News Head Lines

ICT helps boost rice yield in Philippines

El Nino Threatens Export Plans as Burmas Rice
Industry Revs Up
Agriculture Expo opens in Taipei, featuring rice
Bac Son rice fields in harvest season
Protest over subsidy only for rice farmers
Rice export volumes soar nearly 60% in first eight
months
Farm Fields Damaged in Arkansas Storms
RID suggests no off-season rice planting due to
insufficient water
Rice export volumes soar nearly 60% in first eight
months
El Nino Threatens Export Plans as Burmas Rice
Industry Revs Up
Thai govt sells over 50,000 tonnes of rice to private
firms
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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter
3
rd
October, 2014
News Detail.
ICT helps boost rice yield in Philippines

BSS, Los Banos, Philippines
The Cyber Village Project has created revolution by increasing rice output using information and
communications technology (ICT)-based web tools and technologies in the Philippines.The
information was disclosed at the Farmers' technology forum for farmer-cooperators organised
by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) at its headquarters in the Philippines
yesterday.Forty member farmers of different ICT-based e-Centres from several municipalities in
different provinces all over the Philippines, two renowned Indian farmers, and a farmer and a
journalist from Bangladesh participated.
The project Coordinator and Head of IRRI's Partnerships Office Jojo Lapitan and Senior
Manager at IRRI Training Centre Engineer Engene Castro also spoke.National Scientist of the
Philippines and IRRI Consultant Dr Gelia Castillo delivered keynote message citing the project
as stimulus for acquiring connectivity in reaching ICT-based agricultural technologies to
farmers.Member of a Cyber Village e-Centre Genevieve Madelo, Ester Solamo, Fredric Paniyar
and William Gitakay narrated their successes and shared experiences.They elaborated as how
they have increased rice production using ICT-based technologies and information for better
crop management to change their socio-economic status and improve livelihoods and living
standard.
The Cyber Village Project beneficiary farmers discussed benefits of using ICT-based
technologies, Nutrient Manager for Rice (NMR), Rice Crop manger (RCM), Pilipino Rice
Knowledge Bank (PRNB) and other facilities.They dwelt on how they have been changing rice
farming practices, selecting certified high quality seed, spraying pesticides, fungicides and
insecticides, controlling bacterial diseases, applying optimum fertilisers and irrigation
management having easy access to ICT-based information.
Published: 12:00 am Friday, October 03, 2014

El Nino Threatens Export Plans as Burmas Rice Industry Revs Up
By WILLIAM BOOT / THE IRRAWADDY| Friday, October 3, 2014

Hopes that Burmas rice exports would reach 2 million tons this year look unlikely to be
achieved due to the disruptive weather phenomenon known as El Nino, experts say.Monsoonal
rains needed to boost Burmas late rice crop are expected to be lighter than usual due to the El
Nino effect, leading to drier conditions.Observers of the El Nino weather pattern, which occurs
every few years due to warmer air currents generated in the Pacific Ocean, suggest it might be
less severe than on previous occasions but could still disrupt various forms of agriculture across
Southeast Asia.
It could last until June 2015 and some meteorologists have suggested that December might be
the worst month affected.This years major wet season rice crops across Southeast Asia might
escape the worst of El Nino, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)s Foreign Service said,
[but] dry season rice and corn crops, as well as palm oil, will become more vulnerable if El
Nino develops and persists from October 2014 to April 2015.Burma exported 1.27 million tons
of rice in 2013 and the Burma Rice Federation had said the figure for this year might reach the 2
million tons mark, boosted by higher demand from China and dislocation in the rice industry of
rival exporter Thailand. However, even without any El Nino effect, the 2 million tons target is
over-optimistic according to estimates made by the USDA.
The US agency predicted that rice production in Burma in 2014-2015 would most likely increase
by 1 percent to 12.16 million tons, due to growing area expansion and improved water supply,
and that rice exports would also be only marginally higher than last yearup about 1 percent to
1.31 million tons.Burmas government was making an effort to provide farmers support in
infrastructure development, mechanization [and] technology assistance, the USDA said. But
despite support programs, rice farmers in Burma could still not compete with other farmers in the
region, including in Thailand and Vietnam, who received government support to compensate for
lower prices, the agency said, citing trade sources.
Burma is forecast to be the fifth-largest rice producer in the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) region in the 2014-15 financial year behind Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand
and the Philippines. But of these four, only Vietnam and Thailand are exporters.On the surface,
rice markets remain calm and stable, but underlying market sentiments are rapidly changing
because of weather disruptions in many rice-growing nations, market watcher and rice scientist
Sam Mohanty of the International Rice Research Institute said in a recent assessment.The
global rice market faces the possibility of a production shortfall in the major rice-growing
regions in South and Southeast Asia and also in China because of El Nino events. So far, the
market has been quite nonchalant about this possibility because of large buffer stocks in key rice-
growing countries. |

A truck loaded with rice bags drives by a port in Rangoon. (Photo: Reuters / Soe Zeya Tun)

India, China and Thailand are well stocked with rice to see them through any possible
disruptions in supplies, Mohanty said.Burmas rice federation sees China as offering the best
market for expanding Burmese exports in coming years. About half of Burmas rice exports went
to China in 2013, despite the fact that the exports are technically illegal as there is not yet a
health standards agreement on rice in place between the two countries.

Agriculture Expo opens in Taipei, featuring rice
2014/10/03 20:07:18
BACK TO LIST
Agriculture Expo opens in Taipei, featuring rice
2014/10/03 20:07:18

Taipei, Oct. 3 (CNA) The annual Taiwan Agriculture Expo
opened at the Expo Dome of the Taipei Expo Park Friday,
featuring farmers' associations, market garden operators and
food industry companies from around the country and
focusing on rice and rice products. At the three-day
exposition, activities have been organized to promote the use
of rice flour as rice consumption continues to decline in
Taiwan, where rice is traditionally the main staple, according
to the organizer, the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture
(COA).
According to COA statistics, rice consumption amounted to 45 kilograms per person in Taiwan in 2013,
representing a decline of 0.7 percent from the previous year. It marks the lowest level in 10 years, the
council said.In turn, the consumption of wheat flour -- mostly imported from abroad -- increased 0.4
percent to 36.1 kg per person last year, the COA said in its annual food supply report for 2013, noting that
the figures indicate a drop in Taiwan's self-sufficiency rate.
Agriculture and Food Agency Deputy Director-General Chen Chien-bin said the agency has tried but
failed to encourage local people to eat more rice. Now, he said, it has turned to developing different ways
to use rice flour, trying to produce popular rice-derived foods.The agency has developed around 30 kinds
of rice flour products, ranging from instant noodles to rice ice cream, Chen said, adding that all the
products are being displayed at the expo.A total of 141 booths have been set up at the venue to exhibit the
various products, which have been divided into the categories of farming, fishery, forestry, livestock and
processed food.
(By Yang Shu-min and Elizabeth Hsu)
ENDITEM/J
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retransmitted or publicly broadcast without the authorization of CNA.
Bac Son rice fields in harvest season
VietNamNet Bridge - The town of Bac Son in the northern border Lang Son is located in a large valley
surrounded by high mountains. The valley is magically beautiful in the harvest season.



Bac Son is approximately 160 km from Hanoi. The first impression when you come here is the pure and cool climate, the
fresh and wild of rocky mountains and slippery slopes.

Bac Son Valley with vast rice fields and the charming scenery at dawn. This small town is surrounded by limestone
mountains.

There are two rice crops in the valley. The harvest seasons fall in July and November.

Bac Son in the early morning.

Rice fields here are not harvested at the same time, so the colors of rice fields are different, with shades of yellow and green.

The fields after a rain.

A beautiful picture of the countryside.

Bac Son town at sunset.


Protest over subsidy only for rice farmers
Ayuthai Nonnitirat
Kawintra Jaiseu
The Nation October 4, 2014 1:00 am

Growers of other crops, having similar problems, upset they have been ignored

Farmers of various crops are crying foul over the government decision to award subsidies to rice
farmers while ignoring the others. "It's unfair. The government doesn't treat all farmers equally,"
chief adviser to the Chiang Rai-based Rubber Plantation Cooperative, Narong Boriparak, said
yesterday. He was speaking in response to the government project offering about Bt1,000
subsidy per rai of paddy field to rice farmers so as to help them shoulder the cost of cultivation.
The ceiling for the subsidy is set at Bt15,000.The price of rice has been falling. Jinda Oumyart, a
54-year-old farmer in Pathum Thani province, said she could sell a tonne of rice at only Bt6,000
to Bt7,000.
"For rice farmers to survive, we should at least earn about Bt9,000 per tonne," she said. She
added that the cost of cultivation per rai of paddy field had reached about Bt5,500 and
Bt5,600.Narong argued that rubber growers too faced rising costs, as fertilisers and other farming
tools were all becoming more expensive. "We feel slighted," he said. Boonyoung Prommuang,
who chairs the rubber panel of the Chiang Rai Farmers Council, said rubber price was spiralling
downward, too, but the government had yet to provide any assistance. Utairat Boontiam, who
heads a corn farmers' group in Chiang Mai's Mae Chaem district, asked what the government
planned to do for corn growers. "We will rally if the government continues to ignore us," he said.
He said the government should help them find markets and bypass middlemen. Meanwhile, the
Northeastern Rice Farmers' Association president, Panupong Pattarakhon-ngam, did not
welcome the government's move either. He pointed out that many farmers had rented land from
landlords and might have difficulty getting the government subsidy in practice. "Even if the
landowners allow the farmers to produce the land-lease documents for claiming subsidy, they
will demand that farmers give them a greater share in the rice output," Panupong said. In his
opinion, farmers will not be the true beneficiaries of such a government project. Panupong also
questioned why relevant authorities were not striving harder to control the prices of chemical
fertilisers and pesticides. However, many small-scale farmers are happy with the government's
promise to pay subsidies. Somsak Lamuncha, whose paddy fields cover about 13 rai, said he felt
thankful for the government's latest move. "I think farmers will benefit, including those who
have to rent plots of land from landlords," he said.


Rice export volumes soar nearly
60% in first eight months
Petchanet Pratruangkrai
The Nation October 3, 2014 4:18 pm
Rice exports in the first eight months of the year
grew significantly, by almost 60 per cent year on year, to 6.59 million tonnes, thanks to strong
demand in many markets and a high supply from government stocks, according to the Thai Rice
Exporters Association.The association reported that the value of rice exports also increased by
22.4 per cent year on year to Bt105.83 billion.Chareon Charoen Laothamatas, president of the
association, said demand had increased considerably since July this year, particularly for white
rice in some African countries.
In the first eight months of last year, Thailand exported only 4.14 million tonnes of rice worth
Bt86.47 billion.In the JanuaryAugust period this year, Benin imported the most at 852,502
tonnes, followed by Nigeria with 474,561 tonnes, China with 432,220, Ivory Coast with 383,663
and South Africa with 335,529.

Farm Fields Damaged in Arkansas Storms

Lodged Beans FLATTENED -- High winds from the Oct. 2, 2014, storm front flattened this soybean field in
southeastern Arkansas. (U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture photo by

Rewarding season for Lala rice farmers
THURSDAY, 02 OCTOBER 2014 19:14
It is no coincidence that the name of their cooperative means to prosper in the local language,
for rice farmers in the town of Lala, Lanao del Norte are now experiencing a rewarding
cropping season.According to Jerry Enterina, chairman of the Oryza Sativa Workers and
Growers Association (OSWAG) of Barangay Simpak, farmers here have raised their quality
of harvest with a new solar dryer and warehouse.Before, drying was very difficult for the
farmers especially during wet season and when harvesting is done by bulk, he said.Village
councilor Marina Bullecer said during rainy days, the rice would sell lower than usual,
sometimes half of the selling price.
The cooperative immediately proposed the acquisition of needed postharvest facilities through
the local government.The P5-million livelihood project in Lala was funded under the
Community Fund for Agricultural Development (CFAD) of the Department of Agricultures
Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP) benefiting four barangays.Bullecer said one of
the village residents also donated a portion of the land for the drying facility.To sustain the
operation, the cooperative collects P7 for drying and P3 as storage fee per month. A peso is
allocated every payment for the organization, which is aimed at providing benefits to member
farmers.The postharvest facility can also be availed of even by non-member farmers.Ronel
Baroy, municipal agriculturist, said that the benefit of the facilities cannot be stressed enough.
He said some of the farmers used to travel to as far as Iligan City just to dry their rice produce.
Aside from transportation cost, the hauling cost of 20 pesos per sack would add up to their
burden, he said.Lala has 500 hectares of land for rice production, with 181 farmers who
used to make do with only two solar dryers and two warehouses for storage owned by private
traders.The solar dryer really helped thefarmers a lot because aside from drying their produce
they can now also command the right price for their rice, Baroy said.The rice could also be
stocked safely in the storage facility before it is sold, he added.Since we can now dictate the
price, our income has really increased.
Before, we were at the mercy of the trader, said Enterina.He encouraged the farmers to
contribute to the projects sustainability by drying their produce in the cooperatives
facilities.Another CFAD subproject in Lala was also turned over to another cooperative, the
Lanipao Lala Livelihood FarmersAssociation (LANLALIFA) based in the Barangay
Lanipao, which also availed itself of the same postharvest facilities.The LGU assured the coop-
beneficiaries that it will continue to provide technical assistance to ensure sustainability. We
have personnel and barangay officials who can monitor the project, Baroy said. (Jay M. Rosas,
DA-MRDP)
RID suggests no off-season rice planting due to insufficient water
BANGKOK, 3 October 2014 (NNT) Mr. Lertviroj Kowattana, the Director-General of the
Royal Irrigation Department (RID), noted that a cold air mass from China is moving down to
Thailand, signalling the arrival of winter and the end of rainy season. The RID is concerned
about the lack of remaining water in all dams and reservoirs as the current volume has reached
the lowest point in 15 years, due to the delay of this years rain and the exhaustion of 2000 cubic
metres of water that was used for agricultural purposes last year.
As a consequence, there is a sufficient amount of water only for consuming purposes but not for
off-season rice planting. In response to the current situation, the RID will propose a plan to
reduce impacts of water shortage to the cabinet next week in which the government will be asked
to announce a prohibition of off-season rice planting in Chao Phraya and Mae Klong River
Basins. Rather than rice planting, farmers will be encouraged to plant field crops and vegetables
that need less water in about 820,000 rai of agricultural land in the basins.
Rice export volumes soar nearly 60% in first eight months
Petchanet Pratruangkrai
The Nation October 3, 2014 4:18 pm
Rice exports in the first eight months of the year grew significantly, by almost 60 per cent year
on year, to 6.59 million tonnes, thanks to strong demand in many markets and a high supply from
government stocks, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association.The association reported
that the value of rice exports also increased by 22.4 per cent year on year to Bt105.83 billion.
Chareon Charoen Laothamatas, president of the association, said demand had increased
considerably since July this year, particularly for white rice in some African countries.In the first
eight months of last year, Thailand exported only 4.14 million tonnes of rice worth Bt86.47
billion.In the JanuaryAugust period this year, Benin imported the most at 852,502 tonnes,
followed by Nigeria with 474,561 tonnes, China with 432,220, Ivory Coast with 383,663 and
South Africa with 335,529.

El Nino Threatens Export Plans as Burmas Rice Industry Revs Up

03.10.2014
Hopes that Burmas rice exports would reach 2 million tons this year look unlikely to be
achieved due to the disruptive weather phenomenon known as El Nino, experts say.Monsoonal
rains needed to boost Burmas late rice crop are expected to be lighter than usual due to the El
Nino effect, leading to drier conditions.
Observers of the El Nino weather pattern, which occurs every few years due to warmer air
currents generated in the Pacific Ocean, suggest it might be less severe than on previous
occasions but could still disrupt various forms of agriculture across Southeast Asia. It could last
until June 2015 and some meteorologists have suggested that December might be the worst
month affected.This years major wet season rice crops across Southeast Asia might escape the
worst of El Nino, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)s Foreign Service said, [but] dry
season rice and corn crops, as well as palm oil, will become more vulnerable if El Nino develops
and persists from October 2014 to April 2015.Burma exported 1.27 million tons of rice in 2013
and the Burma Rice Federation had said the figure for this year might reach the 2 million tons
mark, boosted by higher demand from China and dislocation in the rice industry of rival exporter
Thailand. However, even without any El Nino effect, the 2 million tons target is over-optimistic
according to estimates made by the USDA.
The US agency predicted that rice production in Burma in 2014-2015 would most likely increase
by 1 percent to 12.16 million tons, due to growing area expansion and improved water supply,
and that rice exports would also be only marginally higher than last yearup about 1 percent to
1.31 million tons.Burmas government was making an effort to provide farmers support in
infrastructure development, mechanization [and] technology assistance, the USDA said. But
despite support programs, rice farmers in Burma could still not compete with other farmers in the
region, including in Thailand and Vietnam, who received government support to compensate for
lower prices, the agency said, citing trade sources.
Burma is forecast to be the fifth-largest rice producer in the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) region in the 2014-15 financial year behind Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand
and the Philippines. But of these four, only Vietnam and Thailand are exporters.On the surface,
rice markets remain calm and stable, but underlying market sentiments are rapidly changing
because of weather disruptions in many rice-growing nations, market watcher and rice scientist
Sam Mohanty of the International Rice Research Institute said in a recent assessment.The
global rice market faces the possibility of a production shortfall in the major rice-growing
regions in South and Southeast Asia and also in China because of El Nino events. So far, the
market has been quite nonchalant about this possibility because of large buffer stocks in key rice-
growing countries.
India, China and Thailand are well stocked with rice to see them through any possible
disruptions in supplies, Mohanty said.Burmas rice federation sees China as offering the best
market for expanding Burmese exports in coming years. About half of Burmas rice exports went
to China in 2013, despite the fact that the exports are technically illegal as there is not yet a
health standards agreement on rice in place between the two countries.



Thai govt sells over 50,000 tonnes of rice to private firms
ReutersFriday, Oct 03, 2014

The Thai government has approved the sale of more than 50,000 tonnes of rice from its
stockpiles to private firms, a Commerce Ministry official said on Friday, as the authorities try to
bring down huge stocks built up under a failed intervention scheme.BANGKOK - The Thai
government has approved the sale of more than 50,000 tonnes of rice from its stockpiles to
private firms, a Commerce Ministry official said on Friday, as the authorities try to bring down
huge stocks built up under a failed intervention scheme.
The rice was sold below the market price because it was old, Duangporn Rodphaya, head of the
foreign trade department at the ministry, told Reuters, declining to give details. "The rice that is
for sale is old, about two years old, so it has to be below the market price. But it's not way below
the market. Private companies have additional costs to improve the quality. It's the same price we
use for our tenders," she said.


The sales account for a fraction of the 18 million tonnes that Thailand had built up by this year
under the intervention scheme, which effectively priced the grain out of world markets. An audit
by the military government found that a fifth of that was either rotten or had gone
missing.Another official from the ministry, who declined to be named, said 59,600 tonnes of rice
had been sold in the latest sale to four private companies for 570 million baht (S$22
million).That would give an average price per tonne of around $295. It was unclear what grade
of rice was sold. Benchmark five per cent broken rice is currently offered on the market at
around US$425 (S$541) free on board.
The government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, which was ousted by the army in May,
accumulated the stockpiles under a programme that paid farmers well above market rates for
their produce.The current government wants to offload the stocks to recover some of the cash
spent, but the authorities want to carry out the sales gradually so as to avoid pushing prices much
lower, Duangporn told reporters earlier this week.The military-backed government has held two
rice auctions and sold around 70,000 tonnes of rice in each.Duangporn told the reporters a third
would be held soon and that discussions for deals with the Chinese and Iranian
governments were also in the works.

News Shared by USA Rice Federation

Stewardship Partnership Submits RCPP Proposal

WASHINGTON, DC -- On October 1 the USA Rice
Federation and Ducks Unlimited submitted their first
national Regional Conservation Partnership Program
(RCPP) proposal outlining the planning, design, and
installation of conservation practices on working rice
lands across 380,000 acres. Funding for the $33.7
million effort includes $20 million from the National
Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and $13.7
million in matching funds, both cash and in-kind, from
USA Rice-DU Stewardship Partnership members.

"The participation both from companies and organizations that are part of the rice production
supply chain and end users was significant," said USA Rice President and CEO Betsy
Ward. "We appreciate the support of the 44 contributors to this effort and also want to thank
those folks who worked tirelessly to put the RCPP proposal together."The RCPP, created in the
2014 Farm Bill, is a new conservation program under which qualified organizations may develop
proposals that pair private contributions with existing federal conservation dollars and programs
to create new conservation opportunities.

The USA Rice-DU plan is a unique, two-year proposal that preserves critical wildlife habitat and
enhances water quality and irrigation efficiency while maintaining working rice lands on the
landscape. If approved by NCRS, the project will be offered in all rice producing counties in the
six major rice producing states of Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and
Texas.

Successful RCPP candidates will be notified the week of November 17.

Contact: Reece Langley (703) 236-1471

USDA to Offer Farm Bill Training for Louisiana Producers

WASHINGTON, DC -- Beginning October 15, the Louisiana
Farm Service Agency (FSA) will conduct a series of in-person
training opportunities for producers regarding the use of Web-
based decision tools and the ARC/PLC Programs enacted by the
2014 Farm Bill.According to a recent press release, the training
sessions will include base reallocation, yield updates, Price Loss
Coverage, Agricultural Risk Coverage (including individual and
county level coverage), the Supplemental Coverage Option and Stacked Income Protection Plan
for Producers of Upland Cotton, generic base acres, and the election and annual enrollment
process.Training sessions will be held in 13 parishes and will run until November 7. If you
would like more information on the specific topics that will be covered, please contact your local
FSA office.

Contact: Reece Langley (703) 236-1471


Application Deadline for Rice Leadership Program is Tomorrow
STUTTGART, AR -- The deadline for submitting applications for the
Rice Leadership Development program is Saturday, October
4. Rice producers and other industry-related professionals are
encouraged to apply for the next class, which will be announced in
December at the USA Rice Outlook Conference in Little Rock, AR.

For more information on the program or an application form,
visit http://www.usarice.com.

Contact: Chuck Wilson (870) 673-7541

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures
CME Group (Prelim): Closing Rough Rice Futures for October 3

Month Price Net Change
November 2014 $12.585 + $0.030
January 2015 $12.735 + $0.020
March 2015 $12.945 + $0.025
May 2015 $13.145 + $0.020
July 2015 $13.325 + $0.020
September 2015 $12.755 + $0.020
November 2015 $12.755 + $0.020

For Advertisement & Specs
Contact: Mujahid Ali
+92 321 3692874 mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com