News Headlines

Radical way of planting rice unveiled

Rice imports from Thailand
Finland envoy asks traders to benefit from GSP Plus status
Japan's 'sacred' rice farms rotting from inside
Rice millers in hot water
Jute sector battling downhill trends
Vistas of national rice breeding and the myth of traditional
rice
History of rice improvement
Hungry for new flavors and some roadtrip adventure?Go to
Isabela
Eat rice to sleep well



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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter
20
th
October, 2014
News Detail.


Radical way of planting rice
unveiled
Ibrahim M. Alalim.
RIYADH: RODOLFO C. ESTIMO JR.
Published Saturday 18 October 2014
Last update 18 October 2014 12:03 am
A revolutionary way of planting rice for
higher
yields has
been
unveiled
by the
Saudi
engineer 70-year-old Ibrahim M. Alalim
who invented polymer which is used in
agricultural water conservation.With the use
of polymer, the seeds germinate and sprout
fast, growing to about 13 cm in three days
time of planting, he said.He added that it will
also make the rice stalks grow faster than rice
seedlings planted in an ordinary soil without
polymer.
For this reason, transplantation is much
faster in the Kingdoms agricultural areas like
Hofuf and Jazan, Alalim added.He noted that
popularizing rice production in the Kingdoms
agriculture areas with the use of polymer is
one way of further developing Saudi Arabias
downstream industry.The polymer called
Polykem Hydrogel PagriSAP looks like
pieces of salt and absorbs large quantities of
water. When mixed in soil, it will absorb 600
times its own weight of water. He also said
that there would be more harvest yield
because the polykem which contains
acrylic acid, acrylimide and potassium
makes the rice plants healthy.
Rice imports from
Thailand

our correspondent
Saturday, October 18, 2014
From Print Edition
KARACHI: A leading rice trader has started
importing the grain from Thailand to cater to
its growing demand in Pakistan.
High-end consumer rice is being imported from
Thailand for the first time, said a statement
issued by Matco Rice on Friday.The rice will be
sold under the flagship brand of Falak Basmati,
it said. The name of the brand will be Falak
Jasmine Rice. Thailand is famous for its Thai
Jasmine fragrance rice, which is used in Thai,
Japanese, Chinese and eastern rice cuisine, it
said.Matco has a total annual production
capacity of around 150,000 tons of raw rice,
exporting rice to more than 65 countries.
Finland envoy asks traders
to benefit from GSP Plus
status
October 16, 2014
RAWALPINDI (INP): The ambassador of
Finland H.E Rauli Suikkanen has said that his
country is keen to enhance bilateral trade
relations with Pakistan. Pakistan must take
advantages of GSP Plus status awarded by the
European Union to enhance trading activities
with Finland. Finnish Embassy has successfully
reactivated Finland-Pakistan Trade Council that
will help to boost mutual relation between two
countries.He was exchanging these views with
President RCCI Syed Asad Mashadi during his
visits to the Chamber on Thursday. Senior Vice
President Mian Humayun Parvez, former
president, members executive committee and
other member of the Chamber were also present
on the occasion.
Ambassador said that two mega events were
organized under Finland-Pakistan Trade Council
one in Islamabad and the second in Helsinki,
Finland to promote trading activities between
two countries. He said that Pakistani products
especially textiles are very much liked in
Finland. He ensured his full cooperation to the
President RCCI.Speaking on the occasion , Asad
Mashadi said that Pakistan has many investment
opportunities and Finnish businessmen
community must explore Pakistani market. He
said that trade volume between two countries is
around $126.6 million and Pakistans major
exports are rice, fruits & vegetables, leather,
cotton yarn and chemical while imports are
electric motors, generators and machinery items.
He stressed the need of enhancement of bilateral
trade relations.
Japan's 'sacred' rice
farms rotting from
inside
19 Oct4:50 PM
Ryugasaki
Shuichi Yokota may be the future of Japan's
struggling rice industry.The 38-year-old is
about half the age of most growers and he
relies on cutting-edge technology to
cultivate vast paddy fields that eclipse the
bulk of the country's rice plots.And Mr
Yokota doesn't fear opening up to foreign
competition - taboo in a place where rice is a
sacred cow that is protected by subsidies and
massive tariffs.
Rice millers in hot water
Several small-time rice millers around the
country are dismantling their machines to
sell them as scrap at Rs. 42 per kilo. Gamini
Kumarasinghe, Co-Chairman and Media
Spokesman of the Rice Millers Association
said that shortage of paddy, high prices of
paddy and the Governments move to import
rice have forced many millers to take the
drastic decision to sell their machines. Pics
by Karunaratna Gamage.
Jute sector battling downhill trends

Abu Bakar Siddique
The export of raw jute has also experienced a decline in recent years
The countrys jute sector is currently
undergoing a depression as the result of a
gradual decrease in raw jute production,
with farmers failing to meet their production
costs because of a downhill demand in the
domestic and international markets.Over the
last four years, the countrys raw jute
production decreased by 10 lakh bales,
according to the Department of Agriculture
Extension (DAE). In 2013-14 fiscal, raw
jute production at farmers level was 74.36
lakh bales while in 2010-11 it was 84.60
lakh bales.
Golam Mohammad, deputy director (jute
production) of the DAE, said this years
gross raw jute production would also be less
than the previous year as the government
had failed to cover the desired demonstrated
acreage.The farmers are losing their
interest to cultivate jute in recent years as
they have not been getting fair price of their
production because of lessened demand in
the market, he said, adding that diminished
demands also resulted in farmers often not
being able to sell off their production.
I usually cultivated jute in my two and a
half acres of land each year. However, this
year I just cultivated one acre of land and
kept the rest of it idle as I counted huge
losses last year, said Sajjad Hossain, a
farmer from Dinajpur.Quazi Shahabuddin, a
professional fellow at Bangladesh Institute
of Development Studies (BIDS), blamed
the crisis on the governments failure to
timely and appropriately operate and
promote the jute sector.
The jute mills of state owned-Bangladesh
Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) and private
owners body Bangladesh Jute Spinners
Association are the major consumers of raw
jute in the country. But most of the mills did
not procure any raw jute from the market in
recent years as they remained idle during the
time.
Less export demand
The export of raw jute has also experienced
a decline in recent years.According to the
Export Promotions Bureau, the export
volume came down from $1.11493bn to
$824.49m between 2010-11 and 2013-14
fiscal year.Market insiders said the
downtrend was caused as the popularity of
plastic and other synthetic-made products
was outweighing the demand for jute-made
products worldwide.
Badrul Alam, the chief executive of
exporting company Sartaz Trade
International, said foreign buyers including
major players like China had stopped
procuring raw jute and jute-made products
from the local market in recent years.BJMC
sources also claimed that Middle Eastern
countries like Syria, Iran, Egypt and Iraq
which were major buyers of jute products
from Bangladesh had stopped buying
finished jute or jute products because of the
political turmoil and instability in their
respective countries.
Inefficiency in the mills
Regarding the local demand of jute, BJMC
Director (marketing) Babul Chandra Roy
said the government-owned mills have been
facing huge fund crunch as well as system
loss in operating their daily activities.As an
example, the BJMC director said it was a
burden to pay Tk450 in daily remuneration
to the seven lakh labourers at the
government-owned mills. In addition, those
mills also suffered further losses for using
old machineries that had low production
capacity.
We could improve the production level
from the existing 680 tonnes of daily jute
products to 900 tonne by adding new
equipment, Babul said.Many of the private
jute mills were also hurt by the recent
downtrend in the market.However, Sheikh
Basir Uddin, managing director of Akij Jute
Mill Ltd which is the largest in Bangladesh,
claimed that they have made a profit in
recent years even though the global situation
was bad.Blaming inefficiency for the losses
at government-owned mills, Basir said the
Akij factory alone could produce around 250
tonnes of jute products each day, while all
the 27 mills of the BJMC produced only
around 50 tonne of daily jute goods
combined.
Government initiative
To promote the jute sector, the government
this January enacted the Mandatory Jute
Packaging Act 2010 under which all kinds
of packaging in the countrys business sector
have to be made by jute. But the act is yet to
be properly enforced.BJMC sources claimed
that the jute sector would regain it strengths
overnight, if only the act could be enforced
in even 20% of the business sectors.Citing
an example of the rice-producing sector,
Babul Chandra Roy said the rice millers
alone used around 14 lakh sacks annually as
packages for their production. If only jute
sacks instead of polythene sacks were used
in this single sector, the whole situation
would change, he claimed.
However, Nirod Baran Saha, convener of
Naogaon Rice Millers Association, said the
price of rice would climb if they tried to use
jute sacks, as the jute sacks for 50kg
capacity cost around Tk30 more than the
polythene sacks that were currently being
used by the millers.Meanwhile, in 2010, the
government also discovered the genome
sequencing of jute which would help
develop jute fibre, production of new jute
seeds to curb diseases and develop jute
industry.
Alternative Hope
A good number of countries including
members of the European Union have
recently introduced restrictions on plastic
and other synthetic-made
products.According to the UK-based Daily
Mail Online, European MPs have voted in
favour of strict new targets that forced each
country to reduce plastic bag use by 80%
before 2019.
Economist Quazi Shahabuddin said the
government could seize this opportunity to
create a market for jute products in the
countries which imposed restrictions on
synthetic-made products.We could create
alternative markets instead of sitting idle
waiting for the Middle East countries,
Shahabuddin said, adding that the
government has to take initiative to create
multi-dimensional jute products to capture
the market and ensure profit for all parties
concerned.Akij Jute Mill MD Sheikh Basir
Uddin also recommended developing new
types of alternative jute products to create
new markets and generate demand in both
home and abroad.
Vistas of national rice
breeding and the myth of
traditional rice
October 19, 2014, 12:00 pm
A new improved variety showing short
statured plants resistant to lodging and erect
leaves A traditional rice variety showing
lodging which affects yield and milling
quality of grain
By Dr Parakrama Waidyanatha
The media rhas ecently reported that the
government is to embark on a major drive
to promote production and consumption of
traditional rice. Some 60, 000 ha (150,000
ac.) are to be cultivated this Maha season,
that is, nearly 7.5% of the Maha rice extent.
To date there is only less than 0.4% of this
extent (3000 ha) under traditional rice.
Is there adequate amounts of seeds of these
varieties for cultivation of such a large
extent? Equally importantly, will there be
consumer demand for such large quantities
given the fact that the price, on average, is
double the common rice brands and many
of the varieties are low palatibility. Some
cursory enquiries from supermarkets
indicated that the demand is low. However,
some traditional rice varieties may be in
demand for diabetic patients and the like
because of the high anti-glycation property.
There are, however, high yielding new red
rice varieties with similar attributes (see
Table below), and hence there is no
justification to promote traditional varieties.
Moreover, increase in the extent under
traditional varieties should necessarily
cause a concomitant decrease in the total
national rice output as the traditional
varieties yield on average about half that of
newly improved varieties (NIVs). The
negative repercussions are obvious.
To expand the extent under traditional rice
is apparently a decision of the Presidential
Taskforce on the Prevention of the Chronic
Kidney Disease of Unknown Aetiology
(CKDU) that is plaguing the Rajarata and
some adjoining areas, killing 13 people, on
average, a day and some 60, 000 people are
said to be afflicted by it. Two of the
recommendations of this Taskforce,
apparently to combat the disease, as
reported in the media, are promotion of
"kola kanda" among children and
consumption of traditional rice!
It is also purported that this rice is to be
grown organically without the application
of chemical fertilizers and pesticides as
they are implicated by some in the
causation of CKDU. Acceptable scientific
evidence for this implication, however, is
yet to come. Be that as it may, can such
large quantities of organic fertilizer be
found in the cultivation areas? If they are to
be transported from outside, what are the
costs? Think before leaping! It is also
argued that anaemia is on the rise in local
populations, and traditional rice with higher
levels of iron than in the modern varieties is
an answer to it.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs is said is
to embark on re-cultivating abandoned
paddy tracts in the Wet Zone, most of
which had been left out because of low
productivity and iron toxicity, with
traditional varieties resistant to iron
toxicity, and greater propensity for iron
accumulation in the grain. Arent there new
varieties with similar attributes and much
higher yields? Are rice scientists of the
Department of Agriculture consulted in
these matters?
History of rice improvement
The promoters of traditional rice should do
well to glean a little into the history of rice
breeding and selection and the potential of
new improved varieties(NIVs) before
retrogression into traditional rice! Rice
breeding is an unprecedented success story
in the annals of research in Sri Lanka on
account of highly dedicated rice breeders
and other rice scientists that has made the
country self-sufficient in rice. Had we
continued with traditional varieties we
would not have produced today even a
quarter of the national demand! Perhaps a
PhD study (Niranjan, 2004) at the
Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, Sri
Lanka tells it in a nutshell. This study on
return on investment for the 40 year period,
1959 to 1999 on rice breeding and varietal
selection reveals that a 1% increase in
research investment increased national rice
production by 0.37%.
The benefit cost ratio and the internal rate
of return were remarkable, being 2311 and
174% respectively. The average yield of
traditional rice varieties in about 1900 was
about 0.65 t/ha (13 bushels/ac) and over the
ensuing 100 years, rice scientists have been
able to increase it over 7 fold. In fact, there
are now rice varieties with potential yields
exceeding 11t/ha and the national average
yield is now approaching 5t/ha.
In the early 20th century, the government
gave priority to plantation crops to the
neglect of rice research and development.
However, in about 1920 initial pure line
selection, that is selection of individual
plants from populations of traditional
varieties for grain yield and other desirable
attributes, gave only a 15% increase in
yield. The rice researchers soon realised
that the quickest way of increasing yield
was through application of chemical
fertilizer. This was by then practised
elsewhere, particularly in Europe.
However, there was a problem in Sri
Lanka. Most indigenous varieties were
susceptible to lodging and diseases,
especially the blast disease, and the
susceptibility to both these conditions were
aggravated by application of nitrogen
fertilizer. Some resistant varieties,
unfortunately, were not responsive to
fertilizer. A pure line selection
Murungakayan 302, a popular variety then,
with resistance to leaf blast disease was
also reasonably responsive to nitrogen
fertilizer, but because of its excessive
vegetative growth ,was susceptible to
lodging.
In general, therefore, these weaknesses of
the traditional varieties, susceptibility to
lodging and diseases and poor response to
chemical fertilizer, necessitated breeding
new varieties devoid of these weaknesses.
Such varieties, namely, the H series
emerged in the mid 1950s with the breeding
efforts that commenced in the late 1940s.
The H varieties were characterised by
resistance to leaf blast and good response to
applied chemical fertilizer.
The H 4 variety , which later became very
popular recorded the highest experimental
yield of 7.1 t/ha as against the pure lines of
traditional varieties of Murungakayan
(M302) and Vellaiperumal (VP 2874) with
maximum yields of 4.0 and 3.6 t/ha
respectively. However, with heavy fertilizer
use even H varieties were susceptible to
lodging leading to crop losses and poor
milling quality of grain.
Hungry for new flavors and
some roadtrip adventure?
Go to Isabela
I never thought Isabela would be home to
varying and wonderful collection of culinary
delights but I discovered it is. My recent trip
filled my head with new and happy
memories.
Getting there
Going to Isabela is easier these days. Daily
flights are available and from the airport in
Cauayan City you can be in the heart of
Isabela in less than an hour. Or you can take
the cheaper way by bus from Manila (which
I did) which will take about eight hours. A
first-class ticket from Victory Liner costs
P660 and you get a bus with reclining seats
and its own comfort room. My ride from
Pasay City began at 6:30 pm and I arrived in
Cauayan City at 4 a.m. I slept through the
entire trip and woke up just as we stopped in
front of our hotel.
The Tour
Isabela has the atmosphere of a genteel
provincial town. I turned nostalgic. It
reminded me of my moms hometown of
Sta, Rosa, Laguna. History buffs will
definitely love Isabelas old churches with
their unique brick facades and ornate
designs.
Homemade croissant crusted pizza
Rice farming and milling are an integral part
of the Isabelinos commerce and culture.
Visit the Philippine Rice Research Institute
in San Mateo to support and learn more
about their advocacies in developing new
strains of more productive, higher yielding
rice. Go to Ilagan to see the worlds largest
butaka. Narra sourced from surrounding
towns was used to make this giant testament
to Filipino craftsmanship and ingenuity.
Ilagan is dubbed the Furniture Capital of
the province.
Its most famous attraction is a butaka that
stands more than 11 feet high and weighs a
massive 2,368 kilos- a true testament to
Filipino artistry. You get the feel of a town
once you taste its food. Isabelas towns have
a diverse range of new and old food
establishments too many to explore in just a
few days. Where there are people and
development, there will be SM SM has
opened a mall in this remote area of the
Philippines, the first in Region II. It has a
very unique al fresco feel that is
environment-friendly, unlike the usual
boxy mall designs of other SM branches.
The open design means little electri power
is consumed for air conditioning and light. It
has brightly colored louvers which also act
as sun shades. People from nearby Cagayan,
Nueva Viscaya and Quirino travel all the
way to Cauayan City to shop at SM for a
complete shopping experience: SM
Cinemas, SM Department Store, SM
Supermarket, ACE Hardware and SM
Appliance. It even has Cyberzone for the
kids. Coffee impressarios in Manila better
watch out; the Isabelinos take their coffee
very seriously. SM City Cauayan plays host
to the regions most well-known coffee and
foodie stops:
Yah! Coffee
The brainchild of Carlo Raphael Diokno, a
nephew of the cafe owner Edith Cabang,
Yah! Coffee (or Yet Another House of
Coffee) is a uniquely designed and
conceptualized coffee store. Authentic
coffee beans used are from Sagada and
appeal to the growing tastes of the
Isabelinos youth culture. The only coffee
shop in my book which also serves beer and
sisig, Yah! Coffee was conceptualized when
Diokno was still a student in Manila. He
noted how friends emerging from a night of
drinking would go to the nearest coffee shop
for snacks and coffee. This inspired Cabang
to open a coffee shop that also serves
popular bar/grill food. Yah! Coffee already
has three branches in Isabela, proof that this
unique concept of coffee shop/pub grill is a
smash.
Caf Isabela
The first Caf Isabela opened on Dec. 22,
2009 in Roxas St., Cauayan City. Couple
Raymond and Donna Tan initially thought
of a cafe with an intimate ambience where
families and friends could meet and have
good food and coffee.

Cafe Isabela Interior
Their shared passion for coffee and food
pushed them to look for a place where
friends could unwind. This led to the
creation of the now famous Caf Isabela that
brings a Manila-esque caf feel to
Isabelinos. The name itself is a homage to
the province where the couple grew up. The
caf offers cheese steak burritos and native
Isabela delicacies like moriecos (a sticky
rice cake stuffed with latik), coconut milk
curds steamed and wrapped in banana leaf,
malunggay calamansi juice and bignay juice
indigenous to Isabela.
Chocolate Coffeeline
Baristas here take their craft seriously and
the best have already won the first and
second runner-up titles in this years
Philippines Barista Challenge. Order their
carefully cupped and selected blends of
coffee beans and see the baristas prepare
your unique and customized cup right at
your table. Be it siphon brewed,
aeropressed or traditionally dripped down a
carafe, the Coffeeline baristas brew their
special blend while you watch.
Restaurant hopping
With a fine mix of new and old restaurants
in Cauayan City and neighboring towns,
youll never spend a day without tasting
something new. The Marco Paulo Caf and
SaLido Restaurant offer fine Manila dining
to locals and exacting travelers who demand
more familiar food. Kabayans Grill and
Restaurant offers grilled food and beer.
Aling Lurings Gotohan and Serkele is a
veritable institution famous for these fare.
Aling Kikays Pancit Cabagan is the best
place for authentic eats and a healthy dose of
cholesterol.
Marco Paulo Cafe interiorsMarco Paulo
Caf
Taste its authentic Shabu Shabu. The very
modern ambiance evokes luxury and class.
The menu includes salad, wine-soaked
braised beef and salmon sashimi. With space
for business meetings and a boutique hotel
coming up, the owners of Marco Paulo Caf
have high hopes for their hotel and
restaurant business.
SaLido Restaurant
SaLido is a town favorite and is packed at
all hours of the day. It has quality Chinese
food that uses locally sourced ingredients.
The owner is working on pairing his
restaurant with a boutique hotel.
Kabayans Grill and Restaurant
Traditional all-around Filipino grilling
goodness means kare-kare, sinigang na
baboy, sisig and perfectly grilled chicken
and pork liempo. Kabayans Grill and
Restaurant uses modern red volcanic rock
technology for its grills and was awarded by
the health department as the Best Healthy
Eating Place in Region 2. Grilling with
volcanic rocks is believed to deter cancer-
causing chemicals from entering food.
Aling Lurings Gotohan and Serkele
Serkele is a traditional blood stew dish in
Isabela. Think of an all-innard dinuguan.
Locally sourced and fresh, it is the tastiest
blood stew I have ever had. The owners take
pride in checking the quality of their
ingredients daily. Former president Joseph
Estrada frequently stops over Aling Lurings
whenever he visits Isabela. And the Serkele
is his favorite dish. The goto with its distinct
bright yellow color is another must-try.
Other delicacies such as puto, okoy and fried
lumpia complete this Isabelino institution.
Aling Kikays Pancit Cabagan
Never leave Isabela without tasting Aling
Kikays pancit Cabagan. The noodles are
freshly made every day and the thick sauce
has a distinct salty-sweet, umami taste. The
toppings of chicharon, carbeef and eggs and
onions provide a perfect balance. Another
dish called Batil Patong is basically a
soupier version of the original pancit
Cabagan. Chef Cocoy Ventura and Corlyn
Gardens. Gentleman farmer and chef
extraordinaire .Chef Cocoy Ventura served
Al Pacino, Sharon Stone and President
Barrack Obama while working in the US.
Chef Cocoy also worked at the Rubicon
Estate, Francis Ford Coppolas winery.
Aling Kikay herself, still helping out in the
kitchen
Chef Cocoy has always rooted for Filipino
dishes during his stint abroad and returned to
Isabela with a dream to showcase all the native
dishes of Isabela and the Philippines. He uses
organic ingredients harvested from Corlyn
Farms. Corlyn Farms private dining service was
a great treat and definitely the highest point of
our trip. Chef Cocoys exquisite five-course
meal was the perfect end of our Isabela tour. By
gathering all the native ingredients on his farm
and serving them to us in his special dinner
event, Chef Cocoy was able to create the best
Isabela has to offer. Different varieties of rice,
seasonings and vegetables used were all grown
in their family farm, including the cocoa beans
used for our hot cocoa. The culmination of the
dinner was native brewed coffee and great
conversations. Expect Chef Cocoy to rock the
culinary world with his future creations.
Going home? Bring a piece of Isabela back
Drop by Pasalubong Center in San Mateo,
Isabela, for its unique all-monggo creations.
Known as the monggo capital of the Philippines,
San Mateos Pasalubong Center has all the
popular pasalubong made from monggo,
considered the towns black gold. The
Pasalubong Center sells monggo flour, monggo
grits, monggo noodles, monggo coffee, monggo
polvoron and monggo chips.
A rare homemade treat
Look for Aling Francings homemade moriecos
available in most shops. Aling Francings
Moriecos started as a family business. The
pastry is suman made with galapong (ground
glutinous rice mixed with water) with a latik
sweet filling.
Eat rice to sleep well
Last updated: Saturday, October 18, 2014 6:43
PM
With regard to the article "40% of residents in
Kingdom have trouble sleeping" (Oct. 17), if
you can't sleep at night, it might be worth
changing what you have for dinner. Scientists
have discovered that eating lots of rice can
trigger a deep slumber, while pasta and noodles
can actually hinder sleep. The Japanese
researchers also found that eating bread products
including white bread, pancakes and pizza
had no effect on the quality of sleep. They say
eating food high on the glycemic Index (GI)
such as rice was found to be associated with a
good quality sleep.Abu Sabri, Online response