Daily Archives: February 7, 2012

Guyana – Flood-tolerant rice leads Guyana farm adaptation push

Source: AlertNet23/01/2012 – George Griffith is pleased with his harvest. Improved farming techniques and a different variety of rice have helped the 70-year-old farmer reap 103 bags of rice from his two-and-a-half acre (one hectare) field in this coastal village. That is an increase of at least 12 percent from his previous crops.  

Science to help rice growers affected by Japan’s tsunami

Source: EurekAlert22/01/2012 – Under a year since a huge tsunami inundated paddy fields in Japan with salty sludge, scientists are near to developing locally-adapted, salt-tolerant rice.

Philippines – Farmers urge NFA rice release

Source: Manila Bulletin21/01/2012 – A farmers’ group in Central Luzon renewed Saturday its call to the National Food Administration (NFA) to release some 102,000 sacks of local rice under its sale through market-determined pricing (SMDP) program to 51 farmers’ cooperatives in the region.

Growing rice for Africa is an attainable goal

Source: Business Live21/01/2012 – With rice prices rocketing and global stocks of the starch declining, Africa is trying to play catch-up and become the world’s new “rice bowl”.

South Africa – Rice cultivation in SA hailed as feasible

Source: Business Live21/01/2012 – Commercial rice farming in a water-scarce country like South Africa sounds absurd, but scientist and businessman Hennie Kruger says it is possible with assistance from large companies and the government, writes Loni Prinsloo.

Indonesia – Indonesia seeks 10 million ton rice crop increase, Suswono says

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek22/01/2012 – Indonesia, the world’s third-largest rice consumer, wants to increase domestic production of the grain by 10 million metric tons, Agriculture Minister Suswono Asyraf said.