15th January,2015 Daily Global Rice E_Newsletter by Riceplus Magazine

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Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter

Commerce Minister pushes Thai rice to Hong Kong

DailyGlobal Rice E-Newsletterwww.ricepluss.com

January 15, 20Volume 5, Issu

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HONG KONG, 16 January 2015 (NNT)

Thailand's Minister of Commerce is attending

the discussion of expanding the market of Thai

rice in Hong Kong, aiming to place Thailand as

the gateway of trade in ASEAN. The Minister of

Commerce Gen. Chatchai Sarikulya revealed thedetails on his official visit to Hong Kong today,

where he will meet with the the Secretary for

Commerce and Economic Development of Hong

Kong to discuss expansion of Thai rice market

negotiations.

The Thai Minister has said that he will witness

the signing of the Letter of Intent (LOI) for the

cooperation in promoting Thai rice along with

the signing of the Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU) for the trade of up to 100thousand tons of Hom Mali Rice between Thai

exporters and Hong Kong importers. The

Commerce Minister will also give the Best

Friend of Thai Rice Award to Hong Kong

importers who had continuously imported rice

from Thailand.

Regarding the trade negotiations, the Minister of

Commerce has said that he will propose the

strains of rice that are nutritionally rich in health,

such as the Organic Fragrant Rice, the Black

Fragrant Rice, Rice berry, and the Sangyod

Rice, as well as other products and services such

as spas, insurances, logistics, and finances to

increase trade opportunity with Hong Kong. The

Commerce Minister said that this discussion will

demonstrate that Hong Kong can rely on

Thailand as a gateway to ASEAN, while Hong

Kong can function as a gateway to China for

Thailand as well. Hong Kong is currently

Thailands 9th largest trading partner for riceproducts. The trading value for the past five

years has reached approximately 13.6 billion

dollars.

http://thainews.prd.go.th/centerweb/newsen/New

sDetail?NT01_NewsID=WNECO58011600100

14#sthash.BCUSKvS6.dpuf

http://thainews.prd.go.th/centerweb/newsen/New

sDetail?NT01_NewsID=WNECO58011600100

14

Gauging Impact Of FGs

Rice Policy

By Ruth Tene Abuja

Jan 16, 2015|

The Nigerian rice sector is believed to havewitnessed a revival with the introduction ofthe new rice policy which made it possiblefor indigenous rice investors with visibleinvestments to be allocated rice importquota. In this report, Ruth Tene Natsa

analyses the challenges and advantages ofthe policy.The economic diversificationefforts of President Goodluck Jonathansadministration are beginning to findexpression in the agricultural revolutionPlan of the federal government.The shiftfrom oil to non-oil sector has witnessedtremendous life-lifting policies andmeasures, particularly in the agro-allied

sector.

The federal government has continuouslydemonstrated its avowed determination toensure that the nation achieves self-sufficiency in rice production.Consequently, stakeholders are buoyed andencouraged to meet the governments target

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via robust rice policy. However, it wouldappear that some stakeholders are trying toundermine the good intentions of the federalgovernment by raising eyebrows on thegranting of waivers to genuine rice dealers,

including millers, farmers and importers inthe country. The rice allocation quotas toinvestors are meant to realise the federalgovernments self-sufficiency objective onrice.

But the question begging for answer is whyare some stakeholders kicking against thenew rice policy being implemented bygovernment? According to investigations,this is members of Rice Millers, Importers

and Distributors Association of Nigeria(RiMIDAN) and Nigerian millersAssociation are accommodated in thefederal governments backward integrationpolicy on rice.Congregating under the aegisof the Nigeria Rice Investors Group, thestakeholders, including RiMIDANmembers, received rice import quota fromthe federal government. Under the scheme,rice importers and new investors (includingexisting millers expanding into new

operations) were required to post a DomesticRice Production Performance Bond. This,according to the minister agriculture andrural development, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina,would be used to demonstrate a clearcommitment by beneficiaries, to domesticinvestment plans in rice production andprocessing.

The bond value for each importer/newinvestor would be equivalent to 30 per cent

of the value of the quota received. The bondmust be secured at a qualifying bankapproved by the Federal Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development(FMARD) and the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN). For the avoidance of doubt, thefederal government made it clear that riceimported under the quota allocation will be

charged 10 per cent duty and 20 per centlevy; rice imported since May 2014 inexcess of approved quotas will be charged ahigher tariff of 10 per cent duty and 60 percent levy and paid into the national treasury

with 60days.

The government also announced that riceimporters who have already exceeded theirallocated quota, importing at a higher tariff,would not be given a quota to import morerice until after a new quota was announced;while failure of any importer/investor tocomply would result to forfeiture of importquotas. Curiously, this apparentmagnanimity on the part of federal

government aimed at developing the ricevalue chain in the country did not go downwell with an aggrieved group, whosemembers have millers and farmers and,therefore, thought that the governmentslargesse was meant to bring in intruders oroutsiders into the rice business. Thisgroup has given wings to the allegation thatthe waivers and import quotas wouldexacerbate the rate and level of smugglingof the commodity into Nigeria from

neighbouring countries, especially theRepublic of Benin.

The resistance displayed by the aggrievedrice dealers, according to observers wasmisplaced. It is significant to note that thefederal government was clear from theoutset that investors rice investment planswill be strictly monitored against keymilestones.It further emphasised thatfailure to execute the plans would lead to

withdrawal of the bond by the FMARD.First, there was a Presidential Inter-Ministerial Committee on Rice Supply Gapcomprising of the minister of agriculture andrural development, coordinating minister forthe economy/ minister of finance, ministerof industry, trade and investment as well asthe minister of national planning. The

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committee was mandated by the president todetermine the national rice supply gap andappropriate volume of import quotas to beissued in order to close the gap and advancethe rice supply the rice transformation

agenda and objectives of the National RicePolicy.

The ministerial committee after itsdeliberations mapped out four specificcriteria to gauge production among which isthe Domestic Rice Production Plan (DRPP)to demonstrate evidence of current orplanned investment in domestic riceproduction over a 3-year period, size ofinvestment, proof of land acquisition and

establishment of rice field and paddyproduction.; Paddy purchase outlook fromPaddy Aggregation Centres (PAC):Demonstrate a clear plan of purchase ofpaddy from PACs which should includelocation of PACs, volumes of paddy to bepurchased, etc. Also, Paddy purchaseoutlook from outgrower farmers and farmercooperatives should include location offarms, volumes of paddy to be purchased.On the other hand, ownership of Integrated

Rice Milling Facility (With par boilers anddehuskers) should include Size of planedinstalled capacity (score relative to thelargest sized facility), evidence ofacquisition of integrated rice millingequipment.

Infact, there has been a deliberate policy bythe government to boost the potential oflocal industries such as imposing high tariffson commodities which could be produced in

the country, export promotion drive, as wellas ensuring that the backward integrationpolicy of the government in line with theAgricultural Transformation Agendasucceeds. The government also encouragesthe processing, production and marketing ofpaddy rice via the deregulation of seeds and

fertilizer markets as well as private sectorcoordinated commodities market.

Equally, it is worthy of note that apart fromcredit facilities, efforts are being made

towards setting up local crop processingzones to enhance food processing industriesin proximity to raw materials and end-users.However, contrary to views in somequarters, that the Federal GovernmentsBackward Integration Plan for the riceindustry might suffer loss, if the issues ofwaivers and import quota allocations are notredressed, there is abundant proof that thosewho do not want competition or expansionof the rice production sector are bent on

circumventing the Government policy. Thisgroup is in the minority and pursues selfishobjectives. For instance, one of the reasonsadduced by those opposed to liberalisationof waivers and import quotas for rice whichis that smuggling of the product into Nigeriawould now increase, remains and appearsfatally flawed. Before now, smuggling hasbeen with us especially regarding riceimportation.

http://leadership.ng/business/402214/gauging-impact-fgs-rice-policy

Vietnams reliance on

imports in agriculture

leaves less profit for

farmers

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VietNamNet BridgeVietnam had a bumper

2014 with bountiful crops and high farm

produce export prices, but farmers believe

there is nothing to be happy about.

Analysts noted that though the productionvalue and export turnover were high, themoney farmers could pocket was modest.The problem lies in the fact that Vietnamhad to import many kinds of raw materials.Areport by the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development (MARD) showed thatthe total farm, forestry and seafood produceimport turnover in the first 11 months of2014 reached $19.78 billion, of which themajority were agricultural

materials.Vietnam had to spend $690million on pesticides and input materialimports during that period and $774 millionin 2014, an increase of 3.5 percent over2013.Vietnam vows to develop the animalhusbandry, but in order to do that, it has toimport most of the animal feed productsneeded. The import turnover reached $3.24billion in 2014, higher by 5.2 percent over2013 and higher than the money Vietnamearned from rice exports.Vietnam cannot

produce plant seeds. MARD reported thatVietnam had to spend $500 million toimport 8,000 tons of seeds for the countrys700,000 hectares of vegetable area in 2013.

Dr. Le Hung Quoc, former head of theMARDs Plantation Agency, said these factsare not surprising.He said that all the inputmaterials used in agricultural production inVietnam are imports (except farmers andland).The best varieties used in Vietnam

are imports, he said. Vietnam even cannotmake cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, carrot,cucumber, tomato seeds, the popular kindsof vegetables.

How much does Vietnam earn from farmexports?

Though Vietnam is the worlds biggest riceexporter, the money it can pocket form riceexports is small.The Vietnams rice exportprice hovers around $400-450 per ton,which is lower by $50-75 per ton if

compared with the products of the samekinds from India, Pakistan andThailand.While government agencies reportgreat achievements in the agriculture sectorat workshops and conferences, Vietnamesefarmers have quietly given up their ricefields.According to MARD, 42,785households gave up farming in 2012-2013,leaving 6,882 hectares idle. As many as3,407 households gave back agriculturalland to the state.

The Chair of the Vietnam FarmersAssociation, Nguyen Quoc Cuong, saidfarmers can make a profit of onlyVND100,000-200,000 per 360 squaremeters from every crop within a three monthperiod.Dat Viet

Tags:Vietnam,agriculture,high technology,rice export,

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/120831/vie

tnam-s-reliance-on-imports-in-agriculture-leaves-

less-profit-for-farmers.html

Vietnamese agro-scientists

sell seeds to earn a living

VietNamNet BridgeMost research

institutes and agronomists have unwillingly

become marketing experts or seedsellers to earn money to live and conduct

scientific research.

Dr. Do Nang Vinh, chair of the ScientificCouncil of the Agricultural Genetic Institute,while affirming that agro-scientists have to

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take on different kinds of jobs, fromproducers to sellers, noted that this paradoxonly exists in Vietnam.Such a thing cannotbe seen elsewhere in the world. In Vietnam,scientists can do everything, from creating

new varieties, introducing the varieties tofarmers, organizing trial production, tobuilding up the large-scale productionmodels and selling seeds, Vinhnoted.They have to do all kinds of jobs tomake money, he added.

In developed countries, this is undertaken byseed firms, while research institutes are onlyin charge of inventions and providingmaterials and genetic sources.The scientistsin these countries own the copyright on their

inventions. Seed firms have to pay royaltiesto them to have the right to exploit theinventions for commercialdevelopment.However, Vietnamesescientists cannot follow such a procedure.Ifyou give the new varieties to others, yourinventions will be in vain, he said.If so,you will not have any other source ofincome, except the modest salary paid by theState, he explained, adding that creatingseeds and selling seeds is the major source

of income of many generations of scientists.A lecturer at the Hanoi AgricultureUniversity noted that the research institutesachievements are measured by the numberof new varieties created.In most researchprojects, scientists are required to create newvarieties, and they only have three to fiveyears to do that. Meanwhile, Vietnam now

seriously lacks scientific researchworks.Scientists are requested to createnew varieties with their specificcharacteristics, the lecturer said.Meanwhile, genes and hereditary

characteristics have been ignored. Thisexplains why Vietnam can create manyvarieties, but cannot make anybreakthrough.

Vinh, in an interview given to Dat Vietnewspaper recently, noted that whenscientists have to spend time to advertisetheir inventions and sell products, theywould not have time and energy to create.Hewarned that the unreasonable pay for

scientists had led to lower quality ofscientists. The low pay does not allowresearch institutes to attract talent.ProfessorNguyen Van Hieu has said in the past thathe fears that Vietnamese scientists may beissueless.A report shows that rice yield inVietnam has increased by 95 kilos perhectare, and rice varieties make up 30percent of the increase. Thus, Vietnamesescientists created $66 million from new ricevarieties alone.Dat Viet

Tags:Vietnam,genetic sources,

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/science-

it/121209/vietnamese-agro-scientists-sell-seeds-

to-earn-a-living.html

Major grantawarded to rice

industryByUSA Rice FederationJanuary 15, 2015 |

4:30 pm EST

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Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsackannounced approved grants from the firstround of proposals to the newRegionalConservation Partnership Program(RCPP).

The USA Rice Federation, DucksUnlimited, Inc. (DU), and more than 40collaborating partners are pleased thatthe Rice Stewardship PartnershipSustaining the Future of Riceproject wasselected for support.This project will helprice producers conserve natural resourcessuch as water, soil and waterfowl habitat,while having long-term positive impacts ontheir bottom line. The RCPP applicationprocess was very competitive; less than half

of all applications were awarded funding,and no proposal was fully funded.

However, the USA Rice and DU nationalrequest was deemed to have significantmerit, and the Natural ResourcesConservation Service (NRCS) the agencyresponsible for administering RCPP awarded the partnership a grant of $10million, one of the largest awards givenunder the program.The Mississippi Alluvial

Valley, Texas and Louisianas Gulf Coast,and Californias Central Valley are criticallandscapes for waterfowl and thereforeranked as some of DUs top priorities forhabitat conservation, said DU President andArkansas rice producerGeorge Dunklin. A2014 study conducted by DU scientists forThe Rice Foundation demonstrated thatrice

agriculture provides 35 percent of the foodresources availableto migrating andwintering dabbling ducks in the regionswhere rice is grown in the United States.

U.S. rice farms are valuable, not just for thenutritious commodity they produce and theirpositive impact on the economy, but also asimportant contributors to the entireecosystem, and todays announcement fromNRCS and USDA recognizes that fact, saidUSA Rice Federation Chairman DowBrantley, an Arkansas rice farmer. Wildlifeand waterfowl depend on our farmsas muchas any of us do.Established in the 2014Farm Bill, the RCPP competitively awards

funds to conservation projects designed bycollaborating partners.

RCPP provides an opportunity for locallydriven partnerships to work side by sidewith local Conservation Districts and NRCSto accelerate conservation efforts andachieve measurable progress, said NRCSState Conservationist for Arkansas MikeSullivan. The USA Rice Federation, DucksUnlimited, andall of our partnerscommendthe USDA for their vision in creatingpartnership-driven conservation initiatives,and we especially appreciate each of the sixstate NRCS offices who were instrumentalin crafting a competitive proposal, saidBetsy Ward, President & CEO of USA Rice.This is a giant step forward forconservation in ricelands with many moresteps to come.

We applaud the many rice producers who

integrate extra conservation measures intotheir rice production to maintain waterquality and provide much-needed waterfowlhabitat, said USDA NRCS Chief JasonWeller. The partnership between DU, USARice, and USDA offers increased technicaland financial assistance to help producersaccomplish these goals on their land, and the

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tangible benefits to farmers, theenvironment, and all Americans will be feltfor a long time.

http://www.agprofessional.com/news/major-

grant-awarded-rice-industry

Criticisms Trail N90bn

Annual Rice Import from

Vietnam

16 Jan 2015

Dr. Adewunmi Adesina, Minister of

Agriculture

John Iwori

Nigerians, especially stakeholders in the

maritime industry, have decried the huge

amount of money spent by the federal

government on importation of rice and

other commodities from Vietnam, noting

that it could be used to produce the

commodities locally with many benefits.The

Nigerian-Vietnam Chambers of Commerce

and Industry (NVCCI) recently disclosedthat Nigeria spends not less than $500

million annually to import rice from

Vietnam, while Vietnam spends about $100

million to import agricultural produce such

as raw cashew nuts, cassava and oil palm

from Nigeria. President of the Chamber, Mr.

Oye Akinsemoyin made the disclosure.

However, some stakeholders in the maritime

industry, who spoke against the backdrop ofthe dwindling oil prices in the international

market, said it does not make economic

sense to import what can be produced

locally into the country.

Also, a Lagos base licensed customs agent,

Mr. Timothy Obadina, who spoke on the

issue, wondered why Nigeria has continued

to import things that are produced locally.

I do not understand this country. Imagine

importing rice worth N80 billion from

Vietnam annually. How do we encourage

the local rice producers in the country? How

do we motivate them to expand and employ

more hands when we are helping their

competitors to strangle them out of

business", Obadina rhetorically asked.

This is the figure for Vietnam, we have not

added the ones from Thailand, China, and

Indonesia. By the time we put all the figures

together, it will be astronomical. Yet you

hear government officials using every

opportunity to say how they have been

growing the economy. As far as I am

concerned, those are rhetorics. In what

specific ways are they motivating and

supporting the local rice farmers especially

in Ebonyi, Bayelsa, Ogun States and

elsewhere? You do not need to go to Havard

University to know that as long as we do

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reduce our dependence on foreign products,

particularly the ones we are producing

ourselves, we are not going to make

headway as a country.

In the past, we do not bother about such

things because the oil money was flowing

endlessly but now that the reality is starring

us on the face, we should put on our

thinking cap.Another key player in the

maritime industry noted that it is not only in

the area of rice importation that Nigeria and

Nigerians have showed their lack ofreadiness to grow the economy.He posited

that most of the things Nigerians spend

billions of naira to import from other

countries, thereby developing their own

economies at the detriment of ours, are

readily available in Nigeria.All we need is

encourage and motivate the people

producing the items to do better than they

are presently doing. Adequate packaging

and marketing will go a long way in

changing the status quo, he said.

He, however, identified Nigerians penchant

for foreign goods as the reason why Nigeria

continue to import things we also produce

into the country.Visit any supermarket or

shopping mall and you will see the items on

display. They are mostly stocked withforeign goods. If the owners of these

supermarkets or shopping malls are not

getting huge patronage from Nigerians, they

will not continue to stock them. This is

because nobody goes into a business he or

she is not making profit since the profit

motive is the sole aim of any business

venture.

Therefore, the austerity measures we are

talking about should start from a change in

how abandon our own goods and patronage

foreign items. For instance, in the last

Christmas and New Year celebrations, how

many Nigerians bought ofada rice or

Abakiliki rice? The truth is bitter but we

must say all the same, he added.The

NVCCI president, Akinsemoyin had

disclosed that Nigeria imports fromVietnam a wide range of commodities. He

listed Vietnams major exports to Nigeria to

include rubber, electric and electronic

products, footwear, plastics, handicraft and

fine art articles and construction materials,

while the country imports from Nigeria raw

cashew nuts, fruits, cotton and

minerals.Akinsemoyin said: Basically,

Nigeria exports agricultural products.

At the moment, Vietnam is the largest

importer of Nigerias raw cashew nuts.

Vietnams cashew import from Nigeria is

about a $100 million yearly. Nigeria exports

agricultural items like Cassava with which

Vietnam produces starch and the raw

materials.

Tags:Nigeria,Featuered,Business,NVCC

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/criticisms-

trail-n90bn-annual-rice-import-from-

vietnam/199304/

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Rice policy criticism: Are

stakeholders treading the right

path?

January 15, 2015 | Filed

under:Features | Author:OSA VICTOR

OBAYAGBONA

Few weeks after the Federal Government

introduced its new rice policy of backward

integration, some stakeholders in the sector

have come out with information allegedlyaimed at possibly reversing the initiative

that seeks to make Nigeria self-sufficient in

rice production within, possibly, twoyears. OSA VICTOR

OBAYAGBONA examines the stakeholders

criticism and the implication on riceproduction.Recently in Abuja, the NigerianFederal Capital, Tunji Owoeye, president,Nigerian Rice Investors Group andmanaging director of Elephant Group, ledthe associations members to addressed thepress and evaluate the Federal Governmentnew backward integration initiative on riceproduction.

At the meeting, Owoeye revealed that somestakeholders in the sector were against theinitiative, saying that the views beingbrought forward by these stakeholders werefalse and unfair to government officials whohad worked hard to midwife thepolicy.According to Owoeye, mostNigerians are unaware that time was whenwe depended entirely on imported rice.Government examined past efforts to restore

self-sufficiency in rice production that failedbefore coming out with the newrevolutionary policy.

The critical thing is protecting localinvestors to the point they can reasonablystand on their feet. The governmentdeveloped the new rice policy based on whatis produced presently against the shortfalls,

which were factored to further encouragelocal investors against those whose coreinterest is importing and selling locallywithout the mind of contributing to thenational dream of self-sufficiency.Although

the critics claim to be genuinely concernedabout the initiative derailing, over one defector another of the implementation instrument,the truth is that they are driven by insatiablegreed and total disregard for constitutedauthorities, he said.The rice policy,unarguably, is the initiative of governmentand not at the order of stakeholders.

The Federal Government decided to usefiscal policy to help businesses alreadyengaged in and others interested in growing,

milling and packaging rice locally to end theperennial importation of the product.Government set the parameters the bestpossible completion time frame, theincentives and who best could be brought inwith the assurance that they wouldperform.The Federal Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development, as the projectcoordinator, invited stakeholders principallyto share with them the dream andseriousness government attached to the

policy, but not to determine the basics suchas the volume of rice that would enjoyimport waivers and quota allocationqualifications, according to Owoeye.

These critics argue that the indiscriminategranting of waivers in the guise of backwardintegration may promote smuggling andtherefore make the policycounterproductive.However, the quotaallocations based on the supply gap ofimport grade rice of 1.5 million metric tons,Owoeye said, were made to both existingrice millers and new investors inequity.Existing millers and others withexpressed interests submitted Domestic RiceProduction Plan (DRPP), and based on thesubmissions, a total of 1.3 million metrictons of rice import quotas was issued to 25

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qualifying millers at the preferential levy of20 percent and duty of 10 per cent.

The remainder 0.2 million metric tons ofrice imports will be at the higher levy of 60per cent and duty of 10 percent, Owoeye

said.Stakeholders did not know whygovernment asked rice investors to give theirDRPP, he said. Thereafter, a committeewent round to verify the claims in terms offarm holdings, and so on, and did not informthe stakeholders that they were coming toinvestigate. In some cases, the committeegot to the sites and called the concernedparty that the inspectors were at theirpremises.We believe the market is bigenough for all genuine investors in the rice

market so that there is no point dissipatingenergy on frivolities and wild allegations,Owoeye said, but added that he wonderedwhy anyone could sincerely allege that somequota beneficiaries were already trading itto interested buyers at between 60 percent to80 percent levy, having got the same at 20percent levy.

The allegation implies that the 60 percentlevy is lower than what is charged as penalty

for otherwise, why would anyone pay abovethat to buy from those who got the waiver,the Group asked.Rice smuggling intoNigeria is not contentious because it iscommon knowledge, but to allude anycomplexity of the policy is subversive andclear indication that some interests are tryingto persecute others and would stop atnothing to achieve the unholy objective,hesaid.Furthermore, the outcry over givingbusinesses that expressed interests ininvesting in rice production waivers as thosewho have made substantial investments arenot well founded, he said.Considered onthe surface, the government could be faultedbut on close review, it is certain governmentwants to recruit and expand the investorsbase and was not whimsical.

PresidentGoodluck Jonathan approved thebackward integration policy on rice in Mayand the implementation is starting just thisDecember 2014. I can say authoritativelythat government did not only ask interested

parties to submit their DRPP but demandedalso their production plans, includingestablishing staple crop processing zones(SCPZs) that are intended to encourage theclustering of food processing industries inproximity to raw materials and endmarkets, he said.Currently, 16 majorinvestors have farms and or establishedmilling plants with cumulative capacity ofabout 1 million metric tons by 2016, whilethe rice policy estimates additional 2.7

million metric tons produced locally by2016. It was obvious to the government thatmore reliable investors must be recruitedwith secure commitments to attain settargets.

To ensure government is not giving cheapmoney to opportunistic businesses, thewaiver requires that 30 percent of the quotafee be paid into a participating bank. In theevent the beneficiary fails to meet the terms,the ministry of agriculture will call on the

bond fee, which means that governmentwould take it over and use it to develop andadvance the policy to the logicalconclusion.What government has beendoing in the last two to three years is to getacross the value chain to get an investmentplan in the rice industry, and inspectionswere concluded based on the claims.Government has given six months to thosewho expressed interests to start tangible andserious work.

The process is tamper proof and measurable.It is the first time government is doingsomething right in the rice sector, theGroup noted.Imploring persons who feeldispleased not to derail the policy withinternal squabbles, the Group gaveassurance that all issues will be addressed

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since the policy was in the early stage.Toalarge extent, government gave allocations toencourage big investors who are puttingdown substantial amounts of money. Thereis nowhere on earth that major investors are

not wooed and that is what the governmenthas done, but I can tell anyone who cares tolisten that government also took adequateprecautions in case of anyone defaulting,Owoeye said.

He therefore told the stakeholders to worryover the 1.2 million metric tons lost betweenthe governments estimated 1.5 millionmetric tons imports and what can safely beassumed allotted the illegally operators.Theinvestors who feel bitter that others who

have not much on ground received highallocations know for sure that the in-comingplayers plan to exceed the current investors,Owoeye said.Theyneed not hide their fearof being overtaken by the new-comers butshould join hands with other stakeholders toensure rice smugglers are put out of businessbecause until illegal traders are caught andcaged, honest investors are in danger.Thereason is simple and applies to all industries:until Nigerian growers and millers reach

maturity and efficiency levels, theinternational traditional growers still holdthe ace and can sink us unless we are fairlyprotected,he said.

Nigerias 170 million people constitute thelargest market in Africa, and in theconsumer and commodity markets, thestakes are high. To dominate the largestmarket South of the Equator is serious andsometimes brutal business, hesaid.Government wants the Nigerian riceindustry to explode similar to whathappened in the telephone industry in recentyears, he said, noting that the potential hasbeen there for decades but the reality hasjust dawned on the government.Anyonecapable of investing huge has immensebusiness opportunity and government is

saying everyone is welcome on board.Investors who have made some input shouldnot cry blue murder when there is none.

The Nigerian rice market (local productions)can accommodate all serious investors and

that is enough guarantees, according to theGroup.Michael Aondoakaa, former ministerof justice and attorney general of thefederation, and secretary, Rice ProcessorsAssociation of Nigeria (RIPAN),emphasised that prior to the emergence ofPresident Goodluck Jonathansadministration, nobody had ever wonderedwho got what quota.

The truth is that many have had witnessed

the old system where some highly connectedpeople influenced the rice quota allocation.This administration made sure it went to ricefarmers with visible investments, saidAondoakaa.

The rice policy of the present administrationis visible for all to see, Owoeye said, adding:if you travel through Zamfara, Niger,Benue, Sokoto, and many other states in thecountry, you will see vast plantations of rice

in the last two year.We have also seensome of our members who were tradersmake huge investments in local riceproduction. We have seen increase inemployment and value creation in the ricesector.

TheFederal Government has provided riceinvestors with improved seedling and that isthe reason rice production is getting better.On his part, Abubakar Mohammed,president, Rice Millers, Importers andDistributors Association of Nigeria, saidfive years ago, there was only oneprocessing mill in Nigeria but the numbergrew to 24 by 2014, just as he stated thatbefore President Goodluck Jonathansadministration, rice paddy produced fromNigeria was one of the worst in the world.

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But this had changed, according to him.Weprocess 800,000 tons of paddy rice annually,and the government is putting measures inplace to produce additional 360,000 tons.All these happened with the help of

President Goodluck Jonathan and theminister of agriculture and ruraldevelopment, Akinwunmi Adesina,he said.

http://businessdayonline.com/2015/01/rice-

policy-criticism-are-stakeholders-treading-the-

right-path/#.VLmSYtLF_Jc

Changes to Cuba Policy

Effective Immediately

WASHINGTON, DC -- The promise of more

open trade, travel, and business between Cuba

and the United States got that much closer today

when the Obama Administration announced new

regulations on export policy that take effect

tomorrow. The regulatory amendments are part

of a process of normalization of relations

between the two countries. "We are analyzing

how these changes will apply to the U.S. rice

industry," said USA Rice Federation President

and CEO Betsy Ward. "The current rapid pace

is an encouraging sign although we realize we're

still at the front end of the process."

Just last week, the USA Rice joined with more

than 25 prominent U.S. food and agriculture

associations and companies to announce the

launch of the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for

Cuba (USACC), a coalition that seeks to

advance trade relations between the UnitedStates and Cuba. The purpose of the USACC is

to re-establish Cuba as a market for U.S. food

and agriculture exports and address liberalizing

trade between the United States and Cuba."Open

trade with Cuba would be an enormous boon for

U.S. rice farmers," said Ward. "There was a time

when Cuba was the top destination for U.S.-

grown rice -- we are ready to facilitate a return

to those days."

Contact: Deborah Willenborg (703) 236-1444

USA Rice and Big Y: Live

Well, Eat Smart

Let U.S. rice help you

ARLINGTON, VA -- The USA Rice Federation

is participating in the Living Well Eating Smart

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(LWES) program at Big Y, a supermarket chain

of more than 60 stores in Massachusetts and

Connecticut. Beginning today through March

25, shoppers will be introduced to the many uses

and nutritional benefits of U.S.-grown rice

through a print and online newsletter, socialmedia, and in-store signage and displays.USA

Rice's Cranberry Pecan Rice Pilaf is the featured

recipe on the cover of the LWES magazine, a

publication (print and online) that generates

more than 150,000 impressions a month. The

full recipe, rice nutrition information, and the

"Grown in the USA" logo are highlighted in a

two-page spread. Rice is also featured in other

sections of the publication including the

"Dietitian's Corner" letter and the "Here's to

Your Heart" article both discussing the health

benefits of whole grains, like brown and wild

rice. "The National Rice Month toolkit we

developed for retail dietitians was a huge

success and this next step to customize

partnerships will help us promote U.S. rice

throughout the year," said Paul Galvani,

chairman of the USA Rice Retail Subcommittee.

"Working one-on-one with retail dietitians is a

great way to increase visibility of U.S.-grown

rice in the supermarket communication channelsand boost consumer awareness and usage of

U.S. rice."

Contact: Katie Maher (703) 236-1453

Weekly Rice Sales, Exports

Reported

WASHINGTON, DC -- Net rice sales of 76,900

MT for 2014/2015 were up noticeably from theprevious week and 68 percent from the prior

four-week average, according to today's Export

Sales Highlights report. Increases were reported

for Mexico (53,600 MT), Taiwan (9,000 MT),

Haiti (7,400 MT), Iraq (3,000 MT), and Jordan

(2,100 MT). Decreases were reported for Japan

(3,500 MT) and Colombia (1,300 MT).

Exports of 44,900 MT were down 11 percent

from the previous week and 27 percent from the

prior four-week average. The primary

destinations were Iraq (31,500 MT), Mexico

(3,900 MT), Canada (2,600 MT), Honduras

(1,600 MT), and South Korea (1,200 MT).Thissummary is based on reports from exporters

from the period January 2-8.

CME Group/Closing

Rough Rice Futures

CME Group (Prelim): Closing Rough Rice

Futures for January 15

March

2015$11.330 + $0.180

May 2015 $11.580 + $0.175

July 2015 $11.815 + $0.180

September

2015$11.420 + $0.210

November

2015$11.560 + $0.270

January

2016 $11.860 + $0.270

March

2016$11.860 + $0.270

Month Price Net Change

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Louisiana receives

conservation funding forrare snake, Fort Polk and

other projects

AMY

WOLD|[email protected]

Jan. 15, 2015

The rare Louisiana pine snake and the Fort

Polk military installation share a common

bond as beneficiaries of a new round of

conservation projects announced by the U.S.

Department of Agriculture on

Wednesday.Louisiana received approval for

four of the 115conservationprojects in the

country that will share $370 million in

federal funding through the Regional

Conservation Partnership Program approved

in the 2014 Farm Bill.

The program was designed to bring together

government agencies, nonprofit

organizations and private landowners to

better leverage conservation money and to

take on large projects, said Kevin Norton,

state conservationist for Louisiana with the

USDA Natural Resources Conservation

Service.

Partners for eachprojectwill bring in

another $400 million for conservation,

bringing the total to almost $800 million,

according to USDA.Two of the four projects

are only for Louisiana and will bring in $1.5

million in additional money to conservation

efforts in the state. In addition, Louisiana

was part of two other approved multistate

projects involving long-leaf pine restoration

and rice farm conservation.One of those

multistate projects focuses on restoring or

protecting about 20,000 acres long-leaf pine

in and around military bases in Louisiana as

well as South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

In Louisiana, that project will involve the

purchase of 6,300 acres of land near Fort

Polk in an effort to provide habitat for the

Louisiana pinesnake.Although not yet listed

under the Endangered Species Act, its

expected that the species will be listed in thefuture, said Richard Martin, director of

forest programs with The Nature

Conservancy. Martin said the Louisiana pine

snake is possibly one of the rarest

vertebrates in the country.If that listing

happens, training exercises on the military

base could be seriously hampered and, with

base closures across the country, it could beenough to put Fort Polk on the chopping

block, he said.

Fort Polk has said lets try to get ahead of

this, Martin said.The best habitat for

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thesnakeis located on nearby private

property. The owner of that property is

willing to sell an easement and the property

for restoration to long-leaf pine, which is the

preferred habitat of the rare snake. By

providing an easement for the restoration,

the large property owner and Fort Polk get a

little more protection against accidental

killing of Louisiana pine snakes should they

be put on the Endangered Species List in the

future, Martin explained.

This is not the first collaboration betweenFort Polk and The Nature Conservancy. For

several years, the two worked together in

protecting the endangered red-

cockadedwoodpeckers, which also depend

on long-leaf pine for habitat and call Fort

Polk home.However, unlike the

woodpecker, which can be seen in the trees

and largely avoided through precautionarymeasures, the snakes spend a large amount

of time underground and are not easily seen

when above ground, Martin said.In addition

to the long-leaf pine project, Louisiana also

got approval for two state projects including

$25,000 to determine the best conservation

projects for five watersheds around the state.

The state Department of Agriculture and

Forestrys Office of Soil and Water

Conservation and other partners will use the

money to analyze the most effective

conservation tools to solve soil and water

problems.

Theyre going to look where we can make

the biggest impact, Norton said.Once thosecritical areas are identified, other

government conservation programs can be

accessed to pay for construction or

implementation of the developed plans,

Norton said.The rest of the states $1.5

million will go toward a rice stewardship

program in the southwestern part of the

state. In this program, Ducks Unlimited willbe working with rice producers and other

partners to develop ways to conserve water,

improve water quality and provide improved

habitat for wintering birds.

Rice is good for ducks, said Alicia

Wiseman, Ducks Unlimited Rice

Stewardship Partnership coordinator for

Louisiana. About 42 percent of the food

eaten by wintering ducks in Louisiana

comes from these rice fields.Louisiana is

also part of the national Rice Stewardship

Partnership project, which expands this rice

field conservation work to multiple states

and will include ways to monitor the

programs success over time.

http://theadvocate.com/news/11295267-

123/louisiana-receives-conservation-funding-

for?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+Januar

y+15%2C+2015&utm_campaign=Friday%2C+

December+13%2C+2013&utm_medium=email

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Wintering geese flock back

to Texas after downward

trend

By Shannon Tompkins| January 14,

2015| Updated: January 14, 2015 9:34pm

Photo By Picasa

The number of geese wintering on Texas'coastal prairie and marshes more thandoubled this year from last year's recordlow, with the largest increase seen along theupper coast, where rice production alsoboomed.

More than twice as many geese arewintering on Texas' coastal prairies andmarshes this year than the record-lownumber counted there a year ago, accordingto preliminary data from just-completedaerial surveys conducted each Decemberand early January since 1948.The survey, forwhich trained observers aboard fixed-wingaircraft combed the band of coastal marsh

and prairies between the Sabine River andRio Grande, locating and counting allspecies of geese, estimated 428,000 lightgeese (snow, blue, Ross's) wintering in thefour coastal survey zones.

That's a considerable bump from the recordlow of 181,000 geese counted during the

2014 survey but still about 33 percent belowthe 1982-2014 average of 636,000 birds andnot half the number counted as recently asthe late 1990s.While results of the annualmid-winter goose survey show a significant

increase in the total number of the bigwaterfowl on their traditional Texas coastalwintering grounds this year, they alsoilluminate issues surrounding winterdistribution of North America's mid-continent geese."One of the big things Ithink (the 2015 mid-winter survey) shows isthe strong correlation between habitat andwhere (geese) winter," saidKevin Kraai,waterfowl program leader forTexas Parksand Wildlife Department.

"The birds are shifting their wintering areasto where they find the besthabitat."Increasingly over the past decades,that has not been Texas' coastal prairies andmarshes.For thousands of years, 90 percentor more of the snow, blue, Ross's, Canadaand white-fronted geese using NorthAmerica's Central Flyway wintered on thenarrow band of wetland-rich coastal prairieand marshes stretching from the Sabine

River to northeast Mexico.

Downward trendHunters and birders noticed that changing inthe 1960s as the tens of thousands of largeCanada geese - birds weighing 9-12 pounds- that had wintered along the Texas coastbegan stopping far up the flyway, whereincreased corn production and permanentopen water in new reservoirs gave the biggeese no reason to migrate farther south. By

the 1970s, only a handful of the largesubspecies of Canada geese wintered on theTexas coast.But snow geese, white-frontedgeese and smaller subspecies of Canadageese continued pouring into Texas eachautumn.

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Through the 1980s and into the 1990s,Texas' booming rice industry providedoutstanding wetland/moist soil habitat, andcoastal prairies and marshes wintered asmany as 1 million snow geese, more than

100,000 Canadas, and 100,000 whitefronts.Coastal Texas was the center of the gooseand goose hunting universe.That quicklychanged beginning in the late 1990s with thedecline in the amount of rice grown inTexas.Texas rice production peaked in the1980s, with more than a half-million acresof the water-loving grain planted. Riceacreage began a steep decline as changes infederal farming policy made rice a lessattractive crop for farmers and Houston's

sprawl consumed tens of thousands of acresof prairie and rice fields west and southwestof the city.

Texas' rice acreage fell from 590,000 acresin 1981 to 215,000 acres by 2001.Changesin water policy triggered by persistentdrought over the past decade that includedthe record-setting single-year drought of2011 and increasing demand for water inurban areas have further reduced rice

acreage. The harshest blow has beentheLower Colorado River Authority'sdecision to greatly reduce or decline toprovide irrigation water for rice productionor creation of managed wetlands along theriver's lower section, a move resulting inabout 60,000 acres taken out of riceproduction.Texas rice production has beenbelow 200,000 acres since 2006 and as lowas 130,000 acres - a fifth of what it wasthree decades ago.

Population boomsThose rice fields were crucial as feeding androosting areas for wintering geese. As riceacreage fell, so did the number of geesewintering on the Texas coast. In 1999, themid-winter goose survey counted about 1.01million light geese on the Texas coast. Over

the past decade, that number has fallen aslow as 181,000 and averaged around390,000.That decline in light geese came asthe birds' mid-continent populationexploded.

The decline in the number of Canada andwhite-fronted geese counted in the mid-winter survey of the Texas coast has beeneven more severe. The past four mid-wintersurveys have counted fewer than 20,000whitefronts in the coastal zones, down frommore than 100,000 most years prior to 2000.The numbers are much worse for Canadageese. Only handfuls of Canada geese - asfew as 100 total - have been spotted during

recent mid-winter surveys of Texas coastalzones.As with snow geese, the decline in thenumber of Canada and whitefronts on theTexas coast comes as continentalpopulations of those birds booms.So whereare all of those geese that once wintered onthe Texas coast?

"There's been a massive shift of winteringCanada geese to the north, and whitefrontshave moved north and east," Kraai

said.Snow geese, too, have moved theirwintering areas to the north and east inplaces like Arkansas, where rice productionhas boomed over the past decades and morethan 1 million acres of rice are now plantedannually.

Staying to the northHuge numbers of Canada geese winter in theMidwest, where the landscape has turned tocorn fields. The birds are so numerous they

have become nuisances, and daily bag limitshave been raised to as many as eightCanadas per day."There's no reason for themto go any father south. They have everythingthey need," Kraai said of the short-stoppingCanadas.Whitefronts are following a similarpattern of behavior, he said."Not that long

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ago, Texas was where all the CentralFlyway's whitefronts wintered," he said.

"Now there are big numbers wintering inplaces like Kansas."Even more of the mid-

continent's whitefronts - "specklebellies" tomost waterfowlers - have shifted to the eastand winter in the Mississippi Alluvial Valleyin Arkansas, he said."Thirty years ago,seeing a specklebelly was a rare thing inArkansas," Kraai said. "Notanymore."Despite the steady shrinking ofthe wintering population of all species ofgeese on the Texas coastal plain, the regionstill attracts large numbers of snow geeseand good numbers of whitefronts, Kraai

said. And some of the results of this year'smid-winter survey are encouraging for thosewho would like to see the number of geesecoming to the Texas coast grow instead ofdecline, he said.

This year's survey counted almost 243,000snow geese in the coastal zone east ofHouston. That's a record for the zone thatincludes Chambers. Liberty, Jefferson andOrange counties and more than twice as

many snow geese as the region has averagedsince the zone counts began in 1982.

Rice on r eboundThat surge in the zone's snow geese numberscomes in the wake of a boom in the amountof rice acreage in the area. This past year, anestimated 30,000 additional acres in theregion were put into rice production asoperations that once grew rice along thewater-starved middle coast shifted their

businesses to the upper coast, whereirrigation water remains obtainable.Thatincrease in the number of rice fields - alongwith efforts of landowners, waterfowlhunting clubs, wetland conservation groupssuch as Ducks Unlimited, and state andfederal wildlife agencies to pump water andcreate managed wetlands - resulted in a

significant flush of excellent waterfowlhabitat."

When you see almost a quarter-million snowgeese show up - a record number for that

zone - and look at the increase in the amountof rice acreage and other habitat, it pointsstrongly toward habitat, particularly rice, asone of the biggest factors in how manygeese we see on the coast," Kraai said."Itgives me hope," he said. "If rice acreage canrebound - if that 50,000-60,000 acres of ricethat has disappeared along the mid-coastcomes back - it's not out of the question thatwe could see wintering populations of500,000 or 600,000 snow geese on the

Texas coast again."

http://www.chron.com/sports/outdoors/article/Winter

ing-geese-flock-back-to-Texas-after-

6016432.php?utm_source=USA+Rice+Daily%2C+Ja

nuary+15%2C+2015&utm_campaign=Friday%2C+D

ecember+13%2C+2013&utm_medium=email

Shivraj invites Modi for

Simhastha MahakumbhJanuary 15, 2015 12:33 pm

Staff Reporter, Bhopal

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj

Singh Chouhan today urged Prime Minister

Narendra Modi to grace the Simhastha

Mahakumbh Mela, to be organised in the

states temple town of Ujjain in April next

year. Mr Chouhan met the Prime Minister at

his residence in New Delhi and extended the

invitation, an official release said.

Significant from religious and spiritual

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viewpoints, Simhastha Mahakumbh attracts

saints, seers, philosophers, devotees and

foreign nationals in large numbers to avail

the benefit of this confluence of knowledge

and faith. International seminars over

Swachh Bharat, spirituality and conservationof environment and Earth will also be

organised on the occasion.

Mr Chouhan also requested the Prime

Minister to inaugurate the Singaji Thermal

Power Plant in Khandwa. Referring to the

deep sense of agony of basmati producing

farmers before Mr Modi, Mr Chouhan said

that APEDA has gone in appeal against the

Registrar General of Patents and GIs

(geographical indication) order datedDecember 31, 2013 recognising Madhya

Pradesh as a Basmati paddy growing-

state.APEDAs moving the Intellectual

Property Rights Board has affected interests

of the states farmers whereas situations are

arising in international market to purchase

Pakistani basmati rice.

Mr Chouhan urged the Prime Minister to

take steps in this regard so that the interests

of basmati rice producing farmers in thestate were safeguarded and the export of

basmati rice from the state continues as

before.He also requested him to expand the

ambit of private-public partnership (PPP) by

bringing the projects of waste management,

rural drinking water supply, micro irrigation,

logistic parks, medical colleges and metro

project of Indore and Bhopal. The Prime

Minister assured of all possible help on the

issues raised by the Chief Minister and gavehis consent to visit Madhya Pradesh.

Posted in:Bhopal

Source with thanks:www.chronicle.com

Govt requests Chinese

funding for rice warehouses

Thu, 15 January 2015

Hor Kimsay

In a bid to stock 1.2 million tonnes of rice

paddy, Cambodia has sent a draft

memorandum of understanding to China

asking the country for a $300 million loan tobuild more than 10 warehouses

nationwide.The draft MoU was prepared by

the Ministry of Economy and Finance and

sent to the Chinese government late last

month, according to Mey Kalyan, senior

adviser for the Supreme National Economic

Council (SNEC) and leader of the

project.Kalyan said Cambodia is now

waiting for the Chinese governments

response and expects to begin the projectmid-year.

We will build warehouses that ensure the

good quality [of the paddy], said

Kalyan.Our goal is to build confidence to

creditors so that those who store their paddy

can use it as collateral for bank

loans.Kalyan added that while the

warehouse would be built by the

government, it would be run by the private

sector, with revenue coming from millerspaying maintenance fees to have their paddy

stored during the harvest season.The

success of this project depends strongly on

participants from the private sector, Kalyan

said.A major portion of Cambodian paddy is

exported to neighbouring countries through

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unofficial channels during the harvest

season.

Because of this, millers face severe paddy

shortages once the season is over.Hun Lak,

vice president of Cambodia Rice Federation,said that developing the warehouse system

would help millers find more stable sources

of paddy storage.Lak added that there were

other potential benefits as well.Once the

government builds warehouse for paddy

storage, we will be able to better realise

which kinds of paddy have high market

demand and how high the quality of our rice

is, he explained.If we dont address such

issues clearly, we will have a problem for

this project.But independent economist

Srey Chanthy warned that building more

warehouses was far from a silver bullet.

Chanthy said that the countrys rice sector

faced many other issues asides from a lack

of paddy storage, explaining that rice

processing techniques and the sectors

overall governance was still poor compared

to other countries.If the government

charges a low fee for millers to rent a placeto stock their rice, it will increase the

competitiveness of the Cambodian rice

sector in some ways, he said.But if the

service change is not affordable for millers,

they may turn away from using this service.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/govt-

requests-chinese-funding-rice-warehouses

Utilizing a Self-steering

Robotic Tractor in the

Developmental

Phases of Rice

-- Feasibility Study on Using Quasi-Zenith

Satellite System

for Precision Farming in Australia --

January 14, 2015

Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Hitachi, Ltd., andYanmar Co., Ltd., have been commissioned to

conduct a study on the effective use overseas of

advanced positioning signals from Japan's

Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) *1,

organized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and

Communications of Japan.The study seeks to

verify that advanced positioning signals

transmitted from the QZSS can be used in

precision farming in Australia. Specifically,

demonstration tests will be conducted using the

advanced positioning signals to control a self-

steering robotic tractor and perform actual farm

work in a paddy field.

At present, technical validation is in progress for

three high-precision positioning methods: 1)

RTNet, 2) RMIT, and 3) MADOCA *2. The

demonstration tests aim to determine the optimal

positioning method for precision farming in

Australia.The mainstream positioning method,

precise point positioning (PPP), receives

positioning data directly from GPS satellites.

The challenge is that this provides limited

accuracy with an error of approximately 10-20

centimeters, and cannot be replaced with data of

centimeter-level accuracy. The study aims to

enhance positioning accuracy by employing a

new method, precise point positioning with

ambiguity resolution (PPP-AR), using

Australia's electronic datum points *3, and makeit possible to perform accurate farm work with

an error of 5 centimeters.

The first demonstration test, conducted in late

November 2014 during the growth stage of rice,

succeeded in controlling the self-steering robotic

tractor so that its tires run between rows of

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22/26

planted rice. In January 2015, the tractor will be

used to monitor growth conditions. The study

will continue thereafter, performing several

aspects of farm work at different timings.

Following the study, farm workers and

government officials will be interviewed based

on the demonstration test results to identify

challenges in commercializing precision farming

employing advanced positioning signals. In the

future, a consortium is scheduled to be

organized centering on the three commissioned

companies to actively promote precision

farming. Plans include further enhancing the

accuracy of positioning data, applying the

technology to other programs, and expanding

services to regions other than Australia, such asJapan and Asia.

Study Abstract

1. Consignor : Ministry of Internal Affairs and

Communications of Japan

2. Title : Study on the Effective Use

Overseas of Advanced Positioning Signals from

Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System

3. Details : Generate highly accurate

positioning correction data from QZSS's LEX

signal *4 and collect data on field and rice

growth conditions using a self-steering tractor.

4. Commissioned companies : Hitachi-Zosen,

Hitachi and Yanmar, as core members.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA),

who operates QZSS, and various researchinstitutes in Japan and Australia for technical

cooperation and research support.

5. Roles of organizations involved :

Hitachi-Zosen (main contractor) - Supervises

whole project. Investigates feasibility of study,

evaluates positioning data accuracy and overall

project development. Uses PPP-AR positioning

function of Hitachi-Zosen's multi-GNSS analytic

software RTNet as a new positioning methodto generate highly accurate positioning

correction data which is able to superimpose on

QZSS's LEX signal, and verifies position

accuracy and operability in the field of a self-

steering robotic tractor.

Hitachi - Tracks and integrates data of a self-

steering robotic tractor and crop growth sensors

installed on it into GIS Cloud Service *5 and

displays machine operation and crop growth

conditions on computer maps. This will verifytractor path and movement precision, and

enhance farm planning and operations precision.

Yanmar - Develops, manages and operates a

self-steering robotic tractor.

Hitachi Australia Pty Ltd - Conducts project

management and workshops, and coordinates

with the related research institutes in Australia.

Hokkaido University - Supports precisionfarming research (Agricultural Information

Engineering Research).

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) -

Operates QZSS (Generation, distribution and

conversion of correction data, technical support).

Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial

Information (CRC-SI) - Supports geospatial

information research and investigation.

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

(RMIT) University - Supports positioning

system research (satellite positioning research

and investigation).

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University of New South Wales (UNSW)

Australia - Supports positioning system research

(satellite positioning research and investigation).

University of New England (UNE) - Supports

precision farming research (precision farming

research).

Rice Research Australia Pty Ltd (RRA) -

Supports precision farming research

(agricultural research on rice).

SmartNet AUS - Provides data from Australia-

based electronic datum points.

6. Area : New South Wales, Australia

7. Period : October, 2014 - March, 2015

http://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2015

/01/150114.html

Commerce Min led

exporters to sell rice to

Hong Kong

BANGKOK, 15 January 2015 (NNT) --

The Ministry of Commerce has led a

delegation of Thai rice exporters on a trip

to Hong Kong, during which a

cooperation contract will be signed

between Thailand's and Hong Kong's rice

trader associations

Gen. Chatchai Sarigalaya and the delegationof the Thai Rice Exporter Association willmeet with Hong Kong's Minister ofCommerce, Gregory So, and its riceimporters. According to the Minister, acontract will be signed calling for HongKong to purchase 100,000 tons of rice fromThailand. This is the first time Hong Konghas signed a major deal with Thailand sinceThailand lost her rice market to other

countries a few years back.

However, the situation has changed now thatthe prices of rice from Thailand havedropped, enabling the country to compete

with others in the market. With the supportof the Commerce Ministry, Thai riceexporters hope to tighten relations withHong Kong's importers, attracting them tobuy more rice from Thailand in the nearfuture.http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/79209

2-thai-commerce-min-led-exporters-to-sell-

rice-to-hong-kong/

Strategy to tap core export

markets via goods with

strong potential

THE NATION January 15, 2015 1:00 am

THE COMMERCE MINISTRY is seeking

cooperation from large, established companies

to serve as mentors for small and medium-sized

enterprises to help achieve its 4-per-cent growth

target for exports this year.Commerce Minister

Chatchai Sarikulya said yesterday that his

ministry would adopt an aggressive export

strategy with clear targets that show potential for

growth in line with current global trends.

A "cluster" marketing approach will be used to

enter new industries and expand marketing

channels creatively with the focus on four core

markets:

as the United States, the European Union and

Japan, which account for 30 per cent of total

Thai exports. The emphasis will be on the

elderly, institutions, hotels, casinos, cruise ships,

environmentalists, animal lovers and Hispanics,