9th June, 2021 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newsletter

Daily Global, Regional & Local Rice E-Newsletter
June 09 ,2021 Vol 6 Issue 13
1|www.ricepluss.com , www.riceplusmagazine.blosgspot.com
www.riceplusmagazine.blogspot.com
mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com 92 321 3692874
Editorial Board Rice News Headlines…

Chief Editor
 Hamlik
 Exports rise 14%, imports cross $50b in Jul-May FY21
Managing Editor
 Pakistan vies for EU basmati rice title after India claims ownership
 Abdul Sattar Shah
 Statistics show Pakistan posted historically high Agriculture yields in
 Rahmat Ullah
 Rozeen Shaukat FY21!
 NTV: India and Pakistan Fight over Ownership of Basmati Rice l Ntv
English Editor (Video)
 Maryam Editor  Snippets from UK: 600 Indians Let In without Quarantine, Says British
 Legal Advisor Media
 Advocate Zaheer Minhas
 Basmati rice EU trademark steams up India-Pakistan rivalry
Editorial Associates  Scientists identify genes to improve fertiliser nitrogen use efficiency in
 Admiral (R) Hamid Khalid rice
 Javed Islam Agha  Yuan Longping: His Rice Helped Feed The World
 Zahid Baig(Business Recorder)  A Looming Rice Problem In Liberia
 Dr.Akhtar Hussain  PHL rice imports contracted by 11.8% in January-May–report
 Dr.Fayyaz Ahmad Siddiqui  Row Rice on The Rice Stuff Podcast
 Dr.Abdul Rasheed (UAF)
 As farmers rue delay, Telangana govt blames Covid for paddy
 Islam Akhtar Khan
procurement chaos
Editorial Advisory Board  Popularity runs in families
 Dr.Malik Mohammad Hashim  Crop Dusted: While America Slept, China Stole the Farm
Assistant Professor, Gomal  Liberia: Importers Want Increment in Price of Rice Due to Rise Cost of
University DIK Importation
 Dr.Hasina Gul
 PARC distributed rice transplanters among farmers in Narowal
Assistant Director, Agriculture KPK
 Rice import target still on uncertainty
 Dr.Hidayat Ullah
Assistant Professor, University  Kingdom helps in DSR rice project
of Swabi  Tighter watch on rice imports sought
 Dr.Abdul Basir  What is happening with the US investigation into COVID-19’s origins?
Assistant Professor, University of  Floods drown south-central US crops
Swabi
 Pakistan Weekly Market Monitor Report - 8 June 2021
 Zahid Mehmood
PSO,NIFA Peshawar  India faces tricky new EU ‘authenticity protocol’ for Basmati rice
 Falak Naz Shah
Head Food Science & Technology
ART, Peshawar
Exports rise 14%, imports cross $50b in Jul-May FY21

Government has approved export target at 5.3% for next fiscal year
Shahbaz Rana June 09, 2021
Imports marginally increased by 1% month-on-month and stood at $5.3 billion last month. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan‘s imports have crossed $50 billion in 11 months of the outgoing fiscal year – the
second time in three years, posing a new challenge for the government as growth in exports
remain less than half of the pace of increase in imports.
Resultantly, the trade deficit widened to $27.5 billion and exceeded the annual target by $8
billion in the 11-month period of the current fiscal year, reported the Pakistan Bureau of
Statistics (PBS) on Tuesday. For the current fiscal year, the government had set the trade deficit
target at $19.7 billion, which was busted in just 10 months.
The deficit was higher by $6.4 billion or 30.6% over the same period of previous year, according
to the PBS.
At the end of the PML-N government, Pakistan‘s imports had grown to $60.8 billion, which had
resulted into the highest-ever trade deficit of $37.7 billion in fiscal year 2017-18. It is for the first
time that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is dealing with an import bill of over
$50 billion, which may cross $55 billion once the full year trade figures are available.
However, the silver lining for the ruling party is the foreign remittances that are expected to
touch in this fiscal year to $29 billion, helping it avoiding 2018 like current account deficit
situation.
The PBS stated that exports increased to $22.6 billion in July-May FY21 compared to $19.8
billion in the same period of last year. There was an increase of 14% or $2.8 billion in exports in
11 months, but it was not sufficient to bridge the yawning gap created by imports.
Imports during the July-May period increased 22.5% to $50.04 billion, higher by $9.2 billion.
The government had set the annual imports target at $42.4 billion, which was already exceeded
by $7.7 billion with one month remaining before the close of fiscal year.
For the next fiscal year, the government has approved the export target at 5.3% and increase in
imports is estimated at close to 10% over this fiscal year‘s final numbers.
An Asian Development Bank study has concluded that without fixing structural issues Pakistan
would keep facing external sector problems if its economy grows more than 3.8% in a fiscal
year.
For the next fiscal year 2021-22, the government has set the economic growth target at 4.8%.
The exports during past almost three years have remained around the level left behind by the
PML-N government, which too was very low.
Pakistan‘s exports have long remained around $2 billion per month and the trend has not
significantly changed despite excessive currency depreciation during the PTI government‘s
tenure. However, the commerce adviser has been claiming, through his twitter handle, that
Pakistan‘s exports were performing exceptionally well.
On a month-on-month basis, exports shrank 25.5% to a mere $1.7 billion in May over April,
according to the PBS. There was a reduction of $565 million in export receipts in May 2021
compared to the preceding month, it added.
Imports marginally increased by 1% month-on-month and stood at $5.3 billion last month. In
absolute terms, there was an increase of $39 million in the import bill over April. As a result, the
trade deficit widened 20% last month.
Commerce Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood claimed that the dip in exports was because of one-
week holidays during Eid. However, the federal cabinet had exempted the export-related
industries and services from any kind of restrictions.
On an annualised basis, exports in May amounted to $1.7 billion, which were higher by 18.5% or
$258 million over the same month of the last year. Imports increased 85.5% to $5.3 billion last
month on a year-on-year basis. In absolute terms, the imports increased $2.9 billion.
Resultantly, the trade deficit widened 150% in May 2021 on a year-on-year basis. The gap
between imports and exports remained at $3.6 billion last month, a jump of $2.2 billion
compared to a year ago.
OUR PUBLICATIONS
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2304229/exports-rise-14-imports-cross-50b-in-jul-may-fy21
Pakistan vies for EU basmati rice title after India

claims ownership
Tue, 8 June 2021, 4:06 am
From biryani to pilau, Pakistan and India's shared culinary landscape is defined by basmati, a
distinctive long-grain rice now at the centre of the latest tussle between the bitter rivals over the
ownership of the basmati title in the European Union. Pakistan is opposing a move by India to
recognise Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) for the rice which could deal a major blow to
its position in a vital export market.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/pakistan-vies-eu-basmati-rice-200631479.html
Statistics show Pakistan posted historically high

Agriculture yields in FY21!
The government of Pakistan has shared information showing growth in the yield of major crops in Pakistan
like maize, wheat, sugarcane, rice, onions, and pulses. The data shows that in the current year the yield in all
these crops saw a major positive change, which government attributes to the new agriculture policies.
ByNews Desk
9 June 2021
The government of Pakistan has recently been posting facts for the outgoing fiscal year 2020-21.
Keeping this in view, the Government took to Twitter to post Agriculture sector statistics. The
post read, ―Agriculture-friendly policies of Government bear fruit. Record production of
Sugarcane, Rice, Maize & Wheat in FY21.‖
According to the statistics, the historic yield increased 13.6 percent in FY21 Year-on-Year
(YoY) reaching an output of 8.419 million metric tons (MMT) compared to 7.414 MMT in fiscal
year 2020.
Similarly, according to the statistics, the Maize production in the fiscal year 2021 reached 8.465
MMT, showing an increase of 7.4 percent from 7.883 MMT in the fiscal year 2020.
The post showed that the agriculture-friendly policies of the incumbent government resulted in
an 8.1 percent increase in wheat production in the fiscal year 2021. The wheat production in the
outgoing fiscal year came to be 27.293 million metric tons against 25.249 MMT in the fiscal year
2020.
The last crop mentioned in the statistics was sugarcane, which according to the government
showed an increase of 22 percent YoY in FY21. The production reached 81.009 MMT compared
to 66.380 MMT in FY20.
Other than the mentioned cash crops of Pakistan, the government also mentioned growth in Pulse
(Daal Moong) yield, due to agriculture-friendly policy. According to the statistics, the yield
increased 60 percent reaching 0.202 MMT in FY21 compared to the 0.126MMT in FY20.
In the last agriculture-related statistics government also mentioned the growth in yield of onions
by 8.60 percent in the fiscal year 2021 compared to the last fiscal year. According to the figures
mentioned, the outgoing fiscal saw a yield of 2.304 MMT, up from 2.12 MMT in 2020.
Recently, the leading American Magazine, Forbes has acknowledged Pakistan‘s prudent policies
to keep the economy stable during the Corona Crisis, with the possibility of a 4% increase in
domestic production.
The magazine said, ―Even giants like the United States and India have had difficulty dealing with
the coronavirus pandemic. Donald Trump, Dwayne Johnson, and Ellen DeGeneres have all been
infected by this virus. In this situation, Pakistan has succeeded in reviving its economy, which is
expected to grow by nearly 4% in 2021, exceeding initial projections.‖
According to the American magazine, Pakistan was successful in converting a $19 billion current
account deficit into a $900 million surplus, as well as more than doubling the country‘s foreign
reserves from $7.2 billion to $16 billion.
https://www.globalvillagespace.com/statistics-show-pakistan-posted-historically-high-
agriculture-yields-in-fy21/
NTV: India and Pakistan Fight over Ownership of

Basmati Rice l Ntv (Video)
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ntv-video/
Snippets from UK: 600 Indians Let In without

Quarantine, Says British Media
From the focus on a new Covid variant emerging from Nepal to the basmati trademark dispute between India
and Pakistan, a roundup of what's making news today.
 LAST UPDATED:JUNE 09, 2021, 06:09 IST
 FOLLOW US ON:
SANJAY SURI
Aboatload of trouble: And now a new Indian scare story. The Mirror has reported that 600
Indians were allowed into Britain on May 13 and 14 without being quarantined. The red-listing
for India came into effect on April 23. The Mirror reported that the 600 or so were cruise ship
workers and flew into Heathrow but were not required to quarantine on the ground that they were
seafarers. The government has since then been reported to have blocked this loophole. The next
media hunt will be whether cases of the Delta (earlier ‗Indian‘) variant were brought in by these
seafarers. Of that, there is no sign yet.
Nepal’s new Covid variant: A new variant of the virus is in danger of finding another short-cut
name. K417N could end up being called the ‗Nepal variant‘. This one hasn‘t been given a name
yet after the Greek alphabet, but Nepal could be next in line for an attack in the British media if
this one were to spread as extensively as the Delta variant has, still being called the ‗Indian
variant‘ by the tabloids. A critical difference, were that to develop, is that there are far fewer
Nepalese to expend irritation upon as there are Indians. The only possible target could be the
Gurkhas in Britain‘s army, but that is unlikely to go far.
Heavy hitters bat for Ollie: The England cricketer Ollie Robinson has won the support of
Britain‘s culture secretary Oliver Dowden and then Prime Minister Boris Johnson for a reversal
of his suspension ordered by the ECB. In one tweet, Robinson had said ―my new Muslim friend
is the bomb‖, and in another that ―females who play video games actually tend to have more sex
than the girls who don‘t‖. Dowden says the remarks were ―offensive and wrong‖. But he asked
the ECB to consider that they were written ten years ago when Robinson was a teenager and that
he has since apologised for them. Later, a spokesperson for Boris Johnson said that the PM is
―supportive of Oliver Dowden‘s comments‖. Robinson is unlikely to be called back for the
second Test against New Zealand beginning Thursday.
Battle for basmati: The EU is considering a new dispute that has arisen between India and
Pakistan over basmati rice. India has claimed basmati as its trademark product under a provision
for Protected Geographical Indication, a claim that Pakistan has challenged. The EU is an
important export market for both countries. Total basmati exports from India are worth about 7
billion dollars a year; rice exports from Pakistan add up to about 2 billion dollars. The two
countries have until September to resolve the matter between themselves.
https://www.news18.com/news/world/snippets-from-uk-600-indians-let-in-without-quarantine-says-
british-media-3824261.html
Basmati rice EU trademark steams up India-Pakistan

rivalry
Caroline Kwok
0 SHARES
India and Pakistan‘s long-simmering rivalry has spilled over into a trademark dispute over basmati rice.
India has applied for protected geographical indication (PGI) status from the European Commission that
would grant it sole ownership of the basmati title in the union. Pakistan immediately opposed the
trademark application, which could jeopardise its growing rice exports to Europe. The two countries are
tasked with negotiating a resolution by September, before the EU decides on the designation. Pakistan
could appeal to the European courts, but the long review process could leave its rice industry in limbo.
https://www.scmp.com/video/asia/3136567/basmati-rice-eu-trademark-steams-india-pakistan-rivalry
Scientists identify genes to improve fertiliser nitrogen use

efficiency in rice
Every year, urea worth Rs 50,000 crore is lost from Indian farms, with rice and wheat
accounting for about two-thirds of it
By India Science Wire

Published: Tuesday 08 June 2021
Indian biotechnologists have identified candidate genes for nitrogen use efficiency
(NUE) in rice in what is a major boost to the scientific efforts for crop improvement to save
nitrogenous pollution and fertilisers worth billions. This was accomplished by Nandula
Raghuram, Supriya Kumari and Narendra Sharma from the School of Biotechnology, Guru
Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi.
Their findings have just been published in the premier international journal, Frontiers in Plant
Science. The article is titled Meta-Analysis of Yield-Related and N-Responsive Genes Reveals
Chromosomal Hotspots, Key Processes, and Candidate Genes for Nitrogen-Use Efficiency in
Rice.
The researchers analysed over 16,600 genes compiled from their own research and dozens of
others. They then systematically shortlisted ‗62 candidate genes‘. They further narrowed them
down to ‗06 high priority target genes‘ for their potential to improve NUE in rice.
―Every year, urea worth Rs 50,000 crore is lost from Indian farms, with rice and wheat
accounting for about two-thirds of it,‖ Raghuram, who led the research, said. ―This loss roughly
equals the annual government subsidy on urea. We can neither afford such waste of money, nor
the pollution it causes,‖ he said.
As the co-editor of the Indian Nitrogen Assessment (2017), he is concerned that India is
emerging as one of the global hotspots of nitrogen pollution of water and air, adversely affecting
our health and climate change. As the Chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI), he
10 | w w w . r i c e p l u s s . c o m , w w w . r i c e p l u s m a g a z i n e . b l o s g s p o t . c o m
helped the Indian government pilot the first-ever United Nations resolution on sustainable
nitrogen management in 2019.
―Half of the solution lies in biological crop improvement, while the other half can come from
improving fertiliser formulations and cropping practices. Rice is an ideal target crop for this, but
the main challenge was the lack of identified or predicted gene targets for crop improvement. We
now offer them to the scientific community to collectively fast forward crop improvement,‖
Raghuram said.
Supriya Kumari and Narendra Sharma compiled a list of 14,791 rice genes involved in nitrogen
response and 1,842 genes involved in yield, totaling 16,633 to begin with. They identified 1,064
genes common to both for further shortlisting, as NUE involves both N input and grain yield
output.
―Using a series of genetic and bioinformatic tools, we hierarchically shortlisted them to 62 genes,
most of which were located on chromosome 1 and 3,‖ Kumari said. ―Using machine learning
tools, we narrowed them down to 6 high priority target genes,‖ Sharma said.
Both Kumari and Sharma are research associates in Raghuram‘s project on ‗South Asian
Nitrogen Hub‘ funded by the UK Research and Innovation under the Global Challenges
Research Fund (GCRF-SANH), through the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh.
―NUE is controlled by too many genes and shortlisting them is very important for crop
improvement towards NUE,‖ Subramanyam Desiraju, co-principal investigator of the SANH

project from the Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad, said.
He collaborated earlier with Raghuram‘s group in the discovery of the ‗phenotype‘ for visually
differentiating low and high NUE cultivars of rice, published in January this year.
According to Indian Nitrogen Assessment, rice is important for NUE, as it consumes 37 per cent
of all N-fertilisers in India, the highest among all crops on account of its lowest NUE. Fertilisers
like urea emit ammonia, which can deposit on particulate matter and impact human health.
Urea also accounts for 77 per cent of all agricultural nitrous oxide emission to the Indian
environment. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas that is 296 times more powerful than carbon
dioxide in causing climate change. N-fertilisers also cause water pollution and algal blooms,
killing fish and affecting livelihoods.
The current publication on target genes for NUE is a part of a special collection of 22 articles
under the theme Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Sustainable Nitrogen Management in Crop Plants.
The publication of this collection put together by the International Nitrogen Initiative coincided
with its 8th triennial international nitrogen conference (INI2021) held virtually between May 30
and June 3.
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/science-technology/scientists-identify-genes-to-improve-
fertiliser-nitrogen-use-efficiency-in-rice-77349
Yuan Longping: His Rice Helped Feed The World
Yuan was a national hero and his wild rice

research represented China's dedication to
science.
By T E R E S A C A R E Y
Yuan Longping's hybrid rice helped feed the world. As a plant scientist, his wild rice discoveries
and hybrid rice inventions in the 1960s and 1970s helped alleviate food scarcity across Asia and
Africa, saving millions from starvation and malnutrition.
His rice strains are so successful that today they account for not only about half the rice varieties
grown in China but more than 60% of the overall rice yield.
Because of the agricultural revolution he prompted, Yuan was revered as a national hero and a
symbol of China's scientific excellence; now the country mourns his death. Yuan died on May
22, 2021, at 90 years old.
Feeding the world: Yuan became "the father of hybrid rice" in the early 1970s, after China
suffered from years of hunger. He and his colleagues produced hybrid strains of rice that
increased production over conventional varieties by 20%.
"Each ear of rice was as big as a broom and each grain as huge as a peanut … I could hide in the
shadow of the rice crops with a friend."
YUAN LONGPING
The high-yield hybrid rice variety allowed farmers to feed a growing population with limited
resources — curbing hunger for millions and completely changing agriculture in China.
Rice is the primary grain for more than half of the world, and China today produces more than
any other country — more than 200 million tons each year, reports The Washington Post.
How he did it: In 1970, Yuan began scouring distant parts of China for wild rice that had more
robust genetic material than the varieties then being grown. He found a patch of wild rice on
Hainan Island, the southernmost point in China.
By that time, commercial rice had been heavily inbred. Yuan demonstrated how genetic material
from wild rice could be integrated into commercial strains, resulting in significant crop yield
increases.
Yuan wasn't the only one working on hybrid rice. It was a priority topic among many plant
scientists — but with the world's poorest people perpetually on the brink of hunger, Yuan didn't
waste any time. Instead of diving deeper into more research, he focused on the practical
applications of his work — the following year, he created rice hybrid strains using wild rice from
Hainan, and immediately pushed for their widespread adoption.
Remembering Yuan: Yuan may be hailed as a hero for his breakthrough hybrid rice but would
describe himself as an "intelligent peasant." The Washington Post reports that Yuan would take a
break from his studies and spend a few hours each day in the fields to play the violin amid the
stalks.
Yuan made it his priority to help as many people as he possibly could. Along with Norman
Borlaug, hee is credited as one of the leaders of the Green Revolution, a mid-century era where
agricultural innovations helped increase the production of grains like rice and wheat,
averting widely predicted global famines caused by booming population growth.
Yuan insisted on sharing his discoveries with the rest of the world — teaching people in India,
Vietnam, and elsewhere his new techniques in growing rice and how to create high-yield hybrid
rice.
In the 1960s, when Yuan first became focused on ending hunger, he said that he dreamed of a
"super-rice," reports South China Post. "Each ear of rice was as big as a broom and each grain as
huge as a peanut ... I could hide in the shadow of the rice crops with a friend."
As "huge as a peanut" might not be large enough to describe the impact Yuan made in his
lifetime.
We'd love to hear from you! If you have a comment about this article or if you have a
tip for a future Freethink story, please email us at tips@freethink.com.
Lead Image © Guang Niu / Getty
https://www.freethink.com/articles/yuan-longping-rice
A Looming Rice Problem In Liberia

By Lennart Dodoo Last updated Jun 9, 2021
MORE THAN FORTY TWO YEARS after the April 14, 1979 rice riots brought the
William R. Tolbert government to its knees, rice Importers are launching an appeal to the current
government headed by President George Manneh Weah to permit an increment on the price of
rice due to rising cost of importation.
THE RICE IMPORTERS ASSOCIATION OF LIBERIA say the increase in price of rice is
necessary due to a worldwide increment in freight and the rapidly rising increase in fees for
services at the National Port Authority (NPA).
THE IMPORTERS FEAR that if the fees are not increased there is a likelihood that there may be
a shortage of rice on the market.
THE CALL FOR INCREASE comes just three years into the George Weah-led government‘s
reign. In February 2018 meeting with importers, President Weah secured an agreement with
importers for the price of rice to be reduced between US$2-4.
PRIOR TO THE REDUCTION, the price of 25kg bag of rice was US$16.00. Since February
2018, rice price has been US$13.00.
DURING THAT MEETING, President Weah said: ―If government-imposed tax is an issue, you
can rest assured that my government is more than ready to grant reasonable adjustments in the
tax regime to
make the reduction of rice price possible.‖
AT THE END of the negotiations, officials of the Association of Liberian Rice Importers
consented to effect a reduction of the price. The Association of Rice Importers headed by their
Chairman, John Bestman, agreed to reduce the price of the 25Kg bag of rice by US $2.00 while
the price of 50kg bag of rice will be reduced by US $4.00.
THE ONGOING ISSUE regarding the price of rice is reminiscent of the events leading to the
April 14, 1979 rice riots.
AT THE TIME, PRESIDENT TOLBERT TOLD a New York Times interview shortly
after the riots that the rice issue was merely an alibi, put forth by men ―whose principal
idea is to change our system of government‖ and leaving the regime no alternative but to
assert its authority.
THE RICE SAGA of 1979 was seen at the time as an inevitable consequence of the
policies of the Tolbert administration.
AS THE NEW YORK TIMES pointed out in ‗79, not much has changed since with much
of the power in Liberia concentrated in the office of the President, ―surrounded by too
many ministers who are more interested in the perquisites of power than the welfare of
the people.‖
THE ISSUE OF RICE, the staple food of Liberia has been a thorn in the flesh of
governments both past and president. The issue will likely remain as long as policies
continue to go against those languishing at the bottom of the economic ladder, to the
government‘s own detriment.
IN 1979, when rice was an explosive issue, rice was sold for $US22 for a 100-pound bag,
representing a major expense for a family in a country where the average wage is $80 a
month.
AT THE TIME, Agriculture Minister Florence Chenoweth argued that increasing the
price to $30 a bag would stimulate local rice farmers, who say they are losing money, to
increase production and hasten Liberian self‐sufficiency.
TODAY NOT MUCH has changed.
IN A COUNTRY, heavily reliant on the importation of rice, very little effort is being
made to push agriculture and sustainable farming as the key to the future.
INSTEAD OF AGREEING to an increase in the price of rice, the government must

revisit its policies and work toward decrease port charges for rice importers in a bid to
alleviate some of the burdens on struggling importers and local businesses.
THE LESSONS of April 1979 should serve as a deterrent for the future and government
must work toward making the business climate friendly to investors and businesses.
THIS IS THE only way the economy will remain vibrant and the only way importers will
feel comfortable and encouraged that the government is standing by them in these crucial
times when life for many is becoming harder and harder and more difficult to make a
decent living.
https://frontpageafricaonline.com/editorial/a-looming-rice-problem-in-liberia/
PHL rice imports contracted by 11.8% in January-

May–report
BYJASPER Y. ARCALAS
JUNE 9, 2021
This BusinessMirror file photo shows an assortment of commercial rice on sale at a grocery store in
Antipolo City.
THE country‘s rice imports in January to May declined by 11.8 percent to 1.026 million metric
tons from 1.163 MMT last year, latest Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) data showed.
BPI data obtained and analyzed by the BusinessMirror showed that the volume of rice imports
during the 5-month period was 137,141.602 MT lower than the previous year‘s volume.
Vietnam remained as the country‘s top import source as it accounted for 91 percent of the total
volume.
However, rice imports from Vietnam during the January-to-May period declined by 3.2 percent
to 937,309.55 MT from 968,329.885 MT recorded a year ago.
BPI data also showed that rice imports from Myanmar declined by 44.4 percent to 35,897 MT
from 64,569.105 MT.
Rice imports from Thailand expanded by 49.14 percent to 73,359.83 MT from last year‘s
49,187.98 MT.
BPI data showed that as of June 4, NAN STU Agri Traders topped the list of importers with a
total volume arrival of 57,060 MT followed by Macman Rice and Corn Trading at 55,000 MT.
Data from the attached agency of the Department of Agriculture also indicated that the volume
of rice covered by sanitary and phytosanitary clearances (SPS-ICs) sought by traders and
importers was lower compared to the previous year‘s figure. SPS-IC applications for rice during
the period covered 1.937 MMT, which was 37.8 percent lower than the 3.115 MMT recorded
last year.
Monetary Board member V. Bruce J. Tolentino told the BusinessMirror that higher domestic rice
harvests, as well as higher international rice prices may be behind the decline in imports.
Tolentino also said international rice prices have moved up ―due to deliberate efforts by both
Thailand and especially Vietnam to dominate the market for high quality and high priced
aromatic rice.‖
―Myanmar is having problems meeting its supply contracts due to domestic unrest. But the
increases have been moderated by the growing role of India in the global rice market.‖
Federation of Free Farmers Inc. National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said traders may have
reduced their rice purchases as their margins have been cut due to the hike in world market
prices.
Montemayor also said rice wholesale prices are now being influenced by domestic production,
thus making importers think twice about buying rice from abroad.
―They are really looking at the prices. If they will not earn much from the landed cost then they
will reduce [import] volume,‖ he told the BusinessMirror.
Data from the United Nations‘ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) showed that the
average quotation for Vietnam‘s 5-percent broken rice and 25-percent broken rice reached
$507.4 per MT and $484.6 per MT, respectively. The figures were 36.9 percent and 38.3 percent
higher than their respective quotations in the previous year.
Also, Thai rice quotations went up by 17 percent to $529.6 per MT (25 percent broken) and by
16.6 percent to $561.2 per MT for the 100 percent broken variety.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/06/09/phl-rice-imports-contracted-by-11-8-in-january-may-report/
Row Rice on The Rice Stuff Podcast

By Michael Klein
ARLINGTON, VA – Access to water and water use are among the most important aspects of rice
farming. It can be one of the most costly inputs, and it can also be highly controversial and political.
Water efficiency is vital for farmers‘ bottom lines, the planet, and the rice industry‘s social license to
operate. Row Rice on The Rice Stuff Podcast
Filling furrows
Dr. Steve Linscombe welcomes Dr. Jason Bond of Mississippi State University and Louisiana farmer
Jason Waller to share some of their expertise on furrow irrigation and alternate wetting and drying
(AWD) that are both a part of row rice systems.
―Jason Waller is a great example of someone who is willing to try something new if it could translate to
an advantage,‖ said Linscombe. ―To hear about an offhanded conversation that began in a Subway
sandwich shop and resulted in him running his pumps less, using less water, and now being so willing to
share his knowledge with others is pretty special.‖
As with any new system or approach to something there are concerns and a learning curve, and since a
major benefit to flood irrigation is effective weed control, researchers and farmers are putting row rice to
the test here. But even ways to study it are new.
―On our row rice research plots we just cycle water through the whole time, we don‘t catch any,‖ Bond
said. ―I don‘t know that it‘s the right way to do it, it‘s the way we‘ve chosen to start it. It feels right but
it‘s completely different from our system of even just a few years ago.‖
One thing it seems everyone can agree on is that row rice offers clear benefits, but it isn‘t the right system
for everyone.
―Row rice is a valuable tool in the toolbox, but it‘s just one tool that not everyone can use,‖ Linscombe
said. ―Whether it‘s about simple access to water or unique weed pressures on your farm, if you can‘t
utilize the technique, there‘s nothing wrong with conventional irrigation. What we set out to do on this
episode was present two really smart people who understand row rice and have them unpack some pros
and cons for us. And I think we did just that.‖
New episodes of The Rice Stuff are published on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month and can
be found on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher. All episodes and additional
information can be found on the podcast‘s dedicated website at thericestuffpodcast.com. The site includes
a ―Podcast 101‖ section on the ―About‖ page for people new to the medium and a means to reach out to
the show hosts and guests via the ―Talk to Us‖ button.
As farmers rue delay, Telangana govt blames Covid

for paddy procurement chaos
The pandemic is to be blamed, according to M Srinivas Reddy, Chairman, Civil
Supplies Corporation Ltd.
Published: 09th June 2021 09:55 AM | Last Updated: 09th June 2021 09:55 AM |
By Vivek Bhoomi
Express News Service
HYDERABAD: Veeresham, a farmer from Masanpally village in Sangareddy district, did not
imagine that this year‘s Yasangi paddy procurement at the nearest IKP centre would turn into an
effort as painstaking as achieving his yield of 63 bags of paddy.On April 25, he had lodged his
serial number at the IKP centre, hoping his load would be lifted and transported to the rice mill.
Some of those who registered after him had local political backing, and got their bags cleared in
no time, but Veeresham‘s paddy took more than a month to be lifted — that too only because he,
along with some others, managed to hire a lorry by approaching RTA officials.
―The IKP official was not ready to answer our queries over the delay in procurement and on one
instance he got so angry that he came charging at us, as if to assault us,‖ Veeresham told
Express. He hasn‘t received payment for selling his paddy yet. Similar cases were seen across
Telangana.
Delay in arrival of gunny bags, non-availability of lorries for transport, shortage of hamalis, and
millers taking excess paddy per quintal in the name of making up for wastage have culminated in
what is being seen at IKP centres across the State.
The pandemic is to be blamed, according to M Srinivas Reddy, Chairman, Civil Supplies

Corporation Ltd. ―Due to Covid scare, lorry drivers and cleaners weren‘t easily available. There
was a delay in receiving gunny bags from Kolkata, for which we had placed orders in advance.
However, we managed with second hand bags and around 6-7 crore bags available from the
previous season‘s stock,‖ Reddy said. ―Despite all these issues, we met the target for Yasangi
procurement. In all major districts, procurement is 99 per cent done,‖ he added.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2021/jun/09/as-farmers-rue-
delay-telangana-govt-blames-covid-for-paddy-procurement-chaos
Popularity runs in families

Cloned fruit flies star in 'Truman Show' study of how genes play role in social networks
Date:
June 7, 2021
Source:
Rice University
Summary:
To investigate the role genes play in the evolution of social structure, researchers created
an experiment they likened to the 1998 film 'The Truman Show.' Genetically identical
versions of 20 fruit flies were placed in 98 controlled enclosures, and video cameras
recorded their interactions. The study revealed the same clones occupied the same social
positions in each enclosure, regardless of living conditions, providing evidence that
popularity is heritable.
Share:
FULL STORY
If identical versions of 20 people lived out their lives in dozens of different worlds, would the
same people be popular in each world?
If you substitute "fruit flies" for "people" in that question, you have a fair description of a Rice
University study showing that the evolution of social structures and the positions of individuals
within those structures are based partly on genetics.
Cloned fruit flies played a starring role in the study that researchers jokingly likened to "The
Truman Show," with video cameras observing how the flies behaved in a controlled
environment.
In the study published online this week in Nature Communications, Rice bioscientists Eric Wice
and Julia Saltz measured the social interactions between individual flies in 98 genetically
identical groups. Each group contained 20 clones. The 20 differed from one another genetically,
but the same clones were included in each of the 98 groups, which lived in separate enclosures
under different environmental conditions.
Wice and Saltz found the same clones occupied the same social positions in each enclosed
"world," regardless of variation in living conditions.
"Social structure varies tremendously across the animal world, and the big question we're
interested in is 'How did this variation evolve?'" said Saltz, associate professor of biosciences at
Rice. "For evolution to occur, social structure must be heritable, and we showed that it is."
Wice, a Ph.D. student in Saltz's lab, said even though genetic variation explained just part the
variation in flies' social network positions, the heritability estimates that he and Saltz discovered
are enough to fuel evolutionary change.
"For us to know whether or not the structure of social groups and the structure of networks will
evolve over time, we have to know the genetic basis of how individuals are nested within their
social networks and we also have to know how natural selection acts on social group structure,"
Wice said. "We studied both of those things simultaneously in this experiment, which hadn't
been done before."
Wice said previous research had shown that the structure of social networks can evolve by
natural selection, but few genetic components of social network structure had been described.
"We kind of integrated those things simultaneously to see how the structure of social groups will
evolve and how it could potentially respond to selection," Wice said.
Wice said the study found the amount of variation in social position that was explained by
genetics "was on the order of like 2.4% to 16.6%." And given that virtually all living creatures
exhibit some form of social organization, the researchers' findings could apply to species as
varied as humans and bacteria, Wice said.
Some studies have explored whether human popularity might also be partly explained by
genetics, Saltz said. But she added it is essentially impossible to design an empirical test.
"The best way to do that would be to get identical twins, and 'Truman Show' them," she said,
referring to the 1998 film in which the title character unwittingly lives in a controlled
environment as part of a reality TV show. "You'd put one twin in one Truman Show bubble and
the other twin in the other Truman Show bubble, and then see if they end up having the same
identical-twin friends."
In essence, that describes the experiment she and Wice conducted with the flies.
"Any two genotypes in our sample are as closely related genetically as two randomly chosen
people," Wice said. "But we can essentially make photocopies of each one of the flies and test,
basically, the identical twins over and over."
And because Wice gathered data on social interactions by videotaping flies in each enclosure,
running the experiment was a lot like producing 98 simultaneous Truman Shows, but "with 20
Trumans in each show," Wice said.
Positions within social networks were measured in five ways based on thousands of interactions
between flies that were tallied and cataloged by computer software that "watched" dozens of
hours of video of the 98 groups. Though the word "popularity" doesn't appear in the paper, Saltz
said it's apt because some of the key parameters measured were equivalent to "how many friends
you have and whether your friends are friends with each other or not."
Remarkably, Wice and Saltz found that social position within networks remained the same, even
when they varied the environment by changing the quality of food in the enclosures. In some,
food contained more protein and in others more carbohydrates. In other instances, flies had fewer
available calories. In all, there were five types of food, and roughly 20 groups of flies living on
each type.
"Our findings show that we expect social structure to evolve differently in different nutritional
environments," Wice said. "That's significant, but further research is needed to determine what
kind of changes arise from nutritional differences."
Ultimately, Wice and Saltz would like to know more about the ways that nutrition, aggressive
behavior and other factors influence the evolution of social structure.
"What creates social structure?" Saltz said. "Group structures are inherently emergent properties
of many different individuals, and there must be some underlying principles that shape the
evolution of those structures."
The fact that an individual's position within a social network is dependent on the behavior of
other individuals complicates that study of evolutionary social structure, Wice said, noting that
some of the tools used in their analysis did not exist when Wice began Ph.D. studies five years
ago.
"It's not independent data, and that violates a lot of statistical tests and assumptions," Wice said.
"The tools are improving all the time, and it wouldn't surprise me if new tools came out in the
next five years that will allow us and learn even more from the data we're collecting today."
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (1856577), a Rosemary Grant
from the Society for the Study of Evolution and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Rice University. Original written by Jade Boyd. Note: Content may be
edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
1. Eric Wesley Wice, Julia Barbara Saltz. Selection on heritable social network positions is
context-dependent in Drosophila melanogaster. Nature Communications, 2021; 12 (1)
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23672-1
Cite This Page:
 MLA
 APA
 Chicago
Rice University. "Popularity runs in families: Cloned fruit flies star in 'Truman Show' study of
how genes play role in social networks." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 June 2021.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210607095739.htm>.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210607095739.htm
Crop Dusted: While America Slept, China Stole the

Farm
In 2020, the FBI acknowledged a new China-related counterintelligence case opens every 10 hours; over half of all active FBI
counterintelligence cases involve China; and across the last 10 years, economic espionage with links to China jumped by almost
1,300 percent.(DOD)
By CHRIS BENNETT June 8, 2021
American farmers are asleep as a thief strips machinery, barn, bins, and fields of all valuables—
and then returns for more. China has breached the inner walls of the U.S. agriculture industry in
what has arguably been the most expansive heist in farming history, and is currently attempting
to steal or hack every conceivable facet of U.S. agriculture technology.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) openly has declared its intent to dominate high-tech
industries across the world, including agriculture, by 2025. Undergirding its technological
superiority effort, China has unabashed plans for a solo climb to the top rung of the global power
ladder by 2049—international dominion. In order to fuel its ascendance, the CCP is engaged in
widespread theft, cyber-hacking, and espionage, with the U.S. as the honey hole of illicit gain.
A 2017 report by the U.S. Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property speaks
volumes, and estimates a cost of $255 billion to $600 billion to the U.S. economy each year, and
fingers China as the ―principle IP infringer.‖ In 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
acknowledged multiple espionage benchmarks: a new China-related counterintelligence case
opens every 10 hours; over half of all active FBI counterintelligence cases involve China; and
across the last 10 years, economic espionage with links to China jumped by almost 1,300
percent.
Over the past decade, China has appropriated trillions of dollars in sophisticated U.S.
technology, with a keen interest in the latest advances in the agriculture industry. In 2013 and
2015, Chinese nationals were nabbed in flagrante delicto by federal authorities, attempting to
transport pilfered corn and rice seed to China. However, as the arrests and prosecutions made
national headlines, the hard evidence remained ignored. Based on a cursory examination of the
CCP‘s espionage footprint, the seed thefts are merely emblematic and represent the tip of the
iceberg: Beijing is looting the American farm.
“Happening Right Now”

* In 2011, when Mo Hailong, the U.S. director of international business for Beijing Dabeinong
Technology Group, was spotted crawling through Iowa corn rows in two separate incidents,
pocketing Pioneer and Monsanto seed corn, the curiosity spurred a multi-year FBI investigation,
and revealed Hailong was mailing high-value seed to a relative in China.
Corn and rice theft cases grabbed headlines, but their significance is suggestive of what lies
beneath. (Photo by Chris Bennett)
Hailong and several Chinese cohorts were arrested in 2013, attempting to board a plane for
China, and their luggage contained the purloined proof of old-school crime. Hidden beneath a
façade of microwave popcorn bags and Subway napkins, authorities found hundreds of seed
samples.
Hailong received 36 months in prison. (At least five years prior to the arrests, documents
revealed high-quality praise from China regarding Hailong‘s stolen seeds, suggesting the total
haul was massive.)
* Weiqiang Zhang studied biotech crop production at Kansas State University, obtained a
doctoral degree in rice genetics at Louisiana State University, and gained employment at Ventria
(Kansas-based private biopharmaceutical corporation using GMO rice in production of
recombinant proteins) as a seed breeder.
Zhang gained access to a climate-controlled seed room and stole samples representing $75
million in research. He then used USDA letterhead to send counterfeit letters to six crop research
colleagues in China, inviting them on a tour of Ventria and several more U.S. agriculture stops.
The delegation brazenly showed in 2013 and made the rounds (including Dale Bumpers National
Rice Research Center in Stuttgart, Ark., where Zhang‘s main accomplice, Wengui Yan, worked
as a research geneticist), but were seized by U.S. Customs agents during a routine luggage
inspection that found hundreds of seeds, including corn, rice, soybeans, and wheat. Zhang was
sentenced to roughly 10 years in prison.
―It is the CCP‘s goal to steal, glean, obtain, transcribe, and photograph anything of value from
the U.S., and the agriculture sector is right at the top,‖ says retired Col. John Mills. (Photo by
Chris Bennett)
* In 2008, Haitao Xiang began working for Monsanto as an imaging scientist at The Climate
Corporation. A key digital part of The Climate Corporation‘s big data platform was a proprietary
algorithm tagged the Nutrient Optimizer. Xiang was nabbed (with a one-way ticket to China) at
the airport, allegedly with a micro SD card copy of the algorithm in 2017.
The corn, rice, and algorithm cases grabbed headlines, but their significance is suggestive of
what lies beneath, i.e., they showcased a fraction of theft incidents. ―It‘s fair to label these cases
as tip of the iceberg or tip of the dinner fork,‖ says Col. (Ret.) John Mills, a national security
professional and former Director of Cybersecurity Policy, Strategy, and International Affairs at
the Department of Defense. ―I mean they are a drop in the bucket. For so long, U.S.
counterintelligence has been focused on Russia, yet China presents a threat many orders of
magnitude greater. China is intent on cataloguing seed and DNA on a vast scale, and they‘ve
spent at least 10 years vacuuming up every piece of tech from every sector in the U.S. You can
be absolutely certain: Agriculture is right up there at the top and this is happening right now.‖
Playing for Keeps
With 1.4 billion mainland citizens at the supper table, China is desperate for more farmland.
Although Chinese President Xi Jinping rarely wastes a speech opportunity without mentioning
food security, China is the No. 1 ag commodity importer worldwide. (Significantly, soybeans
rate as the No. 2 import annually, bookended by commercial aircraft and automobiles.)
President Xi Jinping and the CCP face a simple calculus: Any move on the world‘s top perch
requires top-drawer agricultural production technology, and if it can‘t be bought or developed—
it can be stolen. (Photo by DOD)
China‘s agriculture minister recently announced the country will expand its farmland, explains
journalist and documentary filmmaker Lance Crayon, adding that ―China‘s plan is to have
farmland the size
of
Ireland by the end of 2021, and because the goal was announced, it will be achieved.‖
However, revamping 16.5 million acres into farmland in 2021 (indeed, roughly equivalent in size
to the Republic of Ireland), pales in comparison to the overall plan. A decade back, the CCP
announced a new farmland projection for 132 million acres in roughly 10 years. Turning acreage
outsizing the entire state of California into ―high standard farmland‖ is plain testament to China‘s
intention to achieve unprecedented levels of food security.
Further, in 2017, ChemChina dropped $46 billion on Syngenta, gaining access to transgenic
seeds and crop protection products. The acquisition represents a single plank in China‘s platform
to keep its base fed as it pursues an all-costs drive toward the acquisition of ag technology.
Far beyond ensuring grain and meat for the most populous nation in world history, the CCP pegs
a reliable food supply as a vital component of its move toward the No. 1 global power spot.
China is playing for keeps: In 2013, Xi kicked off the Belt and Road Intiative (BRI), an
infrastructure project that aims to give China unparalleled access to global trade by 2049—the
100-year anniversary of the People‘s Republic of China.
Complementing BRI, Made in China 2025 looms as another alarming CCP program. Announced
in 2015, the 10-year initiative projects domination of 10 high-tech sectors by 2025—including
information technology, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, electric vehicles, aerospace
engineering, advanced electronics, biomedicine, high-speed rail, maritime engineering—
and agricultural technology.
The CCP adheres to a Military-Civil Fusion program: All private sector innovation must be
transferred to the military. (Photo by DOD)
Additionally, Xi plans to modernize China‘s armed forces by 2035—on pace to rival the U.S. in
the Indo-Pacific. (Chinese military spending reached $252 billion in 2020, outpacing the military
expenditure of any nation except the U.S.) Significantly, Xi has an entire army command
dedicated to cyber warfare, the Strategic Support Force, part of his military reform effort. Xi also
included a Military-Civil Fusion program written into China‘s constitution: Any private sector
innovation must be transferred to the military. (Expressed in the People‘s Liberation Army
Daily, civil-military industrial espionage in countries such as the U.S. is euphemistically
described as ―picking flowers in foreign lands to make honey in China.‖)
Xi and the CCP face a simple calculus: Any move on the international catbird seat requires top-
drawer agricultural production technology, and if it can‘t be bought or developed—it can
be stolen.
Softest Target
China‘s ruling authority consists of 90 million CCP members. They remain committed to a
sworn oath of allegiance, promising to ―carry out the Party's decisions, strictly observe Party
discipline, guard Party secrets, be loyal to the Party, work hard, fight for communism throughout
my life, be ready at all times to sacrifice my all for the Party and the people, and never betray the
Party.‖
Far
beyond ensuring grain and meat for the most populous nation in world history, the CCP pegs a
reliable food supply as a vital component of its move toward the No. 1 global power spot. (Photo
by VOA)
According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, "The Chinese intelligence services strategically
use every tool at their disposal, including state-owned businesses, students, researchers and
ostensibly private companies, to systematically steal information and intellectual property.‖
A third of all international students in the U.S. are from China, roughly 360,000 Chinese
nationals, who pay upwards of three times normal tuition rates, representing at least a $14 billion
influx for American universities and local economies.
In 2019, Joe Augustyn, a 28-year veteran of the CIA, said, "We know without a doubt that
anytime a graduate student from China comes to the US, they are briefed when they go, and
briefed when they come back.‖
―They don't just come here to spy ... they come here to study and a lot of it is
legitimate," Augustyn said. "But there is no question in my mind, depending on where they are
and what they are doing, that they have a role to play for their government."
―China is a net food importer and that is a strategic vulnerability of the CCP,‖ says Col. John
Mills. (USDA photo by Bob Nichols)
Considering 360,000 Chinese nationals enrolled in U.S. universities (many of those land grant
universities with heavy agriculture research concentrations), if the CCP taps merely 1% of its
student exports as direct intelligence sources—the math translates to 3,600 information sources
on U.S. soil. And if the CCP taps far greater numbers of students in U.S. universities, as many
analysts believe, the level of CCP surveillance jumps exponentially.
John Mills estimates a high percentage of China‘s foreign students in the U.S. funnel information
to the CCP. ―It‘s my opinion that many are either working for the Ministry of State Security
(China‘s CIA-FBI hybrid organization), and 100% are fully aware of their obligation to the CCP.
That is the price to be here. Part of their presence here, granted with CCP permission, is a
promise, often a quid pro quo, to assist the CCP in getting whatever is needed.‖
―The FBI woke up to this threat far too late, and now we are in very deep,‖ Mills continues. ―It is
the CCP‘s goal to steal, glean, obtain, transcribe, and photograph anything of value from the
U.S., and the agriculture sector is right at the top. China is a net food importer and that is a
strategic vulnerability of the CCP.‖
From 2008 to 2016, CCP talent-recruitment programs bagged 60,000 foreign professionals. A
significant portion of the 60,000 likely worked in an agriculture-related industry. (Photo by
DOD)
U.S. agricultural technology, Mills stresses, is directly in CCP crosshairs. ―China is a net
importer of food. They cannot feed their population without American farmers. The spike in
bacon prices over the last few years is related to China‘s demand for pork and is an exemplar of
the strategic food situation. Ag is absolutely one of the CCP‘s top targets of intelligence
collection, and unfortunately for American farmers, ag is one of the softest targets through the
theft of intellectual property, privileged company research, or the physical theft of seeds. Rest
assured, even if China can‘t produce a crop with the stolen info, they are passing it to other
breadbasket nations that are kindred, or at least beholden, to assist in growing food.‖
Unsettling Implications
The CCP‘s reach into U.S. academic and research institutions extends beyond tapping students
for intelligence gathering. Generally, the CCP uses a two-pronged approach to gain university
access: Confucius Institutes and Chinese Students and Scholars Associations
(CSSAs). Confucius Institutes operate at roughly 50 U.S. universities as ideological marketing
machines. They are funded through partnership agreements between the CCP and U.S.
universities (instructors are CCP-selected), and presented as education centers, yet are
consistently tied to CCP espionage and surveillance. ―They are nests of influence,
reconnaissance,‖ said Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.) (Over 75 universities have closed their
Confucius Institutes.)
Roughly 140 Chinese Students and Scholars Associations (CSSAs) function in the U.S.,
ostensibly to provide cultural support to students, yet most CSSAs are directly overseen by
Chinese embassy personnel. Despite the significance of Confucius Institutes and CSAs, the
deeper threat comes from CCP-tapped researchers within the academic and corporate sphere.
During his testimony before a Senate committee, Michael Lauer, deputy director of extramural
research at the National Institutes for Health (NIH), admitted the agency has found 500
―scientists of concern‖ at federally funded institutions. Further, as of April 2021, NIH has
contacted ―more than 90 awardee institutions‖ regarding specific issues with 200 scientists.
Lisa Aguirre, acting director of HHS‘s Office of National Security, also testified before the
committee, echoing Lauer‘s concerns: ―…nontraditional collectors can include foreign
researchers who have been recruited by foreign talent recruitment programs, cyber hackers, and
foreign students who have been co-opted or coerced into spying for foreign governments and
their intelligence services.‖
The Treasure Trove

The CCP relies on multiple recruitment programs designed to glean foreign technology. At the
top of their technology recruiting effort is the Thousand Talents Plan, utilized over the past 20
years to steal tech and data from research laboratories of all stripes. In 2019, a bipartisan
congressional report offered a scathing review of the program.
With 1.4 billion mainland citizens at the supper table, President Xi Jinping is desperate for more
farmland. (Photo by DOD)
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), offered sobering remarks and a damning conclusion: ―China uses
more than 200 talent recruitment programs to lure foreign-trained scientists, researchers, and
entrepreneurs into providing China with technical know-how, expertise, and foreign
technology…Our investigation focused on China‘s most prominent program called the Thousand
Talents Plan. Launched in 2008, China designed the Thousand Talents Plan to recruit 2,000
high-quality overseas experts. By 2017, China dramatically exceeds its recruitment goal,
recruiting more than 7,000 ‗high-end professionals.‘‖
―…Thousand Talents Plan members typically receive a salary and funding for their research
from Chinese institutions, such as Chinese universities or research institutions. In exchange for
the salary and research funding, which sometimes include what‘s called a shadow lab in China,
members sign legally binding contracts with the Chinese institutions that typically contain
provisions that prevent the members from disclosing their participation in the program. This
requirement, of course, runs counter to U.S. regulations that require grant recipients to disclose
foreign funding sources. In effect, it incentivizes program members to lie on grant applications
to U.S. grant-making agencies and to avoid disclosing their funding from Chinese institutions.
China now wants to keep this quiet.‖
Portman‘s assessment was clear: The ―talent recruitment programs‖ are a double-header win for
the CCP. First, the research bill is footed by U.S. taxpayers. Second, the CCP funnels the
research directly into its own economy and military.
Soybeans rate as China‘s No. 2 import annually, bookended by commercial aircraft and
automobiles. (Photo by Chris Bennett)
Case in point. After Texas A&M University (land-grant) began pulling back the curtain,
attempting to find out how many professors and researchers were involved with Chinese
recruitment, the answer was jarring. From the Wall Street Journal, Jan. 30, 2020: ―When
officials at the Texas A&M University System sought to determine how much Chinese
government funding its faculty members were receiving, they were astounded at the results—
more than 100 were involved with a Chinese talent-recruitment program, even though only five
had disclosed their participation. A plant pathologist at the Texas system, where the median
annual salary for such scientists employed by the state is around $130,000, told officials that the
researcher had been offered $250,000 in compensation and more than $1 million in seed money
to start a lab in China through one of the talent programs.‖
(For a partial list of recent Chinese espionage incidents targeting the U.S., see CSIS. Note, the
list does not include over 1,200 instances of IP litigation by U.S. companies against Chinese
entities.)
According to the FBI, China has earmarked 15% of total domestic gross product (2008-2020) on
boosting human resources, equating to almost $2 trillion. Of its own accord, China trumpets a
shocking statistic: From 2008 to 2016, CCP talent-recruitment programs bagged 60,000 foreign
professionals. The complete picture of the talent haul remains a blur, but a reasonable
assumption is possible: A significant portion of the 60,000 worked in an agriculture-related
industry.
“Believe Them”
In April 2021, propelled by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the Agricultural Intelligence Measures
(AIM) Act was introduced, intended to create an intelligence office within USDA. ―The Chinese
Communist Party wants to undermine vital American industries through sabotage and
intellectual property theft—U.S. agriculture is no exception,‖ Cotton said. ―Our bill will help
safeguard the food and technology that our country depends on for its prosperity and freedom.‖
However, the AIM legislation arrives late in the game. The CCP, for at least the past 20 years,
seemingly has treated U.S. agriculture as a veritable grocery store, shoplifting food staple
technology with almost no penalty.
Similarly, the Endless Frontier Act (now tagged the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act),
introduced by senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), seeks to bolster and
safeguard U.S. technology by pumping in funds to research institutions, but at over 1,500 pages
of text and at least $200 billion in spending, it includes a train of unrelated projects.
Beyond questions over spending, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), contends the act is misguided and
may present China with more opportunity for theft: ―But imagine if you‘re trying to say, ‗Ok so
America is now going to spend $150 billion on research through universities that we (China)
already have our claws in. That‘s great. We‘ll just steal it. Go ahead and spend your money, and
we‘ll steal your research. We get it for free,‘‖ Rubio said. ―It‘s crazy.‖
U.S. agricultural technology remains directly in CCP crosshairs. (Photo by DOD)
As Crayon sees the CCP-related horizon theft, ―The only solution that makes sense, if you
wanted to protect U.S. advanced technology, would be to implement the same immigration and
visa restrictions as China. If the U.S. doesn‘t hurry up and level the playing field, the American
farmer will continue to suffer at the expense of an ambitious China.‖
―Has U.S. agriculture been asleep? I‘d say most all U.S. industries have been asleep, certainly
including agriculture,‖ Mills adds. ―The CCP gave us a blueprint and announced they were going
to take over certain high-tech industries, and agriculture was right there on the list. They literally
told the world what they were going to do. If a gang of thieves tells you they are going to steal
your farm, you should believe them.‖
https://www.agweb.com/news/business/technology/crop-dusted-while-america-slept-china-stole-farm
Liberia: Importers Want Increment in Price of Rice

Due to Rise Cost of Importation
By Lennart Dodoo Last updated Jun 8, 2021
MONROVIA – The Rice Importers Association have appealed to the Government of

Liberia to permit an increment on the price of rice due to rising cost of importation.
According to the Association, there is a worldwide increment in freight while at the same
time fees for services at the National Port Authority (NPA) have also gone up.
They expressed fears that there may be shortage of rice on the market if there is no
increment in the price.
The importers said their attention has also been drawn to the recent increment of fees of
vessel and warehouse operation by the Association of Liberia Stacking Companies.
FrontPageAfrica Association, since their last agreement with importers in 2016, they
have not imposed any increment, but there is now the need for additional charges.
In February 2018, President George Weah called a meeting with rice importers in the
country where they agreed to reduce the price of rice by US$2-4.
Prior to the reduction, the price of 25kg bag of rice was US$16.00. Since February 2018,
rice price has been US$13.00.
During the meeting, President Weah said, ―If government-imposed tax is an issue, you
can rest assured that my government is more than ready to grant reasonable adjustments
in the tax regime to make the reduction of rice price possible.‖
During that meeting with rice importers, President Weah reiterated his determination to
ensure that something was immediately done to reduce the price of the rice and make it
affordable and available to average Liberians.
At the end of the negotiations, officials of the Association of Liberian Rice Importers
consented to effect a reduction of the price. The Association of Rice Importers headed by
their Chairman, John Bestman, agreed to reduce the price of the 25Kg bag of rice by US
$2.00 while the price of 50kg bag of rice will be reduced by US $4.00 with immediate
effect.
However, according to the importers, two years after the reduction cost of importation
has gone up and it making it difficult for them to cope with the current challenges.
They appealed with the government to see the need for the increment taking into
consideration that rice is a political commodity and Liberia‘s staple food.
https://frontpageafricaonline.com/business/liberia-importers-want-increment-in-price-of-rice-due-to-rise-
cost-of-importation/
PARC distributed rice transplanters among

farmers in Narowal
By
News desk
June 8, 2021
Observer Report
Islamabad
To modernize agriculture and enhance the per acre yield of rice crop in Pakistan, PARC is not only
introducing the newly developed rice transplanters but also distributing and training the local farmers
for mechanized rice farming.
In this regard ―Rice Transplanters distribution‖ ceremony under PSDP project ―Productivity
Enhancement of Rice‖ held in Gujranwala.
The Minister for Agriculture Punjab Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi; Secretary Agriculture Govt of
Punjab, Dr. Asad Rehman Gilani; Chairman PARC Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan; Director General
Agri. Ext. Punjab, Dr. Muhammad Anjum Ali Buttar; CEO of Meskey & Femettee Trading
Corporation, Mr. Shahid Tawawala; MPAs and MNAs, farmers and other officials attended the
ceremony. Meanwhile, Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan along with Dr. Muhammad Anjum Ali Buttar
also organized Farm level training of farmers for mechanized rice farming in Kot Naina, Narowal.
Chairman PARC says, ―Although mechanical transplanter‘s initial cost is high but it requires less
time and labour than manual transplanting, also ensures uniform spacing and timely planting.
https://pakobserver.net/parc-distributed-rice-transplanters-among-farmers-in-narowal/
Rice import target still on uncertainty

Indian variant of corona hits import
Golam Mostafa Jibon: Uncertainty to meet the target of rice import from abroad has been
created again due to recent military coup in Myanmar and sudden rising of incidences from
coronavirus‘s new variant in India that leads to complexities in some rules.
Spread of Indian variant of coronavirus across the border has grown the uncertainty massively.
According to the sources, the government last year decided to import rice
to increase stocks amid fears that the market could be destabilized by the
corona pandemic.
Though, several months have already passed since the deal, about half of
the contracted rice has not yet been come from abroad. None can say
surely, when the rest (See Page-2)
(From Page-1)
of the rice will come or not.
At present, the government has a stock of around 6 lakh tons of rice, which
is not enough for this pandemic and natural disaster period.
As the price of rice in the market continued to rise abnormally last year, experts suggested
increasing the stock of rice through official imports. Then, the government took initiative to
import 3 lakh tons of rice. But later, as market prices and the government‘s stock situation had
started to worsening, plans were taken to procure a total of 13 lakh tons of rice in several phases.
Of them, work order was given for 10.5 lakh tons of rice. Till last month, around 5.69 lakh tons
of rice arrived in the country. Of the work order given 10.5 lakh tons of rice, some 9 lakh tons
were contracted with India. Of this, 4.98 lakh tons of rice has reached to the country. Only
20,615 tons out of total 1 lakh tons has come from Myanmar. Around 50,000 tons of rice has
come from Vietnam, which is around cent percent according to the contract.
Replying to a query, Food Secretary Moshammat Nazmanara Khanum said, ―Agreements has
been executed with three countries. There was no problem in getting rice from Vietnam. We
have got 100 percent of the contracted rice. But the problem has ensued over the rice import
from India and Myanmar.
India has supplied most of the rice as per deal. We are still getting rice. But, problem has
intensified over coming and going that causing somewhat disruption due to corona related
restrictions.
The big problem is here that carrying rice from Kalkata through big ships is being disrupted
dastrically due to navigability crisis in the river route.
India claimed that, due to lack of navigability in Kalkata port, large ships can‘t anchor. So, they
are sending a maximum of 5,000 tons of rice in small ships. This is cause of delay.
Due to problems in transporting rice from India, the government decided to import rice by train
for the first time this month. The rice will enter Bangladesh by train from Kalkata and
Chhattrisgarh via Benapole and Darshana. This will be the first shipment of rice by train. In the
last few months, the government has approved various proposals to import rice from India in
several phases due to various complications of rice import. Even then, the rice is coming slowly.
Uncertainty is not removing. Meanwhile, there are fears about whether the full agreement will be
available in the country.
Muhammad Mahbubur Rahman, Senior Assistant Secretary (foreign procurement) at the Food
Ministry said, ―Various countries are trying to collect rice from India due to the food crisis
during pandemic. It has increased the price of rice in India.‖
―As a result, those who had earlier agreed to give us rice, are no longer able to give us rice at that
price. Those, who had previous stocks, are giving. But, the demand of rice has increased in the
Indian market in which the country is showing disinterest to give us rice as per the deal. In
addition, ship fares and other transport costs have risen sharply in India. All in all, it has become
uncertain to get full of the contracted rice from India,‖ he added.
On the other hand, Myanmar‘s military government is not cooperating much.
He further said that, ―There is not much need for imported rice now. Even, if we don‘t get rice
from abroad now, there will be no problem. We will be able to collect enough rice from the
borough.‖
Meanwhile, the Food Ministry has set a target of collecting 6.5 lakh tons of paddy from farmers
and 10 lakh tons from millers during the Boro season. But, there is a doubt about how much rice
collection is possible. This is because, the government has not been able to procure rice
according to the necessity since corona epidemic last year, even though the distribution has
increased under various projects including social security fences.
In the last Aman season, even 10 percent of the target of procuring paddy and rice from the
farmers was not met.
The government could not buy rice even in the Boro season as the price of rice was high in the
market. Therefore, there is a risk of disaster this year in rice collection like last year.
Experts said, the government has less rice stocks than the past decade, while it has practically
failed to import at this time. The country plans to procure more rice from the market. Its negative
impact could fall on the market.
M Asaduzzaman, former Research Director of Bangladesh Development Research Institute
(BIDS) said, ―The best solution to reduce rice prices was to import rice from abroad by the
government. But, the government could not do that. Now, it plans to procure more and more rice
from internal resources to increase stocks. But the big question is to what extent it will be
possible to implement the plan.‖
Agriculturist Professor Mohammad Jahangir Alam Khan said, ―The government could not
control the market as there was no stock of rice in the warehouses in the last two seasons. The
situation has not improved yet. The syndicate will remain active during the Boro season as well.
They want the government to be ineffective. Let the price of rice go up. Because of various
private traders are involved to collect rice from abroad. They will never want to incur losses.
https://dailyindustry.news/rice-import-target-still-on-uncertainty/
Kingdom helps in DSR rice project

Thou Vireak | Publication date 08 June 2021 | 09:37 ICT
The project aims to promote the adoption of DSR for a transition towards an efficient, profitable and
environmentally-friendly rice production system in beneficiary countries. Heng Chivoan
Cambodia will assist in carrying out a new international training programme on the direct-seeded
rice (DSR) method of cultivation and resource conservation practices, in hopes for an
agricultural development boost in the Kingdom.
The ―Building Capacity in Promoting Economically and Environmentally Efficient Rice

Production through Direct-seeded Rice‖ project was launched on June 4 at a virtual workshop
organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Regional Office for Asia and the
Pacific.
Among those present at the workshop were actors from Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines
involved in project implementation, as well as representatives of the FAO in Cambodia and
Myanmar, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the University of Agriculture of
Southern China.
Cambodia will act as a project implementation unit.
General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) head Ngin Chhay, who attended the workshop, said
the FAO is one of Cambodia‘s many development partners, providing technical support for
agricultural development in the Kingdom.
He noted that the FAO frequently initiates and supports regional projects and provides
opportunities for Cambodia to participate in them.
―Through this project, I strongly hope that all project implementation units will work more
closely with the FAO and other key partners, including the IRRI and the University of
Agriculture of South China, to achieve the project objectives set,‖ Chhay said.
Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) president Song Saran welcomed and supported the Kingdom‘s
participation in the ―new project of the government‖, committing to do his share to improve rice
production and ensure the quality needed to meet export standards.
He vowed that the CRF, ―on behalf of the private sector‖, will work with producers to build a
cooperative partnership.
FAO Cambodia head of operations Antonio Schiavone told The Post on June 7 that the project is
to strengthen the capacity of government entities, extension service providers and farmers to
provide an enabling environment, good practices and cooperative mechanisation services.
This, he said, will promote the adoption of DSR for a transition towards an efficient, profitable
and environmentally-friendly rice production system in beneficiary countries.
―Rice cultivation in many countries in this region increasingly relies on the use of DSR. For
example, approximately 90 per cent of rice is direct-seeded via broadcasting. However, there are
some challenges and rooms to be improved for better efficiency and higher profitability.
―The project will work closely with GDA, IRRI and private sectors in Cambodia to develop
enabling policy through baseline analysis and consultation with different stakeholders; to
conduct field demonstration and pilots on mechanised direct-seeded rice through cooperative
mechanisation service provision; and to develop good practices and standard operation
procedures of DSR to improve efficiency and profitability, and raise awareness through
workshops and field exhibitions,‖ he said.
The project commenced in October and is anticipated to terminate in February 2023, he added.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/kingdom-helps-dsr-rice-project
Tighter watch on rice imports sought

June 8, 2021 | 12:34 am
PHILIPPINE STAR/ EDD GUMBAN

FINANCE SECRETARY Carlos G. Dominguez III ordered the Bureau to Customs (BoC) to
keep a closer watch on rice imports after the government temporarily reduced tariff rates.
In a statement on Monday, Mr. Dominguez said the country may experience a surge in imports
from other countries that benefited from the temporary uniform rate of 35% in an attempt to
avoid higher tax rates.
As rice prices from countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
region have been increasing, Mr. Dominguez said there may be a shift to rice imports from other
countries, such as India.
―I think there will be a shift in the imports of Thai and Vietnamese rice, and Burmese (Myanmar)
rice, to rice from other countries where the value is much lower. Just keep an eye on that,‖ Mr.
Dominguez told Customs chief Rey Leonard B. Guerrero.
Mr. Guerrero said that the BoC is looking at the discrepancy seen in some rice imports from
Vietnam where the bulk of shipments were declared at values lower than prevailing market
prices.
―We discovered that many of these importations are under a tentative assessment so we are
reviewing the payments,‖ he said.
In May, the average value of rice imports, mostly from Vietnam, fell by 12.7% to P19,312 per
metric ton (MT) versus P22,119 per MT in the same month last year, Mr. Guerrero noted. This
was also lower than the P21,066 per MT average recorded in April and P22,119 per MT in
March.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte issued Executive Order No. 135 on May 15, cutting the most-
favored nation tariff rates for rice to 35% from 40% for in-quota and 50% for out-quota volumes
for a year. The move is aimed to boost local rice supply and tame rising inflation.
The BoC collected P5.67 billion in rice tariffs from January to April, higher by 3.7% than the
P5.46 billion it generated in the same period last year.
Customs‘ revenues from rice imports increased even as the volume of shipments shrank by 9.2%
to 804,360 MT. Mr. Guerrero attributed this to the bureau‘s better valuation, with the average
value of rice imports rising 14% to P21,096 in the first four months of the year versus a year
ago‘s P18,508 per MT.
To recall, the BoC in September 2020 revealed that the government lost P1.42 billion in
revenues due to under declaration by several importers to evade tariffs.
For Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor, the BoC has been
very slow in plugging the loopholes in their valuation and classification of rice imports.
Mr. Montemayor said the bureau has not yet posted the reference rates for rice shipments from
China, and some from India, Pakistan, and Myanmar.
―Without reference prices, they will not be able to determine which shipments are undervalued
or not. I do not see why DoF has to issue a special reminder to BoC just because the tariff rates
have been set to a uniform rate,‖ he said in a Viber message on Monday.
―In fact, this should make the job of BoC simpler. And the risk of undervaluation and
misclassification will still exist whether the tariff rates are changed or remain the same,‖ he
added.
The FFF earlier criticized the government‘s move to lower the tariff rates for the staple, citing
the policy‘s lack of basis and ample rice supply in the local market.
―We believe that this will not result in lower prices for consumers, since importers will just
pocket the savings in tariffs. At the same time, (this) could threaten to dampen palay prices much
to the detriment of rice farmers,‖ Mr. Montemayor said. — Beatrice M. Laforga
https://www.bworldonline.com/tighter-watch-on-rice-imports-sought/
What is happening with the US investigation into

COVID-19’s origins?
CORONAVIRUS
by: The Associated Press, Nexstar Media Wire
Posted: Jun 9, 2021 / 04:43 AM PDT / Updated: Jun 9, 2021 / 04:43 AM PDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Once dismissed by most public health experts and government
officials, the hypothesis that COVID-19 leaked accidentally from a Chinese lab is now receiving
scrutiny under a new U.S. investigation.
Experts say the 90-day review ordered on May 26 by President Joe Biden will push American
intelligence agencies to collect more information and review what they already have. Former
State Department officials under President Donald Trump have publicly pushed for further
investigation into virus origins, as have scientists and the World Health Organization.
Many scientists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, say they still believe the virus most likely
occurred in nature and jumped from animals to humans. Virus researchers have not publicly
identified any key new scientific evidence that might make the lab-leak hypothesis more likely.
Virologists also say it is unlikely that any definitive answer about virus origins will be possible
in 90 days. The work to fully confirm origins and pathways of past viruses — such as the first
SARS or HIV/AIDS — has taken years or decades.
A look at what is known about the U.S. investigation of the virus.
WHAT ARE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES REVIEWING?
Biden ordered a review of what the White House said was an initial finding leading to ―two
likely scenarios,‖ an animal-to-human transmission or a lab leak. The White House statement
says two agencies in the 18-member intelligence community lean toward the hypothesis of a
transmission in nature; another agency leans toward a lab leak.
One document drawing new attention is a State Department fact sheet published in the last days
of Trump‘s administration. The memo notes that the U.S. believes three researchers at a Wuhan,
China, lab sought medical treatment for a respiratory illness in November 2019. However, the
report is not conclusive: The origin and severity of the staffers‘ illness is not known — and most
people in China regularly go to hospitals, not primary-care physicians, for routine care.
The memo also pointed to ―gain of function‖ studies — which in theory could enhance the
lethality or transmissibility of a virus — allegedly done at the Wuhan lab with U.S. backing.
However, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins has since adamantly denied that
the U.S. supported any ―gain-of-function‖ research on coronaviruses in Wuhan.
David Feith, who served as deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
under Trump, said he supported Biden‘s call for an enhanced review. ―Implicit in the president‘s
statement is that there is more to analyze and more to collect than has been analyzed or collected
to date,‖ Feith said.
The Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.
IS CHINA HAMPERING INVESTIGATIONS?
The White House statement criticized China for a lack of transparency, echoing previous
criticisms by Democrats and Republicans. ―The failure to get our inspectors on the ground in
those early months will always hamper any investigation into the origin of COVID-19,‖ the
White House said.
The Associated Press has reported on China‘s interference in the World Health Organization‘s
probes of the virus and its fanning of conspiracy theories online. China has also forced
journalists to leave the country in recent years and silenced or jailed whistleblowers from Wuhan
and elsewhere.
The lack of transparency in China is a significant and familiar challenge. But that does not in
itself signal that something in particular is being hidden.
―The problem is when you make that announcement (Biden‘s call for investigation) in a highly
politicized environment, it makes it even less likely that China will cooperate with efforts to find
the origins of the virus,‖ said Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council
on Foreign Relations.
WHAT DO SCIENTISTS BELIEVE ABOUT VIRUS ORIGINS?
The most compelling argument for investigating the possibility of a lab leak is not any new hard
evidence, but rather the fact that another pathway for virus spread has not been 100% confirmed.
―The great probability is still that this virus came from a wildlife reservoir,‖ said Arinjay
Banerjee, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization in Saskatchewan,
Canada. He pointed to the fact that spillover events – when viruses jump from animals to humans
– are common in nature, and that scientists already know of two similar beta coronaviruses that
evolved in bats and caused epidemics when humans were infected, SARS1 and MERS.
However, the case is not completely closed. ―There are probabilities, and there are possibilities,‖
said Banerjee. ―Because nobody has identified a virus that‘s 100% identical to SARS-CoV-2 in
any animal, there is still room for researchers to ask about other possibilities.‖
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CONFIRM THE ORIGIN OF A VIRUS?
Confirming with 100% certainty the origin of a virus is often not fast, easy, or always even
possible.
For example, scientists never confirmed the origin of smallpox before the disease was eradicated
through a global vaccination program.
In the case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) – a disease caused by a beta
coronavirus, like the current coronavirus – researchers first identified the virus in February 2003.
Later that year, scientists discovered the likely intermediary hosts: Himalayan palm civets found
at live-animal markets in Guangdong, China. But it wasn‘t until 2017 that researchers traced the
likely original source of the virus to bat caves in China‘s Yunnan province.
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO UNDERSTAND THE ORIGIN?
From a scientific perspective, researchers are always keen to better understand how diseases
evolve. From a public health perspective, if a virus has transitioned to being spread mostly by
human-to-human contact, discovering its origins is not as essential to strategies for containing
the disease.
―Questions of origins and questions of disease control are not the same thing once human-to-
human transmission has become common,‖ said Deborah Seligsohn, an expert in environment
and public health at Villanova University.
Republicans have pressed for more inquiries into a possible lab leak as part of a broader effort to
blame China and vindicate Trump‘s handling of the pandemic. Nearly 600,000 people in the
United States have died of COVID-19, the highest toll of any country.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE 90 DAYS?
Many scientists caution that it‘s unlikely a 90-day investigation will yield definitive new
answers.
―We rarely get a ‗smoking gun,'‖ said Stephen Morse, a disease researcher at Columbia
University. ―Even under the best of circumstances we rarely get certainty, just degrees of
likelihood.‖
Any findings will likely be politically explosive, especially if new evidence comes to light
supporting or dismissing the zoonotic transfer or lab-leak theory. And a failure to reach
definitive conclusions, almost inevitable after a 90-day review, could provide grist for Trump
supporters and opponents alike, as well as embolden conspiracy theorists.
Meanwhile experts like the Council on Foreign Relations‘ Huang suspect China may simply
clamp down more, adding another complication to already tense relations. ―This will likely make
it even more challenging to extract concessions from China to allow another team to visit
Wuhan, or have unfettered access to investigate there,‖ he said.
Suggest a Correction
Copyright 2021 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
https://fox40.com/news/coronavirus/what-is-happening-with-the-us-investigation-into-covid-19s-origins/
Floods drown south-central US crops

Some growers trying to play catch-up after spring floods, winter
freeze
Nick Austin, Director of Weather Analytics and Senior Meteorologist
Follow on TwitterMonday, June 7, 2021
(Photo: iStock)
Rain continues to come and go through the south-central U.S., causing flooding and damaging crops.
Southeastern Texas
During the February freezing rain storm and record cold snap, Texas farmers
lost at least $600 million worth of crops, according to a report from
Beaumont, Texas, station KBMT-TV. Now, farmers are having to clean up
again after major rain has flooded many crops.Some areas like Beaumont-
Port Arthur have seen almost 30 inches of rain this year, which is about 8
inches above normal. Houston has received more than 24 inches year-to-
date, with close to 19 inches in Corpus Christi. Half, or nearly half, of this year‘s rain in these places
came in May.
It‘s probably been the wettest year for Desiree Lewis, owner of Pecan Hill Farm Market in Jasper,
Texas, which opened in 2011.
―It really hurt our business as to where we couldn‘t sell our vegetables,‖ Lewis told KBMT. ―We end
up having to throw a lot of produce away because the customers we usually have were not able to get
here.‖
May 2021 corn crop damage from wind and rain at Pecan Hill Farm Market in Jasper, Texas.
(Photo: Pecan Hill Farm Market Facebook)
Lack of sunshine that accompanies excessive rainfall is bad for plants because they can‘t
photosynthesize, and the roots don‘t dry out. This has also negatively impacted tomatoes,
watermelon, cantaloupes, corn and potatoes.
―We could not get the tractor in there to dig the potatoes, and the longer we waited, the more
potatoes that we lost in the ground due to rotting,‖ Lewis added.
About 2,500 pounds of her potatoes will be affected.
More rain is in the forecast this week, but Lewis is staying one step ahead by planting on plastic
mulch to keep their produce off the ground in case of more floods.
Southwestern Louisiana
This spring started out less than ideal for farmers in southwestern Louisiana, too. After the ice
storm, they began to plant but were faced with some cool and wet days that delayed the progress
of crops like rice and soybeans. Jimmy Meaux, Louisiana State University AgCenter county
agent for Calcasieu Parish, told KPLC-TV that many young soybean crops may not survive.
―They may not get as big or have as many on a pod … if we don‘t plant it earlier,‖ Meaux said.
He added that there‘s still time to replant before soybean‘s October harvest. For other crops, it
may be too late to replant.Lake Charles has recorded more than 40 inches of rain so far this year,
with half of that in May. Lafayette has received 38.5 inches of rain since Jan. 1, with almost half
of that also in May.
―Rice is probably the biggest agronomic crop in Calcasieu Parish, and a lot of it got under
water,‖ Meaux added. ―So we had to wait until the water receded to kind of see what shape we‘re
in. It looks like it‘s going to survive OK.‖
Meaux said this just adds to the stress for farmers who have been rebuilding after last year‘s
hurricane season — projects such as working on their grain bins. Hurricane Laura hit the region
particularly hard.
―A lot of them haven‘t rebuilt those yet, so they are still trying to get those done in time for
harvest this year,‖ Meaux said.
An additional few inches of rain may fall in southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana this
week. The best odds for flash flooding should stay north of these areas where rain will be
heavier.
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/floods-drown-south-central-us-crops
Pakistan Weekly Market Monitor Report - 8

June 2021
Format
Situation Report
Source
 WFP
Posted
9 Jun 2021
Originally published
9 Jun 2021
Attachments
 Download document (PDF | 558.93 KB)
HIGHLIGHTS
 Weekly average retail prices update as of 3rd of June 2021 indicates overall the prices of
staple cereals and non-cereals foods experienced negligible, slight, and significant
fluctuations when compared to the previous week‘s prices. Whereas, one-year comparisons
indicated slight to significant price fluctuations.
 Cereals: (wheat, wheat flour, rice Irri-6 and rice Basmati). Overall, the average retail price for
wheat flour slightly decreased while the price for wheat remained unchanged from the
previous week. Moreover, the price of rice Basmati increased negligibly while the price of
rice Irri-6 remained unchanged compared to the previous week.
 Non-cereals: overall, compared to the previous week, the average retail prices of essential
non-cereal foods registered slight increases for pulse Masoor and eggs along with a negligible
increase for pulse Mash. Moreover, a significant price decrease was noted for live chicken, a
slight decrease for pulse Moong and negligible decreases for pulse Gram and Sugar, while
prices of cooking oil and vegetable ghee remained unchanged from the previous week.
 Terms-of-Trade: The average ToT slightly increased by 1.4% from the previous week, while
it decreased by 9.5% compared to a year ago.
https://reliefweb.int/report/pakistan/pakistan-weekly-market-monitor-report-8-june-2021
India faces tricky new EU ‗authenticity protocol‘ for

Basmati rice
Subramani Ra Mancombu Chennai | Updated on June 08, 2021
New Delhi seeks more time to settle PGI status issue with Pakistan
Even as India has sought a three-month extension from the European Union (EU) to negotiate
and resolve with Pakistan its dispute over Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status for
Basmati rice, it could face a tricky situation with EU trying to set up a ―New Basmati
Authenticity Protocol‖.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/india-faces-tricky-new-eu-
authenticity-protocol-for-basmati-rice/article34759832.ece

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Daily Global, Regional & Local Rice E-Newsletter

June 09 ,2021 Vol 6 Issue 13

Editorial Board Rice News Headlines…

Exports rise 14%, imports cross $50b in Jul-May FY21

Shahbaz Rana June 09, 2021

Pakistan vies for EU basmati rice title after India

Statistics show Pakistan posted historically high

NTV: India and Pakistan Fight over Ownership of

Watch Ntv Live Here: https://rb.gy/20wffs

For more latest updates on the news :

Snippets from UK: 600 Indians Let In without

Basmati rice EU trademark steams up India-Pakistan

Scientists identify genes to improve fertiliser nitrogen use

By India Science Wire

improvement towards NUE,‖ Subramanyam Desiraju, co-principal investigator of the SANH

Yuan Longping: His Rice Helped Feed The World

Yuan was a national hero and his wild rice

A Looming Rice Problem In Liberia

TODAY NOT MUCH has changed.

INSTEAD OF AGREEING to an increase in the price of rice, the government must

PHL rice imports contracted by 11.8% in January-

Row Rice on The Rice Stuff Podcast

As farmers rue delay, Telangana govt blames Covid

The pandemic is to be blamed, according to M Srinivas Reddy, Chairman, Civil Supplies

Popularity runs in families

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Crop Dusted: While America Slept, China Stole the

By CHRIS BENNETT June 8, 2021

“Happening Right Now”

Playing for Keeps

The Treasure Trove

U.S. agricultural technology remains directly in CCP crosshairs. (Photo by DOD)

Liberia: Importers Want Increment in Price of Rice

MONROVIA – The Rice Importers Association have appealed to the Government of

PARC distributed rice transplanters among

Rice import target still on uncertainty

Kingdom helps in DSR rice project

The ―Building Capacity in Promoting Economically and Environmentally Efficient Rice

Cambodia will act as a project implementation unit.

Tighter watch on rice imports sought

PHILIPPINE STAR/ EDD GUMBAN

What is happening with the US investigation into

A look at what is known about the U.S. investigation of the virus.

WHAT ARE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES REVIEWING?

The Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.

IS CHINA HAMPERING INVESTIGATIONS?

WHAT DO SCIENTISTS BELIEVE ABOUT VIRUS ORIGINS?

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CONFIRM THE ORIGIN OF A VIRUS?

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO UNDERSTAND THE ORIGIN?

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE 90 DAYS?

Floods drown south-central US crops

Follow on TwitterMonday, June 7, 2021

About 2,500 pounds of her potatoes will be affected.

Pakistan Weekly Market Monitor Report - 8

 Download document (PDF | 558.93 KB)

India faces tricky new EU ‗authenticity protocol‘ for

Subramani Ra Mancombu Chennai | Updated on June 08, 2021

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