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4
th
August, 2014





TOP Contents - Tailored for YOU
Latest News Headlines
NFA opens rice imports tender
Rice Field Day this month
Rice yields go up along with imports
Rice exports in July could hit 900,000 tonnes
Indian rice revival to heal ravaged land
People you should know: Dale Bumpers National
Rice Research Center scientists

NFA opens rice imports tender
THE GOVERNMENT has allotted over P10 billion for the importation of an
additional 500,000 metric tons (MT) of rice earlier approved by the National
Food Authority (NFA) Council in a bid to boost domestic stocks of the
grain.The state grains agency released over the weekend a bid invitation to
interested rice suppliers for the procurement of the commodity for a total approved contract budget
of P10.27 billion.The tender will be conducted on Aug. 27 at the Philippine Sugar Center Building along North Avenue in
Quezon City, the NFA said.According to the notice, five lots of 100,000 MT each will be opened to bidders, each with a
contract price of P2.055 billion.The rice imports will be long grain, white rice with 25% broken and well-milled.
The supply also must have been harvested from January to June 2014.The tender will be open to rice exporters in other
countries, including Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.The NFA also said that the delivery of the commodity will be in
three batches -- 40% of the volume awarded should arrive not later than Sept. 30, another 40% by Oct. 31, and the



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remaining 20% by Nov. 30.Penalty on shipments beyond the arrival period shall be imposed, said Presidential Assistant
for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Francis N. Pangilinan in a statement.The imports shall be discharged
in different ports in the country with corresponding volumes, he added.Mr. Pangilinan earlier said that the additional
imports will improve the countrys rice supply and help ensure the stability of rice prices.

GREEN LANE SCHEME
Meanwhile, the Agriculture department is likewise planning to put up a special green lane facility for meat importers
who have a good record of compliance with the law to hasten processing of their shipments.Agriculture Undersecretary
Jose D. Reao said in a phone interview that the green lane will fast track the shipment inspection process.Inspection
of one container will take only about 15 minutes, Mr. Reao said in Filipino, noting that the usual inspection process for
one container takes as long as half a day.According to the official, the current meat inspection process involves opening
each and every shipment container to check whether the supply meets import standards.Under the green lane scheme,
importers with several containers will only have to open one container for inspection.Once one has been checked, the
other containers will be declared as okay, he said.
Mr. Reao added that all meat-importing companies will be assessed, and those without any violations for the last five
years can use the green lane facility.We are looking at about seven to eight companies right now under the green lane,
he said.He noted, however, that the number may still change as some companies may be trimmed off the list.We might
not give out the list as it will be a big bias for the other companies, he added.Asked when the green lane scheme would
be imposed, Mr. Reao said that it would possibly be within this year or early next year.Hopefully by this year or by
January next year, he said.Mr. Reao also said that the Agriculture department has already consulted different sectors
regarding the initiative.Most of the groups, he said, expressed their approval.We have already gotten the support of the
Philippine Association of Meat Processors, Inc., as well as hog raisers, representatives from the poultry industry, as well
as meat importers, Mr. Reao said. -- Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas
Rice Field Day this month
The Annual California Rice Field Day at the Rice Experiment
Station is always a very nice event sponsored by the California
Cooperative Rice research Foundation and University of California.
Displays and demonstrations are spread out and very informative
and this year will be no different. There will be a rice equipment
vendor display for participants to check out. The general session
will begin at 8:30 a.m., followed by field tours of rice research and
lunch. While on the field tours growers will learn about variety
improvement, disease insect and weed control.
For more information visit http://www.crrf.org.



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Rice yields go up along with imports
By Anna Leah G. Estrada | Aug. 03, 2014 at 12:01am
The Philippines posted the highest rice yield in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the past three
years, but the country is still expected to import 1.4 million tons this year, according to estimates of the United
States Department of Agriculture.From 2011 to 2014, the International Rice Research Institute said the country
posted the highest growth in yield with the average yield hitting three to four metric tons per hectare last
year.The Philippines is the fastest growing country in terms of yields over the last three to four years. A real
record faster than any ASEAN country, said IRRI Deputy Director General Bruce Tolentino at a scientific
forum on rice last Wednesday.But the USDA estimated that the country imported around 1.4 million tons of
rice from July 2013-June 2014, about 28% lower than its official estimates of around 2 million tons, but up
about 3.5% from the 1.4 million tons that was actually imported in 2013.Presidential Assistant for Food
Security Francis Pangilinan attributed the increased importation to increased consumption.
Despite the growth in yield, the countrys rice consumption also grew, he said.In addition to that, wastage
continued to be high. In fact based on estimates, wastage on rice was at 1 million metric tons per year due to the
lack of post harvest facilities, Pangilinan said, adding that the countrys rice consumption was placed at 32,000
metric tons per day.Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala also attributed the continuing importation the series of
typhoon hitting the country.Every year, series of typhoon hits the country and we need to import so that we can
stabilize prices. Importation is also needed to boost the countrys buffer stocks, Alcala said.But Alcalas ex-
aide, former agriculture undersecretary Dante Delima criticized a recent decision to import more rice as
politically-motivated.How can there be a rice shortage when the harvest season will start in September,
Delima said, referring to the projected arrival of 300,000 metric tons.This is clearly political pressure on our
leaders because of ambition. They are afraid to act against the rice giants because the elections are just around
the corner, Delima said.
Rice exports in July could hit 900,000 tonnes
Nation
August 2, 2014 1:00 am
After surging 59.2 per cent in the first half of this year, Thailand's rice exports may have touched 900,000 tonnes in July,
given its lower prices than rivals' and tightening rice supply in Vietnam, said the Thai Rice Exporters Association.As of
July 30, in FOB (free-on-board) terms, the Thai export price of 5 per cent broken white rice was lower than competitors' at
US$432 per tonne. Based on oryza.com data on the same date, the Vietnamese export price of 5 per cent broken white rice
was $465-$475 per tonne.




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India's and Pakistan's export prices of the same quality rice were in the range of $435-$445 per tonne.According to the
Thai Rice Exporters Association, this country's export prices last month might have been higher than in June because of a
tighter supply after a slowdown of the government's rice sales and appreciation of the baht. Foreign buyers, including in
Africa and the Middle East, purchased more Thai white and parboiled rice, it said.
First-half
During the first half of this year, Thai rice exports totalled 4.68 million tonnes valued at Bt76.35 billion. Export volume
jumped 59.2 per cent year on year, while export value increased 23.2 per cent.Benin was the top importer, buying 510,016
tonnes of Thai rice in the first six months, followed by China's 328,894 tonnes and Ivory Coast's 257,581 tonnes.In June,
Thai rice exports fell slightly from the prior month because of a 13-per-cent drop in white-rice shipments to 407,577
tonnes.
Most white rice was exported to Cameroon, China, Japan, Mozambique, Angola and Malaysia.June's jasmine-rice exports
totalled 146,780 tonnes, up 14.6 per cent from May. Most jasmine rice was exported to the United States, Hong Kong,
Canada and Singapore.Parboiled-rice exports inched up 2 per cent to 262,099 tonnes. Of that total, 130,422 tonnes of
parboiled rice was exported to Benin, while 38,950 tonnes was shipped to Nigeria.
Indian rice revival to heal ravaged land
India exported $3 billion worth of shrimp
last year. The nation's seafood industry is
booming, but it's also damaging the
environment. Farmers in one community
are turning to an age-old practice to save
their land. At first glance, the town of
Neendakara in the south Indian state of Kerala
looks like any other coastal village. The single
road leading into the hamlet is surrounded by
serene ponds. Coconut palms line the water's
edge and birds' calls fill the morning air. But disguised behind this rustic charm is a harsh reality.Construction
laborer Indira Ramanan points to a hut covered in plastic sheets that are held in place with thick ropes. That used to
be her house, but the family had to move out when the brick walls started to crumble and the ceiling nearly
collapsed."This house was completely destroyed and now we're building a new one," she says, standing outside a
partially complete two-room building. "We can't finish the construction because there is no money."



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Booming industry, crumbling lives
Most of the houses here have suffered the same fate.
Ramanan's neighbor Saboo says you just have to taste
the powder from the crumbling plaster to find out what's
behind the problem. The dust falling from the walls has
an unmistakable salty taste.Prawn farming is now big
business in the Indian state of Kerala .The source is right
next door. Salty rectangular ponds extend as far as the
eye can see, each about half a meter deep and brimming
with tiny shrimp larvae.These ponds are part of Kerala's
explosion in shrimp production over the past decade.
Local catch contributed to the more than $3 billion (2.2 billion euros) worth of shrimp that India exported last
year.The seafood boom has created millions of jobs and made some businessmen very rich. But it is also causing
widespread environmental damage - turning soil too salty for farming and contaminating groundwater. Salt from the
perennial ponds has permeated deep into the soil, and locals say it's now seeping into buildings, damaging brickwork
and wrecking homes.
Shrimp and rice side-by-side
Local residents think they may have a solution: reviving an ancient farming practice that was used over 50 years ago.
Back then, farmers would grow shrimp and rice on the same land - planting rice in the rainy season, and converting
the field into a shrimp pond for the rest of the year."It's a good model of an integrated farming system, which has
proved to be very paying here," said V. Sreekumaran, director of the government-run Vytilla Rice Research Station
nearby.
The practice was called pokkali, named after a special variety of salt-tolerant rice.To cultivate rice, the paddy needs
to stay submerged in freshwater for two to three months after the planting season. A portion of that rainwater
percolates down into the soil, flushing out some of the salt and recharging the water table. There are also other
benefits of growing rice, adds Sreekumaran. "It's actually a reservoir of good water that replenishes the drinking
water sources of the entire area," he said.



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The rice solution?
However, hardly anyone plants rice these days because it doesn't make nearly as much money as shrimp. Up until
the 1960s, there used to be 40,000 acres of combined rice and shrimp fields. Now there are only 4,000 acres left,
according to Sreekumaran.With sea levels rising, saltwater intrusion is expected to increase further in low-lying
coastal areas. Farmers need to adopt practices that can keep salinity in check, says local activist Francis Kalathunkal,
who's been lobbying for government support to revive rice farming.After more than two years of campaigning by the
local residents, last the government year ordered shrimp businesses to plant rice in the rainy season. It was a big
victory for Kalathunkal, though it didn't last long.Locals are hoping rice paddies will clean up their soil and water
supply
Battle for rice
The farmers got about 30 tons of rice from the 120
acres that they planted - less than one fourth of the yield
from conventional rice fields 50 kilometers away. That
only strengthened the opposition to rice.They could
preserve pokkali as part of history perhaps," shrimp
businessman Nickson Edwin said as he inspected his
ponds. "But otherwise it doesn't make sense to grow
rice here. It's just not profitable." The seafood industry
has created thousands of jobs here, and these
businessmen are a wealthy and politically connected group. This year they didn't hand over the fields to the rice
farmers, despite protests from local residents.
'The soil is healing'
But Kalathunkal is not deterred. "If we consider the larger interests of society, will we only allow those entities that
produce profit to flourish and the rest has to flounder," he said. "We will hold protests, go to the court, and do
everything we can to get action. This is the people's fight."Indira Ramanan from the village of Neendakara says she
is already seeing some benefits from rice that was planted in a field next to her house. Soil that was too salty is
gradually healing, she says."Nothing used to grow here for 25 years, but after just one year of growing pokkali,



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tomatoes and flowers are taking root," Ramanan said, pointing to the small plants with white and yellow flowers in
her backyard. "We won't agree to just shrimp farming anymore - it has to be both rice and shrimp."
People you should know: Dale Bumpers National Rice Research
Center scientists
Editor's Note: This is the first in a series introducing the scientists of the Dale Bumpers National Rice
Research Center.
By Dawn Teer ,dteer@stuttgartdailyleader.com
Posted Aug. 1, 2014 @ 9:37 am
The Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center has been around since 1999, but few people actually know that its
there or what it does. The Stuttgart Daily Leader set out to find out more about the DBNRRC. In doing so, it was
discovered that this money seems to be well spent with, in some cases, a great return on the investment in savings of
money, time and resources, when one considers the economic impact of the work that is done here.According to Dr. Anna
McClung, research leader/center director, at the DBNRCC since 2005, We want the community to know that we are
very cognizant that we work for the taxpayer, and that your tax dollars are well spent. We have some really great people
here doing really great work and we will continue to be a resource for teachers and farmers alike. Its a shame we have to
go out of this country to get people to come here and work with us.Dr. Craig Wilson, director of the USDA/HSINP
Future Scientists Program, speaking to a group of teachers, said, Ag science is so important.
We are losing 6,000 acres per day of land (that could be utilized to feed the world). Only 1/32 of the earths mass feeds
the world. With the population of the world looking to hit 7 billion people, it makes the research we do so important.If
we dont research agriculture, we cant feed the future, research geneticist Dr. Shannon Pinson said. We must try to
home grow scientists by making science fun and interesting. Linda Gunnell, a sixt- grade science teacher from DeWitt,
is working as a STRIVE program participant this summer at the DBNRRC and calls it, the hidden jewel.They want to
get teachers in this facility to see what is happening here and then take it back to their classroom, Gunnell said.We will
come to your classroom or you can bring your class here, Wilson said. We want to be a resource for you.Although
many rice varieties are actually stored here in Arkansas, not all rice varieties are. Most are stored in Idaho at what is
known as the GSOR, the Genetic Stocks Oryza (GSOR) Collection.Rice varieties mean more than just the variety that is
desired to plant. What the DBNRRC is interested in as well are the rice accessions. According to Dr. Shannon Pinson,
...18,000 rice accessions is, for practical purposes, too large to study for each and every trait. So, what we generally do
instead is make some best guesses as to what subset of that collection to work with. For example, if we are interested in
finding a gene for cold tolerance, we can pretty much not waste our time looking through rice accessions from hot,
tropical regions, but instead look first at rice accessions originally from colder parts of the world.