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TOP Contents - Tailored for YOU
Latest News Headlines
March Patrons Say U.S. Rice Synonymous with High Quality
Miley Cyrus Accepted the RICE Bucket Challenge
Newer variety of zinc enriched rice
Locals named to Rice Research Board
Rice response to phosphate levels measured
Rice smuggling into Nigeria unstoppable, but Africa Rice Centre, Nigeria
Fukushima rice reaches Singapore for first time since nuclear accident
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- Aug 19
Top End rice grower battles breezes, bugs and birds to grow bumper crop
Haryana paddy processors want milling procedures streamlined
Ministry of Agriculture of Guyana : Only about 3 to 4 % of rice farmers awaiting
payment- Agriculture Minister
Guyana to export 5,000 tons of rice per month to Panama
NEWS DETAILS:
March Patrons Say U.S. Rice Synonymous with High Quality
USA Rice north of the border, eh?
TORONTO, CANADA -- Sales data sent to the USA
Rice Federation has confirmed that the week-long
"tasteUS!" promotions here were a success and have
resulted in increased U.S.-grown rice sales.The
promotion, established by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture Foreign Agriculture Service in Canada,
was conducted earlier this year at March, a
downtown restaurant serving as many as 1,800
customers each day. USA Rice worked with SYSCO


foodservice and March to ensure that U.S. rice was procured for the promotion period and was featured in three menu
items: Orange Glazed Salmon with Spinach Rice and Tomato Lemon Salsa, Curry Rice, and Rice as a Side for Seafood
Dishes.

"During this week-long promotion, rice as a side dish experienced the greatest sales volume, compared with other food
products offered," said Pereina Choudhury, USA Rice's contractor in Canada. "March informed us that their customers
correlate U.S rice with high quality and, because of the promotion, the store is now using U.S.-grown rice in their
Seafood and Asian/Sushi-Sashimi Stations."The tasteUS! program is an initiative created in 2005 by the U.S. Food and
Beverage Alliance to increase awareness of U.S. agricultural commodities in Canada. USA Rice is one of the 40
agricultural cooperators that participate in tasteUS! activities.
Contact: Sarah Moran (703) 236-1457
Miley Cyrus Accepted the RICE Bucket Challenge
She's such a trickster, that Miley.
After sister Noah and dad Billy Ray completed this week's charitably viral video trend, the Ice Bucket
Challenge, they nominated Miley Cyrus (and her brother Braison) to take part. Except things got a little lost in
translation and instead of pouring freezing cold water over themselves, Miley and Braison poured white rice.
Those jokesters! While many of Miley's Instagram followers seem to believe the ice/rice discrepancy is a
genuine mistake, Miley's choice in hashtags makes it clear she's just being Miley funny. The video's caption
reads, in part, that "it ain't about the pourin'," and that it's instead about raising awareness for the cause, the ALS
(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) Association.
Newer variety of zinc enriched rice

Should be put to extensive cultivation quickly

OUR scientists have come up with yet another more productive variety of zinc enriched rice. We compliment
the team of scientists who have contributed to the bio fortification process.Compared to its earlier types, the
new variety, labelled as Brri dhan-64, not only has higher content of zinc, but has yield potential of over 6


metric tons per hectare, 25 percent higher than its immediate predecessors. Moreover, apart from high zinc and
more yield factors, the breed is also capable of fighting diarrhoea and pneumonia like its previous version. What
is notable about this variety is that it will not be more expensive nor will it require special techniques in terms
of producing its seeds.
However, the National Seed Board will finalise the approval of Brri dhan-64's cultivation feasibility assessment
later this week. We believe its assessment over the wide scale cultivation of this variety will be positive, and
steps will be taken to put it into wide scale production quickly.Given the facts of its high zinc value and yield
potential we must ensure that it enters cultivation extensively. In a country like ours its entry into immediate
production is an imperative as currently over 40 percent children under five are stunted due to lack of nutrition
and an estimated 44 percent children of the same age group risks zinc deficiency. This variety has all the
ingredients to cater to the nutrition needs of a vast number of children.

Locals named to Rice Research Board
Gov. Bobby Jindal has announced the appointments of Michael Fruge of Eunice and Richard Fontenot of Ville Platte to
the Louisiana Rice Research Board.The Louisiana Rice Research Board administers rice research check-off funds collected
by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, selects projects for funding and reviews the progress of
research.As part of the check-off, Rice farmers pay 5 cents for every 100 pounds of their crop.In an earlier interview,
Steve Linscombe, director of the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station in Crowley, called that check-off crucial
These check-off funds are vital to what were able to accomplish at this research facility, he said. He pointed out that
in the past few years, 27 new rice varieties have been developed at the research station, which have resulted in
dramatic increases in the yield per acre.The success of the rice industry is important to St. Landry Parish, where rice
production remains an important aspect of the local farming economy, second only to soybeans.Fruge is the
Louisiana/Texas District Sales Manager for Horizon Ag. He has been appointed to serve as a member nominee from the
Louisiana Rice Growers Association.Fontenot is a self-employed farmer who has been reappointed to serve as a member
nominee from the Louisiana Farm Bureau Inc.
According to statute, the board is comprised of 15 members, including the commissioner of agriculture. The remaining
14 gubernatorial appointments are subject to Senate confirmation and include:Six members appointed from a list of 10
persons nominated by the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation Inc., five members appointed from a list of eight
nominated by the Louisiana Rice Growers Association, two members appointed from a list of four nominated by the
American Rice Growers Cooperative Association and one member appointed from a list of three nominated by the
Louisiana Independent Rice Growers Association.


Other appointments to the rice research board announced by the governor this week included:Clarence Berken of Lake
Arthur, Donald Berken of Welsh, Richard Damian Bollich of Jones, Jude Doise of Elton, Dane Hebert of Maurice, Phillip
Lamartiniere of Marksville, Paul Jackie Loewer Jr. of Branch, Samuel Noel of Abbeville, Ronald Sonnier of Kinder, Jason
Waller of Mer Rouge, Brian Wild of Lake Charles and Frederick Zaunbrecher of Duson.
Rice response to phosphate levels measured
Aug 18, 2014 by Chris Thomas
Dr Secco says the research has identified a large number of genes responding to phosphate starvation and/or resupply.
Credit:

A University of WA and La Trobe University study has used novel sequencing technologies to assess the
response of all genes in the rice (Oryza sativa) genome after phosphate starvation and recovery.Study author
Dr David Secco says phosphorus is often present in non-limiting concentrations in the soil but the availability
of phosphatethe main source of phosphorus used by plantsis often hindered due to its low solubility in
soil and high sorption capacity.

"As a consequence, phosphate is immobile and unavailable for plant uptake because of adsorption, precipitation
or conversion to the organic form," he says.
"It can also be washed away by prolonged soil weathering."Phosphate starvation is of main concern in
Australia, and south-western Australia in particular, where the soils are severely nutrient-impoverished."For the
majority of plants, phosphate starvation is associated with reduced growth, and thus reduced yields for crops,
making it a key limiting factor for farmers."The study aimed to discover new information about complex and
dynamic mechanisms involved in phosphate homeostasis.

Crop response examined in stages

As part of the comprehensive time course experiment, the researchers
profiled rice roots and shoots in early stages (one hour after
phosphate removal to a few days) and long-term (up to three weeks of
phosphate starvation).This enabled them to understand the kinetics
(what gene is important when) of the response to phosphate starvation
in a tissue-specific manner."Understanding how plants react when
they are resupplied with nutrients such as phosphate is a critical step
in trying to improve crop production in challenging environments,"
Dr Secco says."So far, most of the studies have focussed on the
effects of phosphate starvation, greatly improving our knowledge of this mechanism.

"But much less is known about when plants are resupplied with phosphate, which is a situation comparable to
plants grown in a field and then fertilised."Our study was unique because it measured the response of rice to


phosphate re-supply within really short timeframes, such as one hour, six hours and 24 hours, which enabled us
to capture the early mechanism involved."Dr Secco says the research has identified a large number of genes
responding to phosphate starvation and/or resupply."The next step is to now understand the function of these
genes in response to phosphate starvation and learn how we can modify them to create plants with improved
phosphate use and acquisition," he says.

Rice smuggling into Nigeria unstoppable, but Africa Rice Centre,
Nigeria
19.Aug.2014 DISQUS_COMMENTS Femi Ibirogba
Dr Frances Nwilene is the Coordinator of Africa Rice Centre in Nigeria, and in this interview with FEMI
IBIROGBA, he expresses optimism that rice importation will be over in the country soon, saying paddy
production to feed nascent processing mills and standardisation, smuggling, as well as other issues around
price stability, are some of the challenges to be addressed.
The Federal Government has a plan to phase our importation of rice completely by 2015. Going by the record
at your disposal, is it a reality?
It is clear that Nigeria is almost there in term of paddy production. Our estimated national requirement is
about nine million metric tonnes, and currently we produce 8.9 million metric tonnes per annum in term of
paddies. The other issue is processing and quality. These are where we think the most of the integrated
processing mills coming into the country will help to address, to bring it to standards which can compete with
rice coming from Asia.
You talked about quality. Are rice brands produced locally meeting the standard and taste of Nigerians who
are used to imported brands of rice?
The locally produced rice is highly nutritive, because most of the active ingredients are still there because it is
parboiled. Now, polishing and de-stoning local rice are the issues we are talking about now. But with the
introduction of integrated mills into the country, considering about 19 the government has introduced to the
country, we think, with that number, we should be getting very close to making our rice competitive with any
rice coming from Asia. I think we are almost there.
You said about 19 integrated rice processing mills are in the country now. Are they entirely private sector mills
or the government is directly involved, and are they producing to full capacity?


Most of them are owned by the private sector operators, but of course, most of them will tell you that they
lack paddies to process and this is why the government is trying to put up staple crop processing zones, where
farmers and processors will meet to dialogue and resolve the problem. Often, the processors tell us they do
not want to buy paddies from the farmers.
Why?
The quality the famers give them is often not to the required standard. So, there is need for a meeting point to
produce certain quality of paddy at a particular price per kilogramme. For instance, if a processor wants to
brand, say FARO 44 or 52, he tells the farmers/out-growers in that locality to produce those grades of rice,
because there are different species of rice.
Why are some varieties or species rejected by processors? Are people not buying a particular variety or what?
I think the problem is the drying, because processors are looking for specific moisture content of the rice and if
the rice is not dry to that moisture content, it will spoil like every other fresh food. I think this is what the
processors are looking for.
So it is not about varieties?

It is not absolutely about varieties. Of course, the variety the processor wants to brand is key because most of
the times he has a plan to brand a particular variety. Is it FARO 44 or FARO 52? It depends on what he wants.
So, he wants farmers to produce that for him at premium quality, which means the dry content should be up
to 12% or 14%.
Will smuggling of rice into the country make the plan of phasing out its importation possible, considering our
porous borders?
For me, there is nothing we can do about smuggling. The issue here is that if our own sector is competitive
enough, when our rice becomes competitive, and Nigerians know that locally produced rice is more nutritious
than other brands from Asia, which had been stored in their warehouses for years, Nigerians will begin to say
they dont want to eat imported rice, because our rice is competitive.
How do you mean by being competitive?
It means quality. There is no stone. It is long grain because most Nigerians prefer long grain rice and it has no
bad odour. These are what we one talking of.


Considering the economic situation of most Nigerians, dont you think the imported rice is cheaper than locally
produced one?
We want our local rice to be high in quality as any imported rice so that importers will be discouraged, if it is
high in quality, people will buy it. If our rice has no odour, or stone and it has long grains, people will have a re-
think.
What variety will you recommend for farmers to maximise yields?
As you know, rice is a water-loving crop. We know that lowland rice gives more yields than upland rice, and we
have specific varieties being promoted to maximise yields in Nigeria, for instance, FARO 54, which is popular in
the North and even in the south here. It can compete with any rice from Asia because it has long grains and
this is what the elite are looking for.
Are farmers embracing it?
That is what is in vogue now. Most of the integrated mills are promoting it.
How would you advise the government, as an expert, to go about the plan to make its plan work?
The essence is the synergy, the working together of stakeholders, because farmers want trust. Once there is
guaranteed minimum buy-back, farmers will produce enough paddies at good quality. For instance, you tell a
famer to produce FARO 44 and tell him every kilogramme produced would be purchased at N100 and when
the farmer produce, you offer N80, he will not like that. But if you give him N120, he will go to produce more,
because everybody wants to make profit. But in most cases, processors would say the quality is low, and
would not pay the agreed price. So the farmers get discouraged. That trust must be there between the farmer
and the processor.
Dont you think there is a need for commodity boards to regulate the prices to tackle the challenges?
This is what we think now that a marketing board would bring about standardisation and fixed prices.
Are you optimistic Nigeria is getting there in term of rice production?
Yes, we are getting there. Rice is now a big business. There is no more land in Asia and many Asians are
coming here to get land and produce rice. And most of them would still export back to their countries.
In which areas has Africa Rice Centre contributed to rice development and production in Nigeria and Africa?


All these varieties we are talking about were developed by
Africa Rice Centre. FARO 44, 52 and others are our babies.
Lowland NERICA 19 and lowland NERICA 34 are all varieties
bred by the centre. We are part of the Agricultural
Transformation Agenda (ATA), for we have three of our
scientists seconded to the ATA. In term of policy, when the
rice crisis started in 2008, we told the governments in
Africa that it was coming. And we are very happy that it
gave birth to the National Rice Development Strategy,
which most African countries did not have before now.
What is the greatest challenge to paddy production and
how can farmers tackle such?
The main problem now is bird control. Whatever we can do to control birds for farmers will be good, for that is
number one problem. Other challenges are weed control and disease /pest infestation. For the bird control, it
is a very complex problem. Now the use of video-tape has been discovered to be effective and it is used in
Abakaliki. We have discovered that the best solution, however, is the use of nets, but how many farmers can
afford nets?
Fukushima rice reaches Singapore for first time since nuclear
accident

August 19
15:552014

Abe with Lee in May in Spore
Japans export of rice from Fukushima for the first
time since the nuclear accident in 2011 and
Singapore is the recipient of the 300kg of
rice.The Japan Times reports, Three hundred
kilograms of the Koshihikari brand of rice produced
in the city of Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture, has
arrived in Singapore, and will be sold at a


supermarket from Friday after clearing customs, according to the National Federation of Agricultural
Cooperative Associations.The Wall Street Journal reported that the rice will be sold in five-kilogram bags at
a local Japanese supermarket beginning this Friday.
We will check the rice thoroughly in Fukushima before shipping it overseas, and then the bags will undergo
another check in Singapore, a spokesman for the federation, known as Zen-noh, told Japan Real Time.In May,
Singapores Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Singapore would lift the 3-year ban on Japanese
food products from Fukushima with immediate effect during the visit by his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo
Abe. (Seehere.)The lifting of the ban then raised health concerns from members of the public in Singapore.
When questioned about this, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said food products
imported from Japan are safe for consumption.
A member of the public asked the AVA on its Facebook page then if the agency would impose prominent
labelling of such foods in Singapore, with labels to indicate that such food products are Imported from
Fukushima so that consumers can make informed choices.In its reply, the AVA did not say if it would impose
labelling on the products but it did say, We have been monitoring food imports from Japan and rest assured
that our surveillance results have been satisfactory. (See update below.)
The AVA also said that before it lifted its restrictions, it had carried out a comprehensive risk assessment on
the safety of the food supply in Japan.It added, Before food can be imported from Fukushima, the Japanese
authorities have to show evidence of satisfactory surveillance results for radioactive contamination. E.g. the
radioactive levels in the areas of food production are required to be within Japans safety standards.
The AVA had conducted on-site assessment earlier this year to verify and understand the safety measures
imposed by Japan.Before any products can be exported to Singapore, Japanese authorities need to show
evidence of satisfactory surveillance results for radioactive contamination in these prefectures.According to
news reports, import restrictions that remain in place are:a) Seafood and products from the forest in the
prefectures of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma will still require pre-export tests;b) Seafood and products from the forest
as well as agricultural produce from demarcated areas and the control zone2 (close to the nuclear power plant)
in Fukushima prefecture are not allowed to be imported.
All food products from Japan still require a Certificate of Origin (COO) to identify the prefecture of origin of
the food product.Some countries continue to impose bans on the import of food items from Japan, fearing the
risk of contamination from the Fukishima Daiichi nuclear accident.
Nagpur Foodgrain Prices Open- Aug 19
Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:58pm IST
Nagpur, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Gram prices in Nagpur Agriculture Produce and


Marketing Committee (APMC) showed upward trendency on good demand from local millers amid weak supply from
producing belts. Fresh hike on NCDEX, healthy hike in Madhya Pradesh pulses and reported demand from South-based
millers also pushed up prices. Stockists were activated because of poor monsoon in the regions, according to sources

* * * *

FOODGRAINS & PULSES
GRAM
* Gram super best bold and medium best recovered in open market on renewed demand from
local traders amid tight supply from producing regions.

TUAR
* Tuar varieties zoomed up in open market on increased buying support from local
traders amid tight supply from millers. Weak overseas arrival also pushed up prices.

* In Akola, Tuar - 4,800-5,000, Tuar dal - 6,400-6,800, Udid at 7,200-7,300,
Udid Mogar (clean) - 8,000-8,500, Moong - 7,000-7,400, Moong Mogar
(clean) 8,400-9,100, Gram - 2,500-2,600, Gram Super best bold - 3,700-3,900
for 100 kg.

* Wheat, rice and other commodities remained steady in open market in thin trading
activity, according to sources.

Nagpur foodgrains APMC auction/open-market prices in rupees for 100 kg

FOODGRAINS Available prices Previous close
Gram Auction 2,400-3,020 2,370-3,000
Gram Pink Auction n.a. 2,100-2,600
Tuar Auction n.a. 4,400-4,850
Moong Auction n.a. 5,300-5,500
Udid Auction n.a. 4,300-4,500
Masoor Auction n.a. 2,600-2,800
Gram Super Best Bold 4,000-4,200 3,900-4,200
Gram Super Best n.a.
Gram Medium Best 3,600-3,800 3,600-3,750
Gram Dal Medium n.a. n.a.
Gram Mill Quality 3,550-3,650 3,450-3,550
Desi gram Raw 3,000-3,050 2,900-2,975
Gram Filter new 3,500-3,750 3,300-3,600
Gram Kabuli 8,000-9,500 8,000-9,500
Gram Pink 7,200-7,400 7,200-7,400
Tuar Fataka Best 7,400-7,600 7,200-7,400
Tuar Fataka Medium 7,000-7,100 6,800-6,900


Tuar Dal Best Phod 6,700-6,900 6,400-6,600
Tuar Dal Medium phod 6,200-6,400 5,900-6,200
Tuar Gavarani 5,250-5,300 5,150-5,250
Tuar Karnataka 5,400-5,600 5,250-5,350
Tuar Black 8,200-8,500 8,200-8,500
Masoor dal best 6,500-6,600 6,500-6,600
Masoor dal medium 6,150-6,350 6,150-6,350
Masoor n.a. n.a.
Moong Mogar bold 9,500-9,800 9,500-9,800
Moong Mogar Medium best 8,500-8,800 8,500-8,800
Moong dal super best 7,600-7,800 7,600-7,800
Moong dal Chilka 7,500-7,700 7,500-7,700
Moong Mill quality n.a. n.a.
Moong Chamki best 8,100-9,200 8,100-9,200
Udid Mogar Super best (100 INR/KG) 8,500-8,800 8,500-8,800
Udid Mogar Medium (100 INR/KG) 7,400-7,800 7,400-7,800
Udid Dal Black (100 INR/KG) 5,600-6,600 5,600-6,600
Batri dal (100 INR/KG) 4,000-5,000 4,000-5,000
Lakhodi dal (100 INR/kg) 2,850-3,000 2,800-2,950
Watana Dal (100 INR/KG) 3,250-3,500 3,250-3,500
Watana White (100 INR/KG) 3,500-3,600 3,500-3,600
Watana Green Best (100 INR/KG) 4,900-5,300 4,900-5,300
Wheat 308 (100 INR/KG) 1,200-1,500 1,200-1,500
Wheat Mill quality(100 INR/KG) 1,650-1,750 1,650-1,750
Wheat Filter (100 INR/KG) 1,300-1,500 1,300-1,500
Wheat Lokwan best (100 INR/KG) 2,100-2,450 2,100-2,450
Wheat Lokwan medium (100 INR/KG) 1,850-2,050 1,850-2,050
Lokwan Hath Binar (100 INR/KG) n.a. n.a.
MP Sharbati Best (100 INR/KG) 2,800-3,200 2,800-3,200
MP Sharbati Medium (100 INR/KG) 2,150-2,500 2,150-2,500
Wheat 147 (100 INR/KG) 1,200-1,400 1,200-1,400
Wheat Best (100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,900 1,600-1,900
Rice BPT (100 INR/KG) 2,800-3,200 2,800-3,200
Rice Parmal (100 INR/KG) 1,600-1,800 1,600-1,800
Rice Swarna old (100 INR/KG) 2,300-2,600 2,300-2,600
Rice HMT (100 INR/KG) 3,800-4,000 4,000-4,200
Rice HMT Shriram (100 INR/KG) 4,800-5,600 4,800-5,600
Rice Basmati best (100 INR/KG) 10,400-13,000 10,400-13,000
Rice Basmati Medium (100 INR/KG) 7,300-10,000 7,300-10,000
Rice Chinnor (100 INR/KG) 5,200-5,600 5,200-5,600
Jowar Gavarani (100 INR/KG) 1,400-1,600 1,400-1,600
Jowar CH-5 (100 INR/KG) 1,700-1,800 1,700-1,800


WEATHER (NAGPUR)
Maximum temp. 34.7 degree Celsius (95.4 degree Fahrenheit), minimum temp.
23.5 degree Celsius (74.3 degree Fahrenheit)
Humidity: Highest - 95 per cent, lowest - 56 per cent.
Rainfall : nil
FORECAST: Partly cloudy sky. Rains or thunder-showers likely. Maximum and Minimum temperature
likely to be around 36 and 24 degree Celsius respectively.
Note: n.a.--not available
(For oils, transport costs are excluded from plant delivery prices, but included in market prices.)
Top End rice grower battles breezes, bugs and birds to grow bumper
crop
ABC Rural
By Marty McCarthy
Updated 20 Aug 2014, 1:02pmWed 20 Aug 2014, 1:02pm
PHOTO: The Northern Territory's only commercial rice grower says cool weather has delayed his harvest, but
he's still expecting a bumper crop. (Carl Curtain)
MAP: Darwin 0800
The Northern Territory's only commercial rice grower says cool weather has delayed his harvest, but
he's still expecting a bumper crop.
Bruce White has been growing rice at Mt Keppler Station
near, Adelaide River south of Darwin, for the past few
years.He's grown about 60 hectares of rice this year, mainly
as livestock feed, and plans to double that amount next
season.Mr White says he expected to start harvesting his rice
in August, but he's encountered some new challenges this
year that have delayed him by six weeks.
AUDIO: Top End rice grower, Bruce White, talks about the
challenges of growing rice in the Northern Territory (ABC
Rural)
The weather has been a bit cooler and that's slowed up the growth, he said.
"We've had a few issues, issues we've never had in the past, like insects and a bit of blast, the airborne
fungus.But as soon we recognised it, we stopped it very quickly so it didn't spread.One of the problems we
had in the past was a lot of geese and ducks, but so far we haven't had any."Mr White puts the lack of bird


damage down to changing his growing period to a time when birds were not in the area."It's a lot to do with
timing. This year we're actually two months earlier with sowing, which has made a massive difference," he
said."But being two months early has also meant more wind, so that's an issue we'll address."When the rice
starts to root, it has very fine root systems, and the wave action [caused by the wind] pulls them out of the
ground."So we haven't had any bird problems but we've had wind problems, so there's always a challenge.
"The rice will be used as livestock and horse feed, and will also be turned into rice cubes for live export
ships.Mr White says the demand is there, and he is planning to expand operations by an extra 70 hectares next
year.He also says the region has the potential to grow more rice, or horticulture crops, if dams are built in the
area.The biggest issue is there's no water. There's a lot during the wet season, but it all has to be stored, Mr
White said.I think this development of the north is exciting, but I think we need some dams in the north.The
Northern Territory Government is currently investigating a number of dam-related projects to increase Darwin's
water supply.
Last Year, Power and Water begun testing the feasibility of harvesting wet season flood flows from the
Adelaide River.A longstanding plan to build the Upper Adelaide River Dam (sometimes referred to as Warrai
Dam) is also being reinvestigated.Mr White says the Warrai Dam has merit, and if it goes ahead, allocations
should also be set aside for agricultural use.The Warrai Dam is probably viable, which is [5 kilometres] north
of the Adelaide River Township, and it's quite a large dam, he said.Perhaps the government should say 'we
need water for Darwin' and pool the Warrai Dam and allocate a percentage of it for agriculture for rice or some
other horticulture crops.
Topics: grain, agricultural-crops, rural, rice, darwin-0800

Haryana paddy processors want milling procedures streamlined
Komal Amit Gera | Chandigarh
August 19, 2014 Last Updated at 13:16 IST
Rice mills in Haryana which process paddy for the Central pool (Public Distribution System / Custom Milled
Rice) are faced with a double whammy, as they have been slapped with a value cut and inventory holding
charges for rice.About 800 mills in Haryana which processed 24 lakh tonnes of paddy (about eight% paddy is
pending for processing) for the kharif year 2013-14 have been running from pillar to post for the past few
months, trying to persuade the Central and state governments to streamline procedures on paddy milling.
State agencies purchase paddy from farmers at the minimum support price and enter into an agreement with
the rice millers of the state with milling charges at the rate of Rs 15 per quintal (one quintal is 100 kg) and set
the condition for the delivery of rice on a monthly ratio basis.


The monthly ratio has been set at 10% for October and November, 20% for December, 25% for January and
February, and 20% for March.Due to heavy unseasonal and sporadic rains in the 2013-14 kharif marketing
season, the damage content in rice went up to four or five%, against the acceptable limit of up to three% set
by the Food Corporation of India (FCI).addy thus procured yielded rice which was being rejected by the FCI.
This led the millers to stop milling.
Later, the Union ministry of food raised the acceptable limit and imposed a value cut on rice. Millers are
burdened by the value cut for no fault of their own, said Rajender Aggarwal, president of the Haryana Rice
Millers and Dealer Association.Millers were also charged a holding charge because the delivery of rice by mills
to government agencies remained suspended for three months, as a team of officials from the Union food
ministry visited Haryana and prepared a report on the situation. The holding charge comes close to ~300 per
day per consignment of rice, said Ashish Mehta, a miller from Haryana.Millers say that the delay in issuing the
notification for relaxation in the rice specifications was the only reason for the delay in delivery of rice, and
that no such penalty should be levied on them as this delay was not their fault. Further, they added that the
notification came on January 2, 2014, and so the schedule must be revised from January to June, rather than
from October to June

.Millers are allowed to retain the by-products of paddy like rice husk and rice bran, which they can sell in the
open market to make an extra buck. However, they claim that escalating input costs (power, labour and
diesel) have squeezed margins and the income from paddy by-products is no longer significant.The food
processing industry is the backbone of agricultural states like Haryana, providing seasonal employment to
labour in the hinterland and checking migration to the urban areas; any lack of support from the government
may harm it, said Makkhan Lal Singla, a veteran of the industry.
Ministry of Agriculture of Guyana : Only about 3 to 4 % of rice farmers
awaiting payment- Agriculture Minister
08/19/2014 | 10:14am US/Eastern
In addressing outstanding payment to rice farmers, Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy said the
Government believes they must be paid on a timely basis, fully and fairly."We concede that farmers are not
being paid on a timely basis. Part of the problem is the phenomenal increase in cash flow because whilst
farmers harvest twice per year and expect their payment during that period, the millers sell over 12 months so
they receive their payment over that same period, so therefore the cash flow becomes a problem," the Minister
explained.To aid in the payment of rice farmers, the Government has extended a revolving fund of $2 to 5
billion and hopes that all farmers will be paid before the next rice harvest.He added that in the year 2000, the


cash flow between millers and farmers was $8billion and it is now $46 billion. He explained that, meeting the
huge increase in cash flow is challenging to millers and thus the Government assists.
He further said there is talk about a revolving fund of a couple hundred million dollars and noted that millers
and banks have not been able to meet the $46 billion. He cited 2010 as the year where there was a similar
problem.The Minister said it is no secret that Agriculture banks are very skeptical about lending large amounts
of money because of the high risk factor. He stated that the Government, at various times makes available
between $2 to 5 billion to bridge the gap to allow farmers to be paid during crops, though payment may not be
very timely."I heard while I was away (in Colombia) that a group of farmers met with various people who
should have been more responsible because they were told that 25% of farmers have not been paid,"
Ramsammy said.
Further he said he was told the same figure by a group representing the farmers and urged that the group ask
farmers for the evidence to prove their claims.On Saturday, he said 3 to 4% of farmers are yet to receive
payment and vowed that the government intends to ensure all are paid. Of the approximately $22 billion paid to
farmers by millers at various points during this year, over $4billion came from the Government which in turn
rotates payments received to continue paying farmers.
"I have had meetings with the banks asking that they invest their money with the millers and the banks have
expressed fear that they have already invested money, when you are dealing with 300,000 tonnes of rice for the
year versus 600,000 tonnes, the accommodation of storage and drying of paddy has to be increased, and the
millers have invested in this increase, thus they already have significant loans at the bank," Ramsammy said
while making clear that he is not justifying the millers.The Minister added that he plans to meet with bankers
and millers this week, but said the bankers have agreed to loan the money to the millers under the condition that
the government guarantees the loans.
Guyana to export 5,000 tons of rice per month to Panama
GBTIMES
Tuesday, August 19, 2014 - 12:54

Guyana is set to supply approximately 5,000 tons of rice to Panama each month following the signing of a five
year rice export deal (Source: Atelier_A, Shutterstock)

Guyana has signed a five year agreement on rice exportation with Panama.Guyana is
set to supply approximately 5,000 tons of rice to Panama each month following the
signing of a five year rice export deal, Caribbean Journal reports.The newly signed


agreement came after a meeting between Guyana President Donald Ramotar and President Juan Carlos
Verela of Panama on August 6 in Colombia.

The agreement allows Panama to purchase 5,000 tons of rice per month
Guyana Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy said, President Ramotar suggested that Guyanas rice be
exported in a meaningful way to Panama. I need to say meaningful way because we have always sent paddy
and rice to Panama, but in small amounts because it was difficult to get into that market.Dr Ramsammy
explained that Guyana will supply 50,000 tons of rice to Panama every year.
The Agriculture Minister said that Mr Verela was eager to reduce the high cost-of-living in Panama. Panamas
rice industry is dominated by the private sector.According to Caribbean News Now, Panama imports 150,000
tons of rice annually in addition to its own local production. However, the country has not been able to meet its
domestic rice demand.
For Guyana, the deal will increase and expand its rice production and rice market
The deal will cover the rice supply for the remainder of 2014.Dr Ramsammy also said that there will be further
discussions for a contract renewal in 2015 on the satisfactory conclusions to initial contracts. uyanas private
sector will become part of Guyanas rice export to Panama. The 100,000-ton remainder of the 150,000 tons of
rice required by Panama may be supplied by private companies through bidding.In a report from Guyana
Chronicle, the Agriculture Minister claimed that the new agreement brought by the Government to Government
(G2G) arrangement will benefit the two countries.

For Guyana, the deal will increase and expand its rice production and rice market. Meanwhile, it will ensure a
low cost-of-living in Panama.
Furthermore, the Agriculture Minister remains optimistic about the latest move, with the objective of increasing
rice production. He said, When we were talking about a production of 500,000 tons of rice by 2020, people
said it is impossible and we achieved that last year and now we anticipate 600,000 tons produced by the end of
2014, and I have no doubt we will surpass that amount this year.
TAGS: GuyanaPanamaRice exportDealRice productionDonald RamotarJuan Carlos Verela
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