News Headline Today

Rice brokers stop buying as unsold stockpiles rise

Officials urge rice farmers in Trang to access funding
10,000 tonne rice sent to Tripura via Bangladesh
Drought season affects several rice paddies in Phichit and Khon
Kaen Pattaya Mail
News shared by RICE GROWER ASSOCIATION of
AUSTRALIA
Nigeria: Govt Should Review Land Use Act, Encourage
Agribusinesses to Alleviate Poverty
Pakistan to begin local production of Rice Bran Oil in December
News shared by RICE GROWER ASSOCIATON AUSTRALIA
The accidental scientist who changed Bangladesh
One-of-a-kind research on old rice fields in Cooper River
Why shift workers should avoid tucking into steak, brown rice or
green veg at night: Iron-rich foods 'disrupt the body clock'
FG to increase domestic food production by 20m tonnes
FG Targets 20m Tonnes of Domestic Food Production by 2015
You'll Never Believe The Insane Amount Of Work It Takes To
Harvest A Grain Of Rice
News Shared by PhilRice
News shared by USA Rice Federation
State tackles rice price issue head on
New centre opens in Brisbane to focus on healthier food research
Will the 4th International Rice Congress include what
smallholder farmers need?
State tackles rice price issue head on
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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter
16
th
September, 2014
News Detail.
Rice brokers stop buying as
unsold stockpiles rise

By Zaw Htike | Thursday, 23 October 2014

A dramatic fall in the volume of rice
exports has dragged prices downwards
and threatens to drive small farmers off
the land, farmers advocates have
warned.

Until just weeks ago, rice exports to China
via the border crossing at Muse in Shan
State could reach 3500 tonnes a day. But
following Chinas seizure of rice from
merchants accused of smuggling, daily rice
exports at Muse have plummeted around 25
tonnes, leaving many merchants with unsold
stock and unwilling to buy more from
farmers.Nationwide exports have fallen by
half since August, when exports hit 100,000
tonnes a month. As a result, local rice prices
have tumbled, leading to fears that prices
will fall further still, inflicting heavy losses
on farmers who can no longer turn a profit,
industry observers say.

Emata paddy prices have now fallen to near
the break-even level of K300,000 per 100
baskets, down from a high of K470,000
when the China trade was still booming.U
Thein Aung, chair of Myanmar Freedom
Farmers League, says making a living
through rice growing is getting harder than
ever, causing many small farmers to sell
their land. Others are in search of financing
after spending a lot on rice production inputs
such as fertiliser in anticipation of a strong
Chinese MARKET .Weve told the
government were prepared to PAY up to 5
percent interest on a six-month loan, said U
Thein Aung.

A lot of small farmers could leave the
business if they can no longer survive. At
these prices, I dont think many farmers can
afford to invest in next summers crop. The
situation is really terrible.In the past year,
many farmers working five acres or less
have sold their land and gone TO WORK
in big cities as garment or construction
workers, street vendors or trishaw drivers,
he said.The Chinese MARKET has played
an outsized role for Myanmar rice exports in
the past two years.

It went from receiving almost no imports
from Myanmar in 2011 to purchasing 59
percent of the countrys exports in 2013,
according to a World Bank report released
earlier this year.Commerce minister U Win
Myint told The Myanmar Times last week
that the government had been negotiating
with China to ease the blockage. While the
rice trade is legal on the Myanmar side of
the border, the problem has apparently
arisen amid allegations of illegality on the
Chinese side. Legalising it will REQUIRE
a health agreement with China, among
other measures.Weve already signed a
quality control agreement and I hope we can
soon proceed to the next steps, he said.Joint
secretary of the Myanmar Rice Federation U
Lu Maw Myint Maung agreed that if paddy
prices fell much lower, farmers could quit,
despite measures brought in over the past
three years to strengthen the sector, such as
improved financing, policy liberalisation,
and more aggressive export efforts.

If farmers leave, the rice industry and
export levels could fall again. All the effort
we have invested would be in vain, he
said.U Lu Maw Myint Maung added, If we
cant export at least 100,000 tonnes a month
in the exporting season, prices will not be
stable. Right now the export volume is
50,000 tonnes. The sudden collapse
threatens a promising rebound in the rice
industry.

For three consecutive years before 2013,
farmers faced heavy losses due to flooding.
The export MARKET bounced back last
year as the Chinese MARKET boomed
and western countries eased sanctions.U Lu
Maw Myint Maung said the government
should lend to rice traders to enable them to
buy from farmers at a higher rate, or should
buy rice directly as a buffer. But if the
government does nothing, the rice industry
will be badly hit, he said. Many rice traders
are already sitting on large stocks intended
for the China market but now blocked, so
have little interest in buying the new
crop.The Chinese embassy in Yangon has
not yet answered queries on the issue.

Officials urge rice farmers in
Trang to access funding
Date : 23 2557
TRANG, 23 October 2014 (NNT) The Trang
Provincial Agricultural Extension Office has
farming areas under observation and is
providing more registration points to facilitate
farmers' access to the governments funding
PROGRAM. The Trang Provincial Agricultural
Extension Officer Boonliang Khaiman
REPORTS that the office has surveyed all of the
rice farming areas in the province. However,
only 4,079 out of 13,882 rai of farmland, or
1,128 plots occupied by 781 households, have
been registered for the financial assistance
PROGRAM.
Therefore, the office has been WORKING with
related agencies to provide mobile registration
points in every sub-district to encourage more
farmers to register, said the agricultural
extension officer. It is expected that the Bank of
Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives
(BAAC) will make payments to qualifying
farmers in the first week of November, once
their eligibility has been verified. The BAAC
will provide more staff in areas with many
farmers to help speed up the process.
10,000 tonne rice sent to
Tripura via Bangladesh
fe Bureau | New Delhi | Published: Oct 23 2014,
02:36 IST
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has
completed transportation of 10,000 tonne of
rice to Tripura from Andhra Pradesh using
Bangladesh territory.Sources told FE the last
consignment consisting of 5,000 tonne of
rice from Kakinada port, Andhra Pradesh,
reached Agartala using the Bangladesh route
a few days ago.

A senior food ministry official said the
successful transportation of foodgrain to
Tripura via Bangladesh not only helped FCI
in cutting down transportation costs but also
helped commercial usage of Ashuganj port
in Bangladesh. We will soon talk to the
Bangladesh government for using other
ports for transportation of foodgrain to the
north-eastern states, a food ministry official
said.At present, FCI transports grain for
Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS)
to north-eastern states such as Tripura via
trucks that have to negotiate tough
geographical terrain, vagaries of nature and
frequent roadblocks by insurgent groups.

Besides, the railways is carrying out gauge
conversion work between Assam and states
such as Tripura , Manipur and Mizoram to
improve the transportation NETWORK .A
truck travels more than 1,650 km to carry
grain from Kolkata to Agartala through
Guwahati a distance that is reduced to
350 km through the Bangladesh route.As
part of a pilot project, FCI, following a
bidding process, had awarded the contract
for transportation of foodgrain to Delhi-
based logistical company SARR freight.

To assess feasibility, for the first time
Bangladeshi trucks carrying foodgrain from
Ashuganj port were directly allowed into the
FCI warehouse in Agartala so as to prevent a
second transshipment at the Akhaura
international border (Indo-Bangladesh
border).For the purpose of allowing
Bangladesh trucks inside Indian territory,
the ministry of external affairs had given
necessary clearances and 'full truck scanners'
were installed at the Akhaura checkpost.The
Indian government had also made
arrangements for escorting of Bangladesh
trucks along with drivers up to the
warehouse and the return journey, apart
from providing transit visa to truck drivers.

A few years ago, Dhaka had allowed state-
owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
(ONGC) land access to transport heavy
machinery for the Palatana mega power
project in southern Tripura.The north-
eastern states are not self-sufficient in grains
such as rice and wheat, and depend on
supplies from Punjab, Haryana, Andhra
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Drought season affects several
rice paddies in Phichit and
Khon Kaen Pattaya Mail

indexed by mffun automatic October 23rd 2014
Drought season affects several rice paddies
in Phichit and Khon KaenPattaya
MailPHICHIT, 23 October 2014 The
Royal Irrigation Department (RID) in
Phichit province has sent a representative
to INFORM rice farmers regarding the
department's decision to stop distributing
water to farmers living along the banks of
the Chao Phraya River in
Original post[:
Drought season affects several rice paddies
in Phichit and Khon Kaen Pattaya Mail
News shared by RICE
GROWER ASSOCIATION of
AUSTRALIA
Less than 3 days to go to save
the Bunyip Bird
The Bitterns in Rice Projects crowd funding
campaign to raise $50,000 has less 3 days to
go. So far the project has raised almost
$45,000 from generous donors around
Australia and the world.The globally
endangered Australasian Bittern is one of
the country's most poorly known birds, but
recently a breeding population using rice
crops has been found to occur in very
significant numbers, yet nobody knows
where they go after the rice has been
harvested.
The Ricegrowers Association of Australia
(RGA) in collaboration with Birdlife
Australia, the Riverina Local Land Services,
Murrumbidgee Landcare and a range of
other organisations is aiming to raise $50
000 to satellite track at least seven bitterns,
providing valuable ecological data and
enabling people to follow the birds'
movements online.So if youre planning to
make a pledge dont delay. Pledges for the
Tracking Bunyip Birds Project close
on 26 October. To support the project head
to http://www.pozible.com/project/186259
Upcoming Waterfowl Identification
Test for Landholders

Landholders who have been issued a Native
Game Bird Management Licence to manage
native game birds on their land and hunters
wishing to participate in the program are
able to register for an upcoming Waterfowl
Identification Test (WIT) assessment.
Deniliquin RSL Club Monday, 10th
November 2014, 4 6 pm
The assessments will be conducted by the
Victorian Game Management Authority in
conjunction with the DPI Game Licensing
Unit. Landholders and hunters who have
submitted an expression of interest will be
contacted by the Native Game Bird Support
Officer with information about the
assessment.
Landholders and hunters wishing to attend
either WIT session must submit Form GB-
W - Expression of Interest: Waterfowl
Identification Test (WIT) as soon as
possible.
Nigeria: Govt Should Review
Land Use Act, Encourage
Agribusinesses to Alleviate
Poverty

By Femi Adekoya
TUNJ I Owoeyeis the Chairman and
President of the Rice Millers and Importers
Association of Nigeria (RiMIDAN). He was
recently appointed as a Programme
Ambassador by the Federal Government
under the National Schools Agriculture
Programme (NSAP) to implement a
comprehensive agriculture programme that
would introduce young students to the
various OPPORTUNITIES offered by the
agricultural sector. In this interview
with FEMI ADEKOYA, he explained why
youth engagement in the agric sector should
increase and also identified the need for
government to review the Land Use Act as
part of measures to encourage farming and
agribusiness in the country. To him,
embracing agriculture as a way of life
remains imperative in alleviating poverty in
the country. Excerpts.

How would you assess the impact of
government's backward integration
policy for rice?
Without doubt, the policy of government
with respect to backward integration has had
a lot of POSITIVE impact on those of us in
the industry; impact in the sense that it has
prompted us into ensuring that we take
seriously the aspect of production and
processing as against huge reliance on
importation of commodities.
In the last two years, government has been
consistent in the campaign of its agricultural
transformation. Take the rice issue for
instance, of course we all know that there is
a gap between production and consumption,
so what government has done through the
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi
Adesina, is to ensure that we are given
incentives that will encourage us go into
backward integration and I must tell you at
this stage that this is really WORKING .
As the Chairman and President of the Rice
Millers and Importers ASSOCIATION of
Nigeria (RiMIDAN), there has been a lot of
increase in investments by our members in
both local production and processing of rice.
In the last two years, our members have
seriously taken up, additional investments in
increasing their milling and production
capacity, so I think it is WORKING .
Neighbouring countries seem to be taking
advantage of loopholes in the backward
integration policy thereby encouraging
increased smuggling activities of the
commodity. How true is this?
As an association, we also saw it from that
perspective, but as we began TO WORK
with government in the areas of border
strengthening and policy reviews, we have
seen a lot of improvement. I will tell you,
what it was in January 2013 is not the same
story today.
Yes, when the policy was changed, there
were a lot of bombardment at the border
flanks especially Niger Republic, Benin
Republic and Cameroun, but government
has been proactive I must tell you by
working closely and seriously with the
association on the policy, in terms of
building structures that would work.
You would have seen that government
within the last 18months, we have moved
away from the 100 per cent levy, back to 60
per cent levy, so I give kudos to government
for being proactive and sensitive to the
dynamics of our MARKET and by also
adjusting to suit the challenges that we face.
The issue of smuggling is a hydra-headed
monster, not only in rice but in all
commodities; you will find the same
problem in vegetable oil, sugar, auto,
cement and other commodities. I think that
in as much as government is sensitive and
proactive we will get the results and that
seems to be the case.
Without patronising government, I must
salute the efforts of the Honourable
Ministers of Agriculture; Industry, Trade
and Investment and the Coordinating
Minister of the Economy and Finance in
accepting to take a second look by
reviewing the rice policy.
The policy has been reviewed and is now
double pronged, in the sense that for
investors investing in the value chain, there
are additional incentives. This is attracting
additional capital investment from industry
players away from just trading.
Also, smuggling is being addressed by
policy adjustments and the CUSTOMS
SERVICE has been proactive as well. This
year you will see Customs taking pains to go
through every document of goods in transit,
which has really put a lot of fear into the
minds of smugglers.
When you see things
happening POSITIVELY in our
environment, one has to commend it. Indeed
it is not everything that is happening in
Nigeria that is negative. I have seen over the
last few months what government has done
remarkably well in the area of revision and
implementation of the rice policy in the
country and I can tell you that we are
beginning to see the results in terms of
investments and in terms of acreage.
For a company like ours the Elephant
Group, it was not part of our aspiration to go
into rice production but today we are in our
third harvest and we are growing rice in
about three states and we have thousands of
out-growers, as well as a lot of communities
that we have adopted and there are other
competitors in the industry that are doing the
same thing, which is helping the people of
these communities in
gainful EMPLOYMENT .
Have rice millers being able to meet local
demand for the commodity yet
considering the 2015 timeline set by
government?
No, millers have not being able to meet the
demand of rice in the country and that is
why you have the demand gap. And
government in the new policy has identified
the need to allow imports for the shortfall
between consumption and local production.
I must thank government that they gave us
the OPPORTUNITY to partake in the
committee so we are also contributing in the
policy that affects us as players in the
industry. We have also assured government
that we would take ownership for the
success or failure of this policy, because
they allowed us to come and propose what
we think is workable and I think this is
noble.
How would you rate the attitude
of MARKETERS and distributors of
rice in terms of the availability and sale of
smuggled rice in the markets?
There was a period when we alerted them
not to support smugglers in distributing their
smuggled goods and it was something they
took in good strides; I must commend them
as well that the situation is getting better by
the day. They are part of the value chain;
they ensure that the goods get to the
consumers. We engage them regularly and
our relationship with them has been quite
cordial, we cannot WORK without them
and they cannot work without us.
How feasible do you think is the rice
sufficiency target set for the country by
the government?
From both the theoretical and practical
perspective of setting targets, the targets are
meant to be reviewed periodically. The
target for rice sufficiency in 2015 I think
was set three years back, but there have been
some setbacks in the area of smuggling,
which government has addressed by
amendment of policy.
I think that that target should be revised and
I am sure that in the next three years, if the
organised private sector continues to go at
the pace we are going and given consistency
in government's policy, with their passion
and the level of investment we have
committed, I think in three years we should
be close to the target. And I think that is not
a serious departure from what government
has said originally.
Can you give us the amount of
commitment that has gone into the sector
in terms of private sector investments?
From what we have seen from our members
in the last one year, it has been in excess of
$1billion.
Can you give us an idea of how well
the MARKET is adapting to home
grown rice?
Both the homegrown and the foreign-grown
rice come in the form of paddy; I think the
only difference between both is the level of
sophistication of processing. And that is
being corrected in Nigeria, because some of
the mills we use today come from renowned
equipment manufacturers that other nations,
which we import from, are using, for
instance, Thailand and India.
Most of these machines are from similar
manufacturers, I think it is the level of
sophistication in the polishing and de-
stoning that is the main difference. However
most of the millers today are beginning to
install good equipment and de-stoning
machines so as to be globally competitive.
If you go to the factories of some of our
members and see the rice that is produced
there and then compare it against what is
being imported, you will discover that there
is no difference as the home-grown rice is as
competitive from what we bring in, I believe
that we have really moved up.
Should consumers expect to see
fluctuations in the price of the commodity
with as end of year celebrations
approach?
Generally the forces of demand and supply
dictate prices. Internationally we have seen
what happens in other countries; for instance
Thailand is sitting on more than 20million
metric tonnes inventory of rice over the last
two years, same as India, while Vietnam and
Brazil are also shoring up their capacity.
I think that because there is a lot production
on-going and also imports, the prices will
not necessarily be out of reach, as our
members who are producers and those who
only import always plan for this period and
if you put both together, I don't think there
will be any serious threat in upward
movement of prices.
With the assessment of poverty level in
Nigeria, how can agribusiness be used in
addressing the rising level of poverty in
the country?
Quite frankly poverty level in Africa is still
high and I think Nigeria is one of the better
numbers we have in the continent, but I
think as Nigerians and Africans we have a
responsibility to make a bold statement to
the world. Africa has a rich landmass that
can be properly harnessed. So, when you are
talking of poverty alleviation, I think with
the kind of seriousness government has
shown towards agricultural transformation
and with the OPPORTUNITY afforded us
by the huge acreage of arable land in
Nigeria, which I believe is the single most
important factor in poverty alleviation, it can
be attained.
We are delighted that government has taken
a second step in supporting agribusiness,
because we quickly need to move away
from subsistence agriculture to mechanised
plantations. That is why the kind of new
policies that the government is churning out
with incentives to investors along the value
chains, are helping to encourage companies
like ours to invest more money into
agriculture.
In as much as we keep having these kinds of
policies that attract investments, what we
need to do is to amend the Land Use Act,
which I think shouldn't be a problem given
that we already have a land bank and in a
few years I think the issue of poverty can be
considerably addressed.
How do you think the youth can be
attracted into farming considering their
penchant for white-collar JOBS ?

I know that as a company, part of what
Elephant Group has done is to conduct a lot
of training for agro entrepreneurs across
Nigeria and some African countries that
we WORK in and this is just to sensitise
young school leavers to embrace agriculture
as a business. You must have noticed that
there is a group of agro entrepreneurs in the
country. It is a massive group that
government has put together and I don't
know if you are aware that President
Goodluck Jonathan has created an arm in the
Presidency, which is being supervised by
Mrs. Barka Sani, a Senior Special Assistant
to increase the level of agriculture awareness
in schools.
This will not only sensitise young school
leavers, but it will help them to develop
interest while still in secondary school and
maybe influence their decisions in going
into agriculture. Because they will be made
to see that they can MAKE MONEY in
agricultural endeavours, like fishery,
cassava, timber, rice, cocoa to mention just a
few.
Under the programme, as companies and
agribusiness ambassadors, we will be
adopting schools across the country,
encouraging them to grow what is found in
their region on their school farms,
supporting them with money and at the same
time mentoring them.
I believe that once this is in place and is
sustained, it has the potential to displace
some white-collar career choices among our
teeming youths. Just like it used to be in
those days when cocoa was booming, you
find young school leavers not wanting to
take up paid employment but would rather
be a Local Buying Agent of cocoa because
he knew it would fetch him more money, so
we are coming back to such a time again
when the OPPORTUNITIES in the
agricultural value chain will be seen to be
more profitable than white collar jobs.
Can you give us a projection of what to
expect from agro-based companies in the
next few years?
We see a lot of companies, even the new
ones that are coming into agribusiness
moving from small companies to medium
companies to large companies and to public
quoted companies.
First of all let us not lose cognisance of the
fact that there is need for us to gain
education, because education is key in the
practice of agriculture today. You could be a
medical DOCTOR , an engineer or a
lawyer; I'm a chartered accountant, it doesn't
stop you excelling in agriculture. So what
we are saying is that irrespective of your
background, we should all embrace
agriculture as a way of life, which will
deliver decent profits to you.
Our dreams while we were in school was not
to go into agriculture as many people were
running away from it, but we
found OPPORTUNITIES in agriculture
and came back to it irrespective of our
professional backgrounds and we have no
regrets. I want to encourage every Nigerian
and African youth that farming is not for the
poor and ignorant, it is a profession that can
lead to extreme prosperity and it is
something that we all can do.
Pakistan to begin local
production of Rice Bran Oil in
December
October 23, 2014
RECORDER REPORT
Pakistan's first Rice Bran Oil (RBO)
manufacturing unit will start production in
December this year, aiming to add value to
secondary agriculture products. Rice bran is
an incredible source of vitamins, minerals,
amino acids, essential fatty acids and
antioxidant nutrients that help fight disease
and promote good health. Pakistan is one of
the largest consumers of edible oil and the
consumption of oil stands around 3.3 million
tons annually, while per capita consumption
of oil stand at around 19 kilogram per
annum.
The RBO, which has been declared as
world's healthiest oil by the American
Heart ASSOCIATION , will be produced
for the first time in Pakistan with 100
percent raw material produced locally. The
raw material used in the production of RBO
is the Rice Bran, which is the by-product of
the rice milling process. As per MARKET
estimates, Pakistan annually produced
approximately 500,000 tons Rice Bran
whereas the project will REQUIRE 70,000
tons per annum. Over 50 percent of the bran
is produced in the province of the Punjab
within the radius of 50-75 Kilometers,
therefore the plant has been set-up in
Mureedkay, Lahore, as procurement of rice
bran will not be an issue in this area.
The plant has been set-up by e2e Supply
Chain MANAGEMENT with an
investment of Rs 1 billion to produce the
RBO, which is consumed in several
countries including US, Japan and other
countries. Talking to BUSINESS Recorder,
Abid Butt, Chief Executive Officer, e2e
Supply Chain Management, said that project
would also result in huge savings of foreign
exchange in terms of import substitution of
edible oil. "We have installed a state-of-the-
art manufacturing facility which is fully
integrated for extraction, refining and
packaging," he added. Pakistan is also one
of the largest exporters of rice in the world,
however is not producing bran oil like other
countries. Presently, India is the largest
producer of rice brain oil and annually some
3-4 million tons are being produced across
the world mainly in Asian countries such as
Japan, Thailand and China, he INFORMED
.
"Pakistani experts conducted a study on
RBO in 80s' however no initiatives were
taken to produce the oil to add value to
secondary products. Even India has started
production of bran oil and currently it is
producing close to one million tons
annually. However, there is ban on its export
due to massive demand in the local market,"
Butt said.
Pakistan produces more than enough rice,
which not only meet the local demand but
the excess quantity is exported. It is a source
of foreign exchange earnings. Presently, rice
bran is only used for animal feed and with
this manufacturing unit another by-products
will be produced from the rice. He said that
the plant, imported from India, has a
production capacity of around 11,000 tons
annually. "However, for the first year we are
expecting a production of 5,000 tons," he
added. As its production is linked with rice
bran, this unit will be operational for six
month every year. Presently, Indian experts
are providing training to the Pakistanis for
production of RBO. At present, the RBO
consumption is very low in the domestic
market hence an aggressive marketing
campaign will be needed to introduce the
product in the domestic market, he added.
"The RBO is high quality and the healthiest
form of edible oil and low in cholesterol and
sodium. Naturally-enriched with multiple
nutrients, the RBO provides more health
benefits compared to other edible oils, he
said. "We quintessentially pioneer the
nutritional benefits of rice bran, add value
through innovation, and develop alternative
health products for our consumers,
suppliers, farmers and our stakeholders at
large," he added. Rice bran oil will be
procured only from trusted network of local
farmers and it will need a strong logistic
network as fresh bran will be REQUIRED
for oil after milling, he informed.

News shared by RICE
GROWER ASSOCIATON
AUSTRALIA

Precision Agriculture in Rice Production Grower experience and insights
Precision agriculture (PA) is a broad term used to describe the rapidly developing
practices using spatial technologies to measure and strategically manage farming
systems from the whole farm to within paddock perspective. The ultimate aim is to
deliver economic, management and environmental benefits. PA provides farmers
with enormous (and sometimes overwhelming quantities) of information which
enables them to:
build up a record of their farm;
improve decision-making;
target farm input use and improve efficacy;
foster greater traceability; and
enhance marketing of farm products.
PA in Rice
There has been a considerable amount of PA work conducted in the rice industry, in
particular:
aerial crop imaging;
managing crop effects from laser guided land levelling; and
variable rate nitrogen application.
PA in rice production in Australia is on the verge of rapid adoption and now is the
time to consolidate
past experiences and build a framework for the successful implementation of PA by
the wider industry. Implementation of PA in rice introduces some additional
challenges to those seen in broadacre crop production, but also opens up some
enormous opportunities.
Click here to view the Precision Agriculture in Rice Production Grower
experience and insights report.
This document is part of RIRDC project PRJ-008483 Implementing precision
agriculture in the Australian rice industry, being conducted
by PrecisionAgriculture.com.au and supported by the Rural Industries Research and
Development Corporation and Rice Research Australia.
2014 Regional Wellbeing Survey

The 2014 Regional Wellbeing Survey is undertaken by MDBfutures, a collaborative
research network led by the University of Canberra. The survey was first undertaken
in 2013 and had over 9000 respondents. The 2014 survey is now live and will close
at midnight on the 30th November.

The survey is an important piece of social research to understand peoples views on
and the social impacts of a range of issues. This years survey covers issues such as
drought, water reform, green tape, CSG and mining, sustainable farming practices,
markets, farm finance, and innovation.

The survey can be completed online at www.regionalwellbeing.org.au or Call 1800
981 499 if you would like a paper survey posted, or for help with the survey.
Please don't hesitate to contact us at the RGA Office on 02 6953 0433 if you have
any queries or suggestions.
Regards
RGA Team
Ricegrowers' Association of Australia
P: 02 6953 0433
F: 02 6953 3823
E: rga@rga.org.au
Follow us on Twitter: @ricegrowers

2015 RIRDC Rural Womens Award - APPLICATIONS CLOSING SOON
Are you a rural woman from NSW-ACT with a project or vision for primary
industries? Would you like to develop your leadership skills and broaden your
networks? Are you passionate, driven and motivated to make a difference?
Why not apply for the 2015 Rural Industries Research & Development
Corporation's Rural Women's Award.The Rural Womens Award identifies and
rewards womens contribution to primary industries and rural communities by
providing financial assistance, mentoring, resources and support via its nation-wide
network of business and community leaders for selected state winners.The Award is
open to all women involved in primary industries. Rural women are encouraged to
enter themselves or to nominate someone with a commitment and desire to making
a real difference to their industry and/or community.State and Territory winners
receive a $10,000 financial bursary to implement their Award vision and will have
the opportunity to participate in the Company Directors Course run by the
Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
A national winner and runner-up will be selected from the state winners with a
further $10,000 bursary awarded to the winner and $5,000 to the runner-up to
support their professional development and contribution to primary industries.
The closing date for applications is Friday, 31 October.
Application forms can be downloaded from the RIRDC
website: www.rirdc.gov.au/rural-womens-award
If you live in NSW-ACT and would like more information, contact the Rural
Women's Network on
02 6391 3620 or see: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/rwn.
The Award is an initiative of the Rural Industries R&D Corporation in partnership
with the state and territory agencies responsible for agriculture, primary industries
and resources. The RIRDC Rural Womens Award is proudly supported by the
Awards Platinum Sponsor, Westpac Agribusiness and the Awards Media Partners,
RM Williams OUTBACK Magazine, ABC Radio and Fairfax Agricultural Media.
In New South Wales the Award is sponsored by NSW Farmers, Office of
Environment & Heritage and The Country Women's Association of NSW.
The accidental scientist who
changed Bangladesh
Munshi Faiz Ahmad
He succeeded in raising the height of dwarf
HYV rice plants to 125cm and making them
significantly more photosensitive
Dr Munshi Siddique Ahmad is a perfect
example of the spirit of the 13th century
poem Wings to Fly. His deep love of
knowledge and natural creativity helped
establish him as a hugely successful
accidental agriculture scientist. He was
instrumental in developing the BRRI Shail
(BR4), for which there was a dramatic rise
in our rice production, raising it to 20
million tonnes in 1975 from a paltry 8
million tonnes in 1965.
In his 37 years of government service, he
spent over 30 years in the research of rice.
Dr Munshi, a pioneer and an organiser,
made invaluable and largely unparalleled
contributions to the planning and setting up
of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute,
developing it into a centre of excellence.
Through his research, he succeeded in
raising the height of dwarf HYV (high-
yielding varieties) rice plants to 125cm and
making them significantly more
photosensitive. This development was
considered as unusual and a breakthrough by
the rice scientists of that period.
From 1957 to 1968, he was involved in the
research of rice, wheat, sugarcane, maize,
and oilseed throughout various institutions.
During his long tenure as the head of the
breeding division at BRRI, he was
instrumental in developing more than 30
new varieties of HYV rice by drawing up
elaborate plans and carefully implementing
them. BR3, BR4, BR10, and BR11 were
some of the better known of these new HYV
rice.
Under his leadership, the breeding division
of BRRI received the Presidents Award in
1977 and the FAO Bronze Plaque in 1980.
Earlier in 1969, Dr Munshi was also
awarded the Tamgha-e-Pakistan, which he
renounced in March 1971, during the non-
cooperation movement. In recognition of his
glorious contribution to science and
technology, Dr Munshi was conferred the
highest state honour, the Independence Day
Award in 1997.
In addition, he had also received many other
national and international awards. Among
them, the Bangabandhu Award in 1974, the
Begum Jebunsessa and Kazi Mahbubullah
Trust Award in 1986, and the title of
Scientist Emeritus in 1987. More than 20
of his scientific articles were printed by
prestigious publications both home and
abroad. Moreover, he was also responsible
for submitting at least 30 detailed and
analytical REPORTS to the Seed
Certification Agency for obtaining their
approval for all the new varieties of HYV
rice developed under his direct supervision.
At the beginning, I said that Dr Munshi was
an accidental agriculture scientist, as he
wanted to study medicine, but instead of
that, fate had dragged him to Agriculture
College. He passed ISc in the second
division from Rajendra College in Faridpur
in 1946. He came to Dhaka in the same year,
but found that he was late for admission in
any of the institutions except Agriculture
College under Dhaka University.
When he approached the college, he was
told that he was not eligible for studying
agriculture science as he had not studied
botany in his ISc. Demoralised, Dr Munshi
found a ray of hope when the principal of
the college, Dr Hedauyetullah, agreed to
enroll him conditionally. His ENROLMENT
was on condition that he had to learn
botany for three months and pass a special
test. The accidental scientist got through this
test successfully and his enrolment as a BAg
student was confirmed.
He passed from the college in 1949, and
then passed and completed his MAg from
Dhaka University in crop botany in 1956.
Subsequently, he obtained his PhD degree in
genetics and plant breeding from Texas
A&M University in the United States in
1968.Pious, modest, benevolent, humourous,
friendly, and a very warm-hearted person,
Dr Munshi, after several years of illness,
passed away October 19, 2011.
One-of-a-kind research on
old rice fields in Cooper
River
Posted: Oct 23, 2014 3:46 AM PSTUpdated: Oct 23, 2014
6:06 AM PST
Abandoned rice fields on the Cooper River
have benefits to ecosystem.
BERKELEY
COUNTY,
S.C. (WCIV) -
- The Cooper
River has
always been a
popular fishing spot, but hundreds of years
ago it was also used to grow rice.These days
most of the fields are abandoned but the
remnants have been a point of interest for
one local scientist it's one of kind research
on the Cooper River.
Abandoned rice fields on the Cooper River
have many benefits to the ecosystem and the
economy in the Lowcountry.Pam Corwin is
a wildlife and fisheries biologist with the
state Department of Natural Resources. She
began studying old rice fields back in 2010.
It all started as a graduate school
project.Unfortunately, all of our old growth
Cypress forests were cut down to make
these rice fields, but now they are actually
doing something good for the environment,
said Corwin.These fields provide habitat for
numerous types of animals as they transition
back to their original state. It's a completely
natural process.
The ones that are starting to fill in, they are
shallow enough to have fish and shallow
enough to have food for the various
migratory shore birds but they are not too
deep. The ones that are still OPEN water
are deep enough to have big bass, big sport
fish, big catfish, said Corwin.
All five stages of this process are important
for one reason or another. The first two
stages are most important for the fish and
their economic impact on our area.
In particular for the largemouth bass
fishery, it provides great habitat for
spawning for feeding and it's actually one of
the best we have here in South Carolina if
not in the southern area, said Corwin.
But these stages are also important for birds
like Coot that are an OPEN water species
and feed on the vegetation on the surface.
Meanwhile stages 3 and 4 are more
important for the environment.It's not
necessarily something that produces a lot
of money for South Carolina, but it's also
filling in those gaps because of habitat
destruction that is going on along the
coast, said Corwin.
Corwin also says it's important to
continue to study these rice fields so that
we can study the impacts moving
forward

Why shift workers should
avoid tucking into steak, brown
rice or green veg at night: Iron-
rich foods 'disrupt the body
clock'

Eating iron-rich foods disrupts the circadian
clock in the liver
Liver's circadian clock normally regulates
blood sugar levels
Iron causes the liver to control blood sugar
more strictly
This would be healthy if it happened in the
liver's natural cycle
But for people who WORK night shifts, it
puts the liver's clock out of sync
Leads to increased levels of obesity,
diabetes, stroke and cancer


Workers punching in for the graveyard shift
should avoid steak and spinach, as new
research shows eating foods high in iron
disrupts the body clock.The body's circadian
clocks regulate sleeping, waking and
digesting food over a 24 hour period.These
cycles activate processes in all the cells in
the human body, affecting the release of
hormones controlling metabolism and other
functions.Shift workers should avoid eating
foods rich in iron - such as steak - late at
night, as it disrupts the body clock and could
increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, stroke
and cancer
The brain is the body's 'master' circadian
clock, ensuring all the other body clocks are
in sync.

It is set by light, telling us to wake up in the
morning and sleep when it's dark.Night
shifts disrupt this natural cycle, and it is
known that people who WORK these have
a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity and
cancer.Researchers have now discovered
that eating iron-rich foods disrupts the
circadian clock in the liver, which helps
maintain constant blood sugar levels to give
body cells enough energy.Normally the
liver's circadian clock maintains a constant
blood sugar level when a person is asleep.
The level then spikes just before they wake
up.
Iron acts like a cog in the liver's circadian
clock, prompting the liver to go into
overdrive, strictly controlling blood sugar
levels, preventing the spike.This would be
healthy when it occurs in the liver's natural
clock cycle. But if it happens at a time that
is out of sync, such as during a night shift, it
could result in abnormal blood sugar
levels.For night shift workers, the circadian
clock of the liver is already out of sync with
the brain's circadian clock, and eating iron
could exacerbate that lack of
synchronisation.This could lead to diseases
like obesity, diabetes, and stroke, the
researchers said.


IRON-RICH FOODS
Iron-rich foods include:
dark-green leafy vegetables, such as
watercress and curly kale
iron-fortified cereals or bread
brown rice
pulses and beans
nuts and seeds
white and red meat
fish
tofu
eggs
dried fruit, such as dried apricots, prunes
and raisins


As part of the study researchers fed iron to
mice as part of their natural eating
cycle.They found that iron in the diet
increases the concentration of heme, an
oxygen-carrying compound found in
haemoglobin, in cells.When heme binds to a
circadian protein, the protein's activity
increases.This causes the liver to increase its
activity of controlling blood sugar
levels.Therefore, eating iron-rich foods
caused the liver to increase its activity in
regulating blood sugar.This interferes with
the normal fluctuations ASSOCIATED
with a healthy metabolic system and leads
to diseases like obesity, cancer, diabetes and
stroke.The study's lead author Judith
Simcox, a postdoctoral fellow at the
University of Utah said: 'Iron is like the dial
that sets the timing of the clock.

'Discovering
a factor,
such as iron,
that sets the
circadian
rhythm of
the liver
may have
broad implications for people who do
shift WORK .' Another of the study's
authors Professor Donald McClain, also of
the University of Utah, added: 'When a shift
worker eats foods high in iron at night it
could exacerbate the lack of synchronsation
between the clock in the liver and the main
one in the brain.'By tending to flatten the
circadian variation of metabolism, high iron
in tissues may also interfere with the normal
day to night fluctuations ASSOCIATED
with a healthy metabolic system.'The
study appeared online in the journal
Diabetes. Previous studies have found that
shift workers experience higher incidences
of obesity, diabetes and other metabolic
disorders due to disruptions to their
circadian clock

FG to increase domestic
food production by 20m
tonnes

Thursday, 23 October 2014 20:11
Written by Femi Adekoya
Category: Business News
As Jonathan honours Rice Millers boss,
others
THE Federal Government has expressed
readiness to increase domestic food
production by additional 20,000,000 metric
tonnes for the populace and create about 3.5
million JOBS by 2015. President
Jonathan disclosed this at the Presidential
Flag off of the National Schools Agriculture
Programme (NSAP) at the Presidential
Villa, Abuja.
A statement from Rice Millers and
Importers of Nigeria
(RiMIDAN), yesterday, quoted Jonathan as
saying that this would be possible through
the administrations Agriculture
Transformation Agenda (ATA) programme
targeted at POSITIVE youth
development. Meanwhile, in recognition of
their contribution to Agricultural
development and food security in the
country, the federal government, yesterday,
honoured some stakeholders in the sector.
Among those decorated by President
Goodluck Jonathan at the Aso Rock
Presidential Villa is the President of the Rice
Millers and Importers of Nigeria
(RiMIDAN), Dr. Tunji Owoeye. Others are
former military Head of State, Gen.
Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd), former Chief
of General, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe,
former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. T.Y.
Danjuma, BUSINESS Mogul, Aliko
Dangote, Transcorp chief, Tony Elumelu as
well as Nigerias songstress, Onyeka Owenu
and Kwara State PDP stakeholder, Mrs.
Bola Shagaya, Wilma Aguele and Senator
Nimi Amange.The ATA programme is
targeted at POSITIVE youth development,
to harnessing the power of the young people
to make better choices.
Through our programmes we have been able
to provide articulate leadership training,
guidance in career options, competence and
confidence initiatives to youths. The NSAP
initiative is a catch them young programme
that will give the OPPORTUNITY to see
agriculture as a business enterprise. The
president also expressed delight that
Nigerian farmers have been able to produce
over 70 per cent of the nationwide target of
2015.He said there was an unprecedented 15
per cent sufficiency in rice production and
even as the nation maintained
the POSITION of the largest producer of
cassava in the world at about 35 metric tons
yearly.
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi
Adesina, said the ADMINISTRATION
was giving mechanised farming priority,
which earlier berthed the N50 billion
Agricultural Mechanisation
Programme.desina said Nigeria had made
remarkable transformation in agriculture,
adding that cutlasses and hoes would be kept
at museums.Hoes and cutlasses are not
technologies, that is why this administration
has made historic landmarks in the past six
years in transformations. Because of the
hoes and cutlasses, the youths have always
seen farming as a poor man`s job.
Youth Empowerment and Agriculture
Programme also launched by the president
to develop young agricultural farmers. I am
delighted with the establishment of the
NSAP to engage our young ones to begin to
see agriculture as a viable and
profitable BUSINESS , Adesina
stated. He disclosed that all the students
present at the event would be automatically
registered under the Growth Enhancement
Support Scheme. Adesina said the
present ADMINISTRATION was
supporting farmers through electronic inputs
via vouchera on their mobile phones, which
is first in Africa and recognised around the
world.Dr. Baraka Sani, the Senior Special
Assistant to the President on NSAP said the
initiative was a human capital initiative to
build economic growth.
Sani said the NSAP was to build on the
leadership OPPORTUNITIES of the
youths, using a known approach but a non-
formal curriculum..The initiative is to bring
out hidden talents in our youths that
basically the curriculum will not bring out,
Sani said. She added that the youths under
the scheme were registered free and would
help participating schools to see the
economical side to school
farming. REPORTS have it that the
initiative would kick-start in 12 schools
which would later expand to other schools
across the nation.
The Chief Executive Officer, Elephant
Group Africa, who also is the President Rice
Millers and Importers
Dealers ASSOCIATION of Nigeria
(RiMIDAN), Dr. Tunji Owoeye said the
gesture was the right step in the right
direction. According to Owoeye,
government was not only involving
agribusiness stakeholders but they are
involving youths, agro-based BUSINESSES
pinions and school children.We are
making significant impact to the sub-
conscious being of the Nigerian youth to
build on the successes of government in
pushing agriculture to a mechanised form.
Government is organising developmental
programmes and incentives for youths and
providing subsidised inputs.
Government is providing the legislative
enabling environment and supporting youths
to boost our GDP and increase the number
of those engaged in farming, Owoeye
said. The NSAP initiative is a
comprehensive agricultural programme that
will introduce young students to various
opportunities in the sector and to build
technical and enterpreneurship skills in
students to run agriculture as a business and
to equip school leavers with practical skills
to create JOBS IN the pilot scheme, the
School Agriculture Club (SAC) will be
established in 12 selected schools across the
six geo-political zones, each comprising of
120 students.
The focus is on vegetable production,
horticulture, aquaculture, poultry, apiary and
livestock production, small scale irrigation,
processing and packaging. An effective
implementation of NSAP will act as a
catalyst for agricultural development and
poverty alleviation through closing the gap
between.
FG Targets 20m Tonnes of
Domestic Food Production by
2015
24 Oct 2014

President of the Rice Millers and
Importers of Nigeria (RiMIDAN), Dr.
Tunji Owoeye

As Jonathan honours rice millers boss,
others
Crusoe Osagie

The federal government has expressed its
readiness to increase domestic food
production by additional 20 million metric
tonnes for the populace and create about 3.5
million JOBS by 2015.President Goodluck
Jonathan disclosed this at the presidential
inauguration of the National Schools
Agriculture Programme (NSAP) at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja. According to
Jonathan, this would be possible through
the ADMINISTRATION s Agriculture
Transformation Agenda (ATA) programme
targeted at positive youth
development. Meanwhile, in recognition of
their contribution to agricultural
development and food security in the
country, the federal government, yesterday
honoured some stakeholders in the sector.
Among those decorated by President
Jonathan at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa
is the president of the Rice Millers and
Importers of Nigeria (RiMIDAN), Dr. Tunji
Owoeye. Others are former military Head
of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd),
former Chief of General, Commodore Ebitu
Ukiwe, former Chief of Army Staff, Gen.
T.Y. Danjuma, BUSINESS mogul, Aliko
Dangote, Transcorp chief, Tony Elumelu as
well as Nigerias songstress, Onyeka Owenu
and Kwara State PDP stakeholder, Mrs.
Bola Shagaya, Wilma Aguele and Senator
Nimi Amange.
The ATA programme is targeted at positive
youth development, to harnessing the power
of the young people to make better choices.
Through our programmes we have been able
to provide articulate leadership training,
guidance in career options, COMPETENCE
and confidence initiatives to
youths. The NSAP initiative is a catch
them young programme that will give the
opportunity to see agriculture as
a BUSINESS enterprise. The president
also expressed delight that Nigerian farmers
have been able to produce over 70 per cent
of the nationwide target of 2015.
He said there was an unprecedented 15 per
cent sufficiency in rice production and even
as the nation maintained the POSITION of
the largest producer of cassava in the world
at about 35 metric tons annually.The
Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development, said the administration was
giving mechanised farming priority which
earlier berthed the N50 billion Agricultural
Mechanisation Programme.Adesina said
Nigeria had made remarkable transformation
in agriculture, adding that cutlasses and hoes
would be kept at museums.
Hoes and cutlasses are not technologies,
that is why this administration has made
historic landmarks in the past six years in
transformations. Because of the hoes and
cutlasses, the youths have always seen
farming as a poor mans job. Youth
Empowerment and Agriculture Programme
also launched by the president to develop
young agricultural farmers. I am delighted
with the establishment of the NSAP to
engage our young ones to begin to see
agriculture as a viable and
profitable BUSINESS , Adesina stated.
He disclosed that all the students present at
the event would be automatically registered
under the Growth Enhancement Support
Scheme.Adesina said the present
administration was supporting farmers
through electronic inputs via voucher on
their mobile phones which is first in Africa
and recognised around the world.The Senior
Special Assistant to the President on NSAP,
Dr Baraka Sani, said the initiative was a
human capital initiative to build economic
growth.Sani said the NSAP was to build on
the leadership OPPORTUNITIES of the
youths, using a known approach but a non-
formal curriculum.
The initiative is to bring out hidden talents
in our youths that basically the curriculum
will not bring out, Sani said. She added
that the youths under the scheme were
registered free and would help participating
schools to see the economical side to school
farming.The initiative would kick-start in 12
schools which would later expand to other
schools across the nation.The Chief
Executive Officer, Elephant Group
Africa, Dr. Tunji Owoeye, who also is the
President Rice Millers and Importers
Dealers Association of Nigeria (RiMIDAN),
said the gesture was the right step in the
right direction.
According to Owoeye, government was not
only involving agribusiness stakeholders but
they are involving youths, agro-
based BUSINESSES pinions and school
children.We are making significant impact
to the sub-conscious being of the Nigerian
youth to build on the successes of
government in pushing agriculture to a
mechanised form. Government is organising
developmental programmes and incentives
for youths and providing subsidised inputs.
Government is providing the legislative
enabling environment and supporting youths
to boost our GDP and increase the number
of those engaged in farming, Owoeye said.
The NSAP initiative is a comprehensive
agricultural programme that will introduce
young students to
various OPPORTUNITIES in the sector
and to build technical and enterpreneurship
skills in students to run agriculture as a
business and to equip school leavers with
practical skills to create jobs.In the pilot
scheme, the School Agriculture Club (SAC)
will be established in 12 selected schools
across the six geo-political zones, each
comprising of 120 students.
The focus is on vegetable production,
horticulture, aquaculture, poultry, apiary and
livestock production, small scale irrigation,
processing and packaging.An effective
implementation of NSAP will act as a
catalyst for agricultural development and
poverty alleviation through closing the gap
between existing farmers and diversifying
the economy.
Tags: Nigeria, Featuered, Business

You'll Never Believe The
Insane Amount Of Work It
Takes To Harvest A Grain Of
Rice
The Huffington Post | By Alison Spiegel

Posted: 10/22/2014 7:00 am
EDT Updated: 10/23/2014 7:59 pm EDT

You may be familiar with the picturesque
image of rice paddies -- lush, green fields,
perhaps stacked in terraces -- but do you
know how rice gets from the paddy to your
plate? The process is seriously labor
intensive, REQUIRING more steps than
you might think would be necessary for such
tiny, little grains.
A
staple
found
all over
the
world,
rice is
grown
everywhere from Minnesota to Myanmar.
According to the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO),
however, an incredible 90 percent of it is
grown and consumed in Asia. Making up
anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of calories
in a person's diet in Asia, rice is the
backbone of millions of people's lives.
What's more, demand is skyrocketing due to
population growth. The FAO estimates that
rice consumption in Asia will increase 51
percent between 1995 and 2025.
It's time we all understood how this
critically important crop grows and how it's
harvested. Here are the basics you need to
know:
China produces and consumes the most
rice out of any country in the world.
It is responsible for
Wet rice is grown in rice
paddies.
Akira Kaede via Getty Images
Rice paddies are fields of rice seed that
hold a certain level of water -- usually
about six inches to start.
Paddies may be built into
terraces to facilitate
flooding.
One terrace will be flooded to initiate the
rice growing process, and over time as
the rice matures, farmers will lower the
level of water by releasing it to terraces
below. When the rice is ready to be
harvested, farmers will drain a terrace
completely by removing barriers between
terraces, letting water flood from the
higher terrace to a lower one.
Glutenous rice, also known
as sticky rice, is grown both
in lowland paddies as well
as in fields at high elevation.
Ads by
InfoAlison
Spiegel
Sticky
rice RE
QUIRE
S less
water than regular rice, and can thus
be grown on hillsides where the crop may
get enough water from natural rainfall, in
addition to lowland paddies that
are MANUALLY irrigated.

Rice is harvested when the
grains' moisture content is
around 25 percent.
Danita Delimont via Getty Images
According to the FAO, the grains should
be full but not cracking, with yellow
hulls, and the stalks of the plant should be
slightly bent. It could take anywhere
from three to six months for rice to reach
this stage.
To harvest rice, farmers
drain, cut and dry.
Peter Stuckings via Getty Images
The first step of harvesting is draining the
paddy. Next, farmers cut the plants --
with a scythe or sickle if by hand -- and
transport them elsewhere to be laid out
and dried for two or three days.

Rice can be cut by hand or
machine. In the developed
world, harvesting by hand
is still very common.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
It takes a lot of time to harvest rice by
hand: 80 to 160 hours per hectare, or 198
to 395 hours per acre, according to the
FAO. By machine, rice might take
around 2.7 to 4.5 hours per hectare, or 6.7
to 11 hours per acre, to harvest.
Depending on the region, and the access
t
o

m
a
c
h
i
nery, mechanized cutting is becoming
increasingly popular.
After the rice has been cut
and laid out to dry, it must
be threshed.
s
o
m
m
a
i
l

v
i
a Getty Images
Threshing, which separates the grain
from the stalk, can also be done by hand
or machine. One common method of
threshing is slamming sheaves of against
a table with slots in it. The banging
dislodges the grains, which fall through
the cracks in the table to a collection area
below.

Finally, rice grains are
dried again, and maybe
milled.
Joerg
Mikus
via
Getty
Images
When
harveste
d, rice has around 25 percent moisture
content, but after it is threshed, it needs
to dry to about 14 percent water content
in order to be safe for storing and
milling. The process of milling removes
the husk, bran layer and germ, and
results in what we know as white rice.
Brown rice is not milled, which
explains its relative heartiness
compared to white rice.

Now that you know how rice is harvested,
go and enjoy one of these ridiculously
awesome and easy rice bowls. We think
you've earned it.
News Shared by
PhilRice
PH first nipa bioethanol facility
launched

Rice farming and coastal communities will soon
benefit from the first nipa bioethanol production
facility recently launched in Brgy. Cabaggan,
Pampalona, Cagayan. Dr. Eufemio T. Rasco Jr.,
executive director of Philippine Rice Research
Institute (PhilRice), said that the bioethanol
project in Cagayan, a province in Northern
Luzon with rich source of nipa extracts, may
help supply local energy demand.
Fossil resources have been dwindling since the
1970s. This project with the Mariano Marcos
State University (MMSU) will increase farmers`
competitiveness as nipa is a renewable energy
that can fuel farm machinery and pump boats,
Rasco, a pioneer in nipa research, said.
In the Philippines, nipa is considered an
important source of alternative fuel because it
produces high amount of sap that can be
converted to alcohol. Producing as much as
26,000 L of alcohol in a hectare per year, nipa is
four more times more productive than sugarcane
today`s main source of alcohol, which can
only generate 6,700 L.
The facility`s power, tested through a retrofitted
water pump, produced 95-96% bioethanol
during the launching`s ceremonial run. Engr.
Nathaniel R. Mateo, MMSU project
collaborator, said that 100 L of nipa sap can
produce 7-9 L of bioethanol within 4.5 hours.
We felt and observed in an international level
the connection between energy and rice supply
in 2007-2008 when increasing oil price escalated
the price of rice to its peak. That event
heightened the importance of developing a new
energy system that is renewable, decentralized,
and diversified, Rasco said.

Rasco said that nipa is good source of bioethanol
or water-free alcohol produced from the
fermentation of sugar or converted starch,
because it does not compete as food unlike other
sources such as corn, cassava, sorghum, and
sugarcane.As the locals produce nipa lambanog
or wine, project implementers are also
improving their distilling facility to increase
alcohol yield and efficiency.
With the improved facility, nipa wine with 60%
alcohol content and 28% yield conversion rate
was produced. Previously, nipa wine is produced
with 40% alcohol at 22-24% yield conversion
rate.We hope to have this facility in more
places in the Philippines and make nipa a widely
used fuel by farmers and fisherfolk, Rasco said.
The bioethanol facility is co-implemented by the
local government unit of Cagayan and MMSU`s
Dr. Shirley Agrupis, lead of the nipa bioethanol
project, and Dr. Fiorello Abenes, project
consultant and US senior Fulbright fellow.
2014 Senadhira awardee is Filipino
The first ever Filipino and the first woman to
receive the Asian-wide Senadhira Rice Research
Award is a PhilRice breeder.Thelma F. Padolina,
a chemist-turned-breeder, who has been
breeding for more than 30 years, will receive
this award on Oct. 30 during the International
Rice Congress in Bangkok, Thailand.
When I was informed that I am chosen to
receive the award, I was overwhelmed with joy.
This award is important for me because my
efforts as a breeder are recognized, she
said.The International Rice Research Institue
(IRRI) established this award in memory of Dr.
Dharmawansa Senadhira, a Sri Lankan
researcher who led IRRIs flood-prone research
program from 1996 to 1998.
It is given to qualified scientists who have made
outstanding contributions to rice research,
especially for those involved in rice breeding
and genetics, increasing tolerance for abiotic
stresses, and improving micronutrient
density.Among many achievements, Padolina is
a recipient of seven research-related awards, and
a principal breeder of over 20 varieties.
Before the establishment of PhilRice, she co-
developed varieties for irrigated lowland, cool
elevated and other varieties for adverse
conditions. She had major contributions in the
development of BPI Ri10, BPI Ri12, PSB Rc6
and PSB Rc8 under the Maligaya Rice Research
and Training Center and Bureau of Plant
Industry from 1978 to 1985.
While working in PhilRice, she had the
opportunity to work in the international research
scene. She has networked with IRRI scientists
on various activities (Phenotyping, TRRC,
GRIsP-MET, RDA-GUVA), other international
institutes, and foreign countries (Brunei, China).

I am grateful for the support of PhilRice. I was
trained to breed by international experts through
the collaboration of PhilRice with them, she
said.She further said that being a female breeder
is a challenge because there are people who tend
to prefer men over women, but she was able to
surmount these challenges with the love and
passion she has for her work.

Padolina challenged other researchers to always
have passion for their work, have the heart to
learn continuously, and work with other experts
and learn from them. Moreover, she encouraged
breeders to pass their knowledge to
others.Skills are earned through experience.
Through time, you gradually learn and have an
eye to decide which is better, Padolina said.
Upland farmers urged to form
groups
More than 100,000 upland rice farmers are
encouraged to organize into groups and register
their associations for them to easily access
government programs.Ruben B. Miranda,
national coordinator of the Upland Rice
Development Program (URDP) said that a
formally organized group is indispensable in
fostering progressive rice farming
communities."It`s easier for agricultural workers
to reach organized and registered groups
because systems are in place. Well-placed
systems also facilitate easy access on
government programs and services," Miranda
said during the Upland Palayamanan Farmer
Field School (FFS) Graduation Day in Doa
Remedios Trinidad (DRT) in Bulacan, Oct. 21.
Last year, the participants of the upland
Palayamanan FFS in DRT had organized
themselves and registered their group as
Kalawakan Upland Farmers` Association to the
Department of Labor and Employment.
Responding to the need raised by the Kalawakan
Upland Farmers` Association regarding the
availability of vegetable seeds to be planted
during the dry season, DA-Regional Field Office
3 (DA-RFO 3) looks into the possibility of
putting up a nursery for vegetables in the Upland
Palayamanan FFS site. The establishment of
nursery for vegetables prevents seedling stress
as the farmers need not to transport the seedlings
from DA-RFO 3 to their fields for almost an
hour in a rough road.

DRT Mayor Rolando Flores, on the other hand,
expressed his support to the program as he
believes that there`s money in farming
particularly in integrating rice with vegetables
and livestock. Recently, the Philippine Rice
Research Institute thru its "Gusto Namin
Milyonaryo" campaign is engaging millionaire-
farmers to share their farming experiences to
rice tillers across the country.
The 3-ha upland Palayamanan FFS site of the
Kalawakan farmers is used for seed production
and features participatory varietal trial of
modern and traditional upland rice varieties and
participatory technology development
demonstration of seeding rates and planting
distance.
The FFS site is also planted with vegetables
such as eggplants, string beans, cassava, and
lemongrass and flowers to manage pest or
harmful organisms.
South Korean agency helps
farmers earn millions
The Korea Project on International Agriculture
(KOPIA) through the Rural Development
Administration is helping farmers earn millions
by partnering with farmers cooperatives.This
is our way of helping the cooperatives and its
members become millionaires, Dr. Norvie
Manigbas, project leader said.
The Sinibaan Farmers Association in Dingle,
Ilo-Ilo and the Bohol Farmers Multipurpose
Cooperative in Pilar, Bohol received registered
seeds (RS) during the towns recent Farmers
Field Day.After farmer-recipients planted the
seeds and harvested, they are expected to return
the same amount of seeds to their respective
cooperatives in the form of money, Manigbas
said.
In Iloilo, farmers are expected to produce 300
sacks (48kg/sack) of high quality seeds. From
this start up, Manigbas said that the cooperative
will have at least P 1.5M at the end of the three-
year KOPIA project in the area."Assuming that a
cavan is equivalent to P1,000, the cooperative
will receive P300,000 from the farmer members
after harvest. This is the seed money that will go
to the cooperative for their use," Manigbas
said.The distributed RS in Ilo-ilo came from a 2-
hectare field in Hamungaya, Jaro, Iloilo where
foundation seeds were grown, with the aid of the
DA-Western Visayas Integrated Agricultural
Research Center (DA-WESVIARC).

In Bohol, a 5-hectare field in Ubay was used to
produce seeds to farmer members of the
cooperative in partnership with the Bohol
Provincial Agriculture Office and Office of the
Provincial Governor.
The money may be loaned by the Cooperatives
farmer members to buy their farm inputs. The
Cooperative can purchase big machines for the
farmers to use modern technologies, Manigbas
said.Aside from RS, the cooperatives also
received walk-type transplanters and soil
analyzers.Members of these cooperatives are
also trained to use new technologies on rice
farming developed by PhilRice.We chose to
partner with established cooperatives because
they are efficient in managing the dissemination
of seeds to their members and members have
commitments and responsibilities to their
cooperative, Manigbas said.
He further said that the project works by
partnering with established cooperatives through
the New Community Movement or Rural
Transformation principles which are diligence,
self-help, and cooperation.Meanwhile, Dr. Cho
Yang-Hee, KOPIA secretary-general, explained
that the project will help support PhilRices
Rural Transformation Movement.

We hope that this project will bring rural
transformation in the Philippines. I also hope
that this project will benchmark the new village
movement of Korea as we call the Saemaul
Undong Movement. Korean government,
especially the KOPIA, will be your strong
partner in developing and implementing joint
projects on agricultural technology.

Dr. Jeong Taek Lee, KOPIA Center director in
the Philippines, said the project intends to help
farmers in the Philippines to achieve a better life
in partnership with PhilRice.KOPIA Center is
stationed at PhilRice Central Experiment Station
in Nueva Ecija.
Rice research to use drone tech

A multi-functional flying device called Drone is
being considered as potential monitoring
instrument that will help researchers gather
accurate data and conduct studies
efficiently.Roger Barroga, lead of Future Rice
Program in the Philippine Rice Research
Institute (PhilRice), said that a training program
on drone technology will be conducted
following its recent introduction to the savants
early this month.To be implemented with the
University of Southern Mindanao next year, the
training program will highlight flight tutorials
and application of the drone`s features.

The technology features a high definition
camera, flight stabilizer, and GPS (Global
Positioning System) that allows users to
program its flight path. It can fly for 8-10 min
and can travel up to a maximum distance of 2
km.Barroga said that the technology can be
maximized for research activities such as data
collection, tracking growth patterns, and pests
and nutrient management.

Meanwhile, Dr. Dindo Tabanao, head of
PhilRice Plant Breeding and Biotechnology
Division, said that in a wider scale, drone can be
used to inspect damages during calamities,
monitor rice fields during crop establishment,
and assess real time conditions in areas to be
possibly hit by El Nio.Researchers also said
that the device can help reduce cost in multi-
location monitoring and trials.

We will further explore the technology`s
features so researchers could spend their time
efficiently, Tabanao added.The drone is
available in the country and is sold for at least
P25,000.
Suppliers tap as info sources
Research and training agencies in the country
are banking on the potential of agricultural input
suppliers in Region III as intermediaries or
partners in disseminating rice information and
technologies.
In an activity, more than 100 seed sellers, farm
machine dealers, and representatives from credit
companies toured around Philippine Rice
Research Institute (PhilRice) to be updated on
farm practices, technologies, and trends.
PhilRice, Agricultural Training Institute (ATI),
and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
sponsored the recent entrepreneurs` first
organized tour on rice farming.

This group has been doing extension work in
their own ways, but we have not harnessed their
strategic presence in the field. With only about
2,300 full-time government rice extension
workers and more than two million farmers, we
really need to explore, engage, and equip more
rice extension intermediaries so that our farmers
would benefit from the findings of research, Dr.
Karen Eloisa Barroga, activity lead said.

To engage the agri input providers, the activity
highlighted the growing need to help the farmers
amidst looming threats of greater trade
liberalization and urbanization and declining
number of farmers and agricultural extension
workers in the country.

They were briefed on online tools such Pinoy
Rice Knowledge Bank, Minus-One Element
Technique App, Text Center, Rice Knowledge
Bank, and Rice Crop Manager.Weed
Identification Tool, Rice Doctor, E-extension,
and Farmers` Contact Center were also
presented and tried by the group.

In turn, the entrepreneurs pledged in a
commitment ceremony that they will do more
for the farmers.Abundio Quililan, president and
CEO of the New Rural Bank of San Leonardo,
Inc., said that they will share the text center
numbers to their 50,000 farmer-clients and invite
resource speakers from PhilRice, ATI, and IRRI
to their rice training programs.
The activity is part of the project on Improving
Technology Promotion and Delivery through
Capability Enhancement of Next-Gen Rice
Extension Professionals and Other
Intermediaries (IPaD). IPaD is a project under
the DA-National Rice Program and funded by
the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research.
News shared by USA Rice
Federation
World Market Meeting Covers
Large Rice Crop, Reporting
Mechanisms, Trade, More
Keith Glover and Staff

Chairman Keith Glover and USA Rice's Kristen
Dayton

WASHINGTON, DC- Industry leaders met here
yesterday to review market data on the robust
current U.S. crop, discuss critical issues, and
exchange information with representatives of the
U.S. government.One area of concern for
growers and millers alike was the accuracy of
reporting rough rice prices to the National
Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) which
form the basis of NASS's published monthly
rough rice prices.
"We heard a renewed importance of filling out
the necessary forms to ensure accuracy," said
Keith Glover, president and CEO of Producers
Rice Mill and chairman of the USA Rice
Federation's World Market Price committee.
"We need to be sure we're all reporting correctly
to avoid, or at least minimize, discrepancies."
Growers also pointed to October NASS
estimates that had yield figures for Texas that
sounded too high, and California that sounded
too low."We think the yield questionnaire is
solid, but we can continue to work with state
offices to make certain they are reaching out to
the reporters to double check any numbers that
seem out of place," said a NASS representative
at the meeting.Attendees also heard updates
from representatives of USDA's Foreign
Agricultural Service (FAS) who said that there
was a big push to conclude Trans Pacific
Partnership (TPP) talks in advance of next
month's APEC meeting, but the representative
admitted that timeline may be optimistic.
The FAS representative also said the
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
(T-TIP) negotiations are essentially at a
standstill for the remainder of the year as a new
EU Commission is approved and takes office.
Carl Brothers, chief operating officer for
Riceland Foods and chairman of USA Rice's
International Trade Policy committee stressed
that with the changing landscape of rice markets,
the U.S. government needs to challenge EU
tariffs on rice.

"The EU's Everything But Arms concession has
really blown open the European market for rice
from countries like Cambodia," he said. "It's
high time the tariffs that make U.S. rice
uncompetitive there go to zero."The group also
discussed developments in India and Thailand,
Korea's rice tariffication plans, food aid
programs (see next story), and the U.S.
International Trade Commission's investigation
into factors having an impact on the
competitiveness of the U.S. rice industry.

"It was a very positive meeting, we covered a lot
of ground, and the give and take with the U.S.
government is always worthwhile," Glover said.
Contact: Michael Klein (703) 236-1458
FAS Administrator Emphasizes
Importance of Rice in Food Aid
Programs
US rice to the rescue
U.S. rice: the global effect
WASHINGTON, DC - USDA/FAS Assistant
Administrator for Food Security, Suzanne
Palmieri, provided a positive outlook on the use
of rice in future food security programs at the
USA Rice Federation's World Market Price
meeting here yesterday.U.S. rice millers and
producers shared industry concern with the
steady decrease in the amount of rice used in
U.S. government food assistance programs with
Ms. Palmieri. They also emphasized the price
competitiveness of U.S. origin rice as a result of
a record size harvest this year, and similar, or
greater, expectations for crop size next year.

Ms. Palmieri noted that rice is already one of the
most widely consumed commodities worldwide.
She emphasized that the addition of fortified rice
to U.S. government programs is expected to
result in a significant increase in the amount of
milled and fortified rice used for global feeding
initiatives, such as USDA's McGovern-Dole
school feeding program. (see "Global Rice
Fortification Program Endorses USA Rice
Position," USA Rice Daily, September 26, 2014)
Fortified rice provides a new cost effective and
nutritionally efficient method of providing
essential micronutrients to children suffering
from stunting and malnutrition.

Ms. Palmieri responded to industry concerns
regarding collaboration with all food assistance
influencers by committing to a series of multi
stakeholder meetings with strategic partners.
USA Rice will remain engaged in these evolving
discussions and upcoming meetings with
collaborators such as the annual workshop of the
U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council
in November 2014.

Contact: Sarah Moran (703) 236-1457
USA Rice Meets with U.S. ITC on
Competitiveness Investigation

WASHIN
GTON,
DC - As
part of the
USA Rice
Federatio
n's
continuin
g support
of the U.S. International Trade
Commission's (USITC) investigation of the
factors affecting the U.S. rice industry's
competitiveness, USA Rice members and
staff met with USITC staff at their
headquarters here yesterday.
Millers Carl Brothers of Riceland Foods,
Keith Glover of Producer's Rice Mill, and
Chris Crutchfield of the American
Commodity Company were joined by USA
Rice Federation Chairman and Arkansas rice
producer Dow Brantley, to answer questions
about the structure of the domestic rice
industry.
Topics of discussion included the history of
rice milling cooperatives, as well as how
both cooperatives and independent rice mills
currently operate. The ITC staff asked
questions regarding export markets for
regional varieties of rice and methods of
milling, and the members present gave an
overview of domestic markets.

The Section 332 study on the global
competitiveness of the U.S. rice industry is
scheduled to be made public in April of
2015. USITC staff plans to reach out to
other operations in the coming weeks to
expand their familiarity with aspects of the
domestic rice industry.

Contact: Kristen Dayton (703) 236-1464
CME Group/Closing Rough Rice
Futures
CME Group (Prelim): Closing Rough Rice
Futures for October 23.

Month Price Net Change
November 2014 $12.365 - $0.165
January 2015 $12.595 - $0.130
March 2015 $12.850 - $0.130
May 2015 $13.045 - $0.130
July 2015 $13.225 - $0.130
September 2015 $12.590 - $0.130
November 2015 $12.565 - $0.130


State tackles rice price issue
head on
Oct. 23--The government has vowed to take
a proactive approach to farm
product MANAGEMENT with plans to
stabilise crop prices, particularly rice, and
accelerate sealing government-to-
government rice deals with Africa, the
Middle East and China.A major part of the
approach is to retain paddy prices at less
than 8,500 baht a tonne for white rice,
15,000 to 16,000 baht for Hom Mali rice and
a minimum of 13,000 baht for glutinous
rice, commerce permanent secretary
Chutima Bunyapraphasara said yesterday.
The National Rice Policy Committee's
measures for MANAGING rice prices in
light of the upcoming harvest from the
annual main crop include asking millers to
cooperate in buying farmers' output for 100-
200 baht a tonne above MARKET
prices.The move, aimed at
absorbing MARKET supply, includes the
government subsidising 3% of the interest
rate on loans taken out by the millers to buy
the crops.
Farmers who agree to withhold their
rice SALES and keep their new harvest
stored will be offered free interest on loans
from the Bank for Agriculture and
Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) for four
months.Ms Chutima said that at the next
meeting of the National Rice Policy
Committee, the Commerce Ministry would
ask for permission to allow the BAAC to
extend farmers' loans for 90% of the crop's
value, up from 80% now.
Low farm product prices are ratcheting up
the pressure on the government, particularly
for rice, while it tries to dispose of massive
stocks carried over from the previous
government.The new harvest from the main
rice crop will hit the MARKET by mid-
November.The Agriculture Ministry
forecasts Thailand's rice supply for the
2015-16 season at 37 million tonnes of
paddy.Of that, 27 million tonnes will come
from the main crop and 10 million tonnes
from the second crop.
The Commerce Ministry on Tuesday said it
would offer to sell 207,898 tonnes of rice
from state stockpiles next week.The tender
for SALE will OPEN at the Foreign
Trade Department next Tuesday after the
announcement of eligible bidders earlier in
the day.The Commerce Ministry sold
140,000 tonnes in the first two auctions,
raising 1.6 billion baht.Chookiat
Ophaswongse, honorary president of the
Thai Rice Exporters Association, said the
new auction was unlikely to affect local rice
prices, as the amount of grain to be put up
for sale was not considered large.
New centre opens in Brisbane
to focus on healthier food
research
Post a commentBy RJ Whitehead , 23-Oct-
2014
An industry-backed centre dedicated to
creating healthier food choices for
Australian and Asian consumers has
opened at the University of Queensland.
Funded by the Australian Research Council
to the tune of A$2.7m (US$2.4m), the
industrial transformation training centre has
been tasked initially with teaching 13 young
scientists about health and nutrition,
consumer and sensory science,
commercialisation and business
leadership.The centres broad aim is to
ensure Australia is well positioned to create
and market healthier foods and to respond to
a surging demand from Asias expanding
markets.
It will combine the expertise of principal
partner the Australian Food and Grocery
Council, as well as collaborating partners
the International Rice Research Institute,
Rural Industries Research and Development
Corporation, Wuhan University and
Huazhong University of Science.Centre
Director, Professor Melissa Fitzgerald is an
expert in rice quality and breeding and has
extensive connections with rice
improvement programmes in Asia.
Copyright - Unless otherwise stated all
contents of this web site are 2014 -
William Reed Business Media SAS - All
Rights Reserved - Full details for the use of
materials on this site can be found in the
Terms & Conditions
Will the 4th International Rice
Congress include what
smallholder farmers need?
October 23, 2014 Posted by Guest Blogger
Loc Thi Su (right) and Dao Thi Bon are visiting
their rice field in Na Tap village, Dong Thinh
commune, Dinh Hoa district, Thai Nguyen
province, Vietnam. Photo: Chau Doan / Oxfam
America
High-tech and
costly new
solutions for mass
rice production
wont achieve
sustainable
agriculture for all.
Le Nguyet Minh is the Global Agriculture
Advisor at Oxfam. There are over 800
million children, women and men hungry
out there. It is a cruel irony that majority of
them live in Asia, where rice production is
in surplus and where technology has been
embraced in the 21
st
century.The 4
th

International Rice Congress coming up in
Bangkok next week is a global gathering
meant to ensure sustainable, equitable
growth of rice for the world. Focusing on
the worlds latest advances in rice research
and technologies, the International Rice
Research Institute (IRRI) claims the
Congress is the only major global event that
brings together all aspects of the
international rice industry that feeds half of
the world.
The International Rice Congress brings rice
researchers who tend to focus on
conventional rice growing practices. But at
Oxfam weve seen that alternative agro-
ecological rice-growing practices such as
System of Rice Intensification (SRI) have
not been adequately evaluated, understood,
and promoted among this global
community.According to SRI International
Network and Resources Center at Cornell
University, some ten million farmers (out of
at least one billion persons engaged in
growing rice) practice most or all SRI
methods over 3.4 million hectares. The
value of this increased paddy production is
estimated at $862.5 million.
Nonetheless, the emergence of SRI outside
the conventional research system has not
produced information resulting in
institutional support to optimize and expand
wide SRI adoption. The lack of adequate
information flow between practitioners
directly involved with SRI, scientists, and
policy makers further amplifies the
challenge.One of the conveners of the
Congress, the International Rice Research
Institute, is part of the Consortium of
International Agricultural Research Centers,
known as CGIAR, which was born in the
Green Revolution with a mandate to develop
agricultural innovations that prevent famine.
It has been cited that one dollar invested in
CGIAR research results in as much as nine
dollars in increased productivity in
developing countries. In Asia, CGIAR
research reported to yield US$10.8 billion
a year for rice. But I wonder what portion of
this benefit has reached the millions of
smallholder farmers growing rice?
Mrs. Nguyen Thi Bun standing in front of an
SRI field in Vietnam. Photo: Le Nguyet
Minh/Oxfam America. SRI methods are
immediately accessible to poor smallholder
farmers, who are not waiting for handouts. Mrs.
Nguyen Thi Bun, a 74 year old farmer who
survived two wars in Vietnam, has become an
active promoter of System of Rice
Intensification (SRI). She said:
I have practiced SRI for 6 crops. The
burden lessens while yield and income
gradually increase. I wish farmers in other
communities to be brave and strong in
trying new ideas and innovations. It will
help to overcome our difficulties.
It is more important
than ever to
reinforce the efforts
of farmers such as
Mrs. Bun. Ban Ki
Moons Climate
Summit last month
and Oxfams study
Extreme Weather, Extreme Prices underscored
that climate change threatens peoples ability to
grow and access food by undermining their
livelihoods and destabilizing prices, and that this
must be linked in the minds of policymakers.
Extreme weather events such as droughts and
floods could result in the world market price of
rice increasing by 22 per cent if there were
nationwide drought in India or extensive
flooding across South East Asia. Rice-importing
countries like Nigeria could see domestic price
spikes of up to 43 per cent on top of longer-term
global price increases.
My hope is that the 4
th
International Rice
Congress will not just highlight science and new
technologies for the mass production of rice.
Support for smallholder farmers can take many
forms, but small rice farmers are likely to
benefit most from investments that
acknowledge their limited assets, help them
adapt to the challenges of climate change, and
tap into and enhance their knowledge.
Investment in agro-ecological practices such as
SRI that support smallholder farmers, rather than
high-tech fixes and costly inputs, is what will
achieve food security and truly sustainable
agriculture for us all.

Tagged in:Ban Ki Moon's Climate Summit,
Bangkok, Consortium of International
Agricultural Research Centers, International
Rice Congress,
State tackles rice price issue
head on
Published: 23 Oct 2014 at 06.01
Newspaper section: Business
Writer: Phusadee Arunmas
The government has vowed to take a proactive
approach to farm product management with
plans to stabilise crop prices, particularly rice,
and accelerate sealing government-to-
government rice deals with Africa, the Middle
East and China. A major part of the approach is
to retain paddy prices at less than 8,500 baht a
tonne for white rice, 15,000 to 16,000 baht for
Hom Mali rice and a minimum of 13,000 baht
for glutinous rice, commerce permanent
secretary Chutima Bunyapraphasara said
yesterday.
The National Rice Policy Committee's measures
for managing rice prices in light of the
upcoming harvest from the annual main crop
include asking millers to cooperate in buying
farmers' output for 100-200 baht a tonne above
market prices.The move, aimed at absorbing
market supply, includes the government
subsidising 3% of the interest rate on loans taken
out by the millers to buy the crops.Farmers who
agree to withhold their rice sales and keep their
new harvest stored will be offered free interest
on loans from the Bank for Agriculture and
Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) for four
months.
Ms Chutima said that at the next meeting of the
National Rice Policy Committee, the Commerce
Ministry would ask for permission to allow the
BAAC to extend farmers' loans for 90% of the
crop's value, up from 80% now.Low farm
product prices are ratcheting up the pressure on
the government, particularly for rice, while it
tries to dispose of massive stocks carried over
from the previous government.The new harvest
from the main rice crop will hit the market by
mid-November.The Agriculture Ministry
forecasts Thailand's rice supply for the 2015-16
season at 37 million tonnes of paddy.Of that, 27
million tonnes will come from the main crop and
10 million tonnes from the second crop.
The Commerce Ministry on Tuesday said it
would offer to sell 207,898 tonnes of rice from
state stockpiles next week.The tender for sale
will open at the Foreign Trade Department next
Tuesday after the announcement of eligible
bidders earlier in the day.The Commerce
Ministry sold 140,000 tonnes in the first two
auctions, raising 1.6 billion baht.Chookiat
Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai
Rice Exporters Association, said the new auction
was unlikely to affect local rice prices, as the
amount of grain to be put up for sale was not
considered large.