26th November, 2018 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newlsetter

November 26 ,2018
Vol 9 ,Issue 11
1|www.riceplusmagazine.blogspot.com ,
mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com
Nutritionist says consumption of local rice can reduce risk of
diabetes
A nutritionists, Dr Ochuko Erikainure, says moderate consumption of unrefined foods such as

local rice, wheat, fruits and vegetables could help to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Erikainure told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Saturday that such foods,
including lean meat fishes, were good for diabetes because they were high in nutrients and
phytochemicals. “Polished rice increases the risk owing to its high glycemic index. Unlike local
rice, polished rice is deficient of micronutrients which are lost during processing. “A lot of
nutrients and phytochemicals with health benefits are often lost during processing and food
preparation, so, caution should be taken when preparing foods. “The lesser the heat, the higher
the tendency of retaining these nutrients and phytochemicals in foods,” he said.
According to the international Diabetic Federation (IDF), two out of three people living with
diabetes are undiagnosed, while three out of four deaths are diabetes related. “Nigeria is ranked
among the top five countries in sub-Saharan Africa in the number of people living with
diabetes. “Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease that affects carbohydrate, protein and lipid
metabolism owing to lack of insulin secretion and inability of the cells to utilize the insulin being
secreted.
” It is amongst the world‟s fastest growing epidemic as over 425 million adults were estimated to
be diabetic, which has been projected to rise to 629 million by 2045,” he said.
Erikainure said refined wheat products such as white bread, snacks and consumption of sodas
have been shown to be highly glycemic which could increase the risk of developing Type 2
diabetes.
He said that the use of non-calorie natural sweeteners such as xylitol have been shown not to
increase the blood glucose level, thus can serve as a replacement for table sugar. “Palm wine
(unfermented) has also been shown to suppress increased blood glucose level, which has been
attributed to its high content of non-calorie sugars and phenolics. “Majorly, regular exercise and
reduced sedentary lifestyles should always be practiced which can help to decrease the risk of
type 2 diabetes in both children and adults.(NAN)
https://leadership.ng/2018/11/24/nutritionist-says-consumption-of-local-rice-can-reduce-risk-of-diabetes/
Hybrid rice to feed rising population: analysts

The cultivation area of hybrid rice—which offers higher yield than conventional inbred
varieties—did not see a significant change since 1998-99 when the government granted
permission for its farming. Hybrid rice cultivation area has remained unchanged at 8 lakh
hectares for the last few years and it is yet to cross the 10-lakh-hectare mark, the highest
recorded in 2009-10. So far 174 varieties of hybrid seeds were released but nearly 30 of them
survived in the market due to farmers' unwillingness to use the seeds, which they think may fail
in producing expected yield, analysts said yesterday.
More cultivation of hybrid rice can help the country to avert its future challenge of diminishing
trend of cultivable land, they said at a dialogue on “Hybrid rice -- harnessing untapped
potential”. Bangladesh Rice Foundation (BRF) and Bangladesh Seed Association (BSA) jointly
organised the dialogue at the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council's conference room in
Dhaka.
Poor quality seeds, inadequate research to invent good variety of seed and lack of awareness
campaign among the farmers are the core challenges to making hybrid rice popular, according to
them. Crop lands amounting to 62,000 hectors decrease per annum because of the spiralling
population, which leave a negative impact on agricultural production, said Md Nasiruzzaman,
secretary-in-charge of the agriculture ministry. Climate change, rapid expansion of salinity into
new arable land and frequency of natural disasters in recent years have also impeded the increase
of rice production, he said while addressing the event as the chief guest.
The country has to produce an additional 20 lakh tonnes every year against the annual average
rice production of 348 lakh tonnes with a view to attaining self-sufficiency in yield of the staple
crop, he said. Production of hybrid rice in more farm lands will give us a solution stemming from
the challenges as its yield is 15-20 percent higher than the inbred varieties, Nasiruzzaman said.
He suggested the seed producers utilise the southern part of the country where coarse variety of
rice was popular among the inhabitants.
Farmers usually believe that they might not get their desirable production if they cultivate the
hybrid rice, said M Anis Ud Dowla, president of Bangladesh Seed Association. “The private
sector has a vital role in popularising the crop. And the government also should take initiative to
find a way out on how to cater the seed of hybrid rice to the farmers,” said Anis, also chairman
of ACI Group. The highest priority should be given to establishing a hybrid rice research
institute to address the challenges of amylase and abiotic and biotic stresses, said Md Shahjahan
Kabir, director general of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).
“Hybrid rice seed production is highly technical, so required support needs to be extended at the
farmer level who is interested to engage in seed production process,” he said. Mohammed
Masum, chairman of Supreme Seed Company, and Jamil Hasan, head of hybrid rice division at
the BRRI, presented two separate keynote papers at the dialogue. The authorities concerned
should provide enough funds, human resources, training and logistic support to all stakeholders
to help hybrid rice to flourish, Masum said.
Mentioning data of the Department of Agricultural Extension, he said the cultivation of hybrid
rice accounted for only 7.13 percent of the total 1.14 crore hector lands in 2016-17. Hybrid rice
seed industry should be declared a thrust sector in the financial policy of Bangladesh Bank,
Hasan said while presenting his paper. Among others, Z Karim, former chairman of Bangladesh
Agriculture Research Council; AM Muazzam Husain, chairman of the BRF, and Sayed AB
Siddiqui, executive director, also spoke at the event.
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/hybrid-rice-feed-rising-population-analysts-1664677
Drones to revive agro industry

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are usually associated with military applications but they
also have immense usefulness in agriculture.
Drones are used in Japan‟s rural heartland to aid the aging farmer populace spray pesticides and
fertiliser. The median age of farmers in the rice-planting region of Tome is 67 years. Similarly,
Thailand‟s agriculture industry is aging as youngsters below the age of 30 are shunning the
profession.
Most farms in developing countries are small and unproductive and young people are leaving in
search of city jobs that provide higher salaries. The farms are abandoned or left to the older folk,
said Sohail Hasnie and Sungsup Ra from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in a paper
presented at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in March.
Drones can make farming easier and more profitable, said Hasnie and Ra, and may even attract
the youth back from the city. They urged developing Asian countries to anticipate future uses for
drone technology.
Precision farming
“Drones make precision farming a reality. They can carry out surveys like infrared mapping to
gather crucial information like crop condition, costing farmers as little as US$5 per acre. With
the data, they may be able to boost crop yields by 20 percent,” they said.
Today‟s drones are relatively inexpensive. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from a
mainstream manufacturer costs as little as US$400 and a complete system for a small farm costs
around US$5,000. An octa-copter drone requires US$1.20 worth of electricity to carry a 10-
kilogram payload for 30 kilometres.
Farmers can pool their funds to buy and share a drone. An agro-preneur can invest in a unit to
serve multiple farmers or villages for a fixed membership or per use fee, suggested Hasnie and
Ra.
“Once drones can work autonomously, farmers can operate them through a smartphone app. It
will be a cheap, high-quality service with no ownership or maintenance fees, and include
performance benchmarks based on crop type, topography, geography or climate condition,” they
added.
Spraying fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides with UAVs is safer and faster than doing it
manually and uses fewer quantities of chemicals. In Vietnam, pesticide inhalation kills over 300
farmers each year and seriously affects another 5,000.
Drones can also generate Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) maps which can differentiate
soil from grass and forest, identify the growth stage of crops and detect plants under stress. Drone images
can also be used for loss or damage in agriculture insurance assessment.
UAVs in ASEAN
However, the use of UAVs in ASEAN member states is currently limited. Japan‟s DMM Technologies‟
drones are used to spray pesticides on rice fields in Can Tho, Vietnam. The company also conducted trial
spraying for sugar cane in Tay Ninh and rubber trees in Gia Lai.
The Philippines began a trial in April using DMM drones to spray vegetable farms in the highland
province of Benguet.
In Malaysia, six drones were used by the Muda Agriculture Development Authority (MADA) for its
Paddy Estate Project, covering 2,000 hectares. Drone-maker MMC said it has a customer who used its
drones to fog and spray pesticide in his durian plantation.
Thailand‟s Kasikorn Research Centre estimated the nation‟s agricultural UAV market to be worth
US$181 million by 2021 based on the government‟s ambitious “Big Farm” project. Launched in 2016, the
project aims to help neighbouring farmers integrate their farmlands and share production costs, making it
more affordable for them to embrace agri-tech.
The main barrier to widespread drone usage is regulation. Every government has its own set of
regulations on UAV, due to the risks posed by UAVs to the aviation industry and security in general. The
rules are stricter for drones that fly beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS), which is necessary if they
are to be used to inspect large tracts of farmland. Governments will also need to modify licencing and
operating regulations for farm drones and perhaps require certain limitations to be built into their
specifications. In time and with farm drones, agriculture may become less labour-intensive and even
attract a new generation of young, tech-savvy farmers.
https://theaseanpost.com/article/drones-revive-agro-industry
Lowest offer in GASC rice tender at $419.7 for 25,000 T of

Chinese rice
CAIRO: The lowest offer in the Egyptian state grain buyer‟s international purchase tender for rice was $419.7
per tonne for 25,000 tonnes of Chinese rice, trade sources said on Sunday.
Egypt‟s General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) is seeking short or medium grain milled white
rice of any origin in the tender and has asked traders to submit 2 kg samples of their grains for a cooking test
https://www.brecorder.com/2018/11/25/454625/lowest-offer-in-gasc-rice-tender-at-419-7-for-25000-t-of-
chinese-rice/
Non-basmati exporters to get 5% benefit under merchandise

exports scheme
NEW DELHI: Exporters from the world‟s biggest rice exporting nation have been given a breather by the
Indian government who will extend a 5% benefit to non-basmati exporters under the
Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) as relief from firm domestic prices that made
exports less profitable. India exports a quarter of the rice in the world mainly to Africa, the US,
Europe and South-East Asian nations. The scheme will come into effect from November 26 and
continue till March 2019, a notification from Directorate General of Foreign Trade said. Non-
basmati rice includes husked brown rice, parboiled rice, broken rice and others, it said. “Owing
to high minimum support price of paddy, we have been un-competitive in global exports despite
rupee depreciation. Rice export has seen a drop of 10% in the past six months. The incentive will
make us competitive in the global market,” says BV Krishna Rao, president of the Rice
Exporters Association. Under the MEIS scheme, exporters will get a certificate or scrip from
DGFT that can be traded. For example, if the value of export is $100, the company get $5 MEIS
scrip, which it can sell. Rao added that the hike in MSP led to an increase of $40 per tonne at $
375- $380 a tonne. “We can now expect new contracts to be signed and be competitive compared
to Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan,” he says. Rice is India‟s main kharif crop and this year‟s
advance estimates said production is likely to be 99.24 million tonnes or 1.78% more than the
previous year. India annually exports 8-9 million tonne non-basmati rice.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/commodities/news/india-to-give-5-percent-subsidy-for-non-
basmati-rice-exports-for-4-months-government/articleshow/66803615.cms
Rice losing micronutrients for multiple polishing

12:00 AM, November 25, 2018 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:06 AM, November 25, 2018
Say food officials urging millers to ensure fortification
Star Business Report
Rice grains are losing micronutrients owing to multiple polishing at mills, leading to nutrition
deficiencies and different diseases, top food ministry functionaries said yesterday calling on
millers to fortify the staple with vitamins and minerals.
10 | w w w . r i c e p l u s m a g a z i n e . b l o g s p o t . c o m ,
“The way you (mill owners) are polishing rice three-four times to make miniket; to make those
grains smooth, there is no denying the fact that vitamins are lost,” said Food Minister Md
Qamrul Islam.
“In absence of these vitamins in rice, incidence of diabetes, malnutrition-related diseases are
increasing. We are becoming of short stature,” he said.
Islam was addressing a meeting of the Bangladesh Auto Major and Husking Mill Owners
Association, which comprises nearly 18,000 small and large rice mills, at Pan Pacific Sonargaon
Dhaka.
“We expect you to take steps to provide nutritious rice to us,” he told the millers who process
and market a majority of the around 5 crore tonnes of paddy Bangladesh annually produces.
He said ensuring micronutrients in rice was inexpensive and one micronutrient-producing mill
could ensure fortification supplies of seven to eight mills.
Fortification is a practice of deliberately increasing the content of an essential micronutrient in a

food, so as to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and provide a public health
benefit with minimal risk to health, according to World Health Organization.
“Ensuring nutrition enriched rice is urgent for the nation. We request you to take the step in the
greater interest of the nation,” said Islam.
He said the government, with World Food Programme's support, was distributing nutrient-
enriched rice in 20 districts under poor-friendly and Vulnerable Group Development
programmes to address micronutrient deficiency among the poor.
“We will gradually expand the coverage of the distribution of fortified rice in all upazilas of the
country,” he said.
KM Layek Ali, the association's general secretary, urged the government to increase the duty on
rice import from the present 28 percent and include millers' representatives in the government's
national procurement committee.
Islam said his ministry would discuss the proposal.
He said rice production rose after last year's slump induced by repeated floods. “This year we do
not want to import a single tonne of rice,” said Islam.
He also called upon millers to gradually close down traditional husking mills.
“Try to shift from husking mills to automatic ones, even if it means forming cooperatives.
Husking mills will be unable to survive. The market will take its own course,” said Food
Secretary Shahabuddin Ahmed.
He, however, pointed out that traditional husking pedals, which were in use in the past, used to
retain micronutrients.
Md Arifur Rahman Apu, director general of the Directorate of Food, said rice processed through
husking pedals was no longer available today for the rise of automatic milling.
“I visited a mill which polishes rice six times. Fine and white rice comes after milling. This rice
looks beautiful but contains no mineral, no vitamin. As a result, all our children, irrespective of
the rich and poor, suffer from micronutrient deficiency,” he said.
“Micronutrient is essential if we want to build an intellectually sound nation,” he said, citing that
seven states in the US have rules making rice fortification compulsory.
He said sales of rice would increase if millers produce and market zinc and other micronutrient-
rich rice.
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/rice-losing-micronutrients-multiple-polishing-1664692
China’s new hybrid rice varieties feed demand for more

China Desk November 24, 2018 China‟s new hybrid rice varieties feed demand for more2018-11-24T12:19:48+00:00China 1
Comment
High yield or good taste? It’s a long-standing dilemma for hybrid rice scientists.Now Chinese
researchers say they have finally found the balance in new hybrid rice varieties.
The cultivation of hybrid rice has expanded in China for more than four decades. But while
yields have increased, the eating and cooking qualities of many varieties failed the taste test. In
recent years, rice breeders have paid more attention to quality.
“Researchers have found a balance of yield and quality in Zhongke 804 and other hybrid
varieties,” said Liu Guifu, with the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology Chinese
Academy of Sciences.
Representatives from 38 Chinese rice distributors had a blind taste test of 38 rice varieties late
last year, said Liu. Zhongke 804 scored higher than Daohuaxiang, regarded for decades as one of
China‟s best rice types.
Daohuaxiang grows in Wuchang, north China‟s Heilongjiang Province. The ample sunshine and
suitable climate provide it with extraordinary cooking qualities.
However, Daohuaxiang has an average yield of just 450 to 550 kg per mu (about 0.067 hectares),
which makes it too pricey for many people.
In September, in test fields in Wuchang, Zhongke 804 achieved an average yield of 745.4 kg per
mu, said Liu. Compared with traditional rice varieties, Zhongke 804 also showed increased
vigor, making it more competitive with weeds and more resistant to diseases and insects.
The type of starch in rice determines whether it‟s fluffy or sticky. Conventional hybrid methods
select parent lines based on their visible or measurable traits. The process can be difficult,
unpredictable, slow and costly.
Genome sequencing has enabled scientists to identify genes encoding important traits like yield,
taste and vigor, providing a solid foundation for molecular breeding.
Developing a new hybrid rice variety through conventional methods can take seven or eight
years, said Liu. By taking a “molecular shortcut,” he and his colleagues shortened the process to
three to four years.
https://www.technologytimes.pk/chinas-hybrid-rice-varieties-feed/
China‟s new rice varieties feed demand for more

November 24, 2018 Brinkwire
BEIJING, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) — High yield or good taste? It‟s a long-standing dilemma for
hybrid rice scientists.
Now Chinese researchers say they have finally found the balance in new hybrid rice varieties.
They used molecular markers, a string of nucleic acid which tends to stay with the target gene.
By pinpointing the markers, researchers can tell much sooner whether one seedling contains a
target gene, enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of breeding.
Liu said molecular breeding holds great potential for hybrid rice. They plan to work on
“personalized” hybrid rice varieties in future studies, such as special rice for diabetes patients.
https://en.brinkwire.com/news/chinas-new-rice-varieties-feed-demand-for-more/
Experts call for critical management of water resources in

Pakistan
By Muhammad Salman Khan
Published: November 24, 2018
Journalist Afia Salam, Hydrologist Dr Hassan Abbas, Urban Planner Dr Noman Ahmed ,
environmental practitioner Sana Baxamoos and Agriculturalist Faisal Hassan share panel
discussion on "Dialogue on Pakistan's water scarcity in the 21st century," at main campus
Institute of Business Administration, Karachi. (Anticlockwise)
KARACHI : “Sharing knowledge and enabling critical thinking is a way forward in solving
some of the complex governance, ecological and institutional issues facing our country”, said
Institute of Business Administration Department of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts professor
Dr Nausheen Anwar.
She said this while addressing a panel discussion on „Dialogue on Pakistan‟s water scarcity in
the 21st century‟ held at the IBA Main Campus on Thursday. Talks kicked off as hydrologist
Dr Hassan Abbas gave a detailed overview of the historical water flow in Pakistan.
He said that historically, water in the region was managed through canals, elaborating that the
Mughals were the first to build such inundation canals that harnessed flood waters.
Moderating the panel discussion, journalist and geographer Afia Salam said, “Red rice used to
be grown abundantly in the Indus Delta. Now we see that the villages and lands that used to
exist have ceased to be because of the intrusion of the sea and decline of freshwater flow to the
deltaic region of the Indus river.”
Agriculturalist Faisal Hassan stressed on the need to prevent plantation of water-intensive

monoculture crops, “Rice and sugarcane are the worst when it comes to water-intensive
monocultures grown in the country and we now see that even maize is growing in popularity
within the farming community.”
Also speaking on the occasion, Urban Planner Dr Noman Ahmed pointed out the need to
manage water resources in Pakistan‟s rapidly urbanising region such as Karachi. “Around 93%
of Pakistan‟s water resource is utilised by the agriculture sector and the rest is consumed by the
urban and business consumers,” he remarked.
He said that the mechanism of water distribution and allocation in Karachi has fallen apart over
the years. The intensive utilisation of water has also grown due to rapidly changing urban
lifestyle patterns and migration. “We have to revisit the rapidly changing population dynamics
of the urban areas, as currently 36% of our country is urbanised but this figure will reach to
around 50% in 2050.”
Highlighting the issues concerning water quality, its equitable distribution and the issue of
water governance, environmental practitioner Sana Baxamoos, at Hisaar Foundation, claimed
that the government institutions are not prepared to address the issue head-on.
“What we see is mismanagement of our water resources due to a failure of governance and
leadership. There must be a single institution, for example, Water and Power Development
Authority (Wapda), which moves ahead with a policy for water governance, but unfortunately
there are a lot of gaps in the current governance of water resources in the country,” she added.
She stressed that the access, equity and distribution of water is a complex issue. “We export
water in the form of our crops; the government must revise their “Abiana” (irrigated water tax)
and realise the true value of our water resource.”
Adding on the subject of water shortage in the country, Dr Abbas said, “It is really a good time
that we see discourse on conserving our water resources. He argued that the narrative that our
water is being wasted when it is released into our ocean is simply not true, saying “Indus river
basin is the most anthropologically mismanaged river basin in the world with its worst impact
seen in the Indus delta.”
He emphasised that the solution was to conserve the country‟s water resources and devise a
strategy centred on a knowledge-based approach that values science, our culture, history, and
the environment.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1853674/1-experts-call-critical-management-water-resources-
pakistan/
Hybrid rice to feed rising population: analysts

12:00 AM, November 25, 2018 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:06 AM, November 25, 2018
Star Business Report
The cultivation area of hybrid rice—which offers higher yield than conventional inbred
varieties—did not see a significant change since 1998-99 when the government granted
permission for its farming.
Hybrid rice cultivation area has remained unchanged at 8 lakh hectares for the last few years and
it is yet to cross the 10-lakh-hectare mark, the highest recorded in 2009-10.
So far 174 varieties of hybrid seeds were released but nearly 30 of them survived in the market
due to farmers' unwillingness to use the seeds, which they think may fail in producing expected
yield, analysts said yesterday.
More cultivation of hybrid rice can help the country to avert its future challenge of diminishing
trend of cultivable land, they said at a dialogue on “Hybrid rice -- harnessing untapped
potential”.
Bangladesh Rice Foundation (BRF) and Bangladesh Seed Association (BSA) jointly organised
the dialogue at the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council's conference room in Dhaka.
Poor quality seeds, inadequate research to invent good variety of seed and lack of awareness
campaign among the farmers are the core challenges to making hybrid rice popular, according to
them.
Crop lands amounting to 62,000 hectors decrease per annum because of the spiralling
population, which leave a negative impact on agricultural production, said Md Nasiruzzaman,
secretary-in-charge of the agriculture ministry.
Climate change, rapid expansion of salinity into new arable land and frequency of natural
disasters in recent years have also impeded the increase of rice production, he said while
addressing the event as the chief guest.
The country has to produce an additional 20 lakh tonnes every year against the annual average
rice production of 348 lakh tonnes with a view to attaining self-sufficiency in yield of the staple
crop, he said.
Production of hybrid rice in more farm lands will give us a solution stemming from the
challenges as its yield is 15-20 percent higher than the inbred varieties, Nasiruzzaman said.
He suggested the seed producers utilise the southern part of the country where coarse variety of
rice was popular among the inhabitants.
Farmers usually believe that they might not get their desirable production if they cultivate the
hybrid rice, said M Anis Ud Dowla, president of Bangladesh Seed Association.
“The private sector has a vital role in popularising the crop. And the government also should take
initiative to find a way out on how to cater the seed of hybrid rice to the farmers,” said Anis, also
chairman of ACI Group.
The highest priority should be given to establishing a hybrid rice research institute to address the
challenges of amylase and abiotic and biotic stresses, said Md Shahjahan Kabir, director general
of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).
“Hybrid rice seed production is highly technical, so required support needs to be extended at the
farmer level who is interested to engage in seed production process,” he said.
Mohammed Masum, chairman of Supreme Seed Company, and Jamil Hasan, head of hybrid rice
division at the BRRI, presented two separate keynote papers at the dialogue.
The authorities concerned should provide enough funds, human resources, training and logistic
support to all stakeholders to help hybrid rice to flourish, Masum said.
Mentioning data of the Department of Agricultural Extension, he said the cultivation of hybrid
rice accounted for only 7.13 percent of the total 1.14 crore hector lands in 2016-17.
Hybrid rice seed industry should be declared a thrust sector in the financial policy of Bangladesh
Bank, Hasan said while presenting his paper.
Among others, Z Karim, former chairman of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council; AM

Muazzam Husain, chairman of the BRF, and Sayed AB Siddiqui, executive director, also spoke
at the event.
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/hybrid-rice-feed-rising-population-analysts-1664677
Govt urged to allow farm workers to form trade unions

Introduce health insurance for them
Staff Correspondent | Published: 00:21, Nov 25,2018 | Updated: 00:24, Nov 25,2018
Participants attend a roundtable on „ratification and implementation of ILO convention 184 on
health and safety in agriculture‟ jointly hosted by Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labour
Foundation and National Women Farmers and Workers Association at CIRDAP auditorium in
Dhaka on Saturday. — New Age photo
The country‟s farmer leaders on Saturday urged the government to allow millions of self-
employed farm workers to form trade unions to protect their rights.
They also demanded introduction of health insurance for farm workers and payment of
compensations who suffer losses or get injured while working.
They raised the demands at a roundtable on „Ratification and Implementation of ILO Convention
184 on Health and Safety in Agriculture‟ organized by Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labourers
Federation and National Women Farm Workers Federation at the CIRDAP Auditorium.
Hazera Sultana, MP, was the chief guest and former director general of Bangladesh Rice
Research Institute and rice scientists Jiban Krishna Biswas was the chief speaker.
In her keynote paper, NWFWF president Nasrin Sultana said that farm workers had no right to
form trade unions as allowed by the country‟s labour laws.
„So we would ask the government to allow farm workers to form trade union,‟ she said.
Nasrin also urged the government to ratify and implement ILO Convention 184 and its
Recommendation No. 192 to ensure farm labourers wages.
„Farm workers in Bangladesh face various workplace accidents as well as adverse impacts of
pesticides,‟ she said.
Muktagacha based Gram Unnayan Sangstha executive director Mohammad Saiduzzaman said,
„farmers don‟t get fair prices for the crops they grow with hard toil.‟
He called upon the all farmers to get united to realize fair prices for their produces.
Local government representative from Netrokona Syed Mahbub Majid said that indiscriminate
use of pesticides were causing serious problems to farmers and farm labourers.
He stressed the need to provide training to the farmers and the farm workers on how to use
pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
Jiban Krishna Biswas said that since farmers put in hard labour to grow crops and feed the nation
they should be made acquainted with proper use of pesticides.
Women farmers, trade unionists and farm workers from different districts attended the
roundtable.
http://www.newagebd.net/article/57008/govt-urged-to-allow-farm-workers-to-form-trade-unions
Rice tariffication seen to bolster food supply

posted November 23, 2018 at 08:10 pm by Julito G. Rada
The National Economic and Development Authority said Friday the enforcement of the rice
tarriffication will resolve food supply issues and improve the country‟s agricultural productivity.
Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia welcomed the passage of the Rice Tariffication bill
by the bicameral conference committee. The two chambers of Congress approved the passage of
the bill, which amends Republic Act No. 8178, or the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996.
Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia

The measure will replace quantitative restrictions on rice imports with tariffs and remove
unnecessary government intervention in the rice market.
“We view this as a positive development as the administration‟s economic team exhausts all
efforts to tame increases in the prices of goods. With only the president‟s signature before rice
tariffication becomes a law, we are making a big step in the realization of our agricultural reform
agenda,” Pernia said.
Pernia said the bicam-approved bill would address not only the tariffication of rice in compliance
with the Philippines‟ obligation to the World Trade Organization, but it would also enhance food
security by increasing the availability and accessibility of cheaper rice to the consuming
population.
“The economic team has always been mindful that food remains to be the major contributor to
inflation. Efforts to address food supply concerns, especially rice, will definitely help bring down
consumer prices,” he said.
Neda‟s preliminary estimate showed that headline inflation rate would eased by 1 percentage
point if rice prices would be reduced to the level of imported rice. Even with just a P1 per kilo
reduction in the wholesale price of rice, headline inflation rate would also be reduced by 0.3
percentage point, it said.
Rice tariffication would also help improve the productivity of farmers and, as a result, enable
them to increase their income, Neda said.
The bill provides for the establishment of a rice competitiveness enhancement fund from an
annual appropriation of P10 billion for the next six years.
If the tariff revenues exceed P10 billion in any given year, the excess revenue will be plowed
back to RCEF to support rice farmers.
“The RCEF will be used to provide key interventions to support our farmers and enhance their
competitiveness, including farm machinery and equipment to improve farm mechanization, rice
seed development, propagation and promotion, expanded rice credit, and extension services,”
Pernia said.
A portion of the rice tariff revenues in excess of P10 billion will be used to provide direct
financial assistance to rice farmers adversely affected by the removal of the quantitative
restriction.
http://manilastandard.net/business/economy-trade/281239/rice-tariffication-seen-to-bolster-food-
supply.html
Fact Check: USDA got it wrong with Nigeria’s, other

countries’ rice imports
by CALEB OJEWALE
November 23, 2018 | 1:11 pm
| | |
The United States Department of Agriculture report which asserted that Nigeria will
be the second-largest importer of rice in 2019 has been found to be grossly inaccurate,
according to BusinessDay‟s analysis of export data involving over 150 countries.
Findings show that not only did the USDA make inaccurate assertions in its
estimation of Nigeria‟s rice…
estimation of Nigeria‟s rice…
https://www.businessdayonline.com/companies/agriculture/article/fact-check-usda-got-it-wrong-with-
nigerias-other-countries-rice-imports/
Rice tarrification bill enhances local farmers‟ competitiveness

By Jose Cielito Reganit November 23, 2018, 8:57 am
MANILA -- Senator Cynthia Villar on Thursday stressed that the rice tarrification bill would
enhance the competitiveness of Filipino farmers rather than kill the local rice industry, as
claimed by some progressive lawmakers and peasant groups.
Villar, the chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, is the principal sponsor of
Senate Bill 1998, which replaces the quantitative import restrictions on rice with tariffs, and
creates the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), or Rice Fund.
The bill, which has been certified as urgent by President Rodrigo Duterte, was approved by the
bicameral conference committee on Thursday.
Even as the bicameral was still deliberating on the measure, various peasant groups, led by
Bantay Bigas, together with Anakpawis party-list, was already holding a protest action at the
Senate to condemn the passage of the rice tarrification bill.
They claimed that the passage of the measure would mean the avalanche of cheap imported rice
in the local market, and would kill not only the local rice industry but also the livelihood of
millions of local rice farmers.
In an ambush interview after the bicam hearing, Villar said it was unfortunate that farmers were
being made to believe that the rice tariffication bill would not be beneficial to them.
“Kaya nga may (that is why there is) Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund because we
analyzed why they (Filipino farmers) are not competitive. Based on study, kaya hindi sila
competitive, mahal ang kanilang (they are not competitive because of their higher) labor cost
compared to Vietnam,” she said.
Citing a study made by think-tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), the
Nacionalista Party lawmaker said the factors adversely affecting Filipino farmers‟
competitiveness are the lack of mechanization, technical know-how, financial literacy and access
to cheap credit.
“So we are going to mechanize. So half, PHP 5 billion of the P10 billion will go to
mechanization so that they can compete. Because that is the highest cost difference, iyong labor.
And then PHP 3 billion will go to seeds. Tuturuan silang maging (They will be taught as) seed
growers ng inbred seeds ng PhilRice. That will increase their harvest from 4 metric tons to 6
metric tons per hectare,” Villar said.
As provided for in the rice tarrification bill, the RCEF will have a minimum allocation of PHP10
billion a year for six years, and tariff revenues from rice imports in excess of PHP10 billion shall
be appropriated by Congress based on a menu of programs in the rice tariffication law.
Under the Rice Tariffication Bill, the proposed fund will be allocated as follows: 50 percent for
grants to farmers‟ associations, registered rice cooperatives, and local government units in the
form of rice equipment, to be implemented by the Philippine Center for Post-Harvest
Development and Mechanization (PhilMech); and 30 percent for the development, propagation
and promotion of inbred rice seeds to rice farmers and organizations, to be implemented by the
Philippine Rice Research Institution (PhilRice).
The 10 percent will be in the form of credit at preferential rates to rice farmers and cooperatives
to be managed by Land Bank and the Development Bank of the Philippines; and the remaining
10 percent for extension services to teach rice farmers modern methods of farming, seed
production, and farm mechanization, to be administered by PhilMech, PhilRice, the Agricultural
Training Institute (ATI) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA).
Villar further said they have already identified 1,100 rice-producing towns that would be the
priority beneficiaries of mechanization in the form of tractors, transplanters, harvesters, dryers,
and rice milling equipment.
She said the provision of rice milling equipment would enable farmers‟ associations and
cooperatives to mill their palay into rice and empower them to directly negotiate with retailers
and consumers.“That‟s common sense that if you want to get more for your product, you go
direct to buyers,” Villar said.
Furthermore, Villar said the rice tarrification bill not only limits inflation, but would also lead to
rice self-sufficiency in the long run.“Yes, if we are successful in the Rice Competitiveness
Enhancement Fund,” she answered when asked on rice sufficiency.
The senator said the use of quality inbred seeds alone could increase farmers‟ production by up
to 50 percent, or from four metric tons per hectare to six metric tons.Over a period of time, Villar
said this would be enough to cover the country‟s shortfall in production.
At present, the Philippines produces 93 percent of its rice requirement and needs to import the
remaining seven percent.
“That‟s 50-percent increase in productivity. We are rice-sufficient if we can do that. Of course,

we cannot expect to do that in the first year, but over six years, baka makaya natin iyon na (we
can attain that) we are rice sufficient,” Villar said. (PNA)
http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1054672
China's new rice varieties feed demand for more

Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-24 10:31:20|Editor: Chengcheng
BEIJING, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- High yield or good taste? It's a long-standing dilemma for hybrid
rice scientists.
"Researchers have found a balance of yield and quality in Zhongke 804 and other hybrid
varieties," said Liu Guifu, with the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology Chinese
China's best rice types.
Daohuaxiang grows in Wuchang, north China's Heilongjiang Province. The ample sunshine and
The type of starch in rice determines whether it's fluffy or sticky. Conventional hybrid methods
years, said Liu. By taking a "molecular shortcut," he and his colleagues shortened the process to
"personalized" hybrid rice varieties in future studies, such as special rice for diabetes patients.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-11/24/c_137628135.htm
China's new rice varieties feed demand for more

Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-24 10:31:20|Editor: Chengcheng
BEIJING, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- High yield or good taste? It's a long-standing dilemma for hybrid
rice scientists.
"Researchers have found a balance of yield and quality in Zhongke 804 and other hybrid
varieties," said Liu Guifu, with the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology Chinese
China's best rice types.
Daohuaxiang grows in Wuchang, north China's Heilongjiang Province. The ample sunshine and
The type of starch in rice determines whether it's fluffy or sticky. Conventional hybrid methods
years, said Liu. By taking a "molecular shortcut," he and his colleagues shortened the process to
"personalized" hybrid rice varieties in future studies, such as special rice for diabetes patients.
China’s new hybrid rice varieties feed demand for more

China Desk November 24, 2018 China‟s new hybrid rice varieties feed demand for more2018-11-24T12:19:48+00:00China 1
Comment
High yield or good taste? It’s a long-standing dilemma for hybrid rice scientists.Now
Chinese researchers say they have finally found the balance in new hybrid rice
varieties.The cultivation of hybrid rice has expanded in China for more than four decades. But
while yields have increased, the eating and cooking qualities of many varieties failed the taste
test. In recent years, rice breeders have paid more attention to quality.
https://www.technologytimes.pk/chinas-hybrid-rice-varieties-feed/
Paddy procurement price is ₹1,759 a quintal

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
BENGALURU, NOVEMBER 25, 2018 00:55 IST
The State government has decided to procure paddy at ₹1,759 a quintal from farmers
from December 15. The current market price is around ₹1,300 to ₹1,400 a quintal.
Minister for Cooperation Bandeppa Kashempur chaired a meeting of the Cabinet sub-
committee on fixing procurement prices for commodities on Saturday, and fixed prices
for paddy, black gram, soyabean, and toor dal. He said farmers have to register at
procurement centres in rice mills from December 5 to 15.
During kharif season, paddy was cultivated on 10 lakh hectares and about 45 lakh
tonnes of paddy were expected during the season. The Centre granted permission to
procure only two lakh tonnes of paddy, he said.
Prices of onion have also crashed in the State even as the harvest has just begun in other
major producing States such as Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Mr.
Kashempur said Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had told the committee to fix
support price for onion on the lines of the price given to mango crop. The committee‟s
proposal was submitted to the CM.
Procurement of black gram and soya bean would commence from Sunday.
The Minister said toor dal was cultivated on 15.56 lakh hectares and 11.34 lakh tonnes
of output was expected. It was decided to procure toor dal at ₹5,675 a quintal against
the prevailing market price of ₹4,300 a quintal. The State government had written to
the Centre seeking latter‟s clearance for procurement of tur dal. Procurement of toor dal
would commence after a month.
The Minister said it was decided to fix support price for maize also and a decision
would be taken soon. The Deputy Commissioner of each district would identify
locations for procurement of commodities, Mr. Kashempur said.
RDPR Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and Horticulture Minister M C Managuli attended
the meeting.
Merchandise Exports from India Scheme: Non-basmati rice

exports get 5% MEIS benefit for 5 months
By: FE Bureau | Updated: November 24, 2018 4:48 AM
Non-basmati rice has been made eligible for MEIS benefits at the rate of 5% for exports made between
November 26 and March 25, 2019, the Directorate General Foreign Trade said in a notification.
Total non-basmati exports in 2017-18 were 86.5 lakh tonne valued at Rs 22,968 crore, of which 20.28
lakh tonne was shipped to Bangladesh.
The government has allowed 5% MEIS benefit on export of non-basmati rice during the next four
months after shipments of the commodity declined 13% during first half of the current fiscal. The move
may help exporters boost shipments.
Non-basmati rice has been made eligible for MEIS benefits at the rate of 5% for exports made between
November 26 and March 25, 2019, the Directorate General Foreign Trade said in a notification. The
Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) was started in 2015 under which exporters get 2-5%
(of FOB value) of their exports as duty credit scrip. The value on the scrip can be adjusted against
payment of the import duty and the GST.
“This has come at an opportune time. Hopefully, the decline in export of non-basmati rice may be
recovered in the next four months,” said BV Krishna Rao, president of Kakinada-based Rice Exporters
Association. However, the decline in shipments to Bangladesh may not see an immediate jump due to
the MEIS, he said.
India exported 37.23 lakh tonne of non-basmati rice (worth Rs 10,426 crore) during April-September
this year, compared with 42.87 lakh tonne in the corresponding period last year, according to the
official data.
Total non-basmati exports in 2017-18 were 86.5 lakh tonne valued at Rs 22,968 crore, of which 20.28
lakh tonne was shipped to Bangladesh. The non-basmati rice export to the neighbouring country stood
at only 3.40 lakh tonne in the first half of FY19.
Earlier this week, FE had reported rice exports from India might decline for the first time in three years
in 2018-19 owing to a 13% hike in minimum support price for paddy (kharif 2018) and a drop in
demand from Bangladesh and several other key markets. While a decline is most likely in volume
terms, exports could at best see a flat growth in value terms, trade sources had said.
https://www.financialexpress.com/market/commodities/merchandise-exports-from-india-scheme-non-
basmati-rice-exports-get-5-meis-benefit-for-5-months/1392109/
Why rice smuggling may not stop
Posted By: Charles Okonji On: November 25, 2018
Charles Okonji in this report examines major factors responsible for the rising menace of rice
smuggling and why it may persist
Despite concerted efforts by the federal government over the years to curb the menace of rice
smuggling, imported rice finds its way into the Nigerian market through over 4000 routes across
the country‟s border as it seems to be one of the most thriving businesses in recent times.
In defiance of seizures and confiscation of impounded consignments of rice by the customs the
nefarious activities of these economic saboteurs have continued unabated given the feeling that
law enforcement agencies are overwhelmed.
Speaking with a cross section of experts, they attributed to a constellation of factors chief among
which is the result of incurably defective and but failed government policies, wrong trade
agreements, poor enforcement and conspiracy of some of the law enforcement agencies with
smugglers amongst others.
Firing the first salvo, according to the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation
(UNIDO) consultant, who was the former Director General of Nigeria Association of Chambers
of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture NACCIMA, Dr. John Isemede, rice smuggling,
he emphasised will continue as long as Nigeria share common boundaries with its neighbouring
countries, since some of these boundaries are not well demarcated, which makes it porous.
He noted that it is easier for countries like Madagascar, Japan, Equatorial Guinea or Cape-Verde,
which are island that can only be accessed by air or by sea to curtail or to check smuggling.
He admitted that smuggling is done world-wide, explaining that in an attempt to curtail
smuggling in Europe, duty shops were introduced.
“Smuggling starts as a legitimate business but ends up as an illegitimate business. Smuggling is
between importation and exportation. When you are sending 5000 goods to Nigeria and you
declare 500 to reduce the amount of duty payable, that is an act of smuggling.
“In West Africa, we call it smuggling, it is known as commodity shunting. This is a situation
whereby people load their goods and begin to have handshake with security agencies at every
check points. That is why there is high rate of bribery; this is commodity shunting as there is no
proper documentation of the actual transaction. People just load their goods in the vehicle either
from Benin Republic to Nigeria or otherwise.
“The rice we are talking about is all over the border, just like the time we were talking about
turkey and chicken being smuggled into Nigeria. Who are those responsible for this business?
They are the multinational corporations and they are the producers. They put distributors at the
borders, and they provide these products at very cheap rates to entice people to buy,” Isemede
stressed.
He pointed out that one of the reasons why smuggling is thriving is that the culture of
importation has not allowed Nigeria to develop forex.
In his words, “When you get to the bank for loans, nobody would look at you talk less of
granting you loans if you want to go into manufacturing. We are well prepared for import, which
is why it is on a single window. So you can see why there is a big problem.”He lamented that the
government end up using the wrong people to manage sensitive places in Nigeria, adding that
they go about collecting money from the government signing agreements, without knowing what
is in the agreement they are signing.
The UNIDO consultant said, l“When you talk of Common External Tariff, Customs Union, and
trade agreements, professors of economics, experts and OPS are not consulted. West Africa is
just a Sub-Region, not a Customs area, because there are tax differentials. This compounds the
problem because we pay different tariff in Nigeria while the neighbouring countries pay different
tariff.
“VAT is 5% in Nigeria while that of Benin Republic is 18%. For this reason, we cannot take that
advantage in Nigeria because it takes about 20 days for ship to turn around in Nigeria and about
three weeks to get your goods out of the port, while that of Benin Republic is just about 24
hours. So if you think about all the delays and the demurrage in the Nigerian port, people tend to
go into smuggling.
“Even when they have the opportunity of using the Apapa port, how accessible is the road? What
has happened to Cocoa port, what has happened to Burutu port, what has happened to Sapele
port, Focados port or even Calabar port? That is one reason that smuggling is on the increase.”
The former NACCIMA boss regretted that that there is no support to the OPS that are doing
business in Nigeria, saying that the banks are always looking at the areas of importation.
He said that lack of funds to support the exporters and non-functional the railway system was
among the cartelising factors that fuel smuggling.
“Again, a lot of vehicles move from Nigeria to Ghana, Benin Republic and others on the daily
bases and these people are allowed to carry one or two bags which is said not to be at
commercial value, but if you have 50 people in a bus that carry one or two bags each and declare
as personal effects, don‟t you know that it has turned commercial quantity already. What about
the border markets in Bornu State which 50 % of it is in Cameroun and the other 50% is in
Nigeria. This is a fertile ground for smuggling.
“However, the policies of CBN are killing export. It only supports oil companies that can
transfer dollar to themselves. At present I cannot send dollar to anybody that has a domiciliary
account. If I am doing legitimate export and I want to collect my money, I have to collect at 350
to the US$, but if I want to pay shipping companies, I have to buy dollar from the neighbouring
countries because a lot of Nigerian exporters have carried their domiciliary accounts to the
neighbouring countries. Just like what happened in 1993 when we had dual exchange rates of
N22 to the dollar and N40 to the dollar. So what the embassies in Lagos as at that time did was to
move their exchange to the nearby countries.
“So, if the CBN can understand balance of trade and balance of payment, that as we are giving,
we are taking and we don‟t have series of exchange rates, smuggling would stop. This is because
most of the people use their money to buy rice since they cannot bring in their foreign currencies.
So, it is the policies that are being put in place by people who are not into business that is
causing problems for Nigeria. If we have single exchange rate and anyone can transfer dollar to
the shipping company, and to anyone else, smuggling would stop.”
Isemede stressed that most Nigerian exporters move their commodities such as cocoa, yam,
cashew nuts and others the neighbouring countries for export as the agencies responsible for
inspection and standardisation do not have the right specification to avoid rejection.
“So when Nigerians have the opportunity of carrying cashew nut, share butter and other
commodities to export, they buy rice to come and sell in Nigeria since it is cheaper in those
nearby countries.
“This is to say that the smugglers do not just wake up to say I want to be a smuggler. So, it is the
policies on ground that is making people to go into smuggling. It is quite unfortunate that the
customs are busy looking for smugglers but they have not done anything to make good policies
that would make business flourish.
“The issue is that the government is not monitoring what is happening in the economy.
Government policies on trade ought to be reviewed with the representatives of the OPS. Sadly,
most of these people would go about organising trade fair and trade missions, signing
agreements that they do not understand, thereby killing the economy. Also, all the goods you see
at trade fairs are imported. So industrialisation is next to zero in Nigeria. Everybody wants to
import and sell,” he lamented.
Echoing similar sentiments, the Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, LCCI, Mda Yusuf, smuggling became a booming business when the government
practically imposed ban on importation of rice.
He noted that the huge difference in the price sold in Nigeria and the neighbouring countries,
stimulated greatly smuggling of the commodity through the country‟s massive porous borders.
“Before now, we have been told that importation of rice has dropped by 90% and that local rice
production has increased to almost six million metric tons. I do not believe in those statistics, I
believe that there is still a big gap between domestic production and domestic demand. So that is
a major issue. This is because we have not been able to build the capacity of local production.
Many of the rice farmers and value chain are still cultivating through the traditional means. The
level of mechanisation is still very low, and productivity is still very low, so we need to address
these key issues. Until we are able to close the gap between domestic production and domestic
demand smuggling will not stop. This is because the demand is in excess of 7 million metric tons
and the local production is not up to 4 million metric tons,” he further noted.
Equally responsible for the growing menace of smuggling, he maintained, is the cost of
domestic rice which is higher than the imported one. “High cost is another factor that is aiding
smuggling, which ideally, the locally produced rice ought to have been cheaper. This is so
because the average man is looking at how to feed his family with a very low budget, so he goes
to the market and look for what is cheap to buy.”
Yusuf however noted that it‟s high time that the government comes to terms with the realities on
ground, and do less of propaganda, urging government to stop saying that the country shall be
self-sufficient in rice production in 2019, whereas the market situation is not saying so.
“The government should work out possibilities on how to enhance productivity in rice
production so that they can go fully mechanised and bring down their cost. If the price is low, it
is easier to defeat smuggling because people would buy what is cheap,” he maintained.
Nigeria rice capacity sufficient
Meanwhile, the President, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Aminu Goronyo, says annual
rice production in Nigeria has increased from 5.5 million tonnes in 2015 to 5.8 million tonnes in
2017.
Goronyo disclosed this recently in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.
He said that in 2015, Nigerians spent not less than N1bn on rice consumption, adding that
while spending had drastically reduced, consumption had increased because of increased local
production of the commodity.“The consumption rate now is 7.9 million tonnes and the
production rate has increased to 5.8 tonnes per annum,‟‟ Goronyo said.
The RIFAN president said the increase was as a result of the CBN‟s Anchor Borrowers
Programme with a total of 12 million rice producers and four million hectares of FADAMA rice
land.
Goronyo said that the programme since inception had created economic linkage between Small
Holder Farmers and reputable large-scale processors, thereby increasing agricultural outputs and
significantly improving capacity utilisation of processors.
The ABP was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 17, 2015 in Kebbi,
aimed at creating a linkage between anchor companies involved in the processing and SHFs of
the required key agricultural commodities.
The fund was provided from the N220 billion micro, small and medium enterprises development
fund.
ABP evolved from the consultations with stakeholders comprising federal ministry of agriculture
and rural development, state governors, millers of agricultural produce, and smallholder farmers
to boost agricultural production.
Goronyo said under the ABP, RIFAN in the next 24 months would commence rice importation
to West African countries as the necessary arrangements had been put in place.
“For self sufficiency, adequate and enough paddy for production ABP, which started in Kebbi
state has been extended to 26 states.
“As a step further, RIFAN is in collaboration with some agencies to replicate the CBN APB
programme in some states to increase production,‟‟ he said.
He said that RIFAN had moved a step ahead not to be caught in the web as production was being
complemented by adequate provision of farm implements and inputs.
He said that RIFAN was set on capturing the West African rice market by properly harnessing its
resources.
According to him, the country has huge human resources, favourable climate and potential to
undergo a steady transformation in terms of techniques and marketing.
Goronyo said that even the Asian countries with similar weather conditions had successfully
developed their rice production output and processing for global export.
He, however, noted that some influential Nigerians with their foreign collaborators were trying
to frustrate the efforts of government on making the country to be self sufficient in rice
production.
Way forward
It would be recalled that Kebbi State governor, Senator Atiku Bagudu in an interview recently
had xplained how Nigeria can stop smuggling of foreign parboiled rice from Benin Republic and
other parts of the world.
According to him, the best thing the government can do is to forge a synergy of cooperation with
her neighbouring countries.
“If we are smart as a country we should be treating other West Africa countries as part of
Nigeria. We should make Benin Republic as the 37th state of Nigeria. We should encourage their
farmers so that they can also become rice farmers and I am sure their production is so small that
it cannot threaten Nigeria‟s production and by so doing, they would participate in helping
Nigeria fight smuggling.”
He was however quick to add that even countries being used as smuggling base are also victims.
“Sometimes they are also as much a victim as we are because this smuggling is perpetrated by
economic saboteurs that sometimes are transnational in nature. There are foreigners of different
nationalities mostly Asians who exploit countries but that is not to say that the national
authorities of Benin Republic cannot do something to help, they can and President Buhari has
been very critical about it.
“Some week ago, the President of Benin Republic rushed to Nigeria because Nigeria has been
rightly so expressing its anger at the situation. It is not only rice but poultry too are smuggled
into the country. Nigeria‟s poultry is being threatened by smuggling from Benin Republic.”
On whether the government should wield the big stick as it has done in recent times by
closing down the borders, the governor said such action was in order.
“Ihave called for that before because this will show them that allowing smuggling is a threat to
our economic interest and it is even a threat to the ECOWAS protocol because if we cannot
support each other to produce domestically, then one of the major objectives of ECOWAS
protocol has been defeated. The closure of the border is a yes, if it‟s the only thing that can send
the right signals. But more than that is for us Nigerians to relate to this country as provided for in
the protocol as if they were part of Nigeria because it would help us to also help them boost their
domestic trade. If it is the only thing that will draw attention and make other West Africa
countries know that we mean business because we do mean business. We want Nigeria and
indeed West Africa to be productive because we are competitive. We should be selling to the
world, not the other way round.”
http://thenationonlineng.net/rice-smuggling-may-not-stop/
Direct rice sowing method gaining popularity in Karnataka
M. Ahiraj
BALLARI, NOVEMBER 24, 2018 22:46 IST
A team of farmers from Tamil Nadu recently visited a field in Ballari taluk where direct rice sowing had been adopted. | Photo
Credit: Special Arrangement
The method of direct rice sowing seems to be here to stay in the Tungabhadra
command areas of the district.
Area coverage under the new method, which was around 150 hectares in 2015-16 after
it was introduced on an experimental basis in 2012-13, has increased considerably to
10,100 ha in 2018-19, mainly because paddy cultivators have realised that it reduces
input cost and helps save water while also resulting in increased income.
Paddy is a major crop during the kharif and rabi seasons in the command areas of the
district, particularly in Sirguppa taluk which gets canal water for raising two crops and
also has lift irrigation facilities. The targeted area for cultivating paddy during kharif is
around 77,000 ha. Since 2017-18 and 2018-19, direct rice sowing has been taken up in
10,000 ha. “We are happy with the new method of cultivating paddy as it brings down
the input cost by 25% to 30% (when compared to the conventional method of
transplantation) in use of pesticide and on labour. In addition, under the new method
use of water is also reduced as only wetting is needed. Stagnation of water is avoided .
At the same time, we are also getting 35 to 40 bags of paddy, on a par with the
transplantation method,” said Otur Pompanna, a farmer from Karur village of Sirguppa
taluk.
Unlike in transplantation, in direct sowing method plants will be in rows and this will
enable more aeration, which helps prevent diseases and pest attacks. Incidentally, it was
observed that this year, areas under direct rice sowing were free from the Brown Plant
Hopper pest attacks when compared to paddy grown under the conventional method.
The Department of Agriculture has also been encouraging farmers to take up direct rice
sowing by informing them about these advantages and giving them a subsidy of ₹4,000
a ha, with a ceiling of 2 ha per farmer.
“We had set a target of bringing 6,120 ha under direct rice sowing this year. But the
achievement is 10,100 ha. Going by the enthusiasm of the farmers, we hope the area
will increase further during the next kharif season,” said Shivanagouda Patil, Deputy
Director of Agriculture.
Farmers from Tamil Nadu, Telangana and neighbouring districts have been visiting to
see for themselves the successful adoption of the new method.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/direct-rice-sowing-method-gaining-
popularity-in-karnataka/article25587954.ece
Govt Increases Agricultural Efficiency by 48 Percent

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) officially opened the 17th National Week (Penas) of the
Andalan Farmers and Fishermen Association (KTNA), which is centered at Harapan Bangsa
Stadium, Lhoong Raya, Banda Aceh, on Saturday. ANTARA/Ampelsa
SUNDAY, 25 NOVEMBER, 2018 | 18:48 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government has been able to increase agricultural efficiency by 48
percent over the past four years by encouraging agricultural modernization through agricultural
tools and machinery (Alsintan) assistance.
To encourage the modernization of agriculture with the assistance of machinery and agricultural
equipment have been going on since 2015.
"The use of Alsintan to encourage agricultural modernization can increase farming efficiency by
35 to 48 percent," Director General of Agricultural Infrastructure and Facilities (PSP) Pending
Dadih Permana noted at a press conference.
The director general remarked that Alsintan was provided in the form of two-wheeled tractors
and four-wheeled tractors; water pumps; rice transplanting equipment; choppers; cultivators;
excavators; hand sprayers; corn planting tools; and semi-manual corn planting devices.
There were 54,083 units of Alsintan distributed to farmers in 2015 and 148,832 units were
provided in 2016; while in 2017, there were 84,356 units channeled to them and Up October
2018, a total of 385,170 units had been distributed. Alsintan was given to farmer
groups/association of farmer groups and Alsintan Business Service.
Permana explained that the Ministry of Agriculture encourages modernization in agricultural
cultivation as a whole, including land-processing activities, planting, harvesting, and processing
agricultural products.
"The younger generations are more and more engaged in agriculture activities, from land
processing to harvesting," the director general of agricultural infrastructure and facilities
explained.
The agricultural modernization movement has also helped to expand swamps. Based on data
from the Swamp and Tidal Regions Data Center, Indonesia has potential swamp land of 33.4
million hectares, consisting of land in tidal area of 20.1 million hectares and swamps of 13.3
million hectares.
Efforts to use swamp land with a pattern of land optimization have been initiated since 2016. In
2016, the PSP directorate general carried out optimization activities of 3,999 hectares of swamps,
and then in 2017, it covered 3,529 hectares and 16,400 hectares in 2018 (as of Nov 5, 2018).
In 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture, through the Directorate General of PSP, plans to develop a
swamp area of 500 thousand hectares spreading across Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Sulawesi.
Over the past four years, the PSP directorate general`s policy and program has focused on the
development of four agricultural commodity sub-sectors, namely food crops, horticulture,
plantations, and livestock
https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2018/11/25/056923720/Govt-Increases-Agricultural-Efficiency-
by-48-Percent
SAPEC, AfricaRice Highlight Achievements

By William Q. Harmon
November 26, 2018
Improved rice varieties introduced by SAPEC and AfricaRice.Many still wonder why Liberia is yet
to feed itself as the country continues to import rice annually, though it has 4.6 million hectares
of arable land that covers over 40 percent of the rain forest in the Sub-region.
With this mass land size and other favorable conditions for agriculture activities, it is also
unfortunate that the country is the 8th hunger-stricken country in the world, while food insecurity
also affects 650,000 Liberians, according to both Concern International and the World Food
Program (WFP).
With this trend, the Smallholders Agriculture Productivity Enhancement and Commercialization
(SAPEC), an international agro player in both crop protection and nutrition markets with focus
on sustainable agriculture production and AfricaRice, a leading pan-African rice research
organization committed to improving livelihoods in Africa through strong science and effective
partnerships, have made strides to improve the sector.
Through a project founded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the two are making head
ways in rice production in several counties, especially in the Southeast.
AfricaRice Country Director, Dr. Innoussa Akintayo, recently highlighted the achievements of
the project so far at the celebration of this year‟s World Food Day (WFD) program in Buchanan,
Grand Bassa.
The program was held under the theme, “A Zero Hunger World by 2030, Is It Possible?” and
organized by authorities of the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO).
AfricaRice‟s interventions in improving rice production in the country, Akintayo said, are
centered on productivity and production enhancement, infrastructure improvement, organization
and capacity development of stakeholders, and market and value addition.
Dr. Akintayo told the Daily Observer that Liberia has access to almost everything it takes — not
just to make the country food secure — but with requisite investment from government and
partners and the necessary political will to enable the production in commercial quantity for
export to neighboring countries and beyond.
“External distribution will not only enhance or improve revenue generation for farmers, but also
improve the country‟s balance of payments or trade and concomitantly increase its gross
domestic product (GDP) significantly,” he said.
Akintayo added that the needed technologies that will ensure mechanized farming are already in
the country to help spur agriculture productivity, adding that, “with the requisite support, Liberia
can finally become an agriculture hub in the sub-region.”
If Liberia is to realize its dream of diversifying its economy, Akintayo said there is a necessity
for huge investment in the requisite high performing modern technologies.
“It is unfortunate that rice is the country‟s staple food and, despite favorable conditions for its
production in large quantity, the country continues to spend over US$200 million every year to
import the commodity to feed the nation. Therefore we at SAPEC and AfricaRice are working
together to curb this situation,” Dr. Akintayo said.
A Locally fabricated rice mill on display in Buchanan
SAPEC and AfricaRice have made some achievements under each of the pillars, which the CEO
said “introduction of improved rice varieties—14 improved climate change resilient rice
varieties, both in upland and lowland, have been introduced and tested under the SAPEC
Project.”
“This new technology allows the extension of cultivated land; improves timeliness of farm‟s
operations; enables easy accomplishment of tasks that are difficult to perform and improves
quality of works and products, among others,” he said.
A total of 15 of these locally fabricated rice mills are currently in the process of installation in
the project counties.
According to Dr. Akintayo, four high capacity imported industrial rice mills have been brought
in country. Three of these high performing mills have been installed in three of the project
counties (Grand Gedeh, Maryland and River Gee.) The fourth is at the verge of being installed.
Agriculture Minister Dr. Mogana S. Flomo, Jr., has meanwhile called on Liberians and
international partners to work together, to ensure that everyone gets involved in agriculture, if
Liberia and the world will attain zero hunger by 2030.
“We know hunger and when you are hungry you can‟t be strong to learn even if the best teacher
is teaching you,” he said, adding, “this can stop if everyone sees agriculture as the only way to
end hunger in Liberia,” Minister Flomo said.
An AfricaRice official, Dr. Jean Moreira, chats with Agriculture Minister Dr. Mogana Flomo
https://www.liberianobserver.com/news/sapec-africarice-highlight-achievements/
AP Exclusive: First Gene-Edited Babies Claimed in China

Photo: MGNonline.
November 25, 2018 09:10 PM
HONG KONG (AP) - A Chinese researcher claims that he helped make the world's first
genetically edited babies - twin girls whose DNA he said he altered with a powerful new tool
capable of rewriting the very blueprint of life.
If true, it would be a profound leap of science and ethics.
A U.S. scientist said he took part in the work in China, but this kind of gene editing is banned in
the United States because the DNA changes can pass to future generations and it risks harming
other genes.
Many mainstream scientists think it's too unsafe to try, and some denounced the Chinese report
as human experimentation.
The researcher, He Jiankui of Shenzhen, said he altered embryos for seven couples during
fertility treatments, with one pregnancy resulting thus far. He said his goal was not to cure or
prevent an inherited disease, but to try to bestow a trait that few people naturally have - an ability
to resist possible future infection with HIV, the AIDS virus.
He said the parents involved declined to be identified or interviewed, and he would not say
where they live or where the work was done.
There is no independent confirmation of He's claim, and it has not been published in a journal,
where it would be vetted by other experts. He revealed it Monday in Hong Kong to one of the
organizers of an international conference on gene editing that is set to begin Tuesday, and earlier
in exclusive interviews with The Associated Press.
"I feel a strong responsibility that it's not just to make a first, but also make it an example," He
told the AP. "Society will decide what to do next" in terms of allowing or forbidding such
science.
Some scientists were astounded to hear of the claim and strongly condemned it.
It's "unconscionable ... an experiment on human beings that is not morally or ethically
defensible," said Dr. Kiran Musunuru, a University of Pennsylvania gene editing expert and
editor of a genetics journal.
"This is far too premature," said Dr. Eric Topol, who heads the Scripps Research Translational
Institute in California. "We're dealing with the operating instructions of a human being. It's a big
deal."
However, one famed geneticist, Harvard University's George Church, defended attempting gene
editing for HIV, which he called "a major and growing public health threat."
"I think this is justifiable," Church said of that goal.
In recent years scientists have discovered a relatively easy way to edit genes, the strands of DNA
that govern the body. The tool, called CRISPR-cas9, makes it possible to operate on DNA to
supply a needed gene or disable one that's causing problems.
It's only recently been tried in adults to treat deadly diseases, and the changes are confined to that
person. Editing sperm, eggs or embryos is different - the changes can be inherited. In the U.S.,
it's not allowed except for lab research. China outlaws human cloning but not specifically gene
editing.
He Jiankui (HEH JEE'-an-qway), who goes by "JK," studied at Rice and Stanford universities in
the U.S. before returning to his homeland to open a lab at Southern University of Science and
Technology of China in Shenzhen, where he also has two genetics companies.
The U.S. scientist who worked with him on this project after He returned to China was physics
and bioengineering professor Michael Deem, who was his adviser at Rice in Houston. Deem also
holds what he called "a small stake" in - and is on the scientific advisory boards of - He's two
companies.
The Chinese researcher said he practiced editing mice, monkey and human embryos in the lab
for several years and has applied for patents on his methods.
He said he chose to try embryo gene editing for HIV because these infections are a big problem
in China. He sought to disable a gene called CCR5 that forms a protein doorway that allows
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, to enter a cell.
All of the men in the project had HIV and all of the women did not, but the gene editing was not
aimed at preventing the small risk of transmission, He said. The fathers had their infections
deeply suppressed by standard HIV medicines and there are simple ways to keep them from
infecting offspring that do not involve altering genes.
Instead, the appeal was to offer couples affected by HIV a chance to have a child that might be
protected from a similar fate.
He recruited couples through a Beijing-based AIDS advocacy group called Baihualin. Its leader,
known by the pseudonym "Bai Hua," told the AP that it's not uncommon for people with HIV to
lose jobs or have trouble getting medical care if their infections are revealed.
Here is how He described the work:
The gene editing occurred during IVF, or lab dish fertilization. First, sperm was "washed" to
separate it from semen, the fluid where HIV can lurk. A single sperm was placed into a single
egg to create an embryo. Then the gene editing tool was added.
When the embryos were 3 to 5 days old, a few cells were removed and checked for editing.
Couples could choose whether to use edited or unedited embryos for pregnancy attempts. In all,
16 of 22 embryos were edited, and 11 embryos were used in six implant attempts before the twin
pregnancy was achieved, He said.
Tests suggest that one twin had both copies of the intended gene altered and the other twin had
just one altered, with no evidence of harm to other genes, He said. People with one copy of the
gene can still get HIV, although some very limited research suggests their health might decline
more slowly once they do.
Several scientists reviewed materials that He provided to the AP and said tests so far are
insufficient to say the editing worked or to rule out harm.
They also noted evidence that the editing was incomplete and that at least one twin appears to be
a patchwork of cells with various changes.
"It's almost like not editing at all" if only some of certain cells were altered, because HIV
infection can still occur, Church said.
Church and Musunuru questioned the decision to allow one of the embryos to be used in a
pregnancy attempt, because the Chinese researchers said they knew in advance that both copies
of the intended gene had not been altered.
"In that child, there really was almost nothing to be gained in terms of protection against HIV
and yet you're exposing that child to all the unknown safety risks," Musunuru said.
The use of that embryo suggests that the researchers' "main emphasis was on testing editing
rather than avoiding this disease," Church said.
Even if editing worked perfectly, people without normal CCR5 genes face higher risks of getting
certain other viruses, such as West Nile, and of dying from the flu. Since there are many ways to
prevent HIV infection and it's very treatable if it occurs, those other medical risks are a concern,
Musunuru said.
There also are questions about the way He said he proceeded. He gave official notice of his work
long after he said he started it - on Nov. 8, on a Chinese registry of clinical trials.
It's unclear whether participants fully understood the purpose and potential risks and benefits.
For example, consent forms called the project an "AIDS vaccine development" program.
The Rice scientist, Deem, said he was present in China when potential participants gave their
consent and that he "absolutely" thinks they were able to understand the risks.
Deem said he worked with He on vaccine research at Rice and considers the gene editing similar
to a vaccine.
"That might be a layman's way of describing it," he said.
Both men are physics experts with no experience running human clinical trials.
The Chinese scientist, He, said he personally made the goals clear and told participants that
embryo gene editing has never been tried before and carries risks. He said he also would provide
insurance coverage for any children conceived through the project and plans medical followup
until the children are 18 and longer if they agree once they're adults.
Further pregnancy attempts are on hold until the safety of this one is analyzed and experts in the
field weigh in, but participants were not told in advance that they might not have a chance to try
what they signed up for once a "first" was achieved, He acknowledged. Free fertility treatment
was part of the deal they were offered.
He sought and received approval for his project from Shenzhen Harmonicare Women's and
Children's Hospital, which is not one of the four hospitals that He said provided embryos for his
research or the pregnancy attempts.
Some staff at some of the other hospitals were kept in the dark about the nature of the research,
which He and Deem said was done to keep some participants' HIV infection from being
disclosed.
"We think this is ethical," said Lin Zhitong, a Harmonicare administrator who heads the ethics
panel.
Any medical staff who handled samples that might contain HIV were aware, He said. An
embryologist in He's lab, Qin Jinzhou, confirmed to the AP that he did sperm washing and
injected the gene editing tool in some of the pregnancy attempts.
The study participants are not ethicists, He said, but "are as much authorities on what is correct
and what is wrong because it's their life on the line."
"I believe this is going to help the families and their children," He said. If it causes unwanted
side effects or harm, "I would feel the same pain as they do and it's going to be my own
responsibility."
___
AP Science Writer Christina Larson, AP videographer Emily Wang and AP translator Fu Ting
contributed to this report from Beijing and Shenzhen, China.
This Associated Press series was produced in partnership with the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
https://www.kaaltv.com/national/ap-exclusive-first-gene-edited-babies-claimed-in-china-/5156436/
Chinese scientist claims he helped make world's first

genetically edited babies
Photo by: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
In this Oct. 9, 2018 photo, Zhou Xiaoqin removes the cryostorage sheath from a container
for an embryo at a laboratory in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong province.
NATION-WORLD
This kind of gene editing is banned in the U.S. because the DNA changes can pass to future
generations and it risks harming other genes.
Author: MARILYNN MARCHIONE , AP Chief Medical Writer
Published: 10:01 PM EST November 25, 2018
Updated: 10:08 PM EST November 25, 2018
A Chinese researcher claims that he helped make the world's first genetically edited babies —
twin girls whose DNA he said he altered with a powerful new tool capable of rewriting the very
blueprint of life.
If true, it would be a profound leap of science and ethics.
A U.S. scientist said he took part in the work in China, but this kind of gene editing is banned in
the United States because the DNA changes can pass to future generations and it risks harming
other genes.
Many mainstream scientists think it's too unsafe to try, and some denounced the Chinese report
as human experimentation.
The researcher, He Jiankui of Shenzhen, said he altered embryos for seven couples during
fertility treatments, with one pregnancy resulting thus far. He said his goal was not to cure or
prevent an inherited disease, but to try to bestow a trait that few people naturally have — an
ability to resist possible future infection with HIV, the AIDS virus.
He said the parents involved declined to be identified or interviewed, and he would not say
where they live or where the work was done.
In this Oct. 10, 2018 photo, He Jiankui speaks during an interview at a laboratory in Shenzhen in
southern China's Guangdong province.
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
There is no independent confirmation of He's claim, and it has not been published in a journal,
where it would be vetted by other experts. He revealed it Monday in Hong Kong to one of the
organizers of an international conference on gene editing that is set to begin Tuesday, and earlier
in exclusive interviews with The Associated Press.
"I feel a strong responsibility that it's not just to make a first, but also make it an example," He
told the AP. "Society will decide what to do next" in terms of allowing or forbidding such
science.
Some scientists were astounded to hear of the claim and strongly condemned it.
It's "unconscionable ... an experiment on human beings that is not morally or ethically
defensible," said Dr. Kiran Musunuru, a University of Pennsylvania gene editing expert and
editor of a genetics journal.
"This is far too premature," said Dr. Eric Topol, who heads the Scripps Research Translational
Institute in California. "We're dealing with the operating instructions of a human being. It's a big
deal."
However, one famed geneticist, Harvard University's George Church, defended attempting gene
editing for HIV, which he called "a major and growing public health threat."
"I think this is justifiable," Church said of that goal.
In recent years scientists have discovered a relatively easy way to edit genes, the strands of DNA
that govern the body. The tool, called CRISPR-cas9, makes it possible to operate on DNA to
supply a needed gene or disable one that's causing problems.
It's only recently been tried in adults to treat deadly diseases, and the changes are confined to that
person. Editing sperm, eggs or embryos is different — the changes can be inherited. In the U.S.,
it's not allowed except for lab research. China outlaws human cloning but not specifically gene
editing.
He Jiankui, who goes by "JK," studied at Rice and Stanford universities in the U.S. before
returning to his homeland to open a lab at Southern University of Science and Technology of
China in Shenzhen, where he also has two genetics companies.
The U.S. scientist who worked with him on this project after He returned to China was physics
and bioengineering professor Michael Deem, who was his adviser at Rice in Houston. Deem also
holds what he called "a small stake" in — and is on the scientific advisory boards of — He's two
companies.
The Chinese researcher said he practiced editing mice, monkey and human embryos in the lab
for several years and has applied for patents on his methods.
He said he chose to try embryo gene editing for HIV because these infections are a big problem
in China. He sought to disable a gene called CCR5 that forms a protein doorway that allows
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, to enter a cell.
All of the men in the project had HIV and all of the women did not, but the gene editing was not
aimed at preventing the small risk of transmission, He said. The fathers had their infections
deeply suppressed by standard HIV medicines and there are simple ways to keep them from
infecting offspring that do not involve altering genes.
Instead, the appeal was to offer couples affected by HIV a chance to have a child that might be
protected from a similar fate.
He recruited couples through a Beijing-based AIDS advocacy group called Baihualin. Its leader,
known by the pseudonym "Bai Hua," told the AP that it's not uncommon for people with HIV to
lose jobs or have trouble getting medical care if their infections are revealed.
Here is how He described the work:
The gene editing occurred during IVF, or lab dish fertilization. First, sperm was "washed" to
separate it from semen, the fluid where HIV can lurk. A single sperm was placed into a single
egg to create an embryo. Then the gene editing tool was added.
When the embryos were 3 to 5 days old, a few cells were removed and checked for editing.
Couples could choose whether to use edited or unedited embryos for pregnancy attempts. In all,
16 of 22 embryos were edited, and 11 embryos were used in six implant attempts before the twin
pregnancy was achieved, He said.
Tests suggest that one twin had both copies of the intended gene altered and the other twin had
just one altered, with no evidence of harm to other genes, He said. People with one copy of the
gene can still get HIV, although some very limited research suggests their health might decline
more slowly once they do.
In this Oct. 9, 2018 photo, an embryo receives a small dose of Cas9 protein and PCSK9 sgRNA
in a sperm injection microscope in a laboratory in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong
province.
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Several scientists reviewed materials that He provided to the AP and said tests so far are
insufficient to say the editing worked or to rule out harm.
They also noted evidence that the editing was incomplete and that at least one twin appears to be
a patchwork of cells with various changes.
"It's almost like not editing at all" if only some of certain cells were altered, because HIV
infection can still occur, Church said.
Church and Musunuru questioned the decision to allow one of the embryos to be used in a
pregnancy attempt, because the Chinese researchers said they knew in advance that both copies
of the intended gene had not been altered.
"In that child, there really was almost nothing to be gained in terms of protection against HIV
and yet you're exposing that child to all the unknown safety risks," Musunuru said.
The use of that embryo suggests that the researchers' "main emphasis was on testing editing
rather than avoiding this disease," Church said.
Even if editing worked perfectly, people without normal CCR5 genes face higher risks of getting
certain other viruses, such as West Nile, and of dying from the flu. Since there are many ways to
prevent HIV infection and it's very treatable if it occurs, those other medical risks are a concern,
Musunuru said.
There also are questions about the way He said he proceeded. He gave official notice of his work
long after he said he started it — on Nov. 8, on a Chinese registry of clinical trials.
It's unclear whether participants fully understood the purpose and potential risks and benefits.
For example, consent forms called the project an "AIDS vaccine development" program.
The Rice scientist, Deem, said he was present in China when potential participants gave their
consent and that he "absolutely" thinks they were able to understand the risks.
Deem said he worked with He on vaccine research at Rice and considers the gene editing similar
to a vaccine.
"That might be a layman's way of describing it," he said.
Both men are physics experts with no experience running human clinical trials.
The Chinese scientist, He, said he personally made the goals clear and told participants that
embryo gene editing has never been tried before and carries risks. He said he also would provide
insurance coverage for any children conceived through the project and plans medical followup
until the children are 18 and longer if they agree once they're adults.
Further pregnancy attempts are on hold until the safety of this one is analyzed and experts in the
field weigh in, but participants were not told in advance that they might not have a chance to try
what they signed up for once a "first" was achieved, He acknowledged. Free fertility treatment
was part of the deal they were offered.
He sought and received approval for his project from Shenzhen Harmonicare Women's and
Children's Hospital, which is not one of the four hospitals that He said provided embryos for his
research or the pregnancy attempts.
Some staff at some of the other hospitals were kept in the dark about the nature of the research,
which He and Deem said was done to keep some participants' HIV infection from being
disclosed.
"We think this is ethical," said Lin Zhitong, a Harmonicare administrator who heads the ethics
panel.
Any medical staff who handled samples that might contain HIV were aware, He said. An
embryologist in He's lab, Qin Jinzhou, confirmed to the AP that he did sperm washing and
injected the gene editing tool in some of the pregnancy attempts.
The study participants are not ethicists, He said, but "are as much authorities on what is correct
and what is wrong because it's their life on the line."
"I believe this is going to help the families and their children," He said. If it causes unwanted
side effects or harm, "I would feel the same pain as they do and it's going to be my own
responsibility."___
AP Science Writer Christina Larson, AP videographer Emily Wang and AP translator Fu Ting
contributed to this report from Beijing and Shenzhen, China.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
https://www.whas11.com/article/news/nation-world/chinese-scientist-claims-he-helped-make-
worlds-first-genetically-edited-babies/417-617600124
Time for competence at DA

DEMAND AND SUPPLY - Boo Chanco (The Philippine Star) - November 26, 2018 - 12:00am
The legislative bicameral conference committee has approved the rice tariffication bill with no
licensing by the NFA, removal of the NFA Council, and a P10 billion fund for rice
competitiveness. Economists have long advocated replacement of quantitative restrictions on
rice importation with a simple tariff.
But the reform measure has also been vigorously opposed by some supposedly farmers groups
and by agriculture officials, including the current secretary. They claim that import restriction
protects local farmers. That has not worked for decades, but they still believe it miraculously
will.
As proposed by the economic managers, the bill allocates P10 billion for the Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund to buy farm machinery and equipment, seed production,
and training on rice farming. The restrictions on rice imports only punished rice consumers,
including farmers who buy from the open market once their personal stocks are consumed.
President Duterte actually ordered rice import liberalization after heated discussions in the
Cabinet between the finance secretary and the agriculture secretary. But in the end, the
agriculture secretary insisted no written order was given by the President.
In fact, the agriculture secretary in his new capacity as NFA chairman, dilly dallied in
implementing a DTI program allowing supermarkets to import 350,000 metric tons of rice. Only
15,000 metric tons have been approved for importation by the Lucio Co Puregold Price Club.
Under the DTI program, supermarkets and traders can import rice from any country with the
maximum quantity to be allocated per importer set at 20,000 MT. Rice sourced from an ASEAN
country will be levied a 35 percent tariff and 50 percent for non-ASEAN origin.
Removing the rice import restrictions became urgent after the country‟s inflation rate zoomed up
beyond the expectations of government economists and the central bank. The cause was traced to
an above normal rise in food cost inflation, notably the price of rice.
NFA not only failed to import enough buffer stock, but also caused the public to panic when its
administrator showed empty warehouses to media reporters. Duterte initially blamed the rapid
rise of international oil prices for the high inflation rate. Many also mistakenly blamed TRAIN 1
as the culprit.
High inflation was caused by the failure of Duterte to decide amidst the long running debate
between the old chairman of the NFA Council and the NFA administrator on the right rice
importation policy. That probably explains why Duterte was using other explanations for high
inflation.
Rice import liberalization makes sense. As estimated by Rolando Dy, an agri-business specialist
from the University of Asia and the Pacific: CIF Manila for rice (25 percent broken) P22.63;
tariff P7.92; Handling/importer mark-up P5; total warehouse price P35.55 and a retailer mark-up
of P1.50 for a retail price of P37.05 a kilo.
But we must do more than just liberalizing rice importation. We need a total program for
everything from convincing farmers to plant hybrid seeds to giving farmers access to farm credit
and modernizing operations of rice farms.
We also need to have economies of scale in rice farming, same as Thailand and Vietnam. That is
difficult, if not impossible, under the Agrarian Reform Law. We need to have a president bold
enough to declare the law dead and come up with a better program.
We need a new Rafael Salas to lead our agriculture sector to produce the country‟s food (not just
rice) requirements. We can concede the current secretary has the best intentions, but we also
need one with training and experience to do the job.
We need someone with the organizational ability of the late Paeng Salas, the international
experience of William Dar, and the political skills of Arthur Yap.
While Dar and Rep. Yap had their chance as past agriculture secretaries, they didn‟t have the
funds now available to produce a new golden age. Hopefully the President realizes how
important it is to have the right person… or risk high inflation again or worse.
Other than rice, the other important crop that has been neglected in the last two years of Mr.
Duterte is coconut. It is so bad that the Thais are killing us in our own market.
At Unimart Capitol Commons, I noticed that the shelf for something as simple and basic as
coconut milk is now Thai territory. Several brands of packaged coconut milk from the top shelf
to the bottom are occupied by Thai brands. Only Knorr is Philippine made.
This reminds me of a similar visit I made a year or so ago to an Asian supermarket in California.
I found a coconut water brand called Sarap that was canned in Thailand. There were also boxes
and boxes of fresh young coconut or buko from Thailand.
Let us not talk about patis, a product as Filipino as we can imagine. That, too, is now dominated
abroad by the Thais. We have been hearing how bad poverty is in our coconut regions.
Processing of agriculture products like coconut provides another level of local value added that
should help farmers get better prices for their produce.
Food processing isn‟t as high tech as producing cell phones or as complicated as manufacturing
cars. Why isn‟t this happening?
Is this a problem of DTI as well? Even here, we have lost the cooking oil market to palm oil of
Malaysia. I am not surprised given the massive assistance the Malaysian government gives their
planters.
We are not even talking of allocating additional government funds to help the coconut farmers.
The farmers have billions of pesos in coco levy funds sleeping, and maybe being pillaged
somewhere. Why can‟t these funds be used to help the farmers get a better living from coconuts?
I am hoping 2019 will be the year for agriculture. That can happen with a new inspiring leader
for this sector. Results! We need less promises and more good results!
Boo Chanco‟s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com
https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/11/26/1871623/time-competence-da
Prepare for influx of cheap imported rice, farmers told

By: Delfin T. Mallari Jr. - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:33 AM November 26, 2018
LUCENA CITY — With the passage of the rice tariffication bill, the farmers should exert efforts
to be more competitive against the expected flood of cheap imported rice, Sen. Cynthia Villar said.
“Even if the government has its program but if the farmers themselves will not fight it out … the
farmers should be more competitive. It cannot be done by the government alone. It has to be done
with the help of the farmers,” Villar, chair of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, said in
an interview here Saturday afternoon.
Lower rice prices
The senator said amid the rising inflation in the country, the price of rice might be lowered once
the bill was signed into law due to the influx of cheaper rice from abroad.
Villar was guest at the annual assembly of senior citizens from the province 1st and 2nd district
held at Quezon Convention Center here.
On Thursday, the bicameral conference committee approved the rice tariffication bill, which aims
to replace the quantitative restrictions on rice imports with tariffs.
Rice Fund
The bill also earmarks P10 billion for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, or Rice Fund,
which will be allotted to the provision of farm machinery and equipment, seed production and
training on rice farming, among others.
Villar said the bill would hopefully be signed into law before the year ends.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier certified the bill as urgent.
The fund will be used for farm mechanization and enhancement of farmer‟s technical know-how,
trainings, financial literacy and access to cheap credit.
Villar explained that the country had no other option but to liberalize its imports after the lifting of
the quantitative restrictions (QR) on rice after three extensions granted by the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
In 2014, the WTO allowed the Philippines to extend its QR on rice until June 30, 2017, to give
local farmers more time to prepare for free trade in light of the government‟s goal of achieving rice
self-sufficiency.
Sanction from WTO
Villar argued that if the Philippines would not liberalize, there is a corresponding sanction from the
WTO.
“We don‟t know, which of our exports will be hit. That‟s why this liberalization but with a tariff to
protect our farmers. And the tariff will proceed to the Rice Fund to make our farmers more
competitive,” the senator explained.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1057075/prepare-for-influx-of-cheap-imported-rice-farmers-told
NEDA confident tariffs to lower prices of rice

Published November 25, 2018, 10:00 PM
By Chino S. Leyco
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is confident that the passage of the
measure imposing tariffs on imported rice would reduce prices and improve the country‟s output
of this staple food.
Ernesto M. Pernia
Following the passage of the rice tariffication bill in the bicameral conference committee,
Socioeconomic Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the legislative action is a welcome development
amid skyrocketing commodity prices that drove inflation to higher levels.
Both chambers of Congress approved last week the rice tariffication bill amending Republic Act
(RA) No. 8178, otherwise known as the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996.
Once passed into law, the new measure will replace quantitative restrictions (QR) on rice imports
with tariffs and remove unnecessary government intervention in the rice market.
Pernia said that NEDA views the decision as a positive development as the economic team
exhausts all efforts to tame increases in the prices of goods, particularly rice.
“With only the President‟s signature before rice tariffication becomes a law, we are making a big
step in the realization of our agricultural reform agenda,” Pernia said.
The NEDA chief also said the Bicam-approved bill addresses not only the tariffication of rice in
compliance with the Philippines‟ obligation to the World Trade Organization, but it also
addresses food security by increasing the availability and accessibility of cheaper rice.
“The economic team has always been mindful that food remains to be the major contributor to
inflation. Efforts to address food supply concerns, especially rice, will definitely help bring down
consumer prices,” he added.
According to NEDA‟s preliminary estimate, headline inflation rate would be reduced by 1

percentage point if rice prices will be reduced to the level of imported rice. Even with just a
P1.00 per kilo reduction in the wholesale price of rice, headline inflation rate would also be
reduced by 0.3 percentage points.
Rice tariffication also helps improve the productivity of farmers and, as a result, enables them to
increase their incomes.
The bill provides for the establishment of a rice competitiveness enhancement fund (RCEF) from
an annual appropriation of P10 billion for the next six years.
If the tariff revenues exceed P10 billion in any given year, the excess revenue will still be plowed
back to RCEF to support rice farmers.
“The RCEF will be used to provide key interventions to support our farmers and enhance their
competitiveness,” Pernia said.
A portion of the rice tariff revenues in excess of P10 billion shall also be used to provide direct
financial assistance to rice farmers adversely affected by the removal of the quantitative
restriction.

26th November, 2018 Daily Global Regional Local Rice E-Newlsetter

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November 26 ,2018

A nutritionists, Dr Ochuko Erikainure, says moderate consumption of unrefined foods such as

Hybrid rice to feed rising population: analysts

Drones to revive agro industry

Lowest offer in GASC rice tender at $419.7 for 25,000 T of

Non-basmati exporters to get 5% benefit under merchandise

Rice losing micronutrients for multiple polishing

Say food officials urging millers to ensure fortification

Star Business Report

Fortification is a practice of deliberately increasing the content of an essential micronutrient in a

Islam said his ministry would discuss the proposal.

China’s new hybrid rice varieties feed demand for more

China‟s new rice varieties feed demand for more

Experts call for critical management of water resources in

Published: November 24, 2018

Agriculturalist Faisal Hassan stressed on the need to prevent plantation of water-intensive

Hybrid rice to feed rising population: analysts

Star Business Report

Among others, Z Karim, former chairman of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council; AM

Govt urged to allow farm workers to form trade unions

Rice tariffication seen to bolster food supply

Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia

Fact Check: USDA got it wrong with Nigeria’s, other

estimation of Nigeria‟s rice…

Rice tarrification bill enhances local farmers‟ competitiveness

“That‟s 50-percent increase in productivity. We are rice-sufficient if we can do that. Of course,

China's new rice varieties feed demand for more

China's new rice varieties feed demand for more

China’s new hybrid rice varieties feed demand for more

Paddy procurement price is ₹1,759 a quintal

BENGALURU, NOVEMBER 25, 2018 00:55 IST

Merchandise Exports from India Scheme: Non-basmati rice

smuggling and why it may persist

law enforcement agencies are overwhelmed.

smugglers amongst others.

smuggling in Europe, duty shops were introduced.

“Smuggling starts as a legitimate business but ends up as an illegitimate business. Smuggling is

from Benin Republic to Nigeria or otherwise.

importation has not allowed Nigeria to develop forex.

is in the agreement they are signing.

among the cartelising factors that fuel smuggling.

Nigeria. This is a fertile ground for smuggling.

move their exchange to the nearby countries.

the shipping company, and to anyone else, smuggling would stop.”

that would make business flourish.

import and sell,” he lamented.

practically imposed ban on importation of rice.

to the market and look for what is cheap to buy.”

Nigeria rice capacity sufficient

significantly improving capacity utilisation of processors.

the required key agricultural commodities.

to boost agricultural production.

state has been extended to 26 states.

programme in some states to increase production,‟‟ he said.

complemented by adequate provision of farm implements and inputs.

undergo a steady transformation in terms of techniques and marketing.

other parts of the world.

her neighbouring countries.

Nigeria fight smuggling.”

been very critical about it.

world, not the other way round.”

Direct rice sowing method gaining popularity in Karnataka

BALLARI, NOVEMBER 24, 2018 22:46 IST