middlemen to motivate farmers to sell their stock to traders. The lack of coordination between the civil supplies department, which ties up with rice millers and the administration, dates of paddy procurement are being extended from time to time, pushing famers into a tighter bear hug of traders. Demanding higher MSP from the Centre is okay,

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but that alone will not ease the myriad woes of farmers, timely delivery of services by the state government is equally important. http://www.orissapost.com/bear-hug/

https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2018/11/30/gene-edited-food-crispr-crops

Millers Clear The Air On Prices Of Mealie- meal, Rice And Salt December 2, 2018

By Own Correspondent| Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) has revealed the recommended prices of basic goods and commodities including mealie meal, salt and rice.

Said GMAZ National Chairperson Tafadzwa Musarara in a statement: https://www.zimeye.net/2018/12/02/millers-clear-the-air-on-prices-of-mealie-meal-rice-and-salt/

Harvest season: Prices of rice, beans fail to fall As the downturn in Nigeria‘s economy takes its toll on the disposable income of most homes in the country, reducing their capacity to pay for their basic needs, especially foodstuffs such as rice and beans, Sunday Telegraph Market Survey team observed that the prices of rice and beans have failed to fall, even though the country has already entered the harvest season. Surveys of the prices of goods at the Sabo Market, Ikorodu (a Lagos suburb) last Wednesday, indicate that the price of rice and beans has remained prohibitive this harvest season when the prices of these food items are supposed to be crashing. According to Mrs. Ronke Malik, a trader in the market, the demand for rice and beans is high but the price is still high, though it is expected that the price of beans especially, should be falling at this time of the year. She said: ―At this time of the year, the price of rice and beans usually come down. Like last year, the price was manageable and favourable to both the buyers and sellers. Mama Gold, one of the best premium rice sold in Nigeria, was purchased at N9000-N15000 for 50kg but now a bag of rice goes for N14000-N17000 (50kg). The difference is too much for us the retailers, and the buyers will always complain about the price before buying, which is not good for our market. Customers are our only source of income. The same also goes for

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the local rice i.e Ofada with a bag (25kg) sold at N1000-N1500 now goes for between N2000 and N2500‖. Beans is the more expensive with the different species sold at different prices. Oloyin Beans (50kg) – N30,000 – N39,000 (depending on the market) Oloyin (25kg) – N15,000 – N19,000; Olotun (50kg) – N29,000 – N36,000, Olotun (25kg) – N14,000 – N17,500. Meanwhile, at the Garage Market, Mrs. Elele told this newspaper that the price of noodles had spiked with a carton of Indomie (small size) formerly sold at N1700 now going for N2100. She decried the rise in price, saying the money that would have easily bought 15 cartoons can only buy eight nowadays. She also decried low patronage where customers who normally buy in large quantities now buy in bits, a development she said has made the gains from such sales not enticing again. A similar survey carried out by this newspaper showed that the prices of cement in Nigeria changes such as quicksilver, as opposed to two years ago. A 50 kilogramme of cement now goes for N2800 as against N1700. The increase was attributed to high cost of Automobile Gasoline Oil (AGO), which is due to the erratic power supply and other reasons. With the current situation, consumers have cried out, urging the government to do something. Tobi Badmus, a student of University of Lagos, cried out to the necessary bodies in charge of the price regulation of products to take action.

He urged the government to perfect the necessary regulations in order to avoid future economic crisis.

https://www.newtelegraphng.com/2018/12/harvest-season-prices-of-rice-beans-fail-to-fall/

Khon Kaen gears up electric rail project Publicly-funded scheme to offer 15 baht flat rate  

2 Dec 2018 at 04:00 NEWSPAPER SECTION: NEWS | WRITER: JAKKRAPAN NATHANRI

The country's first publicly funded electric rail project in Khon Kaen is promising passengers a flat rate of 15 baht per ride on its 22.6 kilometre-long route.

The project announced the rate after a formal study confirmed the single rate fare of just 15 baht would help the business break even, said Thirasak Thikhayuphan, mayor of Khon Kaen municipality, yesterday.

The construction of the 20 billion-baht project is expected to take about three years, he said.

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Since the project's Oct 17 approval by the government's committee on land transport system management, the Khon Kaen light rail project has achieved considerable progress in implementation and a start to construction is pending, he said.

The project awaits one more step in the approval process before it can proceed, Mr Thirasak said.

The Ministry of Agriculture must approve the project's application to use the Khon Kaen Rice Research Centre's land for construction of a train station and for commercial development under the project, he said.

"As soon as the project wins approval from the ministry for that section of the project, construction will officially begin as we have been through all of the other necessary approval processes," he said.

At this point, the centre's land will also be used for construction of condominiums for middleincome earners, in a project aimed at demonstrating that a condominium isn't something only rich people can afford, he said.

A kaem ling water retention pond will also be built in the area to prevent frequent flooding on Si Than Road and Mittraphap Road in Khon Kaen, Mr Thirasak said.

At every other station of the rail project, space will be developed for commercial purposes as well, including space for shop operations and advertisement billboards, he said.

This is part of the project's commercial development plan, he added.

KKTS Co, a company set up and registered by five municipalities, is running the project.

The five are Khon Kaen municipality, Muang Sila municipality, tambon Tha Phra municipality, tambon Samran municipality and Muang Kao municipality.

Mr Thirasak said funds would be obtained through fundraising and loans from financial institutions. The company will not seek help from the government.

KKTS Co has confirmed its construction plan with the financial institutions it has been in touch with regarding the loans, he said.

The company also plans to sell shares to investors nationwide but will give priority to interested parties in Khon Kaen who are promised shares at par value, he said.

The company aims to promote a sense of belonging in the project among the locals, he added.The project is an initiative directed by the people of Khon Kaen, who want to develop the province into Thailand's most "perfect" city and will win global recognition for it, he said. link:https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1585922/khon-kaen-gears-up-electric-rail-project

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Punjab plugs sale of illegally procured 5.03 lakh bags of paddy, rice TNN | Dec 2, 2018, 07:07 IST Chandigarh: Punjab food supply department‘s vigilance team on Thursday night nabbed six trucks at Barnala which were transporting paddy and rice from other states for illegal recycling in Punjab mandis. The total seizure figure has now touched 5.03 lakh bags in the ongoing kharif marketing season.

Food and civil supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu told TOI that in the latest seizure operation, 3,000 bags of paddy and rice were seized in Barnala, which were being transported from other states as five trucks of paddy and one truck of rice. He claimed so far in various raids during the past two months, his department officials have seized 18,865 metric tonnes of paddy and rice.

As per the preliminary investigation, these six trucks belong to a trader from Barnala who brought paddy on low rates from other states in the name of two fictitious firms — Star Agro and Kisan Trading Company — and sold paddy as well as rice to millers of Punjab. The accused trader also sells paddy and rice to arhtiyas for further sale in mandis of Punjab on minimum support price (MSP) rates.The police have registered a case at Dhanaula police station against these firms for bringing and selling unaccounted paddy and rice in Punjab and trying to defraud the government and deprive farmers of their rightful dues.

The minister said that these illegal firms even do not pay market committee fees as on the inter-state border they present bill and market committee fees has to be paid at destination. But since these firms are fictitious, they never report sale or purchase of paddy or rice at the destination. Rather it has come out during the investigation that these firms strike a deal with buyers and then sell unaccounted rice and paddy.

The modus operandi includes the buyer showing the paddy as a produce procured in mandi in name of farmers and pocket the difference between the MSP and rate on which paddy is purchased from such traders. This difference may range between Rs 300 to Rs 600 per quintal.

The department officials said that a few days ago one truck of Star Agro was caught being off loaded at 2am in Salem Tabri Mandi, Ludhiana, while two trucks sped away from weigh bridge outside the mandi. It has also come out during the Thursday night operation that two of the five seized trucks belonged to the same trader of Barnala. These trucks were caught at a check post put on Ram Nagar and Devigarh border in Patiala.

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Cloud of suspicion in China over rice from near Japan’s nuclear meltdown zone he Chinese authorities may be ready to lift a ban on importing rice from a Japanese prefecture neighbouring a nuclear disaster site but Chinese consumers might need more convincing.

China’s General Administration of Customs announced on Wednesday that it had lifted a ban on rice imports from Niigata, one of a number of prefectures neighbouring Fukushima, home to the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which went into meltdown and released radioactive material in the aftermath of a tsunami in March 2011.

According to the World Health Organisation, radioactive iodine and caesium in concentrations above the Japanese regulatory limits were detected in some food commodities soon after the disaster.

China responded by banning imports of food and livestock feed from 10 prefectures.

More than seven years later, Niigata is the first area to have the ban lifted on its rice. “After evaluation, we permit Niigata rice to be imported,” the customs administration said on its website.

It said the rice was produced in the prefecture and processed in registered factories, and that when imported it should satisfy Chinese laws and regulations on food safety and plant health.

But Chinese internet users weren’t so convinced.

“The officials would rather sacrifice Chinese people’s health for diplomacy,” one person said on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform.

“Whoever wants to buy the rice can buy it,” another wrote. “I only ask for it to be properly marked on the packaging.”

In all, 54 countries and regions imposed temporary import bans on Japanese food from affected areas immediately after the nuclear disaster. Since then, 27 have lifted their restrictions and Fukushima prefecture shipped 210 tonnes of agricultural products abroad last year, mainly to Malaysia and Thailand.

It follows a years-long clean-up effort and a concerted campaign by the Japanese government to promote agricultural products from Fukushima and neighbouring regions, both domestically and internationally.

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A page on the Japanese government website, titled “Fukushima Foods: Safe and Delicious”, is dedicated to the clean-up and monitoring efforts and features photos of farmers encouraging tourists to try their rice, vegetables and fruit.

Hopes that the ban would be eased grew as relations between the two countries thawed. An agreement was reached in March to hold talks in Tokyo between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, after which Fukushima officials told the South China Morning Post they hoped Beijing would reopen the door to exports of agricultural and fisheries products. Those prospects rose in late October with the first visit to China by a Japanese prime minister in seven years.

There were grass-roots efforts, too. Last week, a group of Chinese reporters led by Xu Jingbo, from the Tokyo-based, Chinese-language Asia News Agency, quietly visited northeast Japan, stopping in disasterhit areas including Fukushima.

Xu told the South China Morning Post he had organised the trip because he wanted there to be fair coverage of food safety and the Fukushima nuclear clean-up.

“We should look at the Fukushima nuclear leak in a scientific and fair way,” he said.

The group visited the power station and government centres that test radiation residues on agricultural products and seafood. He said that since the accident, the Japanese government had cleaned up debris and contaminated soil, digging 30cm into the earth and transporting the soil to a remote area for treatment.

“The radiation level tested on my body was only 0.03 millisieverts after the visit, about 1/80 of taking a CAT scan in hospital and about the same level as riding on an aeroplane,” Xu said.

But lingering fear and opposition in China and neighbouring regions remains strong. Last week, voters in Taiwan showed overwhelming support for keeping a ban on food imports.

On the Chinese mainland, every movement towards lifting the ban has provoked hostility online.

Xu’s Weibo account was flooded with comments, calling him a “traitor”. Some questioned whether he received money from the Japanese government for such “propaganda”.

An article published on the WeChat account Buyidao, operated by the state-run Global Times, questioned the Japanese government and media, saying they had covered up the severity of the radiation in Fukushima and dealt with the clean-up irresponsibly.

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“Tokyo Electric Power [the owner of the plant] and the Japanese government have not been honest with the Japanese people and the world, the panic runs inside Japan and has permeated to other countries,” it said.

On the rice ban lifted this week, Guo Qiuju, a radiation expert at Peking University’s physics department, said the Chinese government had its own standard and detection methods.

“China has strict levels on radiation levels detected in foods; if it’s detected below a certain level, it can be assumed to be safe,” she said.But public concerns persist.

A shopper at Alibaba’s Hema Xiansheng supermarket in Shenzhen she said she probably would not buy any products from the affected areas even if the ban was completely lifted. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

“I’m afraid of what might happen to me,” she said. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2176009/cloud-suspicion-china-over-rice-near-japansnuclear-meltdown-zone

CRF voices concern over EU rice tax on Cambodia Cheng Sokhorng | Publication date 03 December 2018 | 07:42 ICT Capital Food in Cambodia deputy director Chray Son says the average farmer will be severely impacted by a safeguard clause. Hong Menea

The president of the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) has expressed concern over an impending

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EU tariff on Cambodian rice imports, saying that it is factors within EU states that are harming European farmers most.

“Difficulties faced by European farmers are largely due to the lack of collaboration between them, millers and traders,” CRF president Sok Puthyvuth told the press on Friday.

He said the “high cost of milling in [EU]member states” was the main obstacle to improving European rice industries, not imports of Cambodian rice.

Sok Puthyvuth’s comments come following a November 5 announcement from the European Commission, an arm of the EU, that exporters of Cambodian and Burmese Indica white rice will face increased taxes within three years.

The customs tariff duty will be €175 (US$198) per tonne in the first year, €150 in the second year, and €125 the year after.

The tariffs are the result of an EU investigation launched in March after Italian farmers called for a safeguard clause restricting rice imports.

They argued that such imports were harming EU farmers. Italian rice farmers first complained about rice imports in 2014, but March’s investigation was the first time the European Commission launched a formal probe.

Scepticism However, the CRF is sceptical that safeguard measures will improve the livelihoods of EU farmers, as much of Cambodian rice is not directly competing with their produce. As much as 55 per cent of Cambodian rice currently imported into the bloc is fragrant rice – a variety difficult to grow in the EU. The impact of tariffs on the Kingdom’s more than three million rice farmers is of major concern, with the deputy director of Capital Food in Cambodia, Chray Son, saying the average farmer will be most severely impacted by a safeguard clause.“Our cost of production is high, so if we pay Tax to the EU, how can we compete in the market? The farmers will suffer first . . . it’s just an excuse from EU, our rice is a small share in the market – how can we hurt their rice market?”

Centre for Policy Studies director Chan Sophal believes that tariffs will likely mean Cambodian farmers will increasingly look to other Asean nations to sell their products.“If the tariff is implemented it will impact the Cambodian rice industry, and farmers will rely more on the market from Thailand and Vietnam as a result.” https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/crf-voices-concern-over-eu-rice-tax-cambodia

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Ghana can earn GH¢800m from new rice and cowpea varieties – Scientist The Savanna Agricultural Research Institute and the Crop Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have developed nitrogen efficient rice and biological resistance cowpea to help the country earn over GH¢8000 million annually if adopted. An economic assessment by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) showed that the country stood to earn GH¢230 million annually if she adopted the nitrogen efficient rice as the crop was drought resistant and utilized its nitrogen from the atmosphere making it to do well. Dr Paul Boadu, Research Associate at FARA, who gave economic analysis of both crops, said ―We observe that most of the rice produced in the country is lowland rice but due to climate change and effects of drought, they are not able to do well but the nitrogen efficient rice is actually a highland rice that does well in lowland areas as well.‖ He was interacting with journalists as part of the ongoing Agric Fair, which opened in Tamale on Friday kick-starting activities towards this year‘s National Farmers‘ Day celebration slated for Friday, December 07, in the Northern Regional Capital. His interaction with the journalists was facilitated by Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB), which is one of the institutions that have their produce, products and activities on display at the ongoing Agric Fair. Dr Boadu said adopting this rice would offer a lot of benefits to farmers as their incomes would improve whiles consumers also stood to gain as prices would reduce making them save money. Statistics shows that annual rice imports cost the country about a billion dollars hence the need to adopt the new variety to salvage the situation. Dr Boadu also spoke about the biological resistance cowpea saying ―The net benefit assessment of the crop also shows that the country stands to gain about GH¢578 million every year if the variety is adopted by farmers.‖ He said ―Farmers usually spray about nine times before harvesting cowpea but the new variety is able to resist insects and pests such that they do not affect it so adopting it means a reduction in production cost leading to a reduction in prices that farmers sell the produce.‖ Professor Walter Alhassan, Former Director General of CSIR said both varieties were good to revolutionize the country‘s agricultural sector urging government to adopt them as part of the Planting for Food and Jobs programme to help boost food production and nutrition of the people. https://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2018/12/02/ghana-can-earn-gh%C2%A2800m-from-newrice-and-cowpea-varieties-scientist/

Price controls on rice reimposed Price controls on rice reimposed COLOMBO (News 1st) – The Cost of Living Sub Committee has announced a decision to re-impose a price control of Rs. 108 for a kilogram of Samba rice and Rs. 88 for a kilogram of Nadu rice. Head of Marketing Food Policy and the Agri-Business Division at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (ARTI) Duminda Priyadarshana,

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said that the price controls are applied to rice available under a variety of brand names in the market.

He added that the new prices will come into effect within the course of the week. https://www.newsfirst.lk/2018/10/03/price-controls-on-rice-reimposed

IRAN ENDS SEASONAL RICE IMPORT BAN -AGENCIES 12/2/2018 DUBAI, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Iran has ended its seasonal ban on rice imports, allowing importers to register their orders, Iranian news agencies reported on Sunday.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Ali Akbar Mehrfard announced the end of the annual ban in a letter dated Nov. 28, the ISNA semi-official news agency reported. Other agencies carried similar reports.

The government usually imposes the ban for a few months each year to support local prices and help Iranian growers during the harvest season.

Iran consumes 3 million tonnes of rice a year. About one million tonnes is imported, mainly from India and Pakistan. https://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/iran-ends-seasonal-rice-import-ban-agencies

Pakistani Traders Should Display Food Products At Exhibitions To Enhance Export To China: KCCI Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) 1 day ago Sun 02nd December 2018 | 02:48 PM

BEIJING, Dec 2 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Dec, 2018 ) :Pakistani manufacturers, businessmen, and traders should display their food products at various trade exhibitions in China to enhance export, Shamsul islamKhan, Member Managing Committee, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said.

"China with a population of around 1.4 billion is the world's largest importer of grain, cotton, rice, sugar, meat, and milk and our businessmen should display these products at various exhibitions to enhance export of these items to China, " he told APP here.

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Shamsul Islam who was currently visiting China to explore further business prospects pointed out that rice was one-third of Pakistan's total agriculture export and Pakistani traders could target the Chinese market for non-basmati type rice.

Expecting a substantial increase in export of rice to China after the free trade agreement between the two countries, he proposed that Pakistan should pay attention for the value addition of its agricultural products to increase its exports.

Shamsul Islam said the export of fruits could also be enhanced to China. Most prominent among these was a citrus variant known as kinnow which hit a record high export figure in the 2017-18 Season."We have a capacity of exporting 50,000 to 80,000 tons of kinnow to China in the next few years." About the export of Mangoes, he said this fruit revered as the king of fruits in Pakistan, and its export to China could be enhanced.

About the prospect of seafood to China, he pointed out that seafood consumption among the Chinese people was very high and Pakistan could take advantage to increase its export to China.

He said there were only a few outlets of Pakistani food in China and asked the Pakistanibusinessmen to come forward and open Pakistani restaurants in different cities of China to introduce Pakistani high-quality cuisine which was already very popular all over the world.He also suggested opening of shops and stores in different cities of China to display and introduce Pakistan-made commodities to make Pakistan's product more popular among the common citizens in China.About the China Import Expo held in Shanghai, he hoped Pakistan export to China would increase substantially.

"Being a market economy, the Chinese government can encourage traders and businessmen to import from Pakistan, but as for what to import and how much to import, it would mainly be determined by the market and it is also closely related to the promotion of Pakistan products," he added.

Pakistan, as a country of honour, had set up a pavilion at the expo and displayed its main products and highlighted the development process and achievements in science and technology, information technology and other areas.According to the statistics, China mainly exports raw materials, computers, telecommunication equipment, trucks, chemicals, medical equipment, plastic and rubber products, textiles and household appliances to Pakistan.While Pakistan's shipments to China include minerals, cement, optical and medical equipment and accessories,

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garments and agricultural products.https://www.urdupoint.com/en/miscellaneous/pakistanitraders-should-display-food-product-495155.html

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