Friday, June 13, 2008

World Tribune | Burma cyclone impacting world food supply; forced evictions make post-cyclone hell worse

Friday, June 13, 2008 East-Asia-Intel.com

Burma cyclone impacting world food supply; forced evictions make post-cyclone hell worse

The military officers who have run the Burmese (Myanmar) economy for the past half century has little to show for their efforts. Endowed with vast raw materials and agricultural resources — the latter made Burma in colonial times the world’s No. 1 rice exporter — the economy has fallen to almost subsistence levels.

The effects of Cyclone Nargis in early May have not only added new misery for the country’s 50 million people but have negated rice exports needed by neighboring countries and contributing to the global food crisis. The storm hit hardest in Burma’s main rice-growing region in the isolated Irrawaddy Delta, where some 2 million people were driven from their homes and farmland.

Locals gather in front of a damaged monastery in Laputta, Burma, on June 9, 2008. AP

Now comes word from human rights organizations that the military is driving displaced villagers from temporary camps set up in the continuing heavy monsoon rains, and is attempting to get them back on their salt water-logged fields to begin the recuperation of the paddy.

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Human rights groups say that forced evictions — involving churches, monasteries, schools and other public buildings — are putting lives at risk and flouting international principles of humanitarian relief. Amnesty International reports 30 cases since May 19 of forcible removals of thousands of people who sought temporary shelter.

The force of the storm was so great that local stocks of food were destroyed. The few foreign refugee workers the regime has permitted to enter have described heart-rending stories of many displaced villagers trying to capture a few grains of rice out of inundated areas filled with decaying human corpses and animal carcasses.

The regime has permitted only minimal outside aid. And much of that, apparently, has been diverted to the military itself. Four American naval vessels that happened to be in the region on exercises when the storm struck waited for several weeks before gaining permission to enter the Delta area with small boats carrying water, emergency food and emergency items. The generals apparently fear exposure to foreign aid would strengthen opposition forces and their leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of a founding father of the post-colonial nation and political prisoner for more than a decade.

Humanitarian organizations, including the UN World Food Program, were operating in Burma before the cyclone struck, providing food aid to half a million people in the country where one in three children are chronically malnourished. The fear now is that the damage to the area known as the country's "rice bowl" will make a bad situation a lot worse.

Burma’s plight is already impacting world food supplies. The World Food program said that it was not yet known whether Burma would be able to meet its commitments to supply Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. If Burmese exports disappear — as now seems possible — the domino effect on Asia neighbors would be fierce. The International Rice Research Institute warned that, with the year’s second harvest imminent, weather patterns in Asia would come under unprecedented scrutiny: the freak damage caused by the cyclone will now exacerbate that.

The price of rice had already trebled across Asia this year, hitting a record $25.07 per 100 pounds on April 24. Some local market prices have risen tenfold in the past year. Several governments — including those of China and India — responded by imposing export bans. Rice is currently trading around $20.96 per 100 pounds.

If the worst conditions prevail, Burma, with a rickety food economy and impoverished population, could become a net importer of rice.

The Daily Star | Achieving food security and becoming food surplus

Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW

Monday, June 23, 2008 09:57 AM GMT+06:00

Published On: 2008-06-14

Point Counterpoint

Achieving food security and becoming food surplus

Shahidur Rahman Khan

DEDICATED planning and timely supports can make Bangladesh food-surplus and ensure food security for its population. This year's net food grain shortage is only 0.1 mil. ton against a total demand of 26 mil. tons (despite 1.8 mil. tons standing crops damage by back-to-back floods and Sidr). Bangladesh produced 24.3 mil. tons of food grains in 1999-2000 matching the requirements of the then 130 mil. population and since then it is on the fringe of self-sufficiency. Presently, Bangladesh has 8.29 mil. ha. of cultivable land and about 145.6 mil. population. Each year, the country is loosing about 1 percent of its cultivable lands to non-agricultural uses while its popualtion is increasing by about 2 mil. A yearly incremental production of 0.35 mil. ton in addition to 2 mil. tons average deficit is required for food grains self-sufficiency.

World's exportable rice has already been advanced booked upto 2010 by now. World rice price benchmark the Thai variety has risen to 3 times its price of January 2007. Recent world-wide surges in food price are themselves part of a wider range of commodity price hike linking prices of petroleum products, energy, industrial raw materials, food grains and feed stuff. UN World Food Report says that present world food prices are 10 years' high having no chance of appreciable reduction in, at least, within next 10 years. FAO, WFP, IRRI, WB, IFAD, ADB etc. are all unanimous about continuation of high prices in the coming years. The flip side of high price is that surplus producers will get lucrative payments.

'Net Food Importing Low Income Countries (NFILICs) have to go for long term strategy aimed at maximising food production to protect themselves from unceraitanity of unpredictable volatile external markets. An IFRI and John Hopkins University study of 2000 found that self-sufficiency in rice for Bangladesh is necessary not only to meet world market instability, but also for its comparative advantages in production. Bangladesh, the world's 4th largest rice producer, has potentials and capabilities to attain sustainable food security and even become net rice exporter.

Food surplus in short-term
Bangladesh has to produce at least 31 mil. tons of food grains in its 7.88 mil. ha. of cultivable land (available at that time), for a projected population of 156 million to attain food-surplus in a short-term of 5 years. This is not an unachievable target, since addition of the lost 1.8 mil. tons would have pushed this year's production to 44 mil. tons. Some of the attainments necessary for being food-surplus in short-term are:-

* Proper planning and effective coordinated implementation: 'Grow More Food' campaign, 'Green Revolution', 'Medium Term Food Production Plan (MTFPP)', 'Accelerated Rice Production Programme (ARPP)' and various national 5-year plans have consistently facilitated and enthused the farmers to grow more food crops. This resulted in higher growths of 1990s and early 2000s. Coordinated implementation of a farmer friendly long-term plan of government is a pre-requisite for self-sufficiency.

* Product price stabilisation and agricultural credit: Drastic fall in immediately post-harvest price is a common local happening. 85 percent of the farmers have to sell immediate on harvest (even sell in advance) for debt payment or other urgent necessity. Ensuring reasonable post-product price and keeping price-variation within rational limits will hold farmers' interest in food crops. Formation of “Producers' Food Bank” as is being experimented in India, is worth consideration.

* Financial constraint in procuring inputs is an impediment for majority of farmers: Availability of pre-product agricultural loan will boost production. Disbursement and recovery of loan, with government/private funding, can be made through “farmers' cooperatives” in a similar system as PKSF's loans to NGOs. Availability of pre-production credit and post-production reasonable price can do away with agricultural subsidies and their related maladies.

* Population control: Lax population growth is unwarranted in Bangladesh because of limited land and other resource bases. 1974 population growth rate of 2.48 has come down to 1.42 at present. Jobs for rural women, extensive motivation and easy availability of family planning materials at grassroots level will effectively assist in bringing down the growth rate.

* Food habit change: Nation-wide substituting one meal of rice with bread (made of 50 percent wheat/maize flour and 50 percent meshed patato) will reduce our total food grains requirement by at least 15 percent and optimise use of home grown potatoes. Food habit change motivation will need active support of media, civil society and government. Japanese per capita/year consumption of 155 160 kg of rice in mid-50s has already come down to 60 kg at present.

* Contract farming: Myanmar has offered to lease out to Bangladesh at least 50,000 acres of land for rice cultivation for a period of at least 10 years. 50,000 acres will add at least 60,000 tons of food grains to national inventory. China and Thailand are already engaged in contract farming there.

* Cultivation of fallow lands: Fallow lands in Bangladesh are either lying fallow in between two crops or remaining vacant for a year or more. About 75,000 ha. lying fallow after an Aman harvest in Rajshahi region is capable of producing additional 0.2 mil. tons of wheat with timely irrigation. 737,363 ha. was lying fallow for a year or more against a net cropped area of 7.97 mil. ha. in 2005. Even raising a single crop there would have increased total national production by at least 9 percent.

* Improvement in seed quality and production techniques; dissemination of information and stable supply of inputs: Wide dissemination of updated and validated information on quality seeds, production techniques, balanced fertiliser use, irrigation, harvesting, storage, marketing etc. to grassroots level augments agricultural growth. Average yeild of 1.5 tons/ha. of late 70s has come up to more than 3 tons/ha. A Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) experiment has more than doubled per ha. rice production, with timely provision of proper inputs alone. Raising the average rate of production to 4 tons/ha. to achieve food-surplus is not unattainable. According to Dr. Mahabub Hossain, only ensuring availabilty of good HYVseeds will increase local total food grains production by 10 percent.

* Efficient post-production crop management: Post-harvest loss in Bangladesh, amounting to 30 percent - 40 percent of production, is very high. 50% savings in post-harvest loss by efficient management of production and storage alone can make Bangladesh a food-surplus country.

Bangladesh can immediately become surplus in food grains by accomplishing any one of the factors like (i) cultivation of all fallow lands; or (ii) improvement in seed quality and production techniques, stable and timely supply of inputs; or (iii) efficient post-production crop management. Nation-wide food habit change will accrue sufficient food-surplus and make Bangladesh a net rice exporter.

Food security in medium-term
Though availability is a necessary pre-requisite, mere availability may not ensure food security for all, as access is also related to economic capability. Individual food security, cumulatively leading to national food security is the choicest option in this regard. To achieve food security in a medium-term of say 15 years, Bangladesh has to produce at least 35 mil. tons of food grains in the 7.05 mil. ha. of cultivable land available at that time, for a projected population of 176.6 million. The factors mentioned before can provide food-surplus in a short-term but for long-term food security, cultivable lands available at that time will simply be not enough. According to Prof Abdul Bayes, land is the only source of food security at household and at national level.

Much of the land-mass of Bangladesh is created by deposition of GangesBrhmaputraMeghna (GBM) sediments and the normal delta development is still going on. Retaining the yearly passing 2.4 billion tons GBM sediments would give rise to 200 sq. km of new lands. Natural depositions are random, slow and fragile. Partial sediment retainment is neither technically difficult nor economically prohibitive. Land reclamations in Bangladesh require less cost-intensive interventions. Artificial interventions can make land reclamation sustainable by accelerating deposition at desired places and holding them there. New jobs, food security and rice export, for Bangladesh in the coming decades, are all linked toghether to adequate cultivable lands and land reclamation can ensure that.

BWDB's Land Raclamation Project, Meghna Estuary Studies etc. were preparatory works for long-term land reclamation activities. More than 1000 sq. km of lands have been reclaimed by hands-on activities like Meghna Cross Dams 1 and 2 , Muhuri Closure Dam etc. A 'BWDB Task Force' recommended erection of 19 priority cross dams to assist and accelerate Meghna Estuary's natural land development activities. Present Meghna Estuary and its future vision are shown in Figures 1 and 2 respectively. 'The Royal Netherlands Government', 'Global Environment Facilities (GEF)', 'Cool Earth' partnership of Japan, UN's 'Least Developed Countries Fund' and 'Special Climate Change Fund', JBIC, JICA, DFID, WB, ADB etc. are some of the sources of support funding.

Estuary Development Programme (EDP) initiated by BWDB in March'07, with Dutch grant funding, is a logical follow up of land reclamation activities in Meghna Estuary. The project limped for one year and since then is passing through a scaled down phase, for circustances beyond its control. Invigorating the EDP will put in motion the process of reclamation of hundreds of sq. kms of new lands from sea and push the national boundary further south resulting in a geographically bigger Bangladesh and expanding the apparently finite land resource base. The process will go on ensuring food security, in the coming decades, for millions of Bangladeshis.

Shahidur Rahman Khan () is a freelance contributor.

checkbiotech.com | Rice future dependent on science here and now: IRRI

Rice future dependent on science here and now: IRRI

June 13, 2008

By Stephen Daniells

As food prices and demand continue to dominate global politics, Dr. Achim Dobermann, newly appointed deputy director general for research at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), talked to FoodNavigator about the science and future of rice.

Although prices vary on exporter and rice type, IRRI gives monthly exporter figures for Thai rice 5 per cent unbroken as a guide. Between April 2007 and April 2008, the price of this commodity has rise from US$317 per tonne to a staggering $907.

The root causes of the rice price increase are manifold. Droughts in Australia and floods in Bangladesh have meant that recent harvest have been below requirements. In addition, as the price of other grains such as wheat has increased, people have turned to rice as a cheaper alternative.

This has had the effect of increasing demand which, in turn, impacts on price.

Boosting productivity in response to the rice price is do-able, said Dr. Dobermann, because there is currently an exploitable yield gap.

"We think that even with the present varieties and with the knowledge and technology of good crop management, we could improve yields by about one to two tons per hectare," said Dr. Dobermann.

So why is this not happening? According to Dr. Dobermann, getting the technology and knowledge about crop management to farmers is not easy, and farmers, for various reasons, are still using varieties from 20 years ago. "Every year these varieties lose a little bit of yield potential," he said. This can be due to slight changes in the climate, in the soil, and there are always changes in pathogens, he said.

If farmers would sow clean, certified seeds, and the crop management can be implemented, then Dr. Dobermann predicts that farmers could produce enough rice for the next 20 years or more.

"It's not rocket science. And we're not even talking about transgenic rice," he said.

"This would lead to a secured rice supply for the next 20 years. Beyond that we would need new technology and new higher yield rice varieties than we have today, but these take 15 to 20 years to produce so we need to start now."

Five-point plan
Focussing on the science here and now is central to achieving future goals for rice, as is highlighted by IRRI's strategic plan, said Dr. Dobermann.

The five-point plan focuses firstly on reducing the poverty of the farmers and those dependent on rice - an issue with a higher priority than in the past, he said. Secondly, IRRI is continuing research into improving the health and nutritional profile of rice, focussing on boosting the beta-carotene, zinc and iron content of the crops.

Golden rice is the most famous example of this biofortication, but Dr. Dobermann indicates that transgenic strains under investigation have a beta-carotene content three times that of current golden rice. Varieties have been produced containing between 25 and 30 mg/kg, he said.

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a public health problem in more than 50 per cent of all countries, especially in Africa and South-East Asia, according to the World Health Organisation, and causes blindness in up to 500,000 children each year. The human body converts beta-carotene in the diet into vitamin A.

"This rice is being used in field tests currently, and in about three years we will have these varieties in final testing," said Dr. Dobermann.

But getting the rice into people's stomach will require governments approving the transgenic varieties, something that no transgenic rice has achieved to date in Asia.

The progress in zinc biofortification may be easier to implement since this is achieved using conventional breeding techniques. "We've reached the enrichment targets [of 24 mg of zinc per kg of milled white rice], and farmer field testing will start in the next two to three years," he said.

The iron biofortification is further away, and will most likely employ both transgenic and conventional methods, said Dr. Dobermann. IRRI research has currently achieved enrichment of half the intended target.

The third point in the strategic plan is environmental, with the focus on sustainability in irrigation-based systems. This includes improving the efficiency of the use of water and fertilisers.

Fourth on the list is ensuring access to information for all involved in rice production, including the collection and dissemination of information of rice. And this leads on to the final point in the plan, which is to make better use of the genetic information about rice. This is to be achieved by using modern techniques for genotyping and phenotyping, and using this information more systematically in breeding programmes.

"With biotechnology tools there are new possibilities particularly in breeding in different environments and traits," said Dr. Dobermann.

Funding - you can never have enough
Implementing the strategic plan will obviously require money, and IRRI's annual spending is about US$42 million. This may sound like a lot, but is actually 50 per cent less than 15 years ago, said Dr. Dobermann. While absolute aid is up, agriculture aid is down.

IRRI receives the majority of its funding from about 60 different donors, mainly governments, but also institutional donors such as the World Bank, and private foundations, most notably the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

"We don't really have much funding from the private sector," admits Dr. Dobermann. "But we are working on possible scientific collaborations with some companies."

Current food prices
"When you have a crisis this bad, it is a wake-up call," said Dr. Dobermann. "Governments need to do something of long-lasting value."

And this involves facilitating an agronomical revolution to close the yield gaps. Improvements to processing of rice would also have an impact on boosting rice quantities, he said. "Between 10 and 20 per cent of rice is lost in processing, and that equals a large opportunity to reduce loss."

Work must also focus on accelerating and delivering testing schemes, and faster variety replacement. But breeding pipelines are the subject of declining funding, he said, and the new varieties are being produced.

So how many varieties do we currently have? "I have no clue," Dr. Dobermann said candidly. "We have over 110,000 types of rice in our genetic bank [not all are edible], and there are still 1,000s of wild and traditional types that have not been collected."

"In the Philippines, between 15 and 20 new varieties are released every year," he said. "But this could be more if we could ramp up the breeding and testing."

© 2003/2008 – Decision News Media SAS

Source: AP-Foodtechnology.com

Xinhua | IRRI to enhance cooperation with China in addressing global rice issues

IRRI to enhance cooperation with China in addressing global rice issues

By Xu Lingui

MANILA, June 13 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said recently that it seeks to deepen collaboration with China to help developing nations boost rice production.

"Given the current world rice situation, with high prices and an urgent need to boost productivity, the IRRI-China relationship will only become more important in the coming years," said IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler in an e-mail interview with Xinhua.

IRRI has just received one of China's most prestigious scientific awards, the international science and technology cooperation award, for its contribution to accelerate China's rice science development by imparting rice technologies to China and training Chinese scientists.

IRRI is the first international organization to receive the award, which has been only granted to foreign individuals in the past.

Zeigler said the China-IRRI partnership will continue to grow from strength to strength, with China's experience and funding support becoming more important to developing nations faced with a rice supply shortage.

Zeigler highlighted particularly the future impact of Chinese Official Development Assistance (ODA). He said IRRI's work in China has, for many years, been supported by the ODA of Western governments and agencies.

"But now, we look forward to this process being reversed and Chinese ODA supporting IRRI's work in less developed nations, especially those in Asia and Africa," Zeigler said.

He said China's ODA could play a major role in agricultural development in developing nations.

Zeigler praised China's long history of innovative and successful rice research and said the hybrid rice technologies, in which field China is a world leader, are playing "a key role in boosting rice production in several nations."

IRRI established official cooperation relations with China in 1981 after initial visits in the late 1970s. IRRI has helped Chinese rice scientists develop higher-yielding rice varieties that add millions of tons to national yields and generating hundreds of millions of dollars in additional income for rice farmers.

"China's self-sufficiency in rice is crucial for world food security, especially with international rice prices near record highs and rice production under unprecedented pressure," IRRI said in a previous press release.