27-28 October,2021 Daily Rice News

Escalating prices

EditorialPublished October 27, 2021 –

ONE

question being asked by almost every Pakistani today is: for how long will we have to suffer
food price inflation and how far will it go? Based on the data signifying the linear upward
movement in prices, especially of food and energy, over the last three years, these questions are
valid. The government, on the other hand, seems quite oblivious to the extreme difficulty the vast
majority of citizens face in making ends meet. That the purchasing power of most households
continues to erode because of the sustained and steep increase in prices barely begins to describe
the people‘s financial hardship. A report in this newspaper yesterday has highlighted how the
prices of various food staples have spiked under the present government. The prices of such
items of daily use as vegetable ghee, cooking oil, sugar and some lentils have increased by an
annualised average of 27pc, 23pc, 22pc and 21pc since October 2018. The increase in wheat
flour price has been 15pc a year during this period. In absolute terms, cooking oil, sugar and
chicken have become 88pc, 83pc and 60pc more expensive than they were three years ago.
Likewise, the cost of beef, eggs, milk and rice has gone up 48pc, 47pc, 33pc and 29pc. However,
no statistics can capture the true impact of inflation on ordinary people because sustained price
hikes make daily life more expensive in a way that no index can measure.
There is little doubt that the post-Covid-19 global recovery has sent international commodity
markets spiralling across continents on demand-supply imbalance. Still, double-digit food price
inflation in Pakistan remains much higher than experienced in other regional countries like India
and Bangladesh, even though both are net importers of basic food items — and energy — like
us. In recent years, inflation in Pakistan has become a structural issue. The government cannot
absolve itself of responsibility by dismissing the hike in domestic prices as a phenomenon of the
international commodity cycle. Nor will its claims of passing on only part of the global price
increase to people make the impact of its reckless consumption-based growth policies ahead of
the 2023 elections as well as poor governance lessen its contribution to inflation. Food inflation
had already escalated to 24pc in villages and 20pc in cities with the number of food-insecure
households swelling across the country long before commodity prices started to rise.
The massive devaluation of the home currency on the back of expanding deficits on the current
and trade accounts is not helping either. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics inflation data highlights a
worrisome price trend over the next several months. The central bank too has already revised
upwards its inflation forecast for the year. If anything, all indicators point towards more troubles
for low-middle-income families already struggling to cope with erosion in the currency‘s value,
pay cuts and job losses.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2021

https://www.dawn.com/news/1654308/escalating-prices

Paddy to be procured from 155 centres

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
VISAKHAPATNAM, OCTOBER 27, 2021 01:04 IST
The AP Civil Supplies Corporation has decided to procure paddy from the farmers in
the district for kharif season in 2021-22. A total of 155 paddy procurement centres in
the district have been identified for this purpose, Joint Collector M. Venugopala Reddy
has said.
He held a review meeting with the officials on Monday. As many as 48 procurement
centres were identified through Velugu, 43 in tribal areas and 64 through Primary
Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS). He said that the farmers have to register
their crops on e-crop at the Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs) with the assistance of
Agriculture Assistants.
The procurement agencies have to be prepared with the equipment like moisture
meters, tarpaulins and electronic balance. The District Rice Millers Association has
been directed to supply empty gunny bags for filling up of the procured rice.
District Manager of Civil Supplies, Joint Director of Agriculture, Anakapalle RDO,
Project Director of DRDA, Marketing AD, District Cooperative Bank CEO, Paderu
ITDA Deputy Project Manager, Divisional Manager of FCI, District Manager of AP
Markefed and President of Rice Millers Association participated in the meeting.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/paddy-to-be-procured-from-155-
centres/article37182216.ece

Millers purchase paddy at Rs 1,100 below MSP; state urged to

purchase fresh paddy

DECCAN CHRONICLE.
PublishedOct 27, 2021, 12:56 am IST
UpdatedOct 27, 2021, 12:56 am IST
Farmers in Gandepalli mandal staged an agitation and blocked the NH for some time pleading
the government purchase to buy paddy from fields
 The rice millers should purchase the paddy at MSP or by paying more, but should not purchase
paddy at rates below MSP. However, they can increase the volume of the paddy as per the
moisture content,‘‘ said joint collector Lakshmisha. — AFP
KAKINADA: When the season of paddy harvesting has started in upland areas, the farmers are
facing difficulties in selling the produce to rice millers. Apart from the harvesting problems, the
millers are ready to pay only up to Rs 1,100 per bag of 75 kilo paddy as on Tuesday. This,
farmers say, is lower than the MSP of Rs 1,455.
The government has announced an MSP of Rs 1,940 for common variety of paddy per quintal
and Rs 1,970 for the A Grade‘ variety with a permitted 17 per cent moisture content. But,
farmers are selling the paddy soon after harvesting without drying it. The moisture content is
high.

Farmers say most agriculturists have gone for mechanized harvesting instead of manual
harvesting due to labour scarcity. There is no ground or warehouse to dry their crop. In
mechanised harvesting, there is more moisture content and the produce will not meet the Fair
Average Quality (FAQ) requirement. The government will however permit only 17 per cent
moisture content.
Farmers in Gandepalli mandal of East Godavari district staged an agitation and blocked the
National Highway for some time on Tuesday, pleading that the government purchase paddy
directly from the field. The officials and rice millers have agreed to this, but with conditions.

―The rice millers should purchase the paddy at MSP or by paying more, but should not purchase
paddy at rates below MSP. However, they can increase the volume of the paddy as per the
moisture content,‘‘ said joint collector Lakshmisha. This means farmers should give more than
75 kilos of paddy at the MSP rate set for 75 kilos.
―Farmers could get Rs 1,200 per 75 kilo of paddy from rice miller before we made the demand
for purchase of fresh paddy. After the agitation, the rice millers reduced their rate to Rs 1,100 per
75 kilo. However, farmers are getting ready to sell their crop based on what the rice miller gives
them,‘‘ said farmer Venkanna Dora of Murari village.

He said the paddy crop is ready for harvest, but the government has not opened purchasing
centres (PPCs). He urged the government to open these and start purchasing paddy without
creating hurdles like citing the issue of moisture content.
State rice millers‘ association president Dwarampudi Reddy said rice millers would purchase
paddy at prescribed MSP with permissible moisture content. The government is not allowing
above-average moisture content. The association requested the rice millers to purchase paddy at
rates above MSP.
He said the rice millers have agreed for purchase of paddy at MSP, though there existed a higher
volume of moisture. To compensate for this, farmer should give additional quantity of paddy to
the rice miller. The cabinet sub-committee will take a decision on this on Wednesday, he said.
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/politics/261021/millers-purchase-paddy-at-rs-1100-
below-msp-state-urged-to-purchase.html

Indian farmers‟ protest continue despite producing

largest rice crop in history
 Pramod

 26 October, 2021

Labourers clear water next to piles of paddy grains covered with a plastic sheet after a rainfall at
a wholesale grain market in Amritsar on October 2, 2021. (Photo by NARINDER NANU/AFP
via Getty Images)
By: Pramod Thomas
FARMERS in India are gathering in the largest rice crop in history, which promises record
exports, while making sure to keep up their longest-running protest, set to turn a year old next
month.
The sit-in against controversial agriculture reforms is taking place in New Delhi.
“We‟ll not budge until the government rolls back the laws,” said Sukrampal Beniwal, a
farmer in Haryana, referring to three measures the farmers, demonstrating by the tens of
thousands in the capital, say will threaten their livelihoods.
Farmers in the breadbasket state have joined hands to bring in the mammoth crop and make sure
that every time a group sets off to harvest rice, a similar number leave to join the protest on the
outskirts of New Delhi, Beniwal said.
―Because of our camaraderie, we have quite successfully dealt with the two competing
challenges: managing the protest against legislation and harvesting a big crop,‖ he added.
Introduced in September 2021, the legislation deregulates the agriculture sector, letting farmers
sell produce to buyers beyond government-regulated wholesale markets, where growers are
assured of a minimum price.
While small farmers say the changes make them vulnerable to competition from big business,
and threaten the eventual loss of price support, the government says the reforms will bring them
new prospects and better prices.
Yet, with global food prices near-decade highs after a surge of 30 per cent in rates for cereals
over the past year, India‘s problem of plenty also offers a dazzling opportunity.
The new harvest will boost exports to help the South Asian nation cement its status as the
dominant supplier of the world‘s most critical grain, traders say.
―Indian prices are very attractive at a time when demand is rather strong from many buyers,
including China and a clutch of countries in Africa,‖ said Aditya Garg, a leading exporter of the
grain.
―In fact, for non-basmati rice, many Indian exporters have received orders from a lot of new
buyers in Egypt, Sudan, Tanzania and Iran.‖
Coming at a time of flat output in traditional export powerhouses Vietnam and Thailand, the
higher supply will let New Delhi offer more competitive rates to undercut any rivals.
Output of summer-sown rice in 2021/22 will hit a record 107.04 million tonnes, the farm
ministry says, while combined output of summer and winter rice will hit 125 million, or about
24.5 per cent of global rice output, its largest ever.
Coupled with upgraded export facilities, that volume will allow India to repeat, or even surpass,
last year‘s record export tally of 20 million tonnes, filling growing demand for the staple from
buyers across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
India is selling 25 per cent broken rice, a non-basmati variety preferred by most overseas buyers,
at $345 a tonne on a free-on-board basis compared to $360 offered by Thailand, the world‘s
second-biggest rice exporter, dealers said, with some cargoes even sold at $320 a tonne.
Rice is India‘s biggest foreign exchange earning farm commodity, with shipments worth $8.82
billion in the fiscal year that ended in March 2021, government figures show.
Until two seasons ago, India‘s annual rice exports averaged about 11 million to 12 million
tonnes.
But shipments soared to 20 million tonnes for a record share of 40.7 per cent of global trade last
season, data from the US department of agriculture (USDA) shows, after growing problems in
Southeast Asia pushed up the prices of rivals to make Indian non-basmati shipments attractive to
hungry global buyers.

https://www.easterneye.biz/indian-farmers-continue-protest-despite-producing-largest-rice-crop-
in-history/

Family card holders in Puducherry to get 10 kg rice, 2 kg

sugar free for Deepavali

3.50 lakh families would be benefitted by this measure, said Puducherry Chief Minister N
Rangasamy.
By: PTI | Chennai |
October 27, 2021 10:23:03 am

The Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Welfare is making arrangements to distribute
the sugar and rice through ration shops in the Union Territory. (Representational)
Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy on Tuesday announced that each of the families in the
Union Territory covered under public distribution system would be provided 10 kg rice and two
kg sugar free of cost for Diwali through ration shops.
He noted that around 3.50 lakh families would be benefitted by this measure. The Department of
Civil Supplies and Consumer Welfare is making arrangements to distribute the sugar and rice
through ration shops in the Union Territory.
Rangasamy also announced a slew of measures to benefit the workers, including hike in wages,
attached to the Cooperative Milk Producers Federation (PONLAIT).
Rangasamy also said his government would credit Rs 500 to the bank account of every
Schedeuled Caste member under a scheme to provide the cash under DBT system. The amount
would be available instead of garments for the members in SC families for Deepavali.
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chennai/family-card-holders-in-puducherry-to-get-10-kg-
rice-2-kg-sugar-free-for-deepavali-7592861/

PARC working on new breeding technologies to

enhance crop production‟
Tue, 26 Oct 2021, 2:30 PM

ISLAMABAD, Oct 26 (APP):Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) Chairman Dr

Ghulam Muhammad Ali here Tuesday said that the council has started work on new breeding
technologies including speed cloning, speed breeding, genomic selection and genomic editing for
enhancement of crop production for achieving food safety and security in the country.
Briefing the Federal Secretary Ministry of National Food Security and Research Tahir
Khursheed, who visited PARC, Dr Ali said that National Institute for Genomics and Advanced
Biotechnology (NIGAB) of PARC has also started producing virus-free potato tubers locally that
would help in saving foreign exchange of the country, besides increasing the the output.

He said that due to disease attack on local potato varieties, country has to import seed potato of
8th generation from Holland, which costs millions of dollars, adding that the council was also
actively involved in developing vaccine for disease prevention and epidemic control and also in
selecting of superior breeds of animals using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) data for
improved milk and meat productivity.
Indicating the yield potential 80 to 120 mound per acre and grain length of 8.6mm, the PARC
chairman said that Green Super Rice (GSR) could be a harbinger of economic prosperity, adding
that using latest technique of genome based breeding, NIGAB scientists, in collaboration with
China, have developed these GSR lines.

Besides, he said that banana varieties of PARC like NIGAB-I & NIGAB-2 with higher
productivity and shelf life were also developed, adding that these verities would help in
enhancing the income of local farmers.

Speaking on the occasion, Tahir Khursheed said that prime focus of the government was to bring
revolutionary change in agriculture sector and urged the scientists to focus on high quality seed
varieties to boost agriculture output.

While appreciating the efforts of PARC scientists in agriculture development, the Secretary
stressed the need for expanding such modern techniques in all important research and
development departments of agriculture for enhancing the crop and livestock production.

He also took keen interest in PARC‘s Thar Greening Model in Umerkot, Sindh and agricultural
mechanization technologies like olive oil extraction unit, solar dryer, mobile sugarcane crusher
and groundnut digger.
https://www.app.com.pk/business/parc-working-on-new-breeding-technologies-to-enhance-crop-
production/

Food insecurity decreases 6pc: Imam

APP
OCTOBER 27, 2021
Minister of National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam on Tuesday said that
Pakistan had reduced food and nutritional insecurity by 6pc and was engaged in further reduction
through agricultural and livestock development along with livelihood improvement and
economic uplift of the masses.
Addressing the eighth Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ministerial Conference on
Food Security and Agricultural Development, Imam said that Pakistan has taken the issue of
food insecurity as a top priority and declared food security as a national security issue by putting
food security on the top agenda in its national security plan. The food and nutritional insecurity
in the country were recorded at 24 percent during 2014-15, which reduced to 18.3 percent in
2019-20 and it was attributed to the measures taken by the government to strengthen all four
pillars of food security, added.
Imam said that the government was striving hard to address food security issues through various
initiatives and in this regard prime minister‘s Agriculture Emergency Program worth Rs285
billion had been initiated which primarily focused on productivity enhancement of wheat, rice
and sugarcane with a cost of approximately Rs34 billion.
Besides, an amount of Rs10 billion was earmarked for the oilseeds enhancement program,
conserving water through the lining of watercourses with a cost of Rs180 billion, enhancing
command area of small and mini dams in Barani areas with spending of Rs28 billion, he added.
For water conservation in Barani areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the government had also
allocated Rs13 billion to conserve water, he said adding that Rs0.5 billion was also set aside in
order to exploit the potential of shrimp farming, besides allocation of Rs0.7 billion for cage fish
culture development.
Under the program, other initiatives like trout farming in Northern Areas of Pakistan was also
started with a cost of more than Rs2 billion and initiating save and fattening of calf program with
Rs05 billion, he said adding that backyard poultry program was started to enhance the income of
rural families.
Fakhar said that to resolve the issue of food security, numerous initiatives have been taken to
increase household income which includes mechanized harvesting of wheat, rice, maize and
fruits, silos for grain storage, and development of cold storage facility for horticultural
commodities.
He further informed that the government had also provided incentives for value-added products
through the provision of harvesting machinery for rice, cob and fruits on 50pc subsidy,
exemption of 28pc import duty and 17pc GST on the locally manufactured silo and replenish of
State Bank of Pakistan‘s financing facility for storage of agricultural produce and development
of small scale/cottage industry under Ihsas and Kamyab Jawan Program.
Furthermore, the government has fast-tracked access to credit, finance through registration of
farmers and FVOs and women through biometric mapping and Issuance of Kissan Cards for
subsidy and credit.
In addition, the import of more than three million tons of wheat and 0.3 million tons of sugar in
years 2020-21 are the preventive steps taken to ensure the food security of the country.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/834142/food-insecurity-decreases-6pc-imam/

PARC working on new breeding techniques for boosting

farm yields

Green Super Rice yield can range between 80-120 maunds/acre

SAMAA | Web desk - Posted: Oct 26, 2021 | Last Updated: 2 days ago

Photo: Online
The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council or PARC is working on new crop breeding
technologies, including speed cloning, speed breeding, genomic selection, and genomic
editing for boosting domestic agricultural output, achieving food safety and security,
Chairman of PARC Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali said on Tuesday.
Briefing the federal Secretary Ministry of National Food Security and Research Tahir
Khursheed, who visited PARC, Dr Ali said that PARC‘s National Institute for Genomics and
Advanced Biotechnology (NIGAB) had also started producing virus-free potato tubers locally
that would help in saving foreign exchange, besides increasing the farm yields.
He said that due to attacks of diseases on local potato varieties, the country had to import 8th
generation seed potato from Holland, costing millions of dollars. Adding that the council was
also involved in developing vaccines for disease prevention and epidemic control and also in
selecting superior animal breeds using next-generation sequencing data for improved milk and
meat productivity.
He pointed out that Green Super Rice, with a potential yield ranging between 80 and 120 maunds
per acre and grain length of 8.6mm, could be a harbinger of economic prosperity, the PARC
chairman said, adding that using the latest techniques of genome-based breeding, NIGAB
scientists, in collaboration with China, have developed these GSR lines.
Besides, he said that banana varieties of PARC such as NIGAB-I and NIGAB-2 with higher
productivity and shelf life had also been developed, adding that these varieties would help in
enhancing the incomes of local farmers.
Meanwhile, Tahir Khursheed said that the government was primarily focusing to bring
revolutionary changes in the agriculture sector and urged scientists to focus on high-quality seed
varieties to boost agricultural output.
Appreciating PARC efforts in the country‘s agricultural development, the secretary stressed the
need for expanding such modern techniques in all farming research and development for
enhancing crop and livestock production.
He also took a keen interest in PARC‘s Thar Greening Model in Umerkot, Sindh, and
agricultural mechanization technologies such as the olive oil extraction unit, solar dryer, mobile
sugarcane crusher, and groundnut digger.
https://www.samaa.tv/news/2021/10/parc-working-on-new-breeding-techniques-for-boosting-
farm-yields/

Samosas by the Sea

ge tray of fried samosas and a squeeze bottle of sauce into a crowded square.
A day in the life of a Pakistani samosa vendor working to feed the city‘s snack-hungry skate kids
and beachgoers
by Chris Ciolli Oct 26, 2021, 9:30am EDT
Photography by Gerard Moral
It‘s around 9 p.m. in the Plaça dels Àngels, and people are perching on the cement barrier in
front of the main entrance to the Museu d‘Art Contemporani de Barcelona, though they‘re not
there for the art. Drawn by the local skate culture, they mingle every evening amid the distant
hum of traffic and the percussive soundtrack of skaters — the buzz of wheels on uneven
pavement, the hard cracks of landings, and the scuffling noises of failed jumps and tricks. With
crowds come the vendors, armed with six-packs of beer and trays of samosas wrapped in plastic.

Among the many things street vendors sell in Barcelona, from souvenirs to counterfeit handbags,
consumables are a rarity. In the city, and throughout Spain, street vending without a permit is
illegal. Recent laws have also outlawed purchasing from vendors, though sellers are fined about
180 times as often as buyers. The licensing laws are meant to ensure vendors and shopkeepers
pay taxes, and to channel sales to those that do. So many vendors without permits — for whom
exact numbers are difficult to establish, but they are typically among the city‘s most
economically precarious residents — limit their domains to busy tourist attractions and
surrounding areas like the Plaça dels Àngels. There, vendors can reasonably depend on a crowd
to sell to — and get lost in when the police come to confiscate their wares.

Rashid‘s samosa dough is made from wheat flour, water, sunflower seed oil, and salt; the
filling is usually potato and curry. When he started, Rashid would include peas and onion, but
many customers didn‘t like it, so he now leaves them out. ―It‘s easier [for me], anyway,‖ he says
of the simpler recipe.

Rashid makes all the samosas in his Gothic Quarter apartment, which he shares with ―other
Pakistanis to save money,‖ he says. ―We eat together and spend very little. Just a room costs 400
euros or more. It‘s so expensive.‖

Cooked samosas rest in Rashid‘s kitchen. Though samosas are popular with customers, he
notes that he buys his own food at Pakistani halal stores for a taste of home. ―I miss the food
from Pakistan — rice, naan bread, curry too, and vegetables — so many things.‖
The most common is beer, followed by bottled water, and finally, samosas, which are popular
and well-known among locals. Samosas are by far the easiest Pakistani prepared food to find
here, in plastic trays lined with paper towels to soak up the grease in Pakistani-run convenience
stores, not to mention in pretty much every doner kebab place around town. In Barcelona, a
general knowledge and acceptance of samosas is linked to the number of Pakistani immigrants in
the city — at just over 23,000 residents, they‘re the second-largest immigrant group here, trailing
those from Italy and followed by populations from France, China, and Colombia.
The Pakistani immigration surge began in the 1970s; as of 2011, half of all Pakistanis legally
residing in Spain lived in Barcelona. According to Javed Ilyas Qureshi, president of the
Association of Pakistani Workers of Catalonia, in the 2009 report ―Pakistan, in Search of an
Identity,‖ about 95 percent of Barcelona residents hailing from Pakistan came to Catalunya to
find a better standard of living — leaving behind the sort of unmanageable economic situations
where renting a place to live costs twice as much as a month‘s salary. And while many Pakistanis
in Barcelona work in or own neighborhood institutions like greengrocers and computer
cafes, many others make a precarious living selling souvenirs, beers, bottled water, and samosas
in the streets.

Rashid approaches the square, which he says doesn‘t present the best of working conditions.
―Lots of times, there are policía, and they take away my tray, and I get fined, too.‖ Rashid says
it‘s the lack of social services that lead to people like him selling food, water, and other items ―to
pay rent, electricity, and for food, because there isn‘t any assistance for people to sleep or eat...
the government doesn‘t help.‖

Rashid heads right out once he‘s done making the samosas. ―I sell them while they‘re still
warm to whoever wants them freshly made,‖ he says.

Rashid pours some of this sweet-and-sour sauce on a samosa for a customer. ―People like
the sauce,‖ he says. Because he is Muslim, Rashid doesn‘t drink alcohol, although he notes that
that doesn‘t stop other Muslim vendors from selling it in the square.
Rashid, 38, moved to Barcelona from Islamabad nearly nine years ago. When I spoke to him, he
said he sells samosas for a euro ($1.15) apiece in the Plaça dels Àngels to afford an apartment he
shares with several roommates in the Gothic Quarter; if he‘s able, he sends money back to his
family in Pakistan. He only learned how to make samosas after arriving in Barcelona. ―I spend 2
to 3 hours making them, and then I work here 4 to 5 hours selling,‖ he says. ―Every day I make
20, and I sell 10 to 15. Normally all of them, or not very many, or five. When it rains, you don‘t
work because there aren‘t any people.
―Today is Saturday, I brought 40, and in the last two and a half hours I‘ve been here I‘ve sold six
or seven and ya está [it‘s done].‖ At the end of the day, if Rashid has leftover samosas, he gives
them away or he eats them himself, although he admits to occasionally getting sick of them. In
the winter months when fewer people are out, there isn‘t much demand for samosas; that demand
dried up completely during Barcelona‘s strict confinement. The night before I first spoke to him
(in February 2020, prior to the COVID-19 lockdown), Rashid said he‘d made 8 euros ($9).
During the city‘s confinement, it became impossible to sell samosas in the MACBA plaza.
That‘s when Rashid says he started delivering samosas instead. Post-lockdown, when people
were allowed to move more freely again, Rashid started an Instagram business, delivering his
samosas and catering Pakistani buffets for groups of 10 or more. And now that the plaza is back
to its pre-pandemic state, he‘s also back to selling samosas there. ―Every day, I‘m here,‖ he says,
―trying to make a living.‖

Rashid walks home with ingredients in hand. While making samosas is a source of income
now, ideally, he won‘t be doing it forever: His preferred job would be as a delivery driver for
Amazon or the food-delivery company Glovo, but he doesn‘t currently have a driver‘s license,
and is without access to a car. ―I‘d also like to test for a motorcycle license to have more
opportunities to work in delivery, too,‖ he says. ―I have residency, but without a car, and a job,
I‘m working in the street.‖
Originally from the Midwest, Chris Ciolli has lived in Barcelona since 2005. A writer and
translator, she’s contributed to local and international publications such as BUST magazine,
Afar, Miniguide, and Fathom. Gerard Moral is a Barcelona born and based photographer
specializing in portrait, travel and lifestyle photography.
:https://www.eater.com/barcelona/21173805/barcelona-samosas-pakistani-street-
food+&cd=1&hl=en&




2 Days After Cricket Victory Over India, Pakistan Still

Feels the High
The nation is experiencing a much-needed burst of joy after it unexpectedly beat India in a
cricket match in Dubai.
Fireworks in Karachi, Pakistan, on Sunday after the country‘s win over India in the T20 World
Cup.Credit...Akhtar Soomro/Reuters
By Salman Masood
Oct. 26, 2021
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Ammar Barlas was prepared for disappointment. He is Pakistani,
which — almost by default — makes him a cricket fan. And Pakistan was preparing to play
India, its hated but heavily favored rival and a team it had not defeated in the sport‘s World Cup
tournament in nearly 30 years.
Still, a fan supports his team, and Mr. Barlas, 35, prepared a special dish of chicken and rice and
invited his college buddies to watch the inevitable.
―The get-together of the friends was meant for the enjoyment of the game, but we were also
mentally prepared for a loss,‖ Mr. Barlas said. He added, ―We were feeling anxious but kept
repeating the sentence, ‗First of all, you don‘t have to panic,‘‖ referencing a phrase popularized
by Pakistan‘s prime minister, Imran Khan, who was once a cricket star.
Pakistan averted defeat. It unexpectedly beat India on Sunday night in Dubai, advancing to play
New Zealand on Tuesday evening — it won that match, too — and giving the nation a much-
needed boost that lingered even two days later.
With an ailing economy, bitter political discord among the ruling and opposition political parties,
militants rearing their heads in some parts of the country, and turbulent relations with the United
States and several European countries, Pakistan sorely needs a feel-good moment.
India‘s K.L. Rahul, left, bowled out by Pakistan‘s Shaheen Shah Afridi at the match in Dubai on
Sunday.Credit...Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters
―In a country where cricket is almost a religion and good news — sporting or otherwise — has
been hard to come by in the recent past, the victory was a much-needed reason to celebrate,‖
read an editorial in The Express Tribune on Tuesday.
The win united the nation, enveloping it with a sense of national pride. Cricket binds the country.
It is perhaps the only legacy of British colonialism that is neither contentious nor despised.
Instead, cricket stirs passions and transcends ethnic, linguistic and political divides.
The victory over India set off celebrations that carried on long into Sunday night. The whole
country was transfixed on the live match, which was aired in restaurants and cafes. Streets and
shopping centers were mostly deserted from 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
After the win, people young and old poured out onto the streets, honking horns, setting off big
rounds of firecrackers and breaking into Bhangra moves in several Punjabi cities and towns.
Many even resorted to aerial firing (which is illegal, but no one seemed to care Sunday night).
The green flag of Pakistan was raised with pride.
Immediately victory memes went viral on the country‘s WhatsApp groups, and one video on
Instagram of a newlywed couple was widely shared. In it, the groom stands up as soon as the
wedding hall receives the news of Pakistan‘s win and starts chanting, ―Long live Pakistan!‖ He is
quickly joined by other guests.
On his Twitter account, Mr. Khan, the prime minister, who was visiting Saudi Arabia over the
weekend, posted a photograph of himself watching the match in a hotel suite, surrounded by
cabinet ministers, with a message: ―The nation is proud of you all.‖
Image

Fans of Pakistan‘s team watching the game in Karachi on Sunday. The whole country was
transfixed on the live match.Credit...Akhtar Soomro/Reuters
Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, the interior minister, said he had ordered the removal of police barricades
and blockades on the roads in Islamabad, the capital, and some parts of Punjab so that the public
could celebrate. The police had taken preventive measures last week to stop a protest of a
religious party from marching toward Islamabad.
On Monday, the country‘s newspapers carried stark headlines and pictures of the cricket team on
their front pages. Pakistan ―vanquished‖ India, one English daily declared. Jang, the country‘s
leading Urdu newspaper, described the win as ―historic,‖ a sentiment echoed by other major
Urdu newspapers.
Saba Usman, a teacher at a private school in Islamabad, said her fifth-grade students were
overjoyed the next morning. ―The children couldn‘t stop talking about the game and kept
praising Pakistani players,‖ she said. ―Some of my students said they couldn‘t sleep out of
happiness.‖
Pakistanis who are not fans of cricket also felt elated. ―The win was an excuse to dance and
enjoy with friends and family,‖ said Hamza Rao, a resident of Lahore. ―Even those who are not
into sports, like me, took vicarious pleasure.‖
Mr. Rao said he phoned his sister and rushed to her house to celebrate the win. ―We ordered
cheat meals,‖ he said, ―without any guilt.‖
The celebrations, however, cost some fans dearly. The police in the Indian-controlled part of
Kashmir, the picturesque Himalayan region that is claimed by both India and Pakistan, said
students who celebrated Pakistan‘s victory were being investigated under an antiterrorism law.
As Indian players played down the disappointment as something that happens in sport and
images of the Indian captain graciously congratulating a victorious Pakistani team made the
rounds as expressions of good sportsmanship, Indian fans took it differently.
Online abuse took a communal tone, with trolls channeling much of their anger at the only
Muslim player on the team. Some of the abuse was so vicious that many veterans of Indian
cricket had to come to the support of the player, Mohammad Shami.
For a majority of the fans of the Pakistani cricket team, the revelry has continued. Mr. Barlas, the
cricket fan who watched the game with his college friends, had said a special prayer before the
game. Afterward, he gave out sweets in the neighborhood.
On Tuesday he said, ―My friends and I are still intoxicated by the win.‖
Mujib Mashal contributed reporting.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/26/world/asia/pakistan-cricket-victory-india.html

Despite limited supply, wild rice seeding continues on the

waters of Green Bay
by Eric Peterson, FOX 11 News
Wednesday, October 27th 2021

Sorry, the video player failed to load.(Error Code: 101102)

Wild rice seeding in Howard, October 26, 2021 (WLUK/Eric Peterson)

HOWARD (WLUK) -- An effort to help restore the wild rice population on the western shores of
the Bay of Green Bay got a boost Tuesday.
On a relatively crisp, calm morning, a boat loaded with bags of wild rice headed out. The
destination was something new.
Sorry, the video player failed to load.(Error Code: 101102)
Wild rice seeding underway (WLUK video)

"We're going to be seeding the Duck Creek Delta Woody Breakwater today, which is a new
structure that was put in this fall in the lower portion of Green Bay," said Amy Carrozzino-Lyon,
Green Bay Restoration Project coordinator.
Carrozzino-Lyon says the 2,000-foot-long string of logs and stumps will help protect the
wetlands nearby and the seeding crew. The method is simple, just grab and toss. The rest is left
up to nature. In a typical year, biologists say 2,000 pounds of seed are planted, but in 2021, only
300 pounds are available.
"The high water has wiped out some of those seed sources we usually rely on in northern
Minnesota. So there's just less rice to go around for all parts of the Great Lakes where we seed
rice," said Betsy Galbraith, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist.
Scientists say rice used to grow wild in the waters of Green Bay and is an important part of the
ecosystem. In the six years since the restoration started, some results are being seen.
"We're kind of finding that shallow, clear water seems to be best for rice. So, we're learning, and
then adjusting the seeding plan to account for that new information," said Amy Carrozzino-Lyon.
The seeding continues all week.
https://fox11online.com/news/local/despite-limited-supply-wild-rice-seeding-continues-on-the-
waters-of-green-bay
What‟s new in food: Indian market opens in West
Asheville

October 26, 2021 by Kay West

MARKET PLACE: Gaurav Kumar and Juhi Patel stand at the counter of their newly opened
market, Radha Indian Grocers, on Patton Avenue. Photo by Kay West
Radha Indian Grocers celebrated its grand opening Oct. 7, just in time for Navratri and Dussehra,
annual Hindu festivals occurring in October.
Accordingly, owners Gaurav Kumar and his wife, Juhi Patel, had two items significant to the
observations — fresh jalebi and fafda — stocked and ready for purchase at the counter. ―You eat
them together,‖ says Juhi. ―It is ritual.‖
The small store‘s shelves, freezers and cooler cases are stocked with plenty more items integral
to Indian cooking, diet, culture and lifestyle. Some are as familiar to Americans as basmati rice,
while others might be less so. For example, bags of rice flakes, says Kumar, are a breakfast
staple in India. ―You soak them in water until they become soft, then you cook that with
potatoes, onions, mustard seed, curry leaves, green chilis — whatever you prefer.‖
As Asheville‘s only grocery dedicated to Indian food, the couple are happy to answer questions
and share recipes with customers, many of whom they know from their Greenville, S.C., store,
which launched in 2010 and is still operated by Gaurav‘s brother.
To date, Kumar says, the store‘s most popular items in the store are the frozen and ready-to-eat
curries, paneer, chutney, naan (and newly added naan pizzas), pakoras and samosas. But fresh
produce is also available, including banana flower, round eggplants, gourds, cluster beans and
karela (which resembles a large okra pod with a terrible skin condition but is packed with
antioxidants, vitamins and minerals).
According to Patel, karela can be sautéed in hot oil with cumin seed, ginger, garlic and green
chilis. The member of the gourd family is great in curries, though she warns, ―It is bitter, so add
a little sugar at the end.‖
Kumar notes they are getting in new products every day as shipping options improve and they
are happy to special order any item. Gluten-free options are also available.
―These days so many people want to try all kinds of food,‖ he says. ―Asheville people are very
open to trying new things. We say don‘t be afraid, be curious.‖
Radha Indian Grocers is at 813 Patton Ave. To learn more, visit avl.mx/and.
Farmer‟s daughter
In September, Cane Creek Valley Farm launched Farm Kitchen, which uses produce grown on
the Henderson County farm for its menu of sandwiches, salads, entrees and sides.
Orders can be made online and taken to go or enjoyed al fresco on one of the covered picnic
tables on-site. Farm Kitchen also has a take-and-bake family meal option available to order each
Sunday, with available pickup the following Tuesday or Wednesday.
―We want to help create a love for fresh food and feel like the Farm Kitchen completes that
circle for the community,‖ says co-owner Amanda Sizemore.
Cane Creek Valley Farm is at 1448 Cane Creek Road, Fletcher. For more information,
visit avl.mx/ane.
Meat and three
Miss Mary‘s Meatloaf is one of the most popular dishes at Haywood Street Congregation‘s
Downtown Welcome Table. Now, for one day only, the public can enjoy the hearty staple and all
its fixings (mac and cheese, green beans and smashed potatoes) in the comfort of their own
home.
On Wednesday, Nov. 3, chefs from Cúrate, Rhubarb and 12 Bones will prepare ready-to-go
dishes, with all proceeds benefiting the Downtown Welcome Table, which serves hot meals to
those in need. Servings are available for one, six, or 12 people.
Pickup is 3-6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 3, at Haywood Street Congregation, 297 Haywood St.
Orders can be placed at avl.mx/anf.
Five by five
The Fall Harvest Revival brings together five chefs creating five courses to benefit Bounty &
Soul, a nonprofit providing free produce markets and wellness education in Black Mountain.
―Our dinner theme is centered around ‗reviving‘ misfit or often overlooked ingredients,‖ says Jill
Wasilewski, chef and owner of Ivory Road Café & Kitchen. ―Our five courses will feature
lesser-known or often discarded food items and elevate them to five creative and unique courses.
Think kudzu, collards and a crabapple dish.‖
The other four members of the culinary quintet are Brett Suess, Ryan Kline, Duke
Kroger and Paul Cressend Jr. Tickets are $75 (with an optional wine pairing for an additional
$20); 15% of all ticket and bar sales will go directly to Bounty & Soul.
The Fall Harvest Revival takes place Saturday, Nov. 13, 6:30-9:30 p.m. at The Laurel Room at
High Vista, 88 Country Club Road, Mills River. To purchase a ticket, visit avl.mx/ang.
BOO-tee call
Trade that KN-95 mask for something more frightful and help Halloween make a comeback this
year. While not quite up to pre-COVID levels of mischief, there are several celebrations to
costume up for.
The S&W Market, 56 Patton Ave., hosts its inaugural Halloween party Friday, Oct. 29, 5-9 p.m.
The food hall will be decorated for a spooky time, and costumes are encouraged. Pumpkin
painting for the kids begins at 6 p.m. Meanwhile, all the vendors will have treats and Halloween
specials. For more information, visit avl.mx/aoo.
Ginger‘s Revenge Craft Brewing is making it a Hallo-weekend at its tasting room, 829 Riverside
Drive, starting at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, with ongoing celebrations beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday
and Sunday, Oct. 30 and 31. Tarot card readings, fairy hair, live music and food trucks are part
of the festivities. For schedule and details, visit avl.mx/prwb.

Back downtown, the North Carolina Wine Academy, 58 Wall St., is hosting its first Hallo-wine
Wine Scavenger Hunt on Saturday, Oct. 30, 4-6 p.m. Five wine stations will be set up
throughout the property, with each station having two or more ―disguised‖ wines: One will be an
inexpensive trick wine, and the other will be a more expensive treat. Participating guests will
sample all wines and try to determine which is the trick and which is the treat. Prizes will be
awarded for the right calls. To purchase a $10 ticket in advance, visit avl.mx/anh.
On the trail
There‘s still time to attend the ninth annual Haunted Trail at The Adventure Center of Asheville.
For every ticket sold, the Haunted Trail donates four meals to MANNA FoodBank through its
Boo to Hunger effort. Last year‘s event secured 16,000 meals. The no-contact outdoor trail is a
walk-through Halloween play with live actors portraying classic characters. The happening
features spooky sounds but no blood or gore and is suitable for children ages 3-12. Additionally,
adults and kids ages 4 and older can climb on the Treetops Adventure Park Aerial Glow Trail;
two aerial trails illuminated with thousands of colored twinkle and laser lights.
The grand finale takes place Wednesday, Oct. 27, to Saturday, Oct. 30, 6:30-9 p.m. at The
Adventure Center of Asheville, 85 Expo Drive. Trail tickets are $15; combined tickets including
the aerial trails are $35. To purchase, visit avl.mx/ani.

https://mountainx.com/food/whats-new-in-food-indian-market-opens-in-west-asheville/
India Ignores WTO Limits Again, Issues Huge
Fertilizer Subsidies to Prop Up Domestic Rice
Farmers

By Peter Bachmann
Dow Brantley
NEW DEHLI, INDIA – Fertilizer prices have
skyrocketed across the globe due to massive
shortages, including COVID-related shutdowns at
production plants, weather impacts, and now Chinese
export bans. China controls about one third of the
world‘s fertilizer market share, supplying India,
Pakistan, and other rice-producing nations with the
crop‘s vital inputs.

Because of the world shortage, China has

implemented a series of measures that either ban or
further restrict exports to ensure that their
domestic prices and supply remain stable for
2022, further exacerbating the situation
elsewhere.

According to a 2014 report by the International

Fertilizer Association, rice uses the third highest
amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium-
based fertilizers when ranked amongst other
commodities globally. Rice uses about 13.7
percent of agricultural fertilizer, behind wheat
(15.3 percent) and corn (16.2 percent). This
means cereal crops, like rice, will see significant
input cost increases throughout the rest of 2021 and
into 2022.

―When we see price swings of this magnitude

impacting the global economy, our antennas
need to go up, because governments are going to get defensive of their farmers, which
 usually means WTO violations are on the horizon,‖ said Dow Brantley, Arkansas rice
farmer and vice chair of the USA Rice international Trade Policy Committee. ―We didn‘t
have to look hard for the first bad actor to throw their hat in the ‗likely‘ WTO violation
ring, as India announced a $3.8 billion payoff to their fertilizer companies earlier this
month as long as they agreed not to raise retail prices on their [rice and wheat] farmers.‖

A fertilizer subsidy is questionable enough, but that‘s stacked on top of India‘s existing
subsidies for fertilizer, electricity, irrigation, and seeds. After the government essentially
covers all of the costs to bring a crop to harvest, they also guarantee a ‗floor price‘ for the
farmers that sell their crop to the government, taking every risk except weather out of the
equation. India continues to notify their rice subsidies to the World Trade Organization
(WTO) at levels above their de minimis limit and claiming protections using their
‗developing‘ status, yet they have managed to more than double their rice exports over the
last decade, dwarfing Vietnam, the world‘s second largest exporter.

―We need to keep an eye on what our competitors are doing policy-wise as a result of this
fertilizer price spike, but we also need to have the Biden Administration take a case at the
WTO against India,‖ said Brantley. ―As a farmer, there are few things worse than taking
financial risks and playing by the rules, while we watch bad actors, like India, flood our
markets with rice grown on a tilted playing field.‖

Following India‘s lead, rice export powerhouse, Thailand, announced earlier this week that
they‘re earmarking $1 billion for a similar fertilizer subsidy for rice, corn, and cassava
growers.
USA RICE DAILY

The Rice Stuff Podcast Goes Behind the Scenes at the

84th International Rice Festival
By Deborah Willenborg

ARLINGTON, VA – The 84th International Rice Festival (IRF) in Crowley, Louisiana, is the
backdrop for the latest episode of The Rice Stuff podcast.

Michael Klein, USA Rice vice president of communications and domestic promotion and
podcast co-host, participated in the festival again this year, taking in all the festival had to offer,
but also serving as a judge for the Creole Cookery Contest.

From left: Michael Klein, Caroline Hardy, Jimi Joubert, Kathryn Duncan
―It was a tough job sampling all those rice dishes before 11 am, but I was up to the task,‖ Klein
said. ―They came to the right person!‖
Klein shares his experience with show co-host Lesley Dixon on Episode 32, live now. While in
Crowley he also sat down with the 2021 Rice Farmer of the Year, Phillip Lamartiniere; two of
the three judges of the International Rice Festival Queen contest; and had the pleasure of
interviewing three IRF Queens.

The 81st International Rice Festival Queen, Kathryn Shea Duncan; the 83rd International Rice
Festival Queen, Jimi Madison Joubert; and the newly-crowned 84th International Rice Festival
Queen, Caroline Elizabeth Hardy, joined Michael to share their experiences as ambassadors for
the U.S. rice industry.

―I enjoyed talking to two sides

of the very prestigious
competition,‖ Klein said. ―We
had judges talking about their
experience and expectations,
and then we had winners
sharing what it all means to
them and how they prepare.
The pressure is unbelievable,
but these young ladies handle
it, are impressive, and do a
great job promoting rice, the
festival, and Louisiana.‖

New episodes of The Rice Stuff are published on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month
and can be found on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.

USA Rice Daily

India's record rice crop brings problem of plenty for

farmers juggling protest
By Mayank Bhardwaj
Farmers raise their hands as they arrive in a tractor trolley at a site of a protest against the farm
laws at Singhu border near New Delhi, India, January 30, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
MUNAK, India, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Farmers in India are gathering in the largest rice crop in
history, which promises record exports, while making sure to keep up their longest-running
protest, set to turn a year old next month.
The sit-in against controversial agriculture reforms is taking place in the capital, miles away
from the five acres (2 hectares) of lush green rice paddies tended by Sukrampal Beniwal in his
village of Munak, in the northern state of Haryana.
"We'll not budge until the government rolls back the laws," he said, referring to three measures
the farmers, demonstrating by the tens of thousands in New Delhi, say will threaten their
livelihoods. read more
Farmers in the breadbasket state have joined hands to bring in the mammoth crop and make sure
that every time a group sets off to harvest rice, a similar number leave to join the protest on the
outskirts of New Delhi, Beniwal said.
"Because of our camaraderie, we have quite successfully dealt with the two competing
challenges: managing the protest against legislation and harvesting a big crop," he added.
Introduced in September last year, the legislation deregulates the agriculture sector, letting
farmers sell produce to buyers beyond government-regulated wholesale markets, where growers
are assured of a minimum price.
While small farmers say the changes make them vulnerable to competition from big business,
and threaten the eventual loss of price support, the government says the reforms will bring them
new prospects and better prices.
Yet, with global food prices near decade highs after a surge of 30% in rates for cereals over the
past year, India's problem of plenty also offers a dazzling opportunity.
The new harvest will boost exports to help the South Asian nation cement its status as the
dominant supplier of the world's most critical grain, traders say.
"Indian prices are very attractive at a time when demand is rather strong from many buyers,
including China and a clutch of countries in Africa," said Aditya Garg, a leading exporter of the
grain.
"In fact, for non-basmati rice, many Indian exporters have received orders from a lot of new
buyers in Egypt, Sudan, Tanzania and Iran."
Coming at a time of flat output in traditional export powerhouses Vietnam and Thailand, the
higher supply will let New Delhi offer more competitive rates to undercut any rivals.
Output of summer-sown rice in 2021/22 will hit a record 107.04 million tonnes, the farm
ministry says, while combined output of summer and winter rice will hit 125 million, or about
24.5% of global rice output, its largest ever.
India's share of global rice output, exports and consumption
Coupled with upgraded export facilities, that volume will allow India to repeat, or even surpass,
last year's record export tally of 20 million tonnes, filling growing demand for the staple from
buyers across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
India is selling 25% broken rice, a non-basmati variety preferred by most overseas buyers, at
$345 a tonne on a free-on-board basis compared to $360 offered by Thailand, the world's second
biggest rice exporter, dealers said, with some cargoes even sold at $320 a tonne.
India rice export price discount to Southeast Asian offer seen widening on big crop
CHANGE UP
Farming sustains almost half of India's population of nearly 1.4 billion and makes up about 15%
of a $2.7-trillion economy.
Rice is India's biggest foreign exchange earning farm commodity, with shipments worth $8.82
billion in the fiscal year that ended in March 2021, government figures show.
Until two seasons ago, India's annual rice exports averaged about 11 million to 12 million
tonnes.
But shipments soared to 20 million tonnes for a record share of 40.7% of global trade last season,
data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows, after growing problems in
Southeast Asia pushed up the prices of rivals to make Indian non-basmati shipments attractive to
hungry global buyers.
Top 10 rice exporters, producers and consumers
"As climatic conditions helped our farmers raise the country's rice production, we've
permanently become an even bigger player in the international market, and our share will grow,"
said trader Rajesh Paharia Jain at Unicorp Pvt Ltd.
In Munak, 130 km (80 miles) from New Delhi, the rice farmers showed no sign of relenting.
"Our record crop shows we are making India more than self-reliant in food, and the government
shouldn't insist on laws that will spell doom for agriculture," said rice grower Ravindra Kajal.
Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Gavin Maguire and Clarence Fernandez
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-record-rice-crop-brings-problem-plenty-farmers-
juggling-protest-2021-10-26/

Tour of Louisiana‟s largest rice mill, halfway through a

$20M renovation
ACADIA PARISH
by: Neale Zeringue
Posted: Oct 15, 2021 / 07:29 PM CDT / Updated: Oct 15, 2021 / 07:29 PM CDT
CROWLEY, La. (KLFY) — To keep the rice industry in Louisiana, the state‘s largest rice mill is
upgrading. Supreme Rice in Crowley is almost two years into a $20M expansion.
The Supreme Rice Mill in Crowley is among one of the oldest in the state, and to keep up with
the newer crop of competitors, they must modernize and go against the grain.
 ―We look at it more as this isn‘t for us anymore,‖ expressed Supreme Rice Vice President John
Morgan.
With almost 100 years in the business, Louisiana‘s largest rice mill is preparing for the next
century. Morgan stated the whole facility will eventually all be redone and grow from 50,000 sq
ft to 75,000 sq ft.
―When people ask why are you doing this? It‘s a function of a little bit of we have to do it in
order to survive,‖ Morgan added.
Many of the newer mills are better equipped to meet the quality standards of modern markets.
The Supreme Rice‘s Mill expansion has multiple phases. Starting with the rough rice, then the
by-products section, and most recently the shipping area including rail lines, packaging, and
storage.
Related Content
 $20M expansion needed to modernize Supreme Mill
―This is modernizing, right here. Automation,‖ Morgan commented on the new packaging
facility equipped with robotic arms to place rice bags on pallets and wrap them for shipping.
Morgan admitted, ―The tricky part is updating and modernizing.‖


According to Morgan, Supreme is probably halfway through the project, but it might be another
two years before they get to the final phase, rebuilding the mill with twice the capacity. This
gives them more capabilities for the domestic market of U.S. grocery stores and restaurants
which only made up a small fraction of their business before. Now they have expanded into
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and select areas on the east coast. Texas is a state market they
hope to enter soon.
―We‘ve got to have the ability to make sure we have enough rice to meet these guys‘ needs year-
round otherwise you‘ll lose them,‖ Morgan warned.
Supreme Rice said the decision came down to renovating an Arkansas or Crowley facility first.
Their analysis showed if they would have expanded in Arkansas, America‘s top rice-producing
state, it could have reduced their operations in Louisiana.
―Because there have been mills built in the last year, moderns mills that are just a lot more
efficient, easier to maintain,
and we‘re trying to get to that next level,‖ Morgan concluded. ―I mean I hope to see my
grandkids and their kids have a rice industry here in South Louisiana.‖
Supreme Rice said due to inflation the over $20M project will take longer than anticipated, likely
taking a pause before rebuilding the mill. The company currently employs over 200 people.
Copyright 2021 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Arkansas Rice awards scholarships to Rice Reps class

AGRICULTURENEWS BRIEFS
by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net) 10 hours ago 57 views
The Rice Reps class of 2021 capped off the five-month Arkansas Rice program on Sunday at
Loca Luna in Little Rock. The Rice Reps and their families were present as students received
scholarships while the class as a whole was recognized for their participation.
Kristin Lehmann of Scotland (Van Buren County) was the grand prize winner. Mary Frances
Oxner of Searcy (White County) was awarded the second place prize. Emma Gardner of
Fayetteville (Washington County) and Magon James of DeWitt (Arkansas County) tied as the
third place winners.
The goal of the Arkansas Rice Reps program is to encourage interest in rice promotion and to
publicize the importance of the Arkansas rice industry to the state‘s economy. Contestants were
judged on their promotional activities, creativity, involvement, stewardship while participating in
the program, and on their knowledge of the rice industry.
The Arkansas Rice Council sponsors this program for high school seniors. Application
information for the 2022 Rice Rep class will be available starting in March of the new year.
Other scholarships were given based on various social media, traditional media, and cookbook
contests. A full list of scholarship winners can be found here:
Grand Prize Winner: Kristin Lehmann $5,000.00
2nd Place Winner: Mary Frances Oxner $3,000.00
3rd Place Winner (tie): Emma Gardner $1,000.00
3rd Place Winner (tie): Magon James $1,000.00
Facebook Contest: Samia Smith $1,000.00, Conner Simpson $500
Twitter Contest: Emma Gardner $1,000.00, Claudia Ponce $500
Rice Month Video Contest: Mary Frances Oxner $1,000.00, Emma Gardner $500
Instagram Contest: Reese Hargrove $500, Mary Frances Oxner $250
Cookbook Competition: Zackery Holloway $500.00, Hunter Hayes $250
Traditional Media Scholarship: Emma King $1,000.00, Alexis Adams $500

https://talkbusiness.net/2021/10/arkansas-rice-awards-scholarships-to-rice-reps-cla
Food insecurity decreases 6pc: Imam
APP
OCTOBER 27, 2021
Minister of National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam on Tuesday said that
Pakistan had reduced food and nutritional insecurity by 6pc and was engaged in further reduction
through agricultural and livestock development along with livelihood improvement and
economic uplift of the masses.
Addressing the eighth Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ministerial Conference on
Food Security and Agricultural Development, Imam said that Pakistan has taken the issue of
food insecurity as a top priority and declared food security as a national security issue by putting
food security on the top agenda in its national security plan. The food and nutritional insecurity
in the country were recorded at 24 percent during 2014-15, which reduced to 18.3 percent in
2019-20 and it was attributed to the measures taken by the government to strengthen all four
pillars of food security, added.
Imam said that the government was striving hard to address food security issues through various
initiatives and in this regard prime minister‘s Agriculture Emergency Program worth Rs285
billion had been initiated which primarily focused on productivity enhancement of wheat, rice
and sugarcane with a cost of approximately Rs34 billion.
Besides, an amount of Rs10 billion was earmarked for the oilseeds enhancement program,
conserving water through the lining of watercourses with a cost of Rs180 billion, enhancing
command area of small and mini dams in Barani areas with spending of Rs28 billion, he added.
For water conservation in Barani areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the government had also
allocated Rs13 billion to conserve water, he said adding that Rs0.5 billion was also set aside in
order to exploit the potential of shrimp farming, besides allocation of Rs0.7 billion for cage fish
culture development.
Under the program, other initiatives like trout farming in Northern Areas of Pakistan was also
started with a cost of more than Rs2 billion and initiating save and fattening of calf program with
Rs05 billion, he said adding that backyard poultry program was started to enhance the income of
rural families.
Fakhar said that to resolve the issue of food security, numerous initiatives have been taken to
increase household income which includes mechanized harvesting of wheat, rice, maize and
fruits, silos for grain storage, and development of cold storage facility for horticultural
commodities.
He further informed that the government had also provided incentives for value-added products
through the provision of harvesting machinery for rice, cob and fruits on 50pc subsidy,
exemption of 28pc import duty and 17pc GST on the locally manufactured silo and replenish of
State Bank of Pakistan‘s financing facility for storage of agricultural produce and development
of small scale/cottage industry under Ihsas and Kamyab Jawan Program.
Furthermore, the government has fast-tracked access to credit, finance through registration of
farmers and FVOs and women through biometric mapping and Issuance of Kissan Cards for
subsidy and credit.
In addition, the import of more than three million tons of wheat and 0.3 million tons of sugar in
years 2020-21 are the preventive steps taken to ensure the food security of the country
https://dailytimes.com.pk/834142/food-insecurity-decreases-6pc-imam/
Brown rice improves farmers‟ income, Filipinos‟
health
October 27, 2021, 4:07 pm
MANILA – Getting the nod of most doctors and leading rice growers in the country, brown rice
has greatly improved both the income of farmers and the welfare of Filipinos, especially during
the Covid-19 pandemic.
The World Health Organization suggested including fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain, such as
brown rice in our diet to stay fit and healthy with a stronger immune system against Covid-19.
Research also shows that brown rice as compared to white rice has a more significant percentage
of nutrients because when rice is polished, the bran is completely removed, along with its key
nutrients. Scientists found out that the rice bran serves as a storage of micronutrients which the
body needs to improve resistance from viruses and bacteria.

Meanwhile, white rice—the main staple food of Filipinos—contains a higher amount of

glycemic index (GI) that can cause diabetes. A study from the Department of Agriculture‘s
Philippine Rice Research Institute, recommends foods with low GI, including brown rice, which
can regulate blood sugar levels. Other than having a low GI, brown rice has more nutrition
including antioxidants, fiber, iron, zinc, magnesium, selenium, and vitamin B1, B3, and B6.

And it was a good thing that before the Covid-19 pandemic hits us, brown rice has become the
choice of people leading healthy lifestyles. From ‗several‘ Filipinos buying brown and other
colored rice, ‗more‘ Filipinos are now choosing brown rice because it improves their digestive
system and overall health.

Getting a supply of brown rice is easier than a few years ago. Nowadays, you can buy them from
supermarkets and public markets because they are locally produced. Many Filipino farmers
venture into producing high-quality brown rice. They observed that demand for brown rice has
increased because more Filipinos are switching from white to brown rice regardless of its price
in the market.

This locally produced indeed began to have higher quality than imported rice products. Aside
from looking out for our health, we are helping Filipino farmers to return their investment in
brown rice.

One of the locally produced brown rice that is accessible to us is Doña Maria brown rice by SL
Agritech Corp. (SLAC).
―To have this high-quality brown rice in the market, it has undergone the precise process from
planting to harvesting and packaging. With the 1,055 farmers from Nueva Ecija, Laguna, and
Mindoro with approximately 5,000 hectares in total and an average of two cropping seasons,
Doña Maria brown rice became available nationwide,‖ SLAC marketing director Tiffany Lim
Ngo said in a news release on Wednesday.

Doña Maria brown rice comes from Jasponica rice—a hybrid of Jasmine and Japanese rice
varieties and Miponica rice—a hybrid of Philippine Milagrosa and Japanese rice varieties of
SLAC.
―Hybrid rice variety is different from rice varieties that are genetically modified organisms
(GMO) because they lack quality and have undergone an unnatural process. For hybrid rice
variety, it keeps the natural process which results in high quality of grains. Also, Doña Maria
brown rice is Halal and ISO certified (9001-2015),‖ Ngo said.

She revealed that, unlike other brown rice, Doña Maria can be stored for about a year with its
vacuum-sealable packaging immediately after milling.
―This will protect the grains from insects and exposure to external factors which can cause the
rice to be rotten. Without proper packaging, most brown rice can be stored only for about six
months,‖ Ngo said.

―The quality of Doña Maria is not comparable with other brown rice because of its quality. For
almost 20 years, Doña Maria proves its advantages over other brown rice especially when
cooked. It has a soft and light texture which other brown rice does not have,‖ Ngo emphasized.

She also added that ―SL Agritech conducted lots of campaigns and advocacy activities to help
educate people on how to properly cook brown rice and the nutrients we can get from eating
brown rice.‖

Ngo said Doña Maria brown rice can be cooked directly and does not require soaking as
compared to other brown rice.
―It only needs to have an additional cup of water from the quantity of rice or the 1:2 method.
This is more convenient than other brown rice which needs to be soaked for 30 minutes to 1 hour
before cooking,‖ she added.

Earlier this year, SLAC supported 10 to 20 community pantries by giving 2,000 kgs of Doña
Maria brown rice.
Before the pandemic, the ―Rice Bucket Challenge‖ campaign targeted mothers, especially
breastfeeding mothers and senior citizens of the community to promote the health benefits of
eating brown rice. The goal of this campaign is to donate brown rice as ―giving the gift of
health‖.

Outreach programs such as these are the advocacy of SLAC Chairman Dr. Henry Lim Bon
Liong. As the best brown rice in the Philippines, SLAC continues to have progressive
development in terms of the quality of Doña Maria to be at par with imported rice which
threatens the locally produced rice.

Also, the ―plant now, pay later‖ strategy of SLAC to its contract farmers will continue to cater to
the growing needs of Filipinos to have nutritious foods. Accessible brown rice-based products
are another strategy to promote healthy foods alternatives such as rice puffs, flour, ramen
noodles, champorado and pancake mix. These products are made from hybrid brown rice of SL
Agritech.

―With our progressive plans and programs for brown rice in the Philippines, we will continue to
prioritize the profits of our local farmers and, of course, the health of Filipinos. We want to strive
both so the next generation will have something to eat nutritiously,‖ Lim said. (PR)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1157949+

Efficient farming cuts poultry production cost: study

Star Business Report
Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:00 AM

Efficient farming practices not only bring down the prices of poultry feed by about Tk 10 per kg
but also curb other costs, says an expert. Star/file
Poultry farmers, including female, young and small-scale entrepreneurs, could benefit from
reduced production costs by adopting good farming practices, according to a recent study.
"Farmers need about 1,700 grammes of poultry feed to raise a single fowl to one kilogramme
(kg) in weight," said Md Razaul Karim, coordinator of the "Issue-based Project on Food Safety
Governance in the Poultry Sector".
"But after adopting good farming practices, the amount comes down to 1,500 grams," said the
coordinator of the project being run under the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB)
Besides, good farming practices not only bring down the price of poultry feed by about Tk 10 per
kg but also curb other costs, he said.
For example, the cost of antibiotics comes down to about Tk 1,000 for 1,000 chickens while it
would be Tk 3,000 previously, he added.
The study was jointly conducted by the CAB, BeezBistar Foundation, and Bangladesh Centre for
Advanced Studies with help from British Council.
Styled "Food safety governance in the poultry sector: Outcomes, challenges and the way
forward", it was released during a workshop at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka yesterday.
Shaikh Azizur Rahman, director general of the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), said the
use of antibiotics in poultry farming was unexpected as it was harmful for both the bird and those
who eat its meat.
So, the DLS is dedicated to helping poultry farmers increase the country's protein production in a
more clean, efficient, and sustainable manner, he added.
Abu Luthfe Fazle Rahim Khan, managing director of the Aftab Bohumukhi Farm, suggested that
farmers give special attention to ensure food safety in the poultry sector.
In addition, the number of birds at each farm should increase to at least 8,000 within the next six
to eight years so that there is sufficient protein production in the country, he said.
Echoing the same, Prof MA Alim, a member of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, said
ensuring safe poultry production would help protect the peoples' health.
"So, the safety issue in the poultry sector is vital," Alim added.
Md Abdur Rahim, project director of the livestock dairy development project of the DLS,
recommended implementing the European Union's standard for poultry farming to ensure food
safety.
While addressing the programme, Gerry Fox, team leader of the British Council's promoting
knowledge for accountable systems initiative, said ensuring food safety was a critical and
complex issue.
"Through our work with the government and private sector, we have demonstrated the need to
draw on the comparative advantage of government and private sector cooperation in this regard,"
he said.
"Together, we have achieved strong results and hope to build on this in the future," Fox added.
The study was conducted with the participation of 280 poultry farmers from seven upazilas of six
districts.
During the study, farmers followed good farming practices, such as reducing the use of
antibiotics under veterinary supervision, and using licenced feed from reliable dealers.
Atiq Rahman, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, chaired the
event while AHM Taslima Akhter, manager of the CAB project in food safety governance,
presented the study.
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/agriculture/news/efficient-far
Limited number of real varieties of rice names available,
consumers deceived

FE ONLINE REPORT | Published: October 26, 2021 18:16:50 | Updated: October

26, 2021 23:04:50
A large portion of the country's consumers are being deceived as a limited number
of real varieties of rice names are now available in the markets, according to some
agricultural experts.
Although more than two hundred varieties of paddy have been cultivated in the
country, there are not more than 8-10 varieties of rice available in the market, they
pointed out.
They made their observations on the occasion of Farmers‘ Field Day on cutting and
branding of BRRI dhan87 variety arranged by Shamsul Haque Auto Rice Mill Ltd.
Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Nilphamari
district Md Abu Bakkar Siddique presided over the event while the Chief Scientific
Officer of Agronomy Division of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute Dr Md
Shahidul Islam was present as the chief guest.
Additional Deputy Director of DAE Dhaka Khamarbari Md Abu Sayem, Managing
Director of the Avijat Group and the owner of the Shamsul Haque Auto Rice Mill
Md Shamsul Haque, Senior Scientific Officer of BRRI Rangpur Regional Office Md
Rakibul Hasan, Nilphamari Sadar Upazila Agricultural Officer Md. Kamrul Hasan
and others were present as the special guests.
The agricultural experts also insisted that it is not possible to buy the rice of one‘s
choice in the name developed by the research institute.
To overcome this problem, a platform consisting of 15 farmers ha s been formed at
Tupamari Dogochi village under Nilphamari Sadar Upazila while marketing is being
done in collaboration with Shamsul Haque Auto Rice Mill and Cereal Systems
Initiative for the South Asia (CSISA -III) funded by USAID.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Shahidul said that as BRRI dhan87 paddy is an early
and short duration (127 days) variety of aman season, it will open new doors of
possibilities for the early cultivation of potato, mustard, maize, wheat and other
rabi crops across the country, especially in the north.
The yield is 1.0 ton per hectare more than the local ‗Swarna‘ variety and the market
price will be higher as the rice is of premium quality, he added.
Mr Siddique said a significant amount of land at Nilphamari district is used for
early potato cultivation.
He hoped that this rice variety would expand soon as it is an early variety.
Mr Abu Sayem said the present government has taken various initiatives to convert
subsistence agriculture into commercial agriculture.
He hoped that the initiative of branding aromatic and fine rice in his real name
would further expand the rice export trade in the world market.
Mr Shamsul Haque expressed his gratitude for the initiative of marketing rice
under the real name of rice variety and expressed his desire to extend all possible
cooperation.
He added the Avijat Group‘s agricultural products and other consumer products are
being exported to 35 countries around the world.
sajibur@gmail.com

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/limited-number-of-real-varieties-of-rice-names-
available-consumers-deceived-1635250610
North Koreans drafted to harvest rice are strip
searched to stop grain theft
People mobilized for the ―rice sheaf transportation battle‖ chafe at the body searches.
2021.10.27

A North Korean woman works on a rice field during the harvest outside the North-Korean
capital Pyongyang in this file photo.

Reuters
North Koreans mobilized to bring in this year‘s rice harvest in the absence of machinery and fuel
are chafing at body searches conducted by officials to look for hidden grain, sources in the
country told RFA.
Chronically short of fuel and equipment necessary to transport harvested rice from the fields to
threshing sites, the government has drafted people to carry the grain on their backs, and
describing the backbreaking free labor as the ―rice sheaf transportation battle.‖
With North Korea facing severe food shortages that have caused starvation deaths, authorities are
concerned that hungry conscript farm workers might be hiding grains of rice in their clothes.
After toiling in the fields all morning, the workers are body searched before they are allowed to
return to their homes.
―Residents have been helping the rice sheaf transportation battle at farms that have finished
harvesting. They must move the rice sheaves from the paddies to the thresher, hundreds of
meters away,‖ said a resident of South Pyongan province‘s Songchon county, near the capital
Pyongyang.
―The central committee has ordered that the harvest be completed in time so that not even a
single grain is lost. This non-paid farmwork is being carried out from early morning until just
before lunchtime,‖ the source told RFA‘s Korean Service on condition of anonymity.
Mobilizing people for harvesting crops takes manpower away from family businesses that North
Koreans rely on to survive in the face of paltry salaries from their government-assigned jobs.
―It is absurd that the residents are unable to run their businesses and are made to work,‖ the
source said.
The residents resent sacrificing their time and labor for a government that does not trust them
and ―are protesting the behavior of the search patrols, saying they are being treated as if they are
criminals stealing grain,‖ the source said.
The lack of fuel and equipment caused severe delays bringing in the harvest in nearby North
Pyongan province‘s Unsan county, so authorities there fully mobilized every single resident for
the battle, a resident told RFA.
―Residents can only go home after they finish transporting their assigned quota to the
thresher…then the authorities rummage through their handbags as they leave,‖ the second source
said.
―They are angry at the body searches and harshly complain about the absurd crackdown, saying,
‗Just order us to carry the rice sheaves naked.‘‖
North Korea has been chronically short of food for decades, but the current food security crisis is
a direct result of the decision by Pyongyang and Beijing to shut down their border and suspend
all trade at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020.
The move devastated the North Korean economy, causing food prices to skyrocket without
imports from China covering the gap between domestic food production and demand.
The UN‘s Food and Agriculture Organization projected in a recent report that North Korea
would be short about 860,000 tons of food this year, about two months‘ consumption. The UN
World Food Program estimates that about 40% of North Korea‘s population is undernourished.
Following a steady drumbeat of warnings on food shortages, in mid-October, authorities told
citizens to tighten their belts through at least 2025, warning them that the possibility of reopening
border trade with China before that was very slim.
In April, authorities told the people to prepare for an economic situation worse than the
―Arduous March,‖ the Korean name for the 1994-1998 famine that killed millions, or as many as
10 percent of the country, by some estimates.
In July, the ruling Workers‘ Party ordered citizens to start growing their own food in anticipation
of a food shortage that could last three years.

A research project funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
(ACIAR), through Charles Sturt University, has produced highly durable and sustainable food
alternatives to rice by simulating international climates in a glasshouse in Wagga Wagga.
The project ‗Farmer‘s options for crops under saline conditions in the Mekong River Delta,
Vietnam‘ has seen full lifecycle growth of quinoa and cowpea, foods that can be grown in harsh
conditions in Australia and around the world.
By simulating the high salinity and high-temperature conditions of the rice fields in the Mekong
River Delta in Vietnam at the Charles Sturt glasshouse in Wagga Wagga, the process used to
grow these increasingly popular and highly nutritious foods lends itself to increased food
security globally.
Charles Sturt School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences and Graham Centre
for Agricultural Innovation postdoctoral research fellow, Dr Brooke Kaveney, said the project
represents multiple benefits for farmers and communities around the world.
―Rice is one of the world‘s staple foods, but it is highly water dependant,‖ Kaveney said.
―The ongoing drought in Australia reiterated the need to find alternative crops for food security
globally, and quinoa and cowpea are highly water efficient. Quinoa is also a superfood boasting
all nine essential amino acids that our bodies don‘t produce on their own.‖
With quinoa farming in Australia in its infancy and the dire need to find alternative food sources
for the Vietnamese with the high salinity of the Mekong River Delta threatening their food
security, the Mekong River Delta was a good testbed to trial this research.
―The Mekong River Delta is the food bowl of Vietnam and its conditions are very similar to
parts of Australia,‖ Kaveney said.
Kaveney went to great lengths to continue the project among the COVID-19 lockdowns, having
to recreate the conditions of the Mekong River Delta at the glasshouse in Wagga Wagga as it
was no longer an option to travel to the Vietnam rice fields.
―Being based in the Riverina, this glasshouse is known for producing wheat and
canola,‖ she said.
―Before lockdowns, I travelled to Northern NSW to bring back soil with the same properties as
that in the Mekong Delta Valley and crossed my fingers I would be able to cultivate it from a
simulated environment in our glasshouse.‖
Setting the temperature to 30 degrees, Kaveney monitored the soil moisture everyday
with Chameleon Soil Moisture sensors – a more cost-effective and easy-to-use method for
farmers, to prevent overwatering of plants.
―We harvested the cowpea last week and will do the same with the quinoa over the next few
weeks,‖ she said.
―The looks we‘ve started to get from people when they see quinoa and cowpea growing in the
glasshouse are also quite amusing.‖
With only a small number of farmers in Australia having had experience in growing quinoa and
cowpea, Kaveney noted that this was an area of opportunity for Australian farmers to expand
their income streams.
―These foods are a great cropping alternative for farmers in Australia that don‘t have great water
quality in terms of salt concentration or have little available to irrigate,‖ she said.
―It is very exciting to be researching and trialling this at our very own glasshouse here in Wagga
Wagga.‖
The Charles Sturt Research team, along with researchers at Can Tho University, plan to
implement this process in Vietnam in the future, then implement management techniques such as
mulching.
https://www.foodmag.com.au/simulated-vietnam-rice-fields-produce-food-alternatives-wagga-
wagga/
UNO, UNL Researchers Awarded Dept. of Defense
Grant to Improve Bridge Safety | News – Omaha,
Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska 2021-10-27 02:30:08 –
Researchers at the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) and the University of Nebraska
Lincoln (UNL) have been awarded $ 5 million by the Defense Forces Engineers (USACE) to
carry out research to extend the life of bridges through new surveillance technologies. rice field.
..
There is growing public interest in using electronic information systems that can provide data on
the structural performance of bridges during regular face-to-face inspections. The new system
will allow authorities to more closely monitor the health and safety of the bridge during the
following times: Recent analysis More than one-third of US bridges are devastated, according to
US Department of Transportation data. While these systems provide some efficiency, such as
early detection of potential security issues, they can be vulnerable to cybersecurity threats.
US Senator Deb Fischer was instrumental in driving the project. Senator Fisher is a ranking
member of the Senate Commerce and Water Transport Subcommittee and a senior member of
the Senate Military Committee.
―The new surveillance technology has the potential to increase the safety of our bridges and
reduce the cost of repairing infrastructure. I have 500 for this project at UNO as part of the 2009
Defense Budget. We are proud to have secured a $ 10,000 investment. Through this important
research, Nebraska will help lead the development of these sensors and address future
transportation challenges, ―said Senator Fisher. Stated.
Robin Gandhi, Ph.D., Professor of UNO Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences and
Dean of the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Information Studies. , And Professor of UNL
Engineering and Vice Dean of Graduate and International Programs Daniel Linzell, Ph.D. Will
carry out the research. A project entitled ―Multilevel Analysis and Data Sharing for Operational
Planning (MADS-OPP)‖ is a way to identify and reduce the risks and cost benefits of integrating
technology into a dilapidated rural bridge. Indicates.
Dr. Joan Lee of UNO emphasized the value that the project adds to the state.
―This study very well encapsulates what we are trying to do as an institution. Pursue the study in
a strong partnership that will bring concrete results to the Nebraskas,‖ said Lee. .. ―Thanks to
Senator Fisher for supporting this project and to Dr. Gandhi for his foresight and knowledge to
tackle this important issue.‖
Monitoring the health and safety of the bridge
Using a rural bridge in Nebraska as a full-fledged ―testbed,‖ Gandhi, Lindel, and other UNO and
UNL researchers worked with Kinnami Software Corporation to use the Internet of Things, such
as sensors and UAVs. We conduct research and development on data collection at the edge.
More; Secure data processing and management from the edge to the cloud. Visualization and
analysis of data using machine learning. Social technology impacts (data, algorithms, fairness of
analysis, etc.), and decision support systems.
The project will enable secure communication and protected data systems to predict remaining
bridge life and provide maintenance guidance. Their job is also to improve budget prioritization,
protect bridges, and most importantly, the safety of citizens traveling them, not only to the
Pentagon, but also to public and private stakeholders. Provides mission-critical data that can be
used to ensure.
―The ability to electronically monitor the structural safety and stability of our infrastructure
entails our responsibility to protect our infrastructure from cybersecurity risks,‖ said Gandhi.
―This study aims to add to the growing body of knowledge in both of these areas.‖
Lindel said that bridges in the United States have been great for travelers for decades, but due to
aging, rising demand, extreme weather, and limited resources, health assessment methods and
bridges He added that he needed to change the way his system was managed.
―Leveraging advances in engineering, technology and data science to intelligently and
quantitatively notify stakeholders about potential issues will improve bridge assessment and
management practices,‖ said Lindel. I am. ―Our team‘s findings enhance the current process and,
most importantly, enable optimal allocation of workforce and resources while maintaining
safety. New technologies are another big one. It is robust enough to support the management of
large-scale infrastructure systems and may offer unique economic development opportunities in
Nebraska. ―
High-impact research through collaboration
The UNO Research and Creation Activities Bureau led the effort to secure funding for research.
Dr. Ken Bayles, Vice President of Research and Creative Activities, said funding demonstrates
the impact and quality of UNO‘s past research.
―Our ability to fund this project demonstrates the positive impact of Dr. Gandhi‘s research on the
United States,‖ said Bayres. ―This is also a testament to the quality of the research being done on
our campus and the willingness to collaborate between institutions.‖
―This project wouldn‘t have been possible without the vision and support of some individuals
and organizations,‖ Gandhi said. ―In 2015, the Dean of the Institute of Advanced Media Arts and
Sciences at UNO and the Faculty of Engineering at UNL identified infrastructure safety as a
priority area for both universities. Since then, great people, including Dan and other team
members. I am honored to work with the group. ―
Gandhi said those individuals included a doctor. Deepak Khazanchi (UNO), Brian Ricks (UNO)
and Chungwook Sim (UNL) bring together their expertise in continuous infrastructure
monitoring, machine learning, visualization and the socio-technical impact of simulation to make
the project a success. I have contributed. , And infrastructure health monitoring with next-
generation sensing to facilitate conversations about data-driven platforms to understand
infrastructure health and maintenance needs.
Gandhi has contributed to the realization of this research activity on a large scale, including
Kinnami Software Corporation, which develops AmiShare, a resilient data platform for
protecting and managing sensitive data related to this project. Evaluated the network.
Sujeesh Krishnan, CEO of Kinnami Software, said: ―Kinnami‘s resilient data platform,
AmiShare, provides the high level of protection and security needed for critical US
infrastructure. In collaboration with UNO and UNL, it is in national security interests. We are
pleased to be able to broaden the footsteps of AmiShare. This work complements other efforts
within DoD to provide secure, resilient real-time data for situational awareness, mission support,
and maintenance. By migrating this data and analysis to the transportation sector and other state
and local agencies, our ability to monitor and maintain these assets will change into the future. ―
This is not the first time Lindel and Gandhi have paired in a research effort.The duo was part of a
team that received $ 1 million National Science Foundation (NSF) A grant to establish a big data
spoke headquartered in UNO. Focuses on creating smart big data pipelines for rural bridge health
care.Project rights Smart big data pipeline for aging local bridge transportation infrastructure
(SMARTI)..
Funding for the project was included in the 2021 Senate Defense Budget Bill approved in
December 2020.
This material is based on the work supported by the University of Nebraska Omaha and its
subcontractors under contract number W912HZ21C0060. The opinions, findings, conclusions,
or recommendations contained in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the University of Nebraska Omaha and its subcontractors.
UNO, UNL Researchers Awarded Dept. of Defense Grant to Improve Bridge Safety |
News Source link UNO, UNL Researchers Awarded Dept. of Defense Grant to Improve Bridge
Safety | News
https://eminetra.com/uno-unl-researchers-awarded-dept-of-defense-grant-to-improve

Salah's Halal opens second location, in Commack

A plate of chicken and basmati rice at Salah's Halal in Commack. Credit: Newsday/Corin Hirsch
By Corin Hirschcorin.hirsch@newsday.com Updated October 26, 2021 6:00 AM
Keeping tabs on all of the halal places popping up across Long Island sometimes feels like a
never-ending quest. "Was that one there before? Wait, when did that one open?" Inside each,
you‘re usually assured a dependable template — chicken or lamb over rice, gyros, falafel and its
brethren drizzled with creamy white and spicy chili sauces, and plated quickly. What sets them
apart, though?
Die-hard halal fans may each have their answer to that. So does Mohamed Siraj Salahudeen, who
developed his own ideas during decades of both eating at halal carts and managing restaurants
and catering halls. About 10 years ago, Salahudeen opened what he said was the "first and only"
halal-Italian restaurant in New York City, the Olive Tree, which operated in midtown for a few
years. By the time he opened Salah‘s Halal in East Islip last spring — a decidedly more casual
place, named for his late father — Salahudeen had his brand signature down: Meats marinated
overnight, falafel and sauces made fresh daily, plenty of fusion (think lamb-goat cheeseburgers
and fried chicken sandwiches) and dishes made to order with nary a warming tray in sight.
It‘s a formula he‘s also put into place in a second Salah‘s Halal, which opened in September in
the space where Commack Breakfast operated for decades. Salahudeen is an avid biker and has
given the place a kitschy motorcycle theme, cast in bright reds and golds with a gleaming Suzuki
Volusia bike parked in the dining room.
Another point of differentiation: Sri Lankan touches dot the menu, from spice profiles to deviled
sauce.
"Everyone in Sri Lanka knows devil," said Salahudeen, who grew up there. Devel, or devil
seasoning, is a blend of sweet, spicy and umami flavors, such as garlic, ginger, chili, citrus,
tomato, soy and cinnamon; Salah‘s kitchen serves it alongside chicken wings or as an addition to
gyros, bowls and burgers. (The East Islip location also serves Sri Lankan-style coconut rice, but
Commack does not).
Barbecue, hot, blue cheese and the signature white sauces also make appearances on platters of
diced chicken thighs, ground lamb, chickpea-fava bean falafel or fish over basmati rice; six
gyros; seven burgers; and sandwiches such as Venom, a grilled chicken thigh with turkey bacon
and sliced jalapeños that is named, like many dishes, for a motorcycle.
"It‘s semi-fast food," said Salahudeen, whose biker friends roared up en masse to the Commack
grand opening a few weeks ago. "We grind the chilis, we make falafel from scratch, we marinate
the chicken for 24 hours. I try my best to make everything healthy and fresh."
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Most platters, sandwiches and burgers fall between $9 and $13; among the sides are a ground-
beef-taco, nachos, fries and a kebab roll. Later this fall, Salahudeen will offer American-style
breakfast sandwiches, an homage of sorts to the longtime deli that was once here, and begin
opening at 6 a.m.
For now, Salah‘s opens at 10 a.m. daily. Salahudeen, who is also an event planner and caterer,
has plans for many more Salah‘s both in New York and farther afield, fueled by a quiet
determination to go head-to-head with the chains already established here.
Salah’s Halal is at 95 Commack Rd., Commack. 631-486-2146, salahshalal.com
By Corin Hirschcorin.hirsch@newsday.com
Corin Hirsch is a Long Island native who covers food, drinks and restaurants for Newsday,
which she joined in March 2017.
https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/salahs-halal-commack-

Millers in a fix over civil supplies dissatisfaction on

custom milled rice
DECCAN CHRONICLE.

PublishedOct 27, 2021, 2:47 am IST

UpdatedOct 27, 2021, 2:47 am IST
Rice millers say officials pointing discolouring of grains through magnified lens attached with
focus lights and rejecting it
 President of the rice millers and dealers association, Nagireddy Subhramanyam said they have
been requesting the technical people to come and guide the millers to prepare the CMR (custom
milled rice) as per their specifications. — Representational image/DC
Nellore: Rice millers are in a fix over the civil supplies department ruling against acceptance of
rice milled from the paddy supplied by the same department. They say the grains were dis-
coloured. Attributing this to the unseasonal and incessant rain twice in the second crop season,
millers said the downpour created problems to both farmers and rice millers.
Rice millers say the district officials, in a bid to help farmers, prevailed upon the millers to
accept heavy intake of paddy with higher moisture content, unmindful of the milling capacities
and dryers.

There are instances wherein such paddy was kept for 2 to 3 days without drying. The delay
resulted in slight discolouring of rice after the milling.

―Technical officials of the civil supplies wing have been paying special attention to detect this
minute fraction through magnified lens that are attached with focus lights and rejecting even
those with slightest discolouring. This, though there is not even the slightest trace in the rice after
cooking,‖ alleged a rice miller.

President of the rice millers and dealers association, Nagireddy Subhramanyam said they have
been requesting the technical people to come and guide the millers to prepare the CMR (custom
milled rice) as per their specifications.
https://www.dawnnews.tv/news/1171553/
Food prices surge as supply chain woes bite
Top News | Maisy Mok 26 Oct 2021

Delayed shipments amid the pandemic have greatly disrupted the supply chain, causing prices of
commodities with the cost of Thailand rice in Hong Kong to surge 70 percent, a dealers'
association said.
Hong Kong & Kowloon Provisions, Wine & Spirit Dealers' Association chairman Yip Pun-leung
described the cost of canned goods in Hong Kong as almost sky-high, due to the 15 percent
exchange rate difference between the yuan and Hong Kong dollar and 17 percent value-added
tax.
"If there's no subsidy [of the value-added tax] from the country, you couldn't get a can of fried
dace fish with salted black beans even if you offered to pay HK$50," Yip said.
Pearl River Bridge's fried dace fish with salted black beans now costs HK$30 a can.
The Standard Channel
Aside from canned food, he said the price of rice from Thailand has increased by 70 percent due
to the epidemic outbreak and flooding.
The supply of rice is also limited by the fact that each cargo vessel has a quota for rice, which
merchants would have to wait for next month's sailing schedule if they miss the previous one.
He said only 20 percent of rice in Hong Kong now is from Thailand and 70 percent is from
Vietnam.
However, Yip urged Hongkongers not to panic as the government requires rice stockholders to
store three months' supply.
Yip said the trade war between China and the United States has led to a reduction of orders from
Europe and the US to Hong Kong, driving up logistics costs. The price of shipping containers
has increased 10 times to US$18,000 compared to pre-pandemic.
Yip expects logistics costs to have increased at least 30 percent because of a shortage of
manpower in farms and factories in foreign countries during lockdown causing manufacturers to
miss the shipping schedule and create a shipping delay.
Lee Fung-nin, owner of local food supplier Tung Tai Hong, has seen the price of rice from
Thailand and Vietnam most affected by the cost of logistics.
The wholesale sector has seen the cost of rice rise by around 20 to 30 percent this year.
He expects no immediate change in the coming few months unless the pandemic situation
subside in the origin countries.
Willy Lin Sun-mo, chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers' Council, said on a radio program there
was a storage shortage in Europe and the US, with more than 90 cargo vessels in the US West
Coast waiting for docking. This showed that the turnover speed of cargo ships had decreased and
the situation could continue for five to six years.
Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said due to
the worldwide logistics problems, the demand for mainland products had increased, driving up
the cost of mainland produce.
For example, the cost of fresh beef had increased by 8 percent recently. He also expected
ingredients from the mainland would increase by 50 percent by the end of the year, which would
also be attributed to the rising demand for food products during Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Mainland media reported yesterday that the price of vegetables in Guangzhou has surged, which
has led to lower supplies.
A catty of spinach in the mainland costs 10 yuan, which is more expensive than a catty of pork at
8 yuan in the wet market.
Wong said the surge of prices in the mainland has not been reflected in Hong Kong's market.
Hui Wai-kin, head of the Pork Traders General Association, said the price of pork would either
remain the same or just mildly rise by the end of the year, without revealing the percentage of
increase.
Hui said the auction price for pork in Hong Kong has dropped by 30 percent from 2019.
Pork is "too cheap" as the cost of a pig is lower than the cost for raising it. This has made pigs
seem not profitable, which has lowered their supply.
The high operational cost in rent and the yuan remaining high could also contribute to the minor
increase by the end of the year.
maisy.mok@singtaonewscorp.com
https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/section/11/235404/Food-prices-surge-as-supply-
chain-woes-bite

Double-cropping rice achieves high yield in tropical

Chinese city

Xinhua
26th October 2021, 21:44 GMT+11
SANYA, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The double-cropping rice developed by Yuan Longping, the "father
of hybrid rice," and his team has achieved a yield of 1,586.86 kg per mu (about 667 square
meters), the project team said Tuesday.
The yield, attained in an experiment in the tropical city of Sanya, in south China's Hainan
Province, met the project target of 1500 kg per mu, proposed by Yuan's team.
Since 2021, the team has implemented the project in some Chinese provinces, including central
China's Hunan.
"The goal proposed by Yuan has been achieved successively in Hunan and Hainan. It shows the
double-cropping rice we developed still has great potential in boosting yields," said Wang Feng,
chief scientist with the rice research institute of Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
Tu Shengbin, a technical director of Sanya's experimental field, said that Hainan, with a similar
climate to major rice producers in Southeast Asia, can serve as a base for selecting hybrid rice
for the tropics.
"We will work together with overseas research institutions and enterprises in this respect," Tu
added.
Yuan, who developed the world's first hybrid rice in the 1970s, has set multiple world records in
hybrid rice yields in previous years, making massive contributions to the food security of China
and the world. He died of organ failure at 91 on May 22, 2021.
https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/271581986/double-cropping-rice-achieves-high-yield-
in-tropical-chinese-city

Former Japanese Prime Minister Says Global

Warming Has Made Rice 'Tastier'
BY ANDRE J. ELLINGTON ON 10/26/21 AT 12:11 AM EDT
SHARE
Former Prime Minister Taro Aso says that he believes global warming has improved the quality
of rice in Japan.On Monday, while giving a speech in the Hokkaido city of Otaru for a
Liberal Democratic Party candidate, Aso stated that the rice on the island of Hokkaido "has
become tastier thanks to (global) warming." Aso also said that the rice "used to be unsalable" but
is now tastier and even exported "because of higher temperatures."
Aso continued his remarks by saying that while people associate a warmer climate with negative
consequences, there is "something good" that could come from it.

Former Prime Minister Taro Aso says that he believes global warming has improved the quality
of rice in Japan. In the picture above, Aso is speaking during a reception to celebrate the U.K. on
October 23, 2019. Getty Images
This isn't the first time the 81-year-old politician has made controversial comments in front of
the public eye.
In January 2020, Aso stated that Japan has been ruled under a single language and ethnic identity
for the past 2,000 years, which is a comment that ignored other ethnic minorities in the country.
"No country but this one has lasted 2,000 years with one language, one ethnic group and one
dynasty," Aso said during a gathering in Fukuoka Prefecture. Shortly afterwards, Aso stated that
"If I made a remark that has caused misunderstanding, I have to take care of my way of speaking
and correct what I said."
During a seminar in Fukuoka, Japan, Aso issued an apology after stating that childless persons
are to blame for Japan's rising social security costs, aging and declining population.

"If it made some people feel uncomfortable, I apologize," Aso stated in a press release. "There
are lots of strange people who say the elderly people are to blame, but that is wrong. The
problem is those who don't have children."
Finally, in August 2017, Aso made headlines after suggesting that Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler,
who killed millions of Jewish people, had the "right motives." Aso's comments were made while
providing an example that politicians are remembered for the results they achieve regardless of
motivation.
"Hitler, who killed millions of people, is no good even if his motive was right," Aso said, as
quoted by the Japanese Kyodo news agency.
Aso then issued a statement regarding his position on Hitler's crimes and his offensive
comments.
"It was inappropriate to use Hitler as an example, and I retract that," Aso said, according to
Reuters. "That I am very opposed to Hitler is clear from the entirety of my remarks, and it's clear
that Hitler's motivations were wrong."
"My comments differ from my feelings, and it's regrettable that they caused misunderstanding,"
he concluded.
Newsweek has reached out to Aso for further comment.
Request Reprint & Licensing, Submit Correction or view Editorial Guidelines
https://www.newsweek.com/former-japanese-prime-minister-says-global-warming-has-made-
rice-tastier-1642516

Rice Does it Again: Heads Down for the 7th Straight Day
October 26, 2021 by cfdtrading
The Hourly View for Rice
 At the moment, RR1‘s price is down $-0.05 (-0.37%) from the hour prior.
 Rice has seen its price go down 9 out of the past 10 hours, thus creating some
compelling opportunities for bears.
 If you‘re a trend trader, consider that the strongest clear trend on the hourly chart exists
on the 20 hour timeframe.
 Price action traders may also wish to note that we see a pin bar candlestick pattern on
Rice. Given that we see downtrend on the 20, 10 and 5 hourly candle timeframe, and that
such candlestick patterns often denote reversals, this may be worth noting.
 Regarding moving averages, it should first be noted that price has crossed the 50 hour
moving average, resulting in them so that price is now turning below it. The moving
averages on the hourly timeframe suggest a choppiness in price, as the 20, 50, 100 and
200 are all in a mixed alignment — meaning the trend across timeframes is inconsistent,
indicating a potential opportunity for rangebound traders.
Rice‘s hourly price chart is shown below.

The Daily View for Rice

 Currently, RR1‘s price is down $-0.11 (-0.78%) from the day prior.
 It‘s been a feast for bears operating on the daily timeframe, as Rice has now gone down 8
of the past 10 days.
 Regarding the trend, note that the strongest trend exists on the 100 day timeframe.
 The moving averages on the daily timeframe suggest a bullishness in price, as the 20, 50,
100 and 200 are all in a bullish alignment — meaning the shorter durations are above the
longer duration averages, implying a sound upward trend.
Below is a daily price chart of Rice.
Featured Rice Idea From TradingView
Below is a trading comment entitled USDJPY potential bearish pressure | 25th Oct 2021 you
may find interesting:
rice have broke downwards from the channel, signifying a bearish momentum. We can expect
price to drop from the pivot level in line with 23.6% Fibonacci retracement towards the take
profit level in line with 50% Fibonacci retracement . Our bearish bias is further supported by the
RSI indicator where it is abiding to a descending trendline resistance.Any opinions, news,
research, analyses, prices, other information, or links to third-party sites contained on this
website are provided on an ―as-is‖ basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute
investment advice. The market commentary has not been prepared in ac…
—
https://www.cfdtrading.com/rice-does-it-again-heads-down-for-the-7th-straight-
day/1422047/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk

Well-milled rice prices fall in nine regional trading centers

October 27, 2021 | 7:59 pm

NEDA
NINE REGIONAL trading centers posted lower average retail prices for well-milled rice in early
October, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The PSA said in a report that the retail prices cover a period that it calls the first phase of
October (Oct. 1-5), and were compared with the second phase of September (Sept. 15-17).
The average price of well-milled rice declined in Butuan by P2.91 to P39.69 per kilogram.
The average price of well-milled rice declined in San Fernando City by P1.19 to P37.83, in
Kidapawan City by 98 centavos to P42.21, in Batangas City by 75 centavos to P44.40, and in
Baguio City by 43 centavos to P37.83.
Lower prices were also reported in the National Capital Region (NCR), where they fell 25
centavos to P42.85, in Calapan City by 17 centavos to P43.60, in Tuguegarao City by 13
centavos to P35.38, and in Iloilo City by eight centavos to P38.58.
The PSA said the average price of bone-in pork rose in five trading centers during the period.
Kidapawan City prices rose P20 to P230/kg, in Butuan City by P14.91 to P259.91, in Cebu City
by P10.83 to P205.83, in San Fernando City by P5 to P300, and in Legazpi City by P3.38 to
P343.74.
The PSA said prices fell in Calapan City by P27.63 to P257.84, in Tuguegarao City by P20 to
P290, in the NCR by P18.49 to P269.85, and in Iloilo City by P14 to P226.
The PSA said the average price of round scad (galunggong) declined in Baguio City by P34 to
P170/kg, in San Fernando City by P10 to P180, in Butuan City by P9.35 to P158.91, in Pagadian
City by P8.75 to P96.25, and in the NCR by P5.59 to P226.75.
Price increases were recorded in Digos City by P40 to P155, in Tuguegarao City by P10 to P200,
and in Iloilo City by P4.16 to P162.08. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
https://www.bworldonline.com/well-milled-rice-prices-fall-in-nine-regional-trading-centers/

Brown rice improves farmers‟ income, Filipinos‟

health
October 27, 2021, 4:07 pm

)
MANILA – Getting the nod of most doctors and leading rice growers in the country, brown rice
has greatly improved both the income of farmers and the welfare of Filipinos, especially during
the Covid-19 pandemic.
The World Health Organization suggested including fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain, such as
brown rice in our diet to stay fit and healthy with a stronger immune system against Covid-19.
Research also shows that brown rice as compared to white rice has a more significant percentage
of nutrients because when rice is polished, the bran is completely removed, along with its key
nutrients. Scientists found out that the rice bran serves as a storage of micronutrients which the
body needs to improve resistance from viruses and bacteria.

Meanwhile, white rice—the main staple food of Filipinos—contains a higher amount of

glycemic index (GI) that can cause diabetes. A study from the Department of Agriculture‘s
Philippine Rice Research Institute, recommends foods with low GI, including brown rice, which
can regulate blood sugar levels. Other than having a low GI, brown rice has more nutrition
including antioxidants, fiber, iron, zinc, magnesium, selenium, and vitamin B1, B3, and B6.
And it was a good thing that before the Covid-19 pandemic hits us, brown rice has become the
choice of people leading healthy lifestyles. From ‗several‘ Filipinos buying brown and other
colored rice, ‗more‘ Filipinos are now choosing brown rice because it improves their digestive
system and overall health.

Getting a supply of brown rice is easier than a few years ago. Nowadays, you can buy them from
supermarkets and public markets because they are locally produced. Many Filipino farmers
venture into producing high-quality brown rice. They observed that demand for brown rice has
increased because more Filipinos are switching from white to brown rice regardless of its price
in the market.

This locally produced indeed began to have higher quality than imported rice products. Aside
from looking out for our health, we are helping Filipino farmers to return their investment in
brown rice.

One of the locally produced brown rice that is accessible to us is Doña Maria brown rice by SL
Agritech Corp. (SLAC).
―To have this high-quality brown rice in the market, it has undergone the precise process from
planting to harvesting and packaging. With the 1,055 farmers from Nueva Ecija, Laguna, and
Mindoro with approximately 5,000 hectares in total and an average of two cropping seasons,
Doña Maria brown rice became available nationwide,‖ SLAC marketing director Tiffany Lim
Ngo said in a news release on Wednesday.

Doña Maria brown rice comes from Jasponica rice—a hybrid of Jasmine and Japanese rice
varieties and Miponica rice—a hybrid of Philippine Milagrosa and Japanese rice varieties of
SLAC.
―Hybrid rice variety is different from rice varieties that are genetically modified organisms
(GMO) because they lack quality and have undergone an unnatural process. For hybrid rice
variety, it keeps the natural process which results in high quality of grains. Also, Doña Maria
brown rice is Halal and ISO certified (9001-2015),‖ Ngo said.

She revealed that, unlike other brown rice, Doña Maria can be stored for about a year with its
vacuum-sealable packaging immediately after milling.
―This will protect the grains from insects and exposure to external factors which can cause the
rice to be rotten. Without proper packaging, most brown rice can be stored only for about six
months,‖ Ngo said.

―The quality of Doña Maria is not comparable with other brown rice because of its quality. For
almost 20 years, Doña Maria proves its advantages over other brown rice especially when
cooked. It has a soft and light texture which other brown rice does not have,‖ Ngo emphasized.

She also added that ―SL Agritech conducted lots of campaigns and advocacy activities to help
educate people on how to properly cook brown rice and the nutrients we can get from eating
brown rice.‖
Ngo said Doña Maria brown rice can be cooked directly and does not require soaking as
compared to other brown rice.
―It only needs to have an additional cup of water from the quantity of rice or the 1:2 method.
This is more convenient than other brown rice which needs to be soaked for 30 minutes to 1 hour
before cooking,‖ she added.

Earlier this year, SLAC supported 10 to 20 community pantries by giving 2,000 kgs of Doña
Maria brown rice.
Before the pandemic, the ―Rice Bucket Challenge‖ campaign targeted mothers, especially
breastfeeding mothers and senior citizens of the community to promote the health benefits of
eating brown rice. The goal of this campaign is to donate brown rice as ―giving the gift of
health‖.

Outreach programs such as these are the advocacy of SLAC Chairman Dr. Henry Lim Bon
Liong. As the best brown rice in the Philippines, SLAC continues to have progressive
development in terms of the quality of Doña Maria to be at par with imported rice which
threatens the locally produced rice.

Also, the ―plant now, pay later‖ strategy of SLAC to its contract farmers will continue to cater to
the growing needs of Filipinos to have nutritious foods. Accessible brown rice-based products
are another strategy to promote healthy foods alternatives such as rice puffs, flour, ramen
noodles, champorado and pancake mix. These products are made from hybrid brown rice of SL
Agritech.

―With our progressive plans and programs for brown rice in the Philippines, we will continue to
prioritize the profits of our local farmers and, of course, the health of Filipinos. We want to strive
both so the next generation will have something to eat nutritiously,‖ Lim said. (PR)
Related Stories
:https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1157949+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk

Tejada backs review of Rice Tarrification Law

Read Next
By Franz R. Sumangil
October 28, 2021
MIDSAYAP, North Cotabato: North Cotabato Third District Rep. Jose "Pingping" Tejada
expressed his support for the review of the Rice Tarrification Law (RTL).
Tejada said in spite of being in favor of the RTL, he was still supporting its review to find out if
there were irregularities in the implementation of the law. He said he wanted to know if the
widespread importation of rice had caused the current crisis experienced by the rice farmers.
At the recently conducted Rice Congress held in M'lang, North Cotabato, the farmers lamented
the low prices of rice.
According to Tejada, the legislative intent behind the RTL was beneficial to the farmers, which
is to gather funds from import tariffs to be used in accelerating and developing farming methods
in the country.
He said it could be done through mechanization, distribution of rice seeds, construction of
irrigation systems and financial assistance.
However, Tejada stated that in more than four years of implementing the law, farmers had only
experienced its adverse effects.
Tejada also questioned the timing of rice importation, which he said must be limited and not
during the local harvest season.
He assured the farmers that their concerns would be heard by higher authorities.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/10/28/news/regions/tejada-backs-review-of-rice-tarrification-
law/1819948

Rice farmers begin harvest in Erbil province

Error occured during this request! Please try again later.

This video was filmed on October 25, 2021.

BATAS, Kurdistan Region - Farmers have begun this year‘s rice harvest on the plains of Batas
in Erbil province. Evern with water shortages, they are happy with the bumper crop.

―Despite the drought this year, rice farmers in Batas can make a good profit if the price is as
good as the yield,‖ said Himdad Omer, a local farmer.

The Kurdistan Region is in the midst of a water crisis due to a lack of rain, government funds,
and dams being built in neighboring Iran, officials have told Rudaw earlier this year.

An estimated 25,000 dunams of paddy fields were planted in the Kurdistan Region, which are
expected to produce more than 100,000 tons of rice.

The harvest season begins in mid-October every year.

―This year was a good year. Drought did not impact the farmers of Batas village. Though it
affected wheat, it did not influence rice,‖ said Najat Qadir, a farmer.

―Some farmers who plant rice neglect it while it's growing and maybe their product will not
exceed 50 tons, and then they may say it wasn't a good year. If you care for your rice, each kilo
may yield 200 to 250 kilos,‖ Qadir explained.
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are
relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We
also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.

To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.

We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as
sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.

Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are
either approved or rejected.
 https://www.rudaw.net/english/lifestyle/26102021+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=cl

Rice Millers: Govt to cancel licences for failure to

supply Boro
Staff Correspondent
Tue Oct 26, 2021 12:00 AM Last update on: Tue Oct 26, 2021 01:18 AM
The government is going to cancel licences of the millers who violated contracts by failing to
supply Boro rice to it during this current season.
The food ministry has already given a directive to the Directorate General of Food in this regard.
It has also asked to revoke licences of the millers who could supply the rice to the government
but avoided signing the contracts during the Boro procurement season.
Electricity connections to such mills will be disconnected, read the directive, issued on October
24.
The Directorate General of Food has been asked to cancel licences and forfeit security deposits
of the millers, who had agreement with the government, but failed to supply rice.
Those who supplied 80 percent or more rice will get back their security deposits under special
consideration, according to the directives.
Millers, who supplied rice less than 80 percent of the contract quantity, will face confiscation of
their security deposits. The security deposits will be confiscated in proportion to the supply.
"The ministry has decided it as they [millers] did not comply with the government's decision,"
said Raihanul Kabir, director (procurement) of the Directorate General of Food.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics says about 198 lakh tonnes of Boro paddy were harvested in
2020-21 fiscal year. It was 196 lakh tonnes in 2019-20 in fiscal year.
According to the food ministry data, around 3.62 lakh tonnes of Boro paddy were procured till
August this year. Besides, about 10.60 lakh tonnes of Boro parboiled rice and 85,503 tonnes of
Boro atap rice were procured during the period.
The ministry initially targeted to procure 6.5 lakh tonnes of Boro paddy and 10 lakh tonnes of
Boro rice and inked deals with the millers to this end in May this year.
Kabir said rice procurement drive of the government was hampered due to the millers' non-
compliance.
He, however, could not confirm immediately how many millers have failed to comply with the
ministry's decision.
In reply to a query, he said they, with the help of local administration, would take steps to revoke
licences of the millers and cut off power connections to their mills.

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/rice-millers-govt-cancel-licences-failure-
supply

Common Investor and Trader Blunders

Words of Caution for the Novice
 FACEBOOK
Making mistakes is part of the learning process when it comes to trading or investing. Investors
are typically involved in longer-term holdings and will trade in stocks, exchange-traded funds,
and other securities. Traders generally buy and sell futures and options, hold those positions for
shorter periods, and are involved in a greater number of transactions.
While traders and investors use two different types of trading transactions, they often are guilty
of making the same types of mistakes. Some mistakes are more harmful to the investor, and
others cause more harm to the trader. Both would do well to remember these common blunders
and try to avoid them.
No Trading Plan
Experienced traders get into a trade with a well-defined plan. They know their exact entry and
exit points, the amount of capital to invest in the trade and the maximum loss they are willing to
take.
Beginner traders may not have a trading plan in place before they commence trading. Even if
they have a plan, they may be more prone to stray from the defined plan than would seasoned
traders. Novice traders may reverse course altogether. For example, going short after initially
buying securities because the share price is declining—only to end up getting whipsawed.
Chasing After Performance
Many investors or traders will select asset classes, strategies, managers, and funds based on a
current strong performance. The feeling that "I'm missing out on great returns" has probably led
to more bad investment decisions than any other single factor.
If a particular asset class, strategy, or fund has done extremely well for three or four years, we
know one thing with certainty: We should have invested three or four years ago. Now, however,
the particular cycle that led to this great performance may be nearing its end. The smart money is
moving out, and the dumb money is pouring in.
Not Regaining Balance
Rebalancing is the process of returning your portfolio to its target asset allocation as outlined in
your investment plan. Rebalancing is difficult because it may force you to sell the asset class that
is performing well and buy more of your worst-performing asset class. This contrarian action is
very difficult for many novice investors.
However, a portfolio allowed to drift with market returns guarantees that asset classes will be
overweighted at market peaks and underweighted at market lows—a formula for poor
performance. Rebalance religiously and reap the long-term rewards.
Ignoring Risk Aversion
Do not lose sight of your risk tolerance or your capacity to take on risk. Some investors can‘t
stomach volatility and the ups and downs associated with the stock market or more speculative
trades. Other investors may need secure, regular interest income. These low-risk tolerance
investors would be better off investing in the blue-chip stocks of established firms and should
stay away from more volatile growth and startup companies shares.
Remember that any investment return comes with a risk. The lowest risk investment available is
U.S. Treasury bonds, bills, and notes. From there, various types of investments move up in the
risk ladder, and will also offer larger returns to compensate for the higher risk undertaken. If
an investment offers very attractive returns, also look at its risk profile and see how much money
you could lose if things go wrong. Never invest more than you can afford to lose.
Forgetting Your Time Horizon
Don‘t invest without a time horizon in mind. Think about if you will need the funds you are
locking up into an investment before entering the trade. Also, determine how long—the time
horizon—you have to save up for your retirement, a downpayment on a home, or a college
education for your child.
If you are planning to accumulate money to buy a house, that could be more of a medium-term
time frame. However, if you are investing to finance a young child‘s college education, that is
more of a long-term investment. If you are saving for retirement 30 years hence, what the stock
market does this year or next shouldn't be the biggest concern.
Once you understand your horizon, you can find investments that match that profile.
Not Using Stop-Loss Orders
A big sign that you don't have a trading plan is not using stop-loss orders. Stop orders come in
several varieties and can limit losses due to adverse movement in a stock or the market as a
whole. These orders will execute automatically once perimeters you set are met.
Tight stop losses generally mean that losses are capped before they become sizeable. However,
there is a risk that a stop order on long positions may be implemented at levels below those
specified should the security suddenly gap lower—as happened to many investors during the
Flash Crash. Even with that thought in mind, the benefits of stop orders far outweigh the risk of
stopping out at an unplanned price.
A corollary to this common trading mistake is when a trader cancels a stop order on a losing
trade just before it can be triggered because they believe that the price trend will reverse.
Letting Losses Grow
One of the defining characteristics of successful investors and traders is their ability to take a
small loss quickly if a trade is not working out and move on to the next trade idea. Unsuccessful
traders, on the other hand, can become paralyzed if a trade goes against them. Rather than taking
quick action to cap a loss, they may hold on to a losing position in the hope that the trade will
eventually work out. A losing trade can tie up trading capital for a long time and may result in
mounting losses and severe depletion of capital.
Averaging Down or Up
Averaging down on a long position in a blue-chip stock may work for an investor who has a long
investment horizon, but it may be fraught with peril for a trader who is trading volatile and
riskier securities. Some of the biggest trading losses in history have occurred because a trader
kept adding to a losing position, and was eventually forced to cut the entire position when the
magnitude of the loss became untenable. Traders also go short more often than conservative
investors and tend toward averaging up, because the security is advancing rather than
declining. This is an equally risky move that is another common mistake made by a novice
trader.
The Importance of Accepting Losses
Far too often investors fail to accept the simple fact that they are human and prone to making
mistakes just as the greatest investors do. Whether you made a stock purchase in haste or one of
your long-time big earners has suddenly taken a turn for the worse, the best thing you can do is
accept it. The worst thing you can do is let your pride take priority over your pocketbook and
hold on to a losing investment. Or worse yet, buy more shares of the stock as it is much cheaper
now.
This is a very common mistake, and those who commit it do so by comparing the current share
price with the 52-week high of the stock. Many people using this gauge assume that a fallen
share price represents a good buy. However, there was a reason behind that drop and price and it
is up to you to analyze why the price dropped.
Believing False Buy Signals
Deteriorating fundamentals, the resignation of a chief executive officer (CEO), or increased
competition are all possible reasons for a lower stock price. These same reasons also provide
good clues to suspect that the stock might not increase anytime soon. A company may be worth
less now for fundamental reasons. It is important to always have a critical eye, as a low share
price might be a false buy signal.
Avoid buying stocks in the bargain basement. In many instances, there is a strong fundamental
reason for a price decline. Do your homework and analyze a stock's outlook before you invest in
it. You want to invest in companies that will experience sustained growth in the future. A
company's future operating performance has nothing to do with the price at which you happened
to buy its shares.
Buying With Too Much Margin
Margin—using borrowed money from your broker to purchase securities, usually futures and
options. While margin can help you make more money, it can also exaggerate your losses just as
much. Make sure you understand how the margin works and when your broker could require you
to sell any positions you hold.
The worst thing you can do as a new trader is become carried away with what seems like free
money. If you use margin and your investment doesn't go the way you planned, then you end up
with a large debt obligation for nothing. Ask yourself if you would buy stocks with your credit
card. Of course, you wouldn't. Using margin excessively is essentially the same thing, albeit
likely at a lower interest rate.
Further, using margin requires you to monitor your positions much more closely. Exaggerated
gains and losses that accompany small movements in price can spell disaster. If you don't have
the time or knowledge to keep a close eye on and make decisions about your positions you could
experience a margin call. If the value of your positions drop sharply enough then your stock may
be automatically sold by the broker to recover any losses you have accrued.
As a new trader use margin sparingly, if at all, and only if you understand all of its aspects and
dangers. It can force you to sell all your positions at the bottom, the point at which you should be
in the market for the big turnaround.
Running With Leverage
According to a well-known investment cliché, leverage is a double-edged sword because it can
boost returns for profitable trades and exacerbate losses on losing trades. Just as anyone would
warn you not to run with scissors, you should warn yourself not to rush into using leverage.
Beginner traders may get dazzled by the degree of leverage they possess—especially in forex
(FX) trading—but may soon discover that excessive leverage can destroy trading capital in a
flash. If a leverage ratio of 50:1 is employed—which is not uncommon in retail forex trading—
all it takes is a 2% adverse move to wipe out one's capital. Forex brokers like IG Group must
disclose each quarter the percentage of traders that lose money in retail forex customer accounts.
For the quarter ending June 30, 2021, 69% of IG Group active non-discretionary trading
accounts were unprofitable.
Following the Herd
Another common mistake made by new traders is that they blindly follow the herd; as such, they
may either end up paying too much for hot stocks or may initiate short positions in securities that
have already plunged and may be on the verge of turning around. While experienced traders
follow the dictum of the trend is your friend, they are accustomed to exiting trades when they get
too crowded. New traders, however, may stay in a trade long after the smart money has moved
out of it. Novice traders may also lack the confidence to take a contrarian approach when
required.
Keeping All Your Eggs in One Basket
Diversification is a way to avoid overexposure to any one investment. Having a portfolio made
up of multiple investments protects you if one of them loses money. It also helps protect against
volatility and extreme price movements in any one investment. Also, when one asset class is
underperforming, another asset class may be performing better.
Many studies have proved that most managers and mutual funds underperform their
benchmarks. Over the long term, low-cost index funds are typically upper second-quartile
performers or better than 65%-to-75% of actively managed funds. Despite all of the evidence in
favor of indexing, the desire to invest with active managers remains strong. John Bogle, the
founder of Vanguard, says it's because: "Hope springs eternal. Indexing is sort of dull. It flies in
the face of the American way [that] "I can do better.'"
Index all or a large portion (70%-to-80%) of your traditional asset classes. If you can't resist the
excitement of pursuing the next great performer, then set aside about 20%-to-30% of each asset
class to allocate to active managers. This may satisfy your desire to pursue outperformance
without devastating your portfolio.
Shirking Your Homework
New traders are often guilty of not doing their homework or not conducting adequate research,
or due diligence, before initiating a trade. Doing homework is critical because beginning traders
do not have the knowledge of seasonal trends, or the timing of data releases, and trading patterns
that experienced traders possess. For a new trader, the urgency to make a trade often overwhelms
the need for undertaking some research, but this may ultimately result in an expensive lesson.
It is a mistake not to research an investment that interests you. Research helps you understand a
financial instrument and know what you are getting into. If you are investing in a stock, for
instance, research the company and its business plans. Do not act on the premise that markets are
efficient and you can‘t make money by identifying good investments. While this is not an easy
task, and every other investor has access to the same information as you do, it is possible to
identify good investments by doing the research.
Buying Unfounded Tips
Everyone probably makes this mistake at one point or another in their investing career. You may
hear your relatives or friends talking about a stock that they heard will get bought out, have killer
earnings or soon release a groundbreaking new product. Even if these things are true, they do not
necessarily mean that the stock is "the next big thing" and that you should rush into your online
brokerage account to place a buy order.
Other unfounded tips come from investment professionals on television and social media who
often tout a specific stock as though it's a must-buy, but really is nothing more than the flavor of
the day. These stock tips often don't pan out and go straight down after you buy them.
Remember, buying on media tips is often founded on nothing more than a speculative gamble.
This isn't to say that you should balk at every stock tip. If one really grabs your attention, the first
thing to do is consider the source. The next thing is to do your own homework so that you know
what you are buying and why. For example, buying a tech stock with some proprietary
technology should be based on whether it's the right investment for you, not solely on what a
mutual fund manager said in a media interview.
Next time you're tempted to buy based on a hot tip, don't do so until you've got all the facts and
are comfortable with the company. Ideally, obtain a second opinion from other investors or
unbiased financial advisors.
Watching Too Much Financial TV
There is almost nothing on financial news shows that can help you achieve your goals. There are
few newsletters that can provide you with anything of value. Even if there were, how do you
identify them in advance?
If anyone really had profitable stock tips, trading advice, or a secret formula to make big bucks,
would they blab it on TV or sell it to you for $49 per month? No. They'd keep their mouth shut,
make their millions and not need to sell a newsletter to make a living. Solution? Spend less time
watching financial shows on TV and reading newsletters. Spend more time creating—and
sticking to—your investment plan.
Not Seeing the Big Picture
For a long-term investor, one of the most important but often overlooked things to do is
a qualitative analysis or to look at the big picture. Legendary investor and author Peter
Lynch once stated that he found the best investments by looking at his children's toys and the
trends they would take on. The brand name is also very valuable. Think about how almost
everyone in the world knows Coke; the financial value of the name alone is therefore measured
in the billions of dollars. Whether it's about iPhones or Big Macs, no one can argue against real
life.
So pouring over financial statements or attempting to identify buy and sell opportunities with
complex technical analysis may work a great deal of the time, but if the world is changing
against your company, sooner or later you will lose. After all, a typewriter company in the late
1980s could have outperformed any company in its industry, but once personal computers started
to become commonplace, an investor in typewriters of that era would have done well to assess
the bigger picture and pivot away.
Assessing a company from a qualitative standpoint is as important as looking at its sales
and earnings. Qualitative analysis is a strategy that is one of the easiest and most effective for
evaluating a potential investment.
Trading Multiple Markets
Beginning traders may tend to flit from market to market—that is, from stocks to options to
currencies to commodity futures, and so on. Trading multiple markets can be a huge distraction
and may prevent the novice trader from gaining the experience necessary to excel in one market.
Forgetting About Uncle Sam
Keep in mind the tax consequences before you invest. You will get a tax break on some
investments such as municipal bonds. Before you invest, look at what your return will be after
adjusting for tax, taking into account the investment, your tax bracket, and your investment time
horizon.
Do not pay more than you need to on trading and brokerage fees. By holding on to your
investment and not trading frequently, you will save money on broker fees. Also, shop around
and find a broker that doesn't charge excessive fees so you can keep more of the return you
generate from your investment. Investopedia has put together a list of the best discount
brokers to make your choice of a broker easier.
The Danger of Over-Confidence
Trading is a very demanding occupation, but the "beginner's luck" experienced by some novice
traders may lead them to believe that trading is the proverbial road to quick riches. Such
overconfidence is dangerous as it breeds complacency and encourages excessive risk-taking that
may culminate in a trading disaster.
From numerous studies, including Burton Malkiel's 1995 study entitled: "Returns From Investing
In Equity Mutual Funds," we know that most managers will underperform their benchmarks. We
also know that there's no consistent way to select, in advance, those managers that will
outperform. We also know that very few individuals can profitably time the market over the long
term. So why are so many investors confident of their abilities to time the market and/or select
outperforming managers? Fidelity guru Peter Lynch once observed: "There are no market timers
in the Forbes 400."
Inexperienced Day Trading
If you insist on becoming an active trader, think twice before day trading. Day trading can be a
dangerous game and should be attempted only by the most seasoned investors. In addition to
investment savvy, a successful day trader may gain an advantage with access to special
equipment that is less readily available to the average trader. Did you know that the average day-
trading workstation (with software) can cost in the tens of thousands of dollars? You'll also need
a sizable amount of trading money to maintain an efficient day-trading strategy.
The need for speed is the main reason you can't effectively start day trading with the extra $5,000
in your bank account. Online brokers' systems are not quite fast enough to service the true day
trader; literally, pennies per share can make the difference between a profitable and losing trade.
Most brokerages recommend that investors take day-trading courses before getting started.
Unless you have the expertise, a platform, and access to speedy order execution, think twice
before day trading. If you aren't very good at dealing with risk and stress, there are much better
options for an investor who's looking to build wealth.
Underestimating Your Abilities
Some investors tend to believe that they can never excel at investing because stock market
success is reserved for sophisticated investors only. This perception has no truth at all. While any
commission-based mutual fund salesmen will probably tell you otherwise, most professional
money managers don't make the grade either, and the vast majority underperform the broad
market. With a little time devoted to learning and research, investors can become well-equipped
to control their own portfolios and investing decisions, all while being profitable. Remember,
much of investing is sticking to common sense and rationality.
Besides having the potential to become sufficiently skillful, individual investors do not face the
liquidity challenges and overhead costs of large institutional investors. Any small investor with a
sound investment strategy has just as good a chance of beating the market, if not better than the
so-called investment gurus. Don't assume that you are unable to successfully participate in the
financial markets simply because you have a day job.
The Bottom Line
If you have the money to invest and are able to avoid these beginner mistakes, you could make
your investments pay off, taking you one step closer to your financial goals.
With the stock market's penchant for producing large gains (and losses), there is no shortage of
faulty advice and irrational decision making. As an individual investor, the best thing you can do
to pad your portfolio for the long term is to implement a rational investment strategy that you are
comfortable with and willing to stick to.
If you are looking to make a big win by betting your money on your gut feelings, try a casino.
Take pride in your investment decisions, and in the long run, your portfolio will grow to reflect
the soundness of your actions.
:https://www.investopedia.com/articles/active-trading/013015/worst-mistakes-beginner-tr

Sarwar hopeful of extension in GPS Plus status

October 28, 2021
LAHORE: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar has hoped that Pakistan will be
granted extension in GSP-Plus status by the European Union and the country will also get this
status for another 10 years.
He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. LCCI President Mian
Nauman Kabir, Senior Vice-President Mian Rehman Aziz Chan and Vice-President Haris Ateeq
also spoke on the occasion while former presidents and the LCCI Executive Committee members
were also present on the occasion.
The governor said during his visit to Europe, he held meetings with more than 30 members of the
European Parliament, including four vice-presidents, adding that his meetings remained
successful in all respects.
He was confident that despite all conspiracies of India, Pakistan would get GSP-Plus status for
another 10 years. It will provide financial benefits of more than USD 4 billion to Pakistan
annually. He said so far the GSP-Plus status had benefited Pakistan economy of USD 20 billion.
He said that Pakistan would also win the case of Pakistani Basmati Rice Trade Mark.
The Punjab governor said that during his visit to Europe, everyone appreciated Pakistan‘s role in
the Afghan peace process. He said that Pakistan was playing a positive role in establishing peace
in the world, including Afghanistan.
LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir appreciated the efforts of the Punjab governor for GSP-Plus
status to Pakistan. Because of concessions in duty under GSP-Plus, Pakistan‘s exports to EU
countries have reached USD 8.8 billion which is 32 percent of Pakistan‘s total exports.
He said that Islamophobia was spreading very fast in the Western countries. Everyone will have
to play his/her role in countering it. It is the need of the hour to highlight soft image of the
country at the global level, he said.
Mian Nauman Kabir said that the importance of SME sector in Pakistan‘s economy could be
gauged from the fact that this sector accounted for 40 percent of the GDP. This sector also needs
support of the government to benefit from GSP-Plus Status. Later, Punjab Governor Chaudhry
Muhammad Sarwar along with LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir, Vice President Haris Ateeq
and Executive Committee members inaugurated the NADRA e-facilitation at LCCI.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/903769-sarwar-hopeful-of-extension-in-gps-plus-status

Agencies
October 28, 2021
LAHORE - Governor Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar has hoped that Pakistan will be
granted extension in GSP Plus Status by the European Union and the country will also get this
status for another 10 years.
He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry. LCCI Senior Vice President
Mian Rehman Aziz Chan and Vice President Haris Ateeq also spoke on the occasion while
former presidents and Executive Committee Members were also present on the occasion.
The governor said during his visit to Europe, he held meetings with more than 30 members of the
European Parliament including four vice presidents, adding that his meetings had been
successful in all respects.
He was confident that despite all conspiracies of India, Pakistan will get GSP Plus status for
another 10 years. It will provide financial benefits of more than USD 4 billion to Pakistan
annually. He said so far the GSP Plus status has benefited Pakistan economy with USD 20
billion. He said that Pakistan will also win the case of Pakistani Basmati Rice Trade Mark.
Saudi Arabia licenses 44 companies to open regional headquarters in Riyadh
The governor said that during his visit to Europe, everyone appreciated Pakistan‘s role in the
Afghan peace process. He said that Pakistan is playing a positive role in establishing peace in the
world including Afghanistan.
LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir appreciated the efforts of Governor Punjab for GSP Plus
Status to Pakistan. Because of concessions in duty under GSP Plus, Pakistan‘s exports to EU
countries have reached USD 8.8 billion which is 32% of Pakistan‘s total exports. The LCCI
President hoped that the Governor‘s recent visits to Belgium, Italy and Hungary will have good
results. He said that the lobbying by the Governor Punjab for Pakistan and meeting with the Vice
President of European Union in Brussels will help Pakistan to secure GSP Plus Status.
―We are also playing our role in this regard‖, Mian Nauman Kabir said, adding that the
Ambassador of European Union to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara was invited to the LCCI for a
detailed discussion on GSP Plus. She informed us the European Commission has been
formulating a new 10 year GSP Plus Scheme since the beginning of 2024 and some new
conventions are being added to it related to Human Rights, Labour Rights and Governance.
Pakistan, including other countries will have to re-apply to get GSP Plus status.
Georgians rally for ruling party ahead of local polls
Mian Nauman Kabir said that the government should evolve a strategy and should facilitate the
business community to extract full benefits from the GSP Plus Status. He assured that the
business community will fully support the government in implementing existing and new
conventions.
He said that Islamophobia is spreading very fast in the Western countries. Everyone will have to
play his role to counter it. To highlight its soft image at global level is need of the hour.
The LCCI President said that the exports play an important role in economic development.
Under GSP Plus, most of exports consist of textiles. He said that more value added sectors
including leather products, cutlery and other sectors to take full advantage of GSP Plus. He
added it is imperative that Pakistan should be part of the new 10-year GSP Plus Scheme to be
implemented in 2024.
Mian Nauman Kabir said that the importance of SME sector in Pakistan‘s economy can be
gauged from the fact that this sector accounts for 40% of the GDP. This sector also needs to be
support of the government to benefit from GSP Plus.
Pakistan to export meat to Jordan
Later, the Governor Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, along with the LCCI President Mian
Nauman Kabir, Vice President Haris Ateeq and Executive Committee Members, inaugurated the
NADRA E-facilitation at LCCI.
:https://nation.com.pk/28-Oct-2021/sarwar-hopes-pakistan-will-get-gsp-plus-status-for-another
Floating farms, salt-resistant rice: Bangladeshis adapt
to survive
Farmers are desperately trying to adjust to climate change
SAMAA | AFP - Posted: Oct 28, 2021 | Last Updated:

Rising sea levels and violent flooding are already putting tens of millions of lives at risk in
Bangladesh, but they bring another problem that threatens the entire nation: Water-logged land
and high salinity in streams and soil are killing crops. Photo: AFP
Rising sea levels and violent flooding are already putting tens of millions of lives at risk in
Bangladesh, but they bring another problem that threatens the entire nation: Water-logged
land and high salinity in streams and soil are killing crops. Bangladesh ranks seventh for
countries most affected by extreme weather in the past two decades, according to the
Global Climate Risk Index.
Farmers are desperately trying to adjust to these ever more destructive and unpredictable
conditions caused by global warming — from using floating seed beds to developing salt-
resistant rice.
―Even 25 years ago, we could grow crops throughout the year… but then water started to stay
here seven months. We were clueless how to survive,‖ Altaf Mahmud told AFP.
―Most of the farmers here are poor and the land is scarce. But if we can‘t grow anything during
the seven months, we would starve,‖ neighbour Mohammad Mostofa added.
Bangladesh ranks seventh for countries most affected by extreme weather in the past two
decades, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. Photo: AFP
So they and other local farmers in Mugarjhor, a region 200 kilometres (120 miles) south of
Dhaka, revived a century-old technique of using seed beds that sit atop the water.
They stack layers of water hyacinth and bamboo tied together by their roots to create a raft,
between two and four foot high, on which to plant seeds — often using wood chippings and
coconut coir as a fertiliser.
This forms a light, floating vegetable garden — bitter gourds, spinach and okra can all be grown
this way — able to rise and fall with the water levels.
The floating farms have become community initiatives, in some villages, women spend months
preparing the beds before boatmen take them across water-logged fields, old beds are composted.
„Cannot do it alone‟
Ever-more frequent cyclones, rising sea levels, floods, erosion, drought and unreliable rains have
already displaced millions, either into city slums or abroad.
Those that stay have no choice but to find new ways of working.
Some farmers have stopped growing crops opting instead to grow shrimp in the brackish water,
or crab-fattening — capturing wild crabs and feeding them up to then sell — as well as rearing
ducks, which fetch a high price in Dhaka eateries.
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) have created new salt-resistant varieties of rice .
Photo: AFP
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) have created new salt-resistant varieties of the staple
crop.
―Normal rice does not grow in saline water. Salinity saps the energy of rice stalks,‖ explained
scientist Alamgir Hossain.
BRRI has now created a strain that can grow in water with triple the saline levels that normal rice
can cope with, he said.
 Ever-
more frequent cyclones, rising sea levels, floods, erosion, drought and unreliable rains have
already displaced millions in Bangladesh, either into city slums or abroad. Photo: AFP
This has offered ―new hope‖ to farmers in coastal regions, where seawater is increasingly
encroaching the land, he added.
But Saiful Islam, a climate expert at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, said
such efforts are a drop in the ocean.
―We need to spend billions to raise and strengthen embankments along our big coastline. We
need to create mangrove forests along the coastal belt to work as natural barriers to cyclones,
subsidence and sea level rise.‖
―We need to build new roads, preserve rain water and create alternate livelihoods for millions of
people. Just inventing crops won‘t do. Bangladesh alone can‘t do it,‖ Islam told AFP.
He added that Western nations were ―responsible for emitting most of the greenhouse gases‖ and
so needed to help.
Islam said Bangladesh received ―barely any‖ of proposed $100 billion dollars set aside by
developed nations for adaptation to and mitigation of climate change.
„Farming methods from YouTube‟
In some regions, it is ordinary people leading the charge for change.
―Lungi‖ Jakir has become a local legend for his hands-on battle against climate change.
A former construction worker, he and friends built an embankment to stop seawater breaching a
6.5-kilometre (four-mile)freshwater canal — effectively saving the 43,000 people it serves in
Pakhimara, in southern Bangladesh.
It requires continual repair, but has ensured there‘s enough fresh water year-round to irrigate
traditional crops and even try new ones.
―Salinity is all around us,‖ he told AFP, ―We got very little assistance from the government… so
we have to find our own ways to survive.‖
―I could migrate to the cities. But I know how hard it is to live in a city slum.‖
Jakir said he ―learnt new farming techniques from YouTube‖, detailing how they now also use
plastic sheeting and raised beds to protect the top soil.
The initiative has been such a success that the area has gone from growing only pumpkins and
lentils to supplying fruit and vegetables to other districts and even workers at the nearby coal-
fired power station.
Authorities admit farmers have shown them new possibilities for climate challenges.
―We thought hyacinth is a weed and should be thrown out of the ponds but it has opened up a
vast opportunity of farming,‖ Mohammad Shahidullah, a former government agriculture chief
for Mugarjhor, said of the floating vegetable gardens.
―The state-run research institutes didn‘t know anything about it. We learnt from the farmers
here,‖ he added.
Officials are keen to ―popularise‖ the technique in other water-logged regions, explained
Shahidullah.

Farmer Mahmud said some of his family were now being recruited by the government to train
others in this form of soil-free agriculture.
Vegetable grower Mostofa was hopeful they can weather the changing climate. He told AFP:
―Now thanks to the floating farm, we can grow our food and also sell the surplus.‖
https://www.samaa.tv/technology/2021/10/floating-farms-salt-resistant-rice-bangladeshis-adapt-
to-survive/

Pakistan has developed new Green Super Rice with

China‟s help: PARC chief
Last Updated: 2021-10-27 17:29 | Gwadar Pro
by Shafqat Ali

ISLAMABAD,Oct.27(Gwadar Pro) - Pakistan has developed new Green Super Rice (GSR) with
the help of China which will play an important role to strengthen the economy, a senior
government official said on Tuesday afternoon.

Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) Chairman Dr. Ghulam Muhammad Ali revealed
that the National Institute for Genomics and Advanced Biotechnology (NIGAB) scientists, in
collaboration with China, had developed GSR.

―PARC is working on new crop breeding technologies, including speed cloning, speed breeding,
genomic selection, and genomic editing for boosting domestic agricultural output, achieving
food safety and security,‖ he remarked while briefing Federal Secretary, Ministry of National
Food Security and Research, Tahir Khursheed, who visited the PARC office.

Dr. Ali added that PARC's NIGAB had also started producing virus-free potato tubers locally
that would help in saving foreign exchange, besides increasing the farm yields.
He maintained that due to attacks of diseases on local potato varieties, the country had to import
8th generation seed potato from Holland, costing millions of dollars.

According to the official details released about the briefing, Dr. Ali underlined that the council
was also involved in developing vaccines for disease prevention and epidemic control and was
selecting superior animal breeds using next-generation sequencing data for improved milk and
meat productivity.

The PARC chairman acknowledged China‘s help in all these efforts, saying the positive role of
China is increasing day by day. He was referring to the second phase of China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC) which focuses on agriculture.

Dr. Ali pointed out that Green Super Rice, with a potential yield ranging between 80 and 120
maunds (1 maund = 40 kilograms) per acre and grain length of 8.6 millimeters, could be a
harbinger of economic prosperity.

The PARC chairman noted that using the latest techniques of genome-based breeding, NIGAB
scientists, in collaboration with China, were moving forward.

Besides, he said that banana varieties of PARC such as NIGAB-I and NIGAB-2 with higher
productivity and shelf life had also been developed, adding that these varieties would help in
enhancing the incomes of local farmers.

Speaking on the occasion, Tahir Khursheed mentioned that the government was primarily
focusing on bringing revolutionary changes to the agricultural sector and urged scientists to
focus on high-quality seed varieties to boost agricultural output.

Appreciating PARC‘s efforts in the country‘s agricultural development, the secretary stressed the
need for expanding such modern techniques in all farming research and development for
enhancing crop and livestock production.

He also took a keen interest in PARC‘s Thar Greening Model in Umerkot, Sindh, and
agricultural mechanization technologies such as olive oil extraction unit, solar dryer, mobile
sugarcane crusher, and groundnut digger.

http://en.ce.cn/Insight/202110/27/t20211027_37034792.shtml