New Headlines Today

Vietnam touted as top agricultural producer but farmers still

poor
BAAC disburses payments to help rice farmers in Surin
Indias Exim Bank support for Senegals rice sufficiency
project
Food insecurity looms over flood-hit districts of Punjab
Production goal for rice intact -- exec
NACC to go it alone on rice case
Official logo of the National Anti-Corruption Commission
(NACC)
Pakistan based BGA appealed to IPAB against GI tag of
basmati rice to MP
Think Rice! Message Resonates with Thousands of Health
Professionals at 2014 FNCE
Chef de Riz Named at International Rice Festival
CCC Announces Prevailing World Market Prices
Rice growers wrap up drought-diminished harvest
Japans rice industry gets a rethink as farmers retire but
protection remains

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22
nd
October, 2014
News Detail.

Vietnam touted as top
agricultural producer but
farmers still poor
VietNamNet Bridge Vietnam is a top
global producer of many agricultural
products, but the farmers dont pocket as
much money as people think.
Vietnam, for example, is considered a
giant in cashew nut exports. Its cashew
processing industry is described as
powerful with 465 production workshops
with have the total capacity of one million
tons per annum.This year, the country plans
to export 180,000 tons of cashew nuts worth
$1.8 billion. If counting the exports of by-
products and processed products, export
turnover could reach $2.2 billion.However,
the director of a Binh Phuoc-based cashew
nut company said the profits of the
Vietnamese cashew industry are no more
than 10 percent of total turnover.
The modest profits are attributed to
Vietnams heavy reliance on raw material
imports, making it difficult for Vietnamese
enterprises to control production costs and
sell prices. In 2011, Lafooco, a well known
cashew-nut processor, incurred a major loss
of VND152 billion because it imported raw
cashew nuts from Africa at high prices and
then exported at a loss of VND12,000 per
kilo as world prices suddenly dropped. Total
profits from the companys 2009-2011
period were under VND116 billion.The
Vietnamese cashew industry, with high
turnover, but low profits and a weak
foundation, is described as a giant with clay
feet.
Vietnam is also the biggest rice exporter in
the world, with 6.74 million tons of rice
exported in 2013 and 7.2 million tons in
2014.However, despite high export volume
and high export turnover, Vietnamese
farmers remain poor and many of them are
considering giving up farming.There also
exists a big gap between Vietnams rice
export prices and world prices. With the
average export price of $400-450 per ton,
which is $50-75 per ton lower than Indian,
Pakistani and Thai prices for the rice of the
same quality, Vietnam is believed to have
the cheapest supply source.
In mid-2013, Vietnam even offered to sell
its five percent broken rice at $365 per
ton.Cassava, rubber and coffee the other
top Vietnamese farm produce are also
called giants with clay-made feet.In 2013,
Vietnam exported 1.1 million tons of rubber
and reaped $2.5 billion. The figures
represented a 5.2 percent increase in export
volume and a 12.9 percent decrease in value.
The sharp rubber price falls caused the
rubber industry to suffer.
Export markets
Dr. Nguyen Van Nam, a renowned trade
expert, commented that the biggest problem
of Vietnam is that it puts all of its eggs in
one basket, i.e., it relies too much on
certain export markets. And if the markets
stop importing Vietnamese farm produce,
Vietnamese businesses and farmers will
suffer.Vietnamese have been bargaining
away rice, cassava, rubber and coffee to
China, an easy-to-please market which
always buy products in large quantities,
Nam said.China could possibly control the
market in the future, and then would be able
to determine Vietnams selling prices, he
warned.
Dat Viet
Tags:agricultural products, rice production,
farmers,
BAAC disburses payments
to help rice farmers in
Surin
Date : 22 2557
BANGKOK, 22 October 2014 (NNT) - The
Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural
Cooperatives (BAAC) in Surin province
have dispatched officials to investigate
farmers who have registered for the
governments rice-subsidy program, to
ensure that the money has not reached the
wrong hands. Thousands of farmers in Chat
Trakan District of Phitsanulok have queued
up at the Agriculture Office in Chat Trakan,
carrying certificates of ownership of their
lands, as well as copies of their house
registration and ID cards in order to register
for the program.

Each farmer will be allowed to receive 1,000
baht per rai, but not exceeding 15,000 baht
in total.
Meanwhile, several farmers in Surin have
opened bank accounts with the BAAC
branches throughout the province to receive
the subsidy. As of now, there are 160,000
farmers in Surin registered for the program.
They will receive a combined subsidy of 1.5
million baht.
Indias Exim Bank support for
Senegals rice sufficiency
project
Dakar (Senegal), Oct 22 :
The Export Import Bank of India (Exim
Bank) has offered Senegal $62.95 million
through letters of credit (LoCs) to support a
rice self-sufficiency programme, deputy
managing direct of the bank, David
Rasquinha has said.With the latest offer,
Exim Bank has so far offered Senegal a total
of $269.36 million to support various
projects through the LoCs. Under the LoCs,
Exim Bank will reimburse 100 percent of
contract value to the Indian exporters,
upfront upon shipment of goods. The LoCs
will be used for sourcing of goods and
services from India.
In a press release, Rasquinha said the bank
has used the LoCs in the past to support
export of items like agricultural machinery
and equipment, buses and vans, medical
equipment and equipment for rural
electrification project.Other projects that
have been supported so far include a meat
processing project, fisheries development
project, IT training projects and an irrigation
project.With the latest LoC to Senegal, Exim
Bank says it has provided 196 projects
similar support to over 75 countries in
Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the
Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS), with credit commitments of over
$10.77 billion, available for financing
exports from India.
Food insecurity looms over
flood-hit districts of Punjab
By Amin Ahmed

ISLAMABAD: The monsoon floods in
September 2014 affected an estimated 2.413
million acres of cropped area in Punjab and
there is a risk to the broader food security
and wellness of affected communities, a
multi-sector initial rapid assessment report
states. The report projects damage to 77 per
cent of the crops in the flood-hit areas of the
five districts and stresses that the crop losses
are likely to impact food availability in
affected areas in Punjab.
The situation may aggravate because of
impact on livestock sector, the report notes.
The multi-sector rapid assessment (MIRA)
was carried out with a donors help. The
National Disaster Management Authority
and United Nations humanitarian
coordinator jointly carried out surveys in
Chiniot, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin,
Jhang and Multan districts. Given the
difference in the development status, the
southern districts of Punjab require
additional assistance, it adds.
Extensive damage
The report says that the damage to
agriculture was extensive because at the
time main crops stood ready to harvest.
Damage to crops and stored grain has the
potential to create acute food shortage for
people and livestock.
The assessment results showed that the
floods have made a devastating impact on
standing crops. Kharif crops including rice,
cotton and sugarcane were damaged, which
may result in lower crop yields. The
assessment feared that the effects of flood
may have some negative impacts on the
major rabi crop of wheat. District-wise
analysis of the affected areas shows Multan
as the most affected district followed by
Jhang, where around 93pc and 83pc of crop
losses were reported, respectively, report
says.
Food stocks hit
Another factor which can jeopardise food
security of the households in the surveyed
communities is the loss of their food stocks.
Overall, households in affected areas across
the districts lost on average 42pc of their
food stocks. Specifically, around 21pc of the
households were reported to be in more
vulnerable condition, as they lost huge
proportion (75pc) of their food stock.
Reportedly, food stock losses were most
serious in Districts Jhang, Multan and
Chiniot where households lost about 50pc of
their food stocks. Analysis of the food stock
sufficiency shows that almost one-third of
the households have food stocks which are
sufficient to last for about only a week.
Situation in terms of food stock sufficiency
was relatively alarming in Multan and
Chiniot where almost half of the households
have stock for less than a week time period.
The access to food is the physical and
economic ability of a household to acquire
adequate amounts of food.
In terms of economic access to food, the
survey results indicate that overall around
38pc of the households surveyed have
adequate resources to buy food.
Comparatively, among the five priority
districts surveyed, Multan, Jhang, and
Chiniot are more vulnerable to food
insecurity in terms of economic access. On
average, around 23pc, 28pc, and 37pc
households in the flood affected areas of
Multan, Jhang, and Chiniot, respectively,
have adequate resources to purchase food,
whereas other districts, Mandi Bahauddin
(59pc) and Hafizabad (52pc) are in slightly
better position. Prior to the current floods,
these five districts were categorised as food
secure districts.
Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2014
Production goal for rice intact -
- exec

THE GOVERNMENT is keeping its
palay production target for the year, as
updated preliminary estimates show a
slightly smaller year-on-year output
drop last quarter, an Agriculture official
said yesterday.

Revised third-quarter estimates as of Sept. 1
which the Philippine Statistics Authority-
Bureau of Agriculture Statistics (PSA-BAS)
released on Tuesday showed it now believes
production of unmilled rice fell 10.5% to
3.01 million metric tons (MT) in the July-
September period -- compared to the 11%
drop to 2.99 million MT estimated in an
Aug. 15 report -- from 3.36 million MT the
past year.
The report said that while harvest area may
have contracted to 774,120 hectares (ha) last
quarter from the past years 774,670 ha,
yield likely improved to 3.89 MT/ha from
3.86 MT/ha due to sufficient water supply,
less incidence of pests and diseases, and
more fertilizer use.
We are working on the target 19.07 million
MT (for the whole year), Edilberto M. De
Luna, the Agriculture departments assistant
secretary for field operations, said in a
telephone interview, adding that target is
7.681 million MT in the fourth quarter.

PSA-BAS had reported in August that it
initially expected a 3.4% annual drop for
this quarter, leading to a 1.2% dip this
semester, after palay production grew 4.78%
annually to 8.38 million MT in the first
half.PSA-BAS bases its estimates on what is
already planted as well as farmers planting
plans. In the latest report it released on
Monday, PSA-BAS said [a]bout 1.68
million hectares, or 89.2% of planting
intentions for the October-December 2014
crop have been realized.We were able to
catch up on planting... despite effects of
Typhoon Glenda (international name
Rammasun, which struck in mid-July), Mr.
De Jesus explained when asked on the
upgraded third-quarter estimates for palay.
Rice has been estimated to contribute more
than 3% to gross domestic product, more
than a tenth to total farm output, and has
significant weight in the theoretical basket
of widely used consumer goods which forms
the basis for official inflation rate
calculations.

NOT SO FOR CORN
The same report on Tuesday, however,
downscaled third-quarter estimates on corn
production due to the adverse effects of
typhoon Glenda on standing crop, hot
weather... and incidence of rat and bird
infestation.

Production of this grain is now estimated to
have hit 2.38 million MT last quarter, down
8.3% from 2.60 million MT a year ago. The
revised estimate compares to an expected
7.8% fall to 2.4 million MT in the August
report, which also bared a projection of an
18.9% increment for this quarter.While the
latest report did not give a fourth-quarter
estimate for corn, it noted that [a]round
515,000 ha, or 82.3%, of planting intentions
for the October-December 2014 harvests
have been realized.The August report had
bared a projection of 7.61 million MT for
corn production this year, 31% more than
2013s 7.38 million MT.
Output grew 4.7% to 3.48 million MT last
semester from 3.32 million MT a year ago
on expanded harvest area and yield.Sought
for comment, Senen U. Reyes, senior
management specialist at the University of
Asia and the Pacifics Center for Food and
Agribusiness, said the governments grain
targets seemed realistic.Full-year palay
growth is realistic, although fourth-quarter
production increment of around 600,000
(MT) over last year is a bit high but still
attainable..., Mr. Reyes said, noting that
[f]ourth-quarter production accounts for
about 40% of the total.For corn, the 8
million MT may be realistic, although this
will greatly depend on the 2.14 million (MT)
in Q4 which seems very high against 1.45
million (MT) in 2013, he added.It would
be the first time that Q4 production will
exceed 2 million (MT).The government is
expected to report official third-quarter
agriculture data next month. -- EBD
NACC to go it alone on rice
case
Published: 22 Oct 2014 at 06.40 | Viewed: 3,729
| Comments:
Newspaper section: News
Writer: King-oua Laohong

The National Anti-Corruption Commission
(NACC) will decide whether to try and
indict Yingluck Shinawatra over the rice-
pledging scheme next month, after a joint
panel failed to reach a conclusion on the
issue. National Anti-Corrruption
Commission (NACC) chairman Parnthep
Klanarongran, centre, together with other
NACC members, explain how the anti-graft
body works and take questions from
reporters at a press conference to mark the
8th anniversary of its establishment
Tuesday.
The Office of the Attorney-General (OAG)
last month refused an NACC
recommendation to indict the former
premier in the Supreme Courts Criminal
Division for Holders of Political
Positions.Instead, the OAG called for a joint
panel to re-investigate the case, saying the
NACC's probe was incomplete.But the panel
of NACC members and public prosecutors,
which started work on Sept 9, has been
unable to finish its investigation within the
14-day deadline it was set.NACC
spokesman Vicha Mahakhun said the panel
could not come to a conclusion on the matter
even though the NACC has been "flexible"
about the 14-day time frame.
(Photo by Tawatchai Kemgumnerd
Official logo of the National
Anti-Corruption Commission
(NACC)
He said the NACC will decide what action
to take on Nov 7, to stop the case dragging
out further. He said the agency has the
authority to submit the case to the court by
itself, if the joint panel cannot reach a
conclusion.The commission has said it
believes there are sufficient grounds to
allegations that Ms Yingluck was negligent
in failing to solve corruption and losses in
the rice-pledging scheme.
The anti-graft agency, meanwhile, marked
its 8th anniversary yesterday by hosting a
press conference on its achievements.NACC
chairman Parnthep Klanarongran said the
anti-graft body has handled a total of 34,528
corruption cases since its inception. Of
these, 25,012 cases have been closed, while
9,516 are still under investigation.A total of
20,641 cases involve bribery, embezzlement
and document forgery, while 11,314 cases
are linked with malfeasance and dereliction
of duty, Mr Parnthep said.
He said the number of cases submitted to the
NACC has increased by about 3,000 each
year.Mr Vicha said corruption cases
involving local administrative organisations
have accounted for half of all state
corruption cases over the past eight
years.Other state agencies facing corruption
complaints include the Interior Ministry, the
Land Department, the Royal Thai Police, the
Education Ministry, and the Agriculture and
Cooperatives Ministry, Mr Vicha said.
Pakistan based BGA
appealed to IPAB against
GI tag of basmati rice to
MP
21-OCT-2014
Pakistan-based Basmati Growers
Association (BGA) challenged Geographical
Indication (GI) tag of basmati rice to
Madhya Pradesh (MP) in Chennai-based
Intellectual Property Appellate Board
(IPAB) in second week of October 2014. It
has appealed against the order of the
Assistant Registrar of Geographical
indications that gave the basmati rice
produced in Madhya Pradesh the coveted
tag. MP was seeking the tag for its Basmati
rice since a long time.
In their plea, BGA claimed that basmati is a
name for slender, aromatic and long variety
of rice that is grown in the specific
geographical area at the foothills of the
Himalayas in Pakistan. IT also claimed that
rice only grown in certain areas of Punjab in
Pakistan, where the rice kernels are grown
on conventional rice lands and they interact
with the environment, atmosphere, soil and
climate to yield exquisite rice can be called
basmati in the true sense.
Earlier, Agriculture and Processed Food
Products Export Development Agency
(APEDA) of India also rejected the MPs
claim that basmati rice grown in areas
namely especially Morena, Bhind, Gwalior,
Sheopur, Datia, Shivpuri, Guna, Vidisha,
Raisen, Sehore, Hoshangabad, Jabalpur and
Narsinghpur deserves the Geographical
Indication tags.
Think Rice! Message Resonates
with Thousands of Health
Professionals at 2014 FNCE
At the Think Rice! tower
with Dietitian Christine Palumbo (left)

ATLANTA, GA -- The USA Rice
Federation found a new way to interact with
attendees at this year's Academy of
Nutrition & Dietetics annual Food and
Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE).
More than 8,500 registered dietitians,
nutrition science researchers, policy makers,
healthcare providers, and food industry
leaders were wowed by the interactive
Think Rice! tower which gave attendees the
opportunity to share the ways they
encourage their patients and clients to
incorporate rice when building a healthy
plate.
Well-known registered dietitian and author
Christine Palumbo joined USA Rice staff to
respond to dietitians' questions about rice
nutrition and inform attendees about the role
of rice in a healthy diet.

"Conversations with FNCE participants are
important," said Palumbo. "It provides USA
Rice with immediate feedback on the type of
information and materials this group needs
when they're working with select audiences
like diabetic or gluten-intolerant patients."
"FNCE attendees are already huge
proponents of brown rice, so our outreach to
them is more about helping them
communicate the health benefits of whole
grain rice to their patients," said Katie
Maher, manager of domestic promotion
programs.
"The dietitians were impressed with the
variety of whole grain rice available and
were even more enthusiastic to learn this
rice is grown right here in the U.S. so they
can recommend a safe and nutritious food
while also reducing food miles," Maher said.
The Think Rice! tower will next be seen at
the USA Rice Outlook Conference in Little
Rock in December.
Contact: Deborah Willenborg (703) 236-1444
Chef de Riz Named at
International Rice Festival
From left: Letha Vincent, Shannon Dietz, Bella
Begnaud, Diana Francis, and
USA Rice's Mary and Randy Jemison.
CROWLEY, LA -- One hundred and forty-
one dishes were entered in the 78th annual
International Rice Festival's Rice and Creole
Cookery Contest sponsored by the USA
Rice Federation on October 17. Shannon
Dietz of Baton Rouge claimed the title of
Chef de Riz (cooker of rice). Overall
winners from the rice-dish categories
included Bella Begnaud of Lafayette,
children's division and Junior Chef de Riz
winner; Cameron Simon of Abbeville,
intermediate division; Kody Arton of New
Iberia, teen division; and Diana Francis of
Lafayette, adult division.

The contest is an opportunity for youth and
adults to showcase the many ways that rice
can be incorporated into the family diet.
"The Volunteers for Family and Community
Club appreciate the annual support of this
contest by USA Rice," said Letha Vincent,
contest organizer and chairwoman of the
Rice and Creole Cookery Contest.
Contact: Randy Jemison (337) 738-7009
CCC Announces Prevailing
World Market Prices
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Department of
Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation
today announced the following prevailing world
market prices of milled and rough rice, adjusted
for U.S. milling yields and location, and the
resulting marketing loan-gain (MLG) and loan
deficiency payment (LDP) rates applicable to
the 2014 crop, which became effective today at
7:00 a.m., Eastern Time (ET). Rough rice prices
are unchanged this week.
Rice growers wrap up
drought-diminished harvest
Capital Press
Published: October 21, 2014 4:53PM
California rice farmers are wrapping up
their harvest of a crop that's expected to
be 23 percent smaller than last year's.
Good yields on many of the acres that
were planted will help make up at least a
small part of the loss of revenue, as will
sales of rice straw.
WILLIAMS, Calif. As rice growers in
California wrap up their harvest of a
drought-diminished crop, good yields and
more widespread sales of rice straw are
helping them to at least partly make up for
lost acreage.The rice harvest was 85 percent
complete as of Oct. 19, according to the
National Agricultural Statistics Service. Leo
LaGrande, a grower here, finished work
over the weekend and said his yields
deteriorated as the season went along.We
had some fields that looked good earlier and
we thought it would be better, but it didnt
quite mature to the yields we wanted, he
said. I would call it an average year for us.
But yields remained strong for Marysville,
Calif., grower Charley Mathews, who also
finished harvesting last weekend, he said.
Good weather during crop development led
to rice that grew tall and went flat, making
for slow going during harvest, he said.It
helps, Mathews said of the big yields. The
yields might be up ahead of last years state
average, but not enough to close the gap in
our shortfall (in acreage).
California rice growers are expected to
produce 36.8 million hundredweight, down
23 percent from last year, NASS estimated.
About 140,000 acres of rice went unplanted
this year because of water shortfalls a 25
percent decrease from last years crop,
according to the California Farm Bureau
Federation.LaGrande had to leave about
one-quarter of his land unplanted, he
said.We thought we were very fortunate
because some of our neighbors had to leave
100 percent out, he said.However, the yield
forecast of 8,000 pounds per acre would be a
1 percent increase from last year and would
tie records set in 2004 and 2008, according
to NASS office in Sacramento.
The optimistic outlook for yields follows a
spring planting season that was more drawn-
out than usual because exchange contractors
along the Sacramento River agreed to space
out their water delivery schedules to
maintain the right river temperatures for
winter run salmon.Rice is typically planted
between mid-April and mid-May, with
harvests coming six months later, but many
growers didnt get started until mid-May and
were still planting in June. Those that were
still harvesting this week ran into a
rainstorm on Oct. 20 that stopped their
work.While farmers welcome the rain, their
water worries arent over.
Many are unsure if there will be enough
water to decompose rice straw left in
fields.Willows, Calif., grower Larry Maben
may pump water from wells into his fields
after harvest if there isnt enough rain,
which is an awfully expensive source of
water, he said.Its going to be kind of a
balancing act, Maben said.With not as
much water available for decomposition,
more producers are baling and selling straw
than Ive ever seen, said Mathews, whos
on the USA Rice Federations executive
committee.
University of California researchers reached
out to growers this summer to promote
converting their rice straw into strawlage,
a feed that the scientists say is on a par with
a low-quality alfalfa. UC Cooperative
Extension advisors said the straw would be a
good alternative for livestock producers
confronted with feed shortages because of
the drought.The straw can also be used for
erosion control in forest fire recovery
projects, Mathews said.
While decomposition helps the soil,
growers can make up for the lack of straw
by adding nutrients before planting next
spring, he said.LaGrande said hell probably
bale 60 percent of his rice straw, the
majority of which will be fed to cattle.Its
huge, he said. I think the dairy industry is
grabbing onto it more every year. And this
year with the drought, some cattlemen who
really never tried rice straw before are
buying into it. At $300 a ton for alfalfa or
$40 a ton for rice straw, youre going to try
it.
Japans rice industry gets a
rethink as farmers retire but
protection remains
by Harumi Ozawa
AFP-JIJI
Oct 21, 2014
Online: Oct 21, 2014
Print: Oct 21, 2014
Last Modified: Oct 21, 2014

RYUGASAKI, IBARAKI PREF. Shuichi
Yokota may be the future of Japans struggling
rice industry.The 38-year-old is about half the
age of most growers and he relies on cutting-
edge technology to cultivate vast paddies that
eclipse the bulk of the countrys rice fields.And
Yokota does not fear foreign competition a
near taboo in a nation where rice is protected
by subsidies and massive tariffs.His farm in
Ryugasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture, has ballooned
more than fivefold in 15 years into an
operation spanning 112 hectares almost
30 times the size of the tiny commercial rice
fields commonly found in the area.
This is simply the consequence of retiring
farmers asking me to cultivate their rice
paddies for them, Yokota said.I am one of
very few full-time farmers in this area, and
the people who were retiring didnt have
anyone in the family to continue growing
rice. But they dont want to sell the land.
While many of Japans farmers get by with
centuries-old farming methods, Yokota and
his colleagues share workload information
and data such as temperature and water
levels monitored by sensors installed in
each paddy on their smartphones.
Yokota may be an accidental giant among
rice growers, but some are betting that
people like him are the best hope for fixing
an inefficient system, with wider calls for a
shake-up of the pampered agricultural
sector.
Prices have tumbled as Japans rice
consumption has halved in 50 years, and
there are fears the sector is rotting from the
inside despite or some say, because of
decades-old protectionism.Aging farmers
are also facing fresh competition, with Aeon
Co., the countrys largest supermarket chain,
jumping into the rice business.The situation
is extremely serious this is the dawn of a
very difficult time, said Yoshito Yamada, a
66-year-old farmer in the city of Kitakata,
Fukushima Prefecture.
Whether it is a bed for a piece of raw fish,
an accompaniment to almost every meal, or
the main ingredient in sake, rice is Japans
unparalleled staple and enjoys a revered
status.Hundreds of years ago it was a
currency, a symbol of wealth and power,
and a ritual offering that still forms a key
part of the Shinto religion, as well as sumo
wrestling.Nothing gets done here without
rice, said Sachiko Goto, head of the Tokyo
Sushi Academy, a training school for
chefs.That reverence has translated into
strong protections for tiny plots tended by
families who inherited land through
generations resulting in a hefty premium
in stores.
The government has for decades stabilized
prices by controlling supply and penalizing
overproduction to protect farmers a key
voter base from volatile world
markets.This policy, known as gentan and
referring to small-scale cultivation,
effectively made rice farming a part-time job
left to older relatives while younger family
members worked in other sectors.But, as
with much of the graying nation, many
farmers are now retiring the average is
about 66 years old with few people
interested in replacing them. That has left
some 400,000 hectares of farmland unused
across the country, an area almost twice the
size of Tokyo.
What needs to be done is encourage older
farmers to retire and then gather small
pieces of land into one big lot for someone
capable like Yokota, said Masayoshi
Honma, an economics professor at Tokyo
University.It is estimated that ditching rice
tariffs which can reach 778 percent
would see local prices fall by about 341 per
kilogram, according to the agriculture
ministry.An average 5-kg bag in Tokyo
costs from 1,500 to 2,000, up to three
times the price of a comparable bag in
Sydney, Bangkok or Beijing.
Despite resistance to change by the powerful
agricultural lobby, some older rice farmers
such as Yamada blame the subsidy system
for a now stagnant sector.Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe said last year he would end
production quotas from 2018 and abolish
some cash handouts to rice farmers while
expanding other payments leading to
claims the policy was toothless.Despite his
plan to shake up the economy, Abe has
avoided taking an ax to rice tariffs that have
long been seen as untouchable.
The levies have kept imports of foreign rice
to a trickle 77 tons last year against
domestic production of 8 million tons
and they remain a key stumbling block in
Japans trade talks, including the
negotiations for the proposed 12-nation
Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade
bloc.Despite fears the industry would
crumble if it had to compete globally,
Yokota insists competition could be an
opportunity to tap new markets.If our
supply exceeds domestic consumption, then
we will bring it overseas the TPP
wouldnt be a threat in that sense, he said.
Image:An egret flies over a rice paddy
owned by farmer Shuichi Yokota in
Ryugasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture, in mid