Viet Nam News - Hanoi,Vietnam 28-03-2009
HA NOI — A 50 per cent fall in the price of cassava this year has affected many farmers who started to grow the crop when prices leapt in 2007. Last year the farmgate price of cassava was VND1,000 per kg. Now it is only VND450.
Nguyen Van Chien, a resident of Cau Khai Village in Dong Cuong Commune of Van Yen District in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai, said he had planted more than 10,000 cassava plants and would have made VND20 million profit (US$1,100) if the price had held.
Chien said many families in the commune faced the same problem. Their only solution was to stop harvesting to save labour and transport costs in the hope that prices would soon rise.
According to the chairman of the Dong Cuong People’s Committee, Vu Manh Hai, the commune has 400ha of cassava which is expected to yield 16,000 tonnes. Yet only half of the crop has been harvested.
"Not only is the market price of cassava lower, fertiliser and transportation costs have gone up," he said, adding that farmers would lose money if they sold cassava now.
Chief accountant of Van Yen Cassava Factory Tran Quang Hung said the factory had so far bought only 20,000 tonnes of cassava, much lower than in other years.
The owner of a cassava processing workshop in Lam Giang Commune, Do Van Lien, said in previous years, he had purchased from 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes of cassava, but this year he had bought only 10,000 tonnes.
According to statistics by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Yen Bai Province, cassava plantations in the province last year amounted to more than 16,000ha.
Of this, 9,700ha were in Van Yen, Yen Binh and Van Chan districts. In future, the province plans to grow only 12,000ha.
In past years, Chinese partners bought large quantities of cassava from Viet Nam. They paid from VND500 per kg in 2005 to a peak of VND1,200 per kg in 2008.
On the bandwagon
This encouraged farmers to place more and more land under cassava. The estimated yield of cassava in Van Yen District alone could be 162,000 tonnes, however only about 30,000 tonnes has been harvested and sold to factories.
"We advised farmers not to grow more cassava, but they didn’t listen. They wanted to grow more cassava because the price was high last year," said Nguyen Cong, a staff of the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
"Although it means breaking the province’s planning on cassava plantation, we cannot do anything because farmers say they have the right to plant any crop they want on their own land," he said.
The same situation is happening in other provinces, such as Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa and Phu Yen.
Only 30 per cent of the total 13,000ha of cassava in Hoa Binh Province has so far been harvested.
Late last year, farmers in many districts of Thanh Hoa Province dug up their sugar-cane plantations to grow cassava.
"The commune cannot stop farmers from reducing sugar-cane areas to grow cassava," said vice chairman of Xuan Hoa Commune of Thanh Hoa Province Luong Van Xuan.
Head of the Planning Unit of Van Yen Cassava Factory Nguyen Van Thong said that the factory would try to purchase all cassava from farmers.
"However, the price cannot be as high as it was in previous years because of the current common economic difficulties in every country," he said.
Thong said if the provincial authority could financially support cassava factories, it would mutually benefit both farmers and factories.
Yen Bai Province authorities plan to give farmers an extra VND50 for every kg of cassava to help farmers.
Director of the Department of Cultivation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Tri Ngoc said low prices were not only affecting cassava farmers, but also those growing many other kinds of crops.
"Staff at local agriculture offices can hardly force farmers to grow particular crops," he said. "But we must provide more information to farmers about long-term prospects of various crops."
At present, Viet Nam has an estimated 510,000ha under cassava, but it is hoped to reduce this to 375,000ha by next year.— VNS
Mar 29, 2009
Mar 25, 2009
Export turnover in first quarter up 2.4%
Nhan Dan - Hanoi,Vietnam, March 24, 2009
Vietnam has earned US$13.5 billion from exports in the first three months of this year, up 2.4% against the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Due to the impact of the global economic crisis, exports (excluding crude oil) from the foreign invested sector decreased 13% year-on-year, earning only US$4.5 billion.Items that registered high export growths in both quantity and value in the first quarter include rice, cassava (picture from cassavanews), pepper and tea.
In the meantime, the import turnover of many other products decreased by 50%-70% compared to the same period last year. Only imports of new medicine saw an increase of 22.4%.
In total, Vietnam’s total import turnover in the first quarter is estimated at US$11.8 billion, down 45% compared to the same period last year.
PetroVietnam General forecasts profit to rise 15 percent in 2009
Thanh Nien Daily - Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam, March 23, 2009
PetroVietnam General Services Joint Stock Co., a trader of cassava with interests in mobile phones and oilfield services, forecast profit will rise 15 percent this year on higher shipments of the root. Profit may climb to VND100 billion (US$5.7 million) as the company plans to increase exports of cassava to as much as 300,000 metric tons from 97,000 tons a year earlier, said a statement on the Ho Chi Minh City-based company’s website.
The statement did not clarify if the earnings figure is net income. The company did not have to pay corporate tax last year, and calls to officials at the company weren’t immediately answered.
“Shipments of sliced cassava may help make a big contribution to the company’s 2009 business plan,” the statement said.
Profit increased 5 percent to VND25 billion in the first two months of 2009, the statement said.
Source: Bloomberg
IITA develops cassava for improved nutrition
Le Mali en ligne - Mali
News - Africa news
Lagos, Nigeria - Scientists at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), based in Nigeria's South-west city of Ibadan, are working on cassava-based recipes that will be used in improving the nutrition and health of vulnerable groups, including women and children. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is funding the US$5.3 million project, which seeks to unleash the power of cassava in Africa (UPoCA). The two-year project, which covers Sierra Leone, DR Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Tanzania, also aims to introduce and test a cassava-based complementary food for acceptability in that country.
Speaking on Sunday during a field training of trainers on new farm measurement tools, UPoCA’s Project Manager, Dr. Braima James, said the project would deploy proven technologies to maximize production, commercialisation, value addition and utilization of cassava.
``The project aims to ensure adequate supply of cassava and cassava food products at economically-affordable prices in the participating countries by making readily available improved cassava varieties, production processes and farm gate processing.
``Information, education and communication strategies will help to boost previously piloted research-for-development gains in the cassava sub-sector,’’ James, who is also an IITA Scientist, said.
IITA Crop Utilisation Specialist, Dr. Busie Maziya-Dixon, said that the institute had developed several food products from cassava, proving that cassava is not just a food crop but also a cash crop.
``Cassava is no longer seen as a ‘poor man’s crop’ but an industrial crop that is not just providing food for resource-poor farmers but also money in their pockets," she said.
Lagos - 22/03/2009
News - Africa news
Lagos, Nigeria - Scientists at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), based in Nigeria's South-west city of Ibadan, are working on cassava-based recipes that will be used in improving the nutrition and health of vulnerable groups, including women and children. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is funding the US$5.3 million project, which seeks to unleash the power of cassava in Africa (UPoCA). The two-year project, which covers Sierra Leone, DR Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Tanzania, also aims to introduce and test a cassava-based complementary food for acceptability in that country.
Speaking on Sunday during a field training of trainers on new farm measurement tools, UPoCA’s Project Manager, Dr. Braima James, said the project would deploy proven technologies to maximize production, commercialisation, value addition and utilization of cassava.
``The project aims to ensure adequate supply of cassava and cassava food products at economically-affordable prices in the participating countries by making readily available improved cassava varieties, production processes and farm gate processing.
``Information, education and communication strategies will help to boost previously piloted research-for-development gains in the cassava sub-sector,’’ James, who is also an IITA Scientist, said.
IITA Crop Utilisation Specialist, Dr. Busie Maziya-Dixon, said that the institute had developed several food products from cassava, proving that cassava is not just a food crop but also a cash crop.
``Cassava is no longer seen as a ‘poor man’s crop’ but an industrial crop that is not just providing food for resource-poor farmers but also money in their pockets," she said.
Lagos - 22/03/2009
Nigeria: IFAD Supports Cassava Production With $10 Million
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA, 23 March 2009
by Alexandra Mede
Abuja — International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a United Nations organ, weekend unveiled plans to support cassava production in Nigeria with the sum of $10 million (about N1.45 billion). The support is billed to come under the Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP) of the Federal government.IFAD Regional Portfolio Adviser for West and Central Africa, Perecent Ange, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.
According to Ange who had just completed a field mission to access the impact of the root and tuber expansion programme in Nigeria, the new spending plan on cassava production is in addition to a similar amount already spent on the production since inception.
"To this end, about 300 mini cassava processing centres are to be established in the country in addition to the 220 in existence. Under the initiative, three integrated cassava plants are to be established in three states in the country. They are Ogun, Kogi and Imo states respectively," he said.
by Alexandra Mede
Abuja — International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a United Nations organ, weekend unveiled plans to support cassava production in Nigeria with the sum of $10 million (about N1.45 billion). The support is billed to come under the Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP) of the Federal government.IFAD Regional Portfolio Adviser for West and Central Africa, Perecent Ange, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.
According to Ange who had just completed a field mission to access the impact of the root and tuber expansion programme in Nigeria, the new spending plan on cassava production is in addition to a similar amount already spent on the production since inception.
"To this end, about 300 mini cassava processing centres are to be established in the country in addition to the 220 in existence. Under the initiative, three integrated cassava plants are to be established in three states in the country. They are Ogun, Kogi and Imo states respectively," he said.
Cassava important crop in the tropics
By KEITH PATTON, Special to the Daily News
Palm Beach Daily News - Palm Beach,FL,USA, Friday, March 20, 2009
Cassava is one of those plants with as many names as there are different communities eating it. It is known as manioc, manihot, yucca, mandioca, sweet potato tree and tapioca plant. It is an important food crop in the tropics, where it is grown for its starchy, tuberous roots. This plant is sometimes referred to as the potato of the tropics, and it is a staple for many people around the world.
Cassava has been grown in Florida for many years and, as the Caribbean population increased, so did its cultivation in backyard gardens. Around the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was grown to such an extent that a few small starch factories were started to process the crop.
While not as important a commercial crop as it once was, about 800 acres were grown in Miami-Dade County for the fresh market in 1984. Only a relatively few gardeners now include it in their home gardens, but it is such an easy plant to care for and establish, I would encourage everyone to give it a try.
Cassava is a shrubby perennial that grows to a maximum of 6 to 8 feet. It has smooth, erect stems and resembles the cannabis plant. The large, compound, dark-green, reddish-veined leaves are divided into about seven leaflets. The stems contain a soft white center and have nodes from which new plants are obtained.
The roots, the most valuable part of the plant, grow in clusters of four to eight at the stem base. Roots are from 1 to 4 inches in diameter and from 8 to 15 inches long, although roots up to 3 feet long are found.
The winner of this year's largest vegetable at the South Florida Fair was a cassava.
The pure-white interior of the roots is firmer than potatoes and has very high starch content. The roots are covered with a thin, reddish-brown, fibrous bark that is removed by peeling. The bark is reported to contain toxic hydrocyanic acid, which must be removed by washing, scraping and heating. Eat the flesh, not the bark.
Two types of cassava recognized are "bitter" and "sweet." The sweet-type roots contain only a small amount of the acid and are boiled and used as a vegetable, along with the young leaves, which are used a greens.
Leaves are not eaten raw because of the poisonous substances. Boil them like other greens, such a turnips.
The roots also are used for animal feed, and the starch is used for glue, laundry starch and tapioca pudding.
Cassava needs eight to 11 frost-free months to produce usable roots. It requires about the same soil and fertilizer as sweet potatoes.
Cassava is propagated by planting 10-inch sections of the stem 2 to 4 inches deep at 4-foot intervals on 4-foot wide rows. The roots are dug or pulled and used soon after harvest, since they deteriorate rapidly.
Large plants will be very tough, so most grow this plant for a single season. The plant, however, can grow for many years, producing roots that weigh many pounds.
Stick with small roots, and you will be surprised at just how many recipes exist for this plant.
Tired of potatoes? Grow cassava.
For more information, call the Palm Beach County Master Gardener hot line at 233-1750.
Keith Patton is coordinator of the Florida Yards and Neighborhoods program at the Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service. Portions of this column may have been produced by his colleagues at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
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Palm Beach Daily News - Palm Beach,FL,USA, Friday, March 20, 2009
Cassava is one of those plants with as many names as there are different communities eating it. It is known as manioc, manihot, yucca, mandioca, sweet potato tree and tapioca plant. It is an important food crop in the tropics, where it is grown for its starchy, tuberous roots. This plant is sometimes referred to as the potato of the tropics, and it is a staple for many people around the world.
Cassava has been grown in Florida for many years and, as the Caribbean population increased, so did its cultivation in backyard gardens. Around the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was grown to such an extent that a few small starch factories were started to process the crop.
While not as important a commercial crop as it once was, about 800 acres were grown in Miami-Dade County for the fresh market in 1984. Only a relatively few gardeners now include it in their home gardens, but it is such an easy plant to care for and establish, I would encourage everyone to give it a try.
Cassava is a shrubby perennial that grows to a maximum of 6 to 8 feet. It has smooth, erect stems and resembles the cannabis plant. The large, compound, dark-green, reddish-veined leaves are divided into about seven leaflets. The stems contain a soft white center and have nodes from which new plants are obtained.
The roots, the most valuable part of the plant, grow in clusters of four to eight at the stem base. Roots are from 1 to 4 inches in diameter and from 8 to 15 inches long, although roots up to 3 feet long are found.
The winner of this year's largest vegetable at the South Florida Fair was a cassava.
The pure-white interior of the roots is firmer than potatoes and has very high starch content. The roots are covered with a thin, reddish-brown, fibrous bark that is removed by peeling. The bark is reported to contain toxic hydrocyanic acid, which must be removed by washing, scraping and heating. Eat the flesh, not the bark.
Two types of cassava recognized are "bitter" and "sweet." The sweet-type roots contain only a small amount of the acid and are boiled and used as a vegetable, along with the young leaves, which are used a greens.
Leaves are not eaten raw because of the poisonous substances. Boil them like other greens, such a turnips.
The roots also are used for animal feed, and the starch is used for glue, laundry starch and tapioca pudding.
Cassava needs eight to 11 frost-free months to produce usable roots. It requires about the same soil and fertilizer as sweet potatoes.
Cassava is propagated by planting 10-inch sections of the stem 2 to 4 inches deep at 4-foot intervals on 4-foot wide rows. The roots are dug or pulled and used soon after harvest, since they deteriorate rapidly.
Large plants will be very tough, so most grow this plant for a single season. The plant, however, can grow for many years, producing roots that weigh many pounds.
Stick with small roots, and you will be surprised at just how many recipes exist for this plant.
Tired of potatoes? Grow cassava.
For more information, call the Palm Beach County Master Gardener hot line at 233-1750.
Keith Patton is coordinator of the Florida Yards and Neighborhoods program at the Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service. Portions of this column may have been produced by his colleagues at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
Root Cause Analysis
Learn how to lead root cause analyses and investigations using various techniques such as www.process-improvement-institute.com
Tapioca Starch Buyers Wanted
Enjoy subsidies for attending the Asia's largest trade fairs by HKTDC.
www.hktdc.com
cd scratch removal Machines
30 day 100% Money Back Guarantee! Free kit included, now $499 and up.
www.jfjdiscrepair.com
Money Plant Tree Seeds
Buy rare and unusual tree seeds online. Easy order, fast delivery.
seedrack.com
Liberia: USAID-IITA project aims to introduce cassava-based recipe for improved nutrition and health of vulnerable groups
by Press Release
TheLiberianTimes.com - New York,NY,USA Mar 20, 2009
Scientists at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture are working on cassava-based recipes that will be used in improving the nutrition and health of vulnerable groups (women, children under 5, and pregnant women), thanks to a .3 million United States Agency for International Development project that is seeking to unleash the power of cassava in Africa (UPoCA). Besides the cassava-based recipes that will be first introduced in Sierra Leone, the project also aims to introduce and test a cassava-based complementary food for acceptability in that country.
The 2-year project covers Sierra Leone, DR Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.
Speaking during a field training of trainers on new farm measurement tools (Global Positioning System) in Seirra Leone, UPoCA’s Project Manager, Dr. Braima James, said the project would deploy proven technologies to maximize production, commercialization, value addition and utilization of cassava.
"The project aims to ensure adequate supply of cassava and cassava food products at economically-affordable prices in the participating countries by making readily available improved cassava varieties, production processes and farm gate processing. Information, education and communication strategies will help to boost previously piloted research-for-development gains in the cassava sub-sector," James who is also an IITA Scientist said.
He added that knowing the locations of cassava processing sites would guide UPoCA to select and train clusters of farmers around those sites in the project’s value chain.
IITA Crop Utilization Specialist, Dr. Busie Maziya-Dixon said the institute had developed several food products from cassava, proving that cassava is not just a food crop but also a cash crop.
"Cassava is no longer seen as a ‘poor man’s crop’ but an industrial crop that is not just providing food for resource-poor farmers but also money in their pockets," she said.
According to IITA Trainer, Mr. Atcha Cyprien, the GPS is a world-wide satellite-based system used in measuring three dimensional position of a point any where on earth. He emphasized that the device is a receptor which works with the 24 satellites that revolves around the earth sending signals.
The 17 participants for the training were drawn from the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security (MAFFS), Operation Feed The Nation, Planning Evaluation Monitoring Statistic Division, Crop Protection Service of MAFFS and Research Into Use (RIU) units of Kailahun, Kono, Bo, Bonthe, Bombali, Kambia districts and the Western Area of Sierra Leone.
About IITA
Africa has complex problems that plague agriculture and people's lives. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty. Our award winning research for development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We work with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization since 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR.
Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer
IITA - Headquarters
Ibadan, Nigeria
URL: www.iita.org
TheLiberianTimes.com - New York,NY,USA Mar 20, 2009
Scientists at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture are working on cassava-based recipes that will be used in improving the nutrition and health of vulnerable groups (women, children under 5, and pregnant women), thanks to a .3 million United States Agency for International Development project that is seeking to unleash the power of cassava in Africa (UPoCA). Besides the cassava-based recipes that will be first introduced in Sierra Leone, the project also aims to introduce and test a cassava-based complementary food for acceptability in that country.
The 2-year project covers Sierra Leone, DR Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.
Speaking during a field training of trainers on new farm measurement tools (Global Positioning System) in Seirra Leone, UPoCA’s Project Manager, Dr. Braima James, said the project would deploy proven technologies to maximize production, commercialization, value addition and utilization of cassava.
"The project aims to ensure adequate supply of cassava and cassava food products at economically-affordable prices in the participating countries by making readily available improved cassava varieties, production processes and farm gate processing. Information, education and communication strategies will help to boost previously piloted research-for-development gains in the cassava sub-sector," James who is also an IITA Scientist said.
He added that knowing the locations of cassava processing sites would guide UPoCA to select and train clusters of farmers around those sites in the project’s value chain.
IITA Crop Utilization Specialist, Dr. Busie Maziya-Dixon said the institute had developed several food products from cassava, proving that cassava is not just a food crop but also a cash crop.
"Cassava is no longer seen as a ‘poor man’s crop’ but an industrial crop that is not just providing food for resource-poor farmers but also money in their pockets," she said.
According to IITA Trainer, Mr. Atcha Cyprien, the GPS is a world-wide satellite-based system used in measuring three dimensional position of a point any where on earth. He emphasized that the device is a receptor which works with the 24 satellites that revolves around the earth sending signals.
The 17 participants for the training were drawn from the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security (MAFFS), Operation Feed The Nation, Planning Evaluation Monitoring Statistic Division, Crop Protection Service of MAFFS and Research Into Use (RIU) units of Kailahun, Kono, Bo, Bonthe, Bombali, Kambia districts and the Western Area of Sierra Leone.
About IITA
Africa has complex problems that plague agriculture and people's lives. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty. Our award winning research for development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We work with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization since 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR.
Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer
IITA - Headquarters
Ibadan, Nigeria
URL: www.iita.org
Governor embroiled in Kampong Thom land fight
Written by Chrann Chamroeun and Mom Kunthear
Phnom Penh Post - Phnom Penh,Cambodia
Friday, 20 March 2009
About 65 families in Kampong Thom province's Baray district have become embroiled in a dispute with the former district governor over 100 hectares of land that they say the official has stolen from them.The families say Steng Sen district Governor Uth Sam On, who used to govern Baray district, has seized their land and their cassava harvest.
The governor says the land belongs to him and a group of local businessmen and police, and said he was being falsely accused.
Human rights group Licadho said it was not clear exactly who owned the land.
A representative of the families, Ouch Chanthorn, told the Post Wednesday that the governor had instructed 30 labourers and three policemen to block access to the land in Bak Thnar commune since March 11.
"Now [the labourers] have harvested more than two hectares of our cassava crop worth US$4,000," Ouch Chanthorn said.
Legal options
Uth Sam On confirmed that some police were present, saying they were part-owners.
He said he was the victim in the dispute, adding that he had documentation to prove that as Baray district governor in 1996 he had agreed that 10 people could clear the land and plant crops in exchange for him paying them 150,000 riels ($38).
Uth Sam On said a group of more than 20 people - including military police and local businessmen - had legal title to the site, which he said is 81 hectares.
He also said that only a few families were now farming the land.
"If they try to resolve this peacefully, I will be generous and give them a piece of land to farm," he said. "But if they remain stubborn I will file a complaint in court."
Ouch Chanthorn said the people had filed a thumb-printed complaint to the court asking it to intervene, but that the request had been rejected.
Licadho monitor Ek Sophea said the question of legal title was unclear, but his investigation had shown that the land was cleared in 1995.
Although the people did not have legal title, he said the governor might. He said Licadho would help them file another complaint to ensure the court investigated the case.
Article 30 of the Land Law of August 2001 states that any person who has "enjoyed peaceful, uncontested possession" of state private land since July 1996 or earlier may request ownership title to that land.
Phnom Penh Post - Phnom Penh,Cambodia
Friday, 20 March 2009
About 65 families in Kampong Thom province's Baray district have become embroiled in a dispute with the former district governor over 100 hectares of land that they say the official has stolen from them.The families say Steng Sen district Governor Uth Sam On, who used to govern Baray district, has seized their land and their cassava harvest.
The governor says the land belongs to him and a group of local businessmen and police, and said he was being falsely accused.
Human rights group Licadho said it was not clear exactly who owned the land.
A representative of the families, Ouch Chanthorn, told the Post Wednesday that the governor had instructed 30 labourers and three policemen to block access to the land in Bak Thnar commune since March 11.
"Now [the labourers] have harvested more than two hectares of our cassava crop worth US$4,000," Ouch Chanthorn said.
Legal options
Uth Sam On confirmed that some police were present, saying they were part-owners.
He said he was the victim in the dispute, adding that he had documentation to prove that as Baray district governor in 1996 he had agreed that 10 people could clear the land and plant crops in exchange for him paying them 150,000 riels ($38).
Uth Sam On said a group of more than 20 people - including military police and local businessmen - had legal title to the site, which he said is 81 hectares.
He also said that only a few families were now farming the land.
"If they try to resolve this peacefully, I will be generous and give them a piece of land to farm," he said. "But if they remain stubborn I will file a complaint in court."
Ouch Chanthorn said the people had filed a thumb-printed complaint to the court asking it to intervene, but that the request had been rejected.
Licadho monitor Ek Sophea said the question of legal title was unclear, but his investigation had shown that the land was cleared in 1995.
Although the people did not have legal title, he said the governor might. He said Licadho would help them file another complaint to ensure the court investigated the case.
Article 30 of the Land Law of August 2001 states that any person who has "enjoyed peaceful, uncontested possession" of state private land since July 1996 or earlier may request ownership title to that land.
Mar 11, 2009
Nigeria’s tug of war with genetically modified foods
Do the benefits of Super Cassava outweigh GM risks?
Afrik.com - Paris,France
CASSAVANEWS. The United States biotechnology company, Donald Danforth Plant Science Centre has offered to conduct field-testing of a genetically modified cassava they call Super Cassava. But the executive director of the ERA/FoEN, Nnimmo Bassey in a statement issued in Lagos said, "Nigeria does not need any super cassava. The genetic modification of cassava to produce Vitamin A is fraught with many dangers to the health of Nigerians who depend on cassava as a staple.”
The plan by an American based biotechnology company to assist with the genetic modification of Nigeria’s cassava into what has been termed "Super Cassava" has been touted by the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) and over 30 other civil society groups in Nigeria as a neo-colonialist move to take over the country’s food production future.
---------------------------------------------
Tuesday 10 March 2009, by Konye Obaji Ori
---------------------------------------------
The United States biotechnology company, Donald Danforth Plant Science Centre has offered to conduct field-testing of a genetically modified cassava they call Super Cassava. But the executive director of the ERA/FoEN, Nnimmo Bassey in a statement issued in Lagos said, "Nigeria does not need any super cassava. The genetic modification of cassava to produce Vitamin A is fraught with many dangers to the health of Nigerians who depend on cassava as a staple.”
Genetically modified foods generally undergo modification in laboratories with the purpose of enhancing productivity as well as improving their nutritional value. While some crops are genetically engineered to become drought resistant others are modified to prevent insect invasions, among other measures to ensure high level productivity.
Arguments
In developing nations, the need to boost agriculture has become incumbent on governments who have to deal with their ever-increasing populations. The world’s population, which presently stands at over 6 billion, is expected to double in the next fifty years. This makes not only feeding but also the health concerns of populations a priority. It is in this vain that researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology created a strain of rice containing high contents of vitamin A to fight deficiencies, which lead to blindness. The rice was named "golden rice". The institute had also planned to introduce iron content into some staples but funding was stopped, dealing a blow to the somewhat humanitarian intentions of the research, probably due to activism in Europe.
Activists argue that the hazards involved in consuming genetically modified foods have not been sufficiently researched by governments to ensure proper regulatory measures. Some of their arguments include: Unintended harm to other organisms; reduced effectiveness of pesticides; gene transfer to non-target species; Allergenicity; Unknown effects on humans. Some activists also argue on environmental, health, moral and religious grounds.
Benefits outweigh risks
According to experts, the Nigerian government’s approval of the trade to the National Biosafety Committee (NBC), while giving the green light to the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) to go ahead with plans to conduct the contained field trials of the genetically-modified cassava, is simply because the “the benefits of the operation outweigh the dangers as more and more people risk hunger”. Another obvious factor is the recent “food crisis that hit developing countries around the world" and which has led populations in countries like Haiti to eat mud to survive.
The information on the approval was made open at the annual meeting of the American Society for the Advancement of Science, held in Chicago, U.S.A last month, where it was announced that Nigeria’s NBC had given the Danforth Centre approval to carry out field trials for genetically modified cassava in collaboration with NRCRI.
Super fraud!
But the ERA/FoEN, who described the alleged approval as trading away Nigeria’s food future to modern colonialists hiding under the cover of agricultural biotechnology, has asked for an immediate stoppage to the proposed test, which is to be conducted on the banks of the Qua-Ibo River, in Abia State.
According to them “the biotech industry engineered the so-called golden rice to be rich in Vitamin A some years back, but one needed to eat 9 kilograms of that rice to have as much Vitamin A as one would have from eating just two small carrots! The golden rice was a golden hoax and the super cassava would turn out to be super fraud”.
Running Nigeria as an enterprise
The Guardian - Nigeria - Lagos,Nigeria
By Bartholomew Okonkwo 11 March, 2009
CASSAVANEWS. Obasanjo opened our eyes on Cassava during his rule and this has placed Nigeria on the higher echelon of cassava matrix. What I am saying is that mechanised agriculture can be used by these governors to cultivate cash crops with improved seeding and this will even create jobs for the masses. What are they waiting for? Well I don't blame them when they use two years of their rule to fight for the mandate they would have stolen and the remaining two years to prepare for re-election. How can they concentrate and plan?
For Nigeria to move forward, our various governments state and federal should adopt the business model other Fortune 500 companies had adopted in order to realise their goals and objectives. The country has to be run as an enterprise before we can have any meaningful development. We need to have a business strategy and develop metrics to measure our profitability at the end of every calendar year. The business of our government is still being run in a non-orchestrated manner and this has resulted in the various hiccups we have had over the years. There are so many singers without a choirmaster.
For us to run our government as an enterprise, we have to evolve a business strategy. This is a plan that integrates an organisation's goals, policies, and action sequences into a cohesive whole. Such should identify the overall direction and intent of the organisation in terms of major drivers that are, or will be in place to ensure continuity. There is no organisation or nation that can survive or be in the league of blue-chip companies or developed economies if it does not have a clear-cut business strategy which defines the direction it is going.
For us to define our strategy, we have to look at three things. We have to define where we are going. We have to identify what are the terrains or issues we need to overcome to get us there and we have to identify where we are currently.
Several times in our life as a nation, we kept defining where we are going. We had Vision 2000, we had 2010 and now we have Vision 2020. In as much as these visions were not clear and people have not been made to buy into it, support it and make it happen, we have not really been consistent in realising the vision because we as a nation have not assessed what our terrain/issues are and how to overcome them. Our leadership style in this nation should adopt the management style of Ready, Aim and Fire style of leadership. Our leaders don't even know what they are firing at before they pull the trigger. They first pull the trigger and then ask questions. Simply put, they do not know where they are going to. There is no defined plan in place and a sequence of cohesive actions. What baffles me is that so many of these people have attended the best business schools in the world yet they fail at the leadership level. To me, it is simply selfishness and affiliation to party ideologies, which are not client driven. The clients-here are the masses who are yelling for change.
Now coming to our strategy realisation, we have to be ready. To be ready, we need to do a comprehensive assessment of what our issues/terrains are. What are those things that have made it impossible for us to realise our vision or where we want to go? Our terrains are corruption, improper electoral system, high recurrent expenditure, ineffective policing, Niger Delta, power, political pests, dependence on oil revenue, etc.
Other nations have natural disasters which they consider as their own issues or terrains but we are so blessed that we don't have such things here. Rather we have decided to create our own natural disasters. We have corruption which has been ravaging public institutions like a tornado, we have fraudulent electoral system that results in loss of lives each time an election is held, that is our own hurricane. In the area of policing, we have one of the most frustrated and ill-equipped police team in the world and due to poor welfare they often transfer aggression to the citizens they are meant to protect. The police are our own Tsunami. The cost of running our governments is so high, this is our own earthquake.
Power issue is an ugly monster that has retarded our development, created moribund industries, unemployment, high rate of crime and eliminated foreign investments in our country. Political pests are those who distract the presidency. They are working for different interest groups and have made government to lose focus on the citizens and direct policies to favour these few in order to grow their business empires. Too much dependency on oil and the need to divert our revenue quest to other non-oil yielding ventures. As a business enterprise, the government should focus more on the citizens, who are its internal customers, its work force that should be utilised effectively to drive down production cost as we have in China.
A proper assessment of these issues/terrains will enable us to identify those terrains that have made it impossible for us to achieve our various visions. We should be drawing the action plan to overcome our terrains in order to get to where we want to go to.
All state governments should adopt this business model and run their states as if they are running enterprises with the customers/citizens in consideration. They should look at ways of yielding internal revenues in order to finance their infrastructural development rather than this yearly ritual of waiting for oil funds. The world is looking at bio fuels and once America perfects this technology, oil prices will sell at $10 per barrel and Nigeria could go into extinction. Obasanjo opened our eyes on Cassava during his rule and this has placed Nigeria on the higher echelon of cassava matrix. What I am saying is that mechanised agriculture can be used by these governors to cultivate cash crops with improved seeding and this will even create jobs for the masses. What are they waiting for? Well I don't blame them when they use two years of their rule to fight for the mandate they would have stolen and the remaining two years to prepare for re-election. How can they concentrate and plan?
The bottom line is that I want a better country for all of us. I want a country we can call our own and be proud of even at the point of death. Patriotism seems to have died in this country because the citizens have lost hope in their leaders. Until government begins to run our agencies with that kind of zeal an entrepreneur would have in running his own business, we cannot get far. We see government's business here as nobody's business hence the scramble for the resources.
Okonkwo lives in Lagos.
By Bartholomew Okonkwo 11 March, 2009
CASSAVANEWS. Obasanjo opened our eyes on Cassava during his rule and this has placed Nigeria on the higher echelon of cassava matrix. What I am saying is that mechanised agriculture can be used by these governors to cultivate cash crops with improved seeding and this will even create jobs for the masses. What are they waiting for? Well I don't blame them when they use two years of their rule to fight for the mandate they would have stolen and the remaining two years to prepare for re-election. How can they concentrate and plan?
For Nigeria to move forward, our various governments state and federal should adopt the business model other Fortune 500 companies had adopted in order to realise their goals and objectives. The country has to be run as an enterprise before we can have any meaningful development. We need to have a business strategy and develop metrics to measure our profitability at the end of every calendar year. The business of our government is still being run in a non-orchestrated manner and this has resulted in the various hiccups we have had over the years. There are so many singers without a choirmaster.
For us to run our government as an enterprise, we have to evolve a business strategy. This is a plan that integrates an organisation's goals, policies, and action sequences into a cohesive whole. Such should identify the overall direction and intent of the organisation in terms of major drivers that are, or will be in place to ensure continuity. There is no organisation or nation that can survive or be in the league of blue-chip companies or developed economies if it does not have a clear-cut business strategy which defines the direction it is going.
For us to define our strategy, we have to look at three things. We have to define where we are going. We have to identify what are the terrains or issues we need to overcome to get us there and we have to identify where we are currently.
Several times in our life as a nation, we kept defining where we are going. We had Vision 2000, we had 2010 and now we have Vision 2020. In as much as these visions were not clear and people have not been made to buy into it, support it and make it happen, we have not really been consistent in realising the vision because we as a nation have not assessed what our terrain/issues are and how to overcome them. Our leadership style in this nation should adopt the management style of Ready, Aim and Fire style of leadership. Our leaders don't even know what they are firing at before they pull the trigger. They first pull the trigger and then ask questions. Simply put, they do not know where they are going to. There is no defined plan in place and a sequence of cohesive actions. What baffles me is that so many of these people have attended the best business schools in the world yet they fail at the leadership level. To me, it is simply selfishness and affiliation to party ideologies, which are not client driven. The clients-here are the masses who are yelling for change.
Now coming to our strategy realisation, we have to be ready. To be ready, we need to do a comprehensive assessment of what our issues/terrains are. What are those things that have made it impossible for us to realise our vision or where we want to go? Our terrains are corruption, improper electoral system, high recurrent expenditure, ineffective policing, Niger Delta, power, political pests, dependence on oil revenue, etc.
Other nations have natural disasters which they consider as their own issues or terrains but we are so blessed that we don't have such things here. Rather we have decided to create our own natural disasters. We have corruption which has been ravaging public institutions like a tornado, we have fraudulent electoral system that results in loss of lives each time an election is held, that is our own hurricane. In the area of policing, we have one of the most frustrated and ill-equipped police team in the world and due to poor welfare they often transfer aggression to the citizens they are meant to protect. The police are our own Tsunami. The cost of running our governments is so high, this is our own earthquake.
Power issue is an ugly monster that has retarded our development, created moribund industries, unemployment, high rate of crime and eliminated foreign investments in our country. Political pests are those who distract the presidency. They are working for different interest groups and have made government to lose focus on the citizens and direct policies to favour these few in order to grow their business empires. Too much dependency on oil and the need to divert our revenue quest to other non-oil yielding ventures. As a business enterprise, the government should focus more on the citizens, who are its internal customers, its work force that should be utilised effectively to drive down production cost as we have in China.
A proper assessment of these issues/terrains will enable us to identify those terrains that have made it impossible for us to achieve our various visions. We should be drawing the action plan to overcome our terrains in order to get to where we want to go to.
All state governments should adopt this business model and run their states as if they are running enterprises with the customers/citizens in consideration. They should look at ways of yielding internal revenues in order to finance their infrastructural development rather than this yearly ritual of waiting for oil funds. The world is looking at bio fuels and once America perfects this technology, oil prices will sell at $10 per barrel and Nigeria could go into extinction. Obasanjo opened our eyes on Cassava during his rule and this has placed Nigeria on the higher echelon of cassava matrix. What I am saying is that mechanised agriculture can be used by these governors to cultivate cash crops with improved seeding and this will even create jobs for the masses. What are they waiting for? Well I don't blame them when they use two years of their rule to fight for the mandate they would have stolen and the remaining two years to prepare for re-election. How can they concentrate and plan?
The bottom line is that I want a better country for all of us. I want a country we can call our own and be proud of even at the point of death. Patriotism seems to have died in this country because the citizens have lost hope in their leaders. Until government begins to run our agencies with that kind of zeal an entrepreneur would have in running his own business, we cannot get far. We see government's business here as nobody's business hence the scramble for the resources.
Okonkwo lives in Lagos.
Mar 9, 2009
Cassava glut downs prices, farmers lose out
Thanh Nien Daily - Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam March 9, 2009. With many farmers in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong rushing to cultivate cassava last year, a supply surplus has sent prices plummeting and left farmers with an unprofitable crop.(Picture: Sacks of cassava are weighed and loaded for transportation to the local market in Cu Jut District, Dak Nong Province.)
Dinh Van Dien of Dak Rong Commune in Cu Jut District said cassava was bought at VND3,000 (US$0.17) per kilogram last year but now it is priced half that.
He said he made no money from his two-hectare cassava field after paying nearly VND6 million ($343) in labor costs.
Many families in the commune, with cassava fields of 3-5 hectares, have literally been crying because of crop losses.
“It is so bitter,” Dien said. “Last year, farmers rushed to grow cassava after seeing the prices soar. We never imagined that cassava prices would plunge like this.”
Many disappointed farmers have yet to hire workers to cultivate their crops.
Pham Van Kieu, an agricultural products outlet in neighboring Nam Dong commune, said he refused to buy cassava from many farmers because supply was more than consumption this year.
Le Van Cong, head of Cu Jut District’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department, said cassava areas increased three times to 1,830 hectares last year although officials warned growers of producing a surplus.
Cong also said it was not just Cu Jut, but many other districts in Dak Nong Province that have seen a significant increase in cassava cultivation.
“Perhaps farmers do not need warnings this year. They will decrease it by themselves,” he said. “They have learnt the lesson.”
Reported by Tran Ngoc Quyen
ERA Flays Testing of ‘Super Cassava’
THISDAY - Apapa,Lagos,Nigeria
March 8, 2009
FCT. Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) and over 30 other civil society groups in Nigeria have condemned the alleged approval by the Federal Government for the Donald Danforth Plant Science Centre, United States, to conduct field-testing of a genetically modified cassava christened “Super Cassava” in Nigeria.
They described the alleged approval as trading away Nigeria's food future to modern colonialists hiding under the cover of agricultural biotechnology, and said the proposed test must be halted immediately.
ERA/FoEN’s position is premised on the recently reported approval of the National Biosafety Committee (NBC) for the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike to go ahead with plans to conduct “contained” field trials of genetically-modified cassava on the banks of the Qua Iboe River, Abia State.
Details of the approval was revealed at the annual meeting of the American Society for the Advancement of Science, held in Chicago, U.S.A on February 13, 2009, where it was announced that Nigeria’s NBC had given the Danforth Centre approval to carry out field trials for GM cassava in collaboration with NRCRI.
In its reaction to the development, ERA/FoEN warned that the back door approach of the biotech industry and its Nigerian allies to introduce GM crops in the country will not only endanger Nigerians but is also a “breach” of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety which Nigeria is signatory to, which seeks among others to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology.
"Nigeria does not need any super cassava. The genetic modification of cassava to produce Vitamin A is fraught with many dangers to the health of Nigerians who depend on cassava as a staple. Some years back the biotech industry engineered the so-called golden rice to be rich in Vitamin A, but one would need to eat 9 kilograms of that rice to have as much Vitamin A as one would have from eating just two small carrots! The golden rice was a golden hoax and the super cassava will turn out to be super fraud”, said ERA/FoEN
Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey in a statement issued in Lagos.
March 8, 2009
FCT. Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) and over 30 other civil society groups in Nigeria have condemned the alleged approval by the Federal Government for the Donald Danforth Plant Science Centre, United States, to conduct field-testing of a genetically modified cassava christened “Super Cassava” in Nigeria.
They described the alleged approval as trading away Nigeria's food future to modern colonialists hiding under the cover of agricultural biotechnology, and said the proposed test must be halted immediately.
ERA/FoEN’s position is premised on the recently reported approval of the National Biosafety Committee (NBC) for the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike to go ahead with plans to conduct “contained” field trials of genetically-modified cassava on the banks of the Qua Iboe River, Abia State.
Details of the approval was revealed at the annual meeting of the American Society for the Advancement of Science, held in Chicago, U.S.A on February 13, 2009, where it was announced that Nigeria’s NBC had given the Danforth Centre approval to carry out field trials for GM cassava in collaboration with NRCRI.
In its reaction to the development, ERA/FoEN warned that the back door approach of the biotech industry and its Nigerian allies to introduce GM crops in the country will not only endanger Nigerians but is also a “breach” of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety which Nigeria is signatory to, which seeks among others to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology.
"Nigeria does not need any super cassava. The genetic modification of cassava to produce Vitamin A is fraught with many dangers to the health of Nigerians who depend on cassava as a staple. Some years back the biotech industry engineered the so-called golden rice to be rich in Vitamin A, but one would need to eat 9 kilograms of that rice to have as much Vitamin A as one would have from eating just two small carrots! The golden rice was a golden hoax and the super cassava will turn out to be super fraud”, said ERA/FoEN
Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey in a statement issued in Lagos.
Mar 6, 2009
Rice prices put farmers at a disadvantage
By The Nation
Published on March 4, 2009
Unless Thailand develops a national plan for sustainable agriculture, we will continue to lose out to our competitors The gathering of several-hundred cassava planters who sealed off the Commerce Ministry on Monday is a reflection of the weakness of the Thai agricultural sector. Thailand loves to pride itself on being one of the world's major exporters of agricultural produce. But a series of protests by Thai farmers shows that this might no longer be the case. Thai farmers are failing in world competition.
We have long been dependent on our geographical advantage, but our competitors have recently managed to overcome such disadvantages. At the same time, Thai farmers and the responsible agencies and officials remain complacent.
The latest series of protests shows that Thai farmers cannot stand on their own two feet. They have been slow in developing and improving yields per rai and the quality of their products. As a result, most Thai farmers have failed to improve their competitiveness while our competitors are progressing.
For instance, Thai rice farmers only managed to get good prices last year because the other main rice-producing countries, such as Vietnam and India, had to cope with natural disasters such as droughts and flooding. But when there are no natural disasters in other countries, Thai farmers are not able to compete with others in terms of price.
Last year was a good one for Thai farmers as the rice price on the world market rose to a record high, thanks to food security concerns. But this year the situation has changed abruptly. Thai rice fails miserably when compared to the same product from Vietnam. Thai rice is sold at an unrealistically high price due to price distortion at home.
The Thai Rice Exporters' Association said that in February, for instance, 5-per-cent rice was sold at US$585(Bt21,146) per tonne compared to the $400 at which Vietnamese traders sold their produce. The Commerce Ministry is trying to defend the 38-per-cent drop in Thai rice exports in January, blaming the decline on the world market situation. But the lower demand for Thai rice is a result of it being too expensive, as well as the increased availability of rice from other exporting countries.
Over the past few years, Thai farmers have not only been complacent and failed to improve their yields, they have not developed new strains of Thai rice.
Vietnamese farmers, however, have developed several new rice strains over the past few years. Their rice yield per hectare is also better than Thailand's.
Instead of focusing on how to improve production in a sustainable manner, Thai farmers tend to ask for short-term price support measures from the government whenever they face sluggish rice prices at home. Politicians see this as an opportunity to spend quick money to increase their popularity, even though some price support measures are bad decisions.
Rice is one example that demonstrates the country's failure to develop its farming sector. It is also a consequence of the country's lack of a national agenda for farm goods management to ensure sustainable development in the sector.
Therefore, over the past month, hundreds of desperate farmers have taken turns to protest and to ask for price support. The Thai government likes to boast how the country is a leading agricultural nation, but the planters who grow rubber, sugar cane and maize, in recent months, have rallied at the government's door to ask for more subsidies.
The government should invest more energy and resources in promoting agriculture, which has long proved to be a backbone of the country. But so far, governments have tended to introduce short-term measures, which at times hurt farmers because they distort the market prices. An example is the domestic rice price support programme, which caused Thai rice export prices to escalate and thus made Thai rice non-competitive overseas.
Some planters are also fed up with the short-term policy. Chanthaburi cassava grower Usa Pitaraphodhi was quoted as saying that cassava planters were suffering from unclear government policies regarding guaranteed prices. The market speculation over the policy direction on farm prices made prices fluctuate.
In addition to the problems discussed above, short-term government price intervention tends to lead to the smuggling of commodities from neighbouring countries. A large volume of cassava from Cambodia is said to be brought into the country because some middle-men want to benefit from the pledging scheme. Besides this, price intervention tends to invite corruption as the scheme normally involves a large sum in handouts.
Previous governments have floated the idea of a national agenda for farm producers. But an actual plan to achieve the goal has never materialised, thanks to the frequent changes in government and the immediate political problems they have to deal with.
But it's imperative for the government to think of a national agenda to develop Thai agriculture over the long term. The focus should be turned to improving crop strains and increasing yields per rai. If farmers succeed in doing so, they will have a good degree of immunity against fluctuating farm prices. Otherwise, it won't take long for the Thai agricultural sector to lose out further, even though it remains one of the most promising sectors of the economy. It's time for the government to focus on the national agenda for farm policy and turn it into an effective action plan
Published on March 4, 2009
Unless Thailand develops a national plan for sustainable agriculture, we will continue to lose out to our competitors The gathering of several-hundred cassava planters who sealed off the Commerce Ministry on Monday is a reflection of the weakness of the Thai agricultural sector. Thailand loves to pride itself on being one of the world's major exporters of agricultural produce. But a series of protests by Thai farmers shows that this might no longer be the case. Thai farmers are failing in world competition.
We have long been dependent on our geographical advantage, but our competitors have recently managed to overcome such disadvantages. At the same time, Thai farmers and the responsible agencies and officials remain complacent.
The latest series of protests shows that Thai farmers cannot stand on their own two feet. They have been slow in developing and improving yields per rai and the quality of their products. As a result, most Thai farmers have failed to improve their competitiveness while our competitors are progressing.
For instance, Thai rice farmers only managed to get good prices last year because the other main rice-producing countries, such as Vietnam and India, had to cope with natural disasters such as droughts and flooding. But when there are no natural disasters in other countries, Thai farmers are not able to compete with others in terms of price.
Last year was a good one for Thai farmers as the rice price on the world market rose to a record high, thanks to food security concerns. But this year the situation has changed abruptly. Thai rice fails miserably when compared to the same product from Vietnam. Thai rice is sold at an unrealistically high price due to price distortion at home.
The Thai Rice Exporters' Association said that in February, for instance, 5-per-cent rice was sold at US$585(Bt21,146) per tonne compared to the $400 at which Vietnamese traders sold their produce. The Commerce Ministry is trying to defend the 38-per-cent drop in Thai rice exports in January, blaming the decline on the world market situation. But the lower demand for Thai rice is a result of it being too expensive, as well as the increased availability of rice from other exporting countries.
Over the past few years, Thai farmers have not only been complacent and failed to improve their yields, they have not developed new strains of Thai rice.
Vietnamese farmers, however, have developed several new rice strains over the past few years. Their rice yield per hectare is also better than Thailand's.
Instead of focusing on how to improve production in a sustainable manner, Thai farmers tend to ask for short-term price support measures from the government whenever they face sluggish rice prices at home. Politicians see this as an opportunity to spend quick money to increase their popularity, even though some price support measures are bad decisions.
Rice is one example that demonstrates the country's failure to develop its farming sector. It is also a consequence of the country's lack of a national agenda for farm goods management to ensure sustainable development in the sector.
Therefore, over the past month, hundreds of desperate farmers have taken turns to protest and to ask for price support. The Thai government likes to boast how the country is a leading agricultural nation, but the planters who grow rubber, sugar cane and maize, in recent months, have rallied at the government's door to ask for more subsidies.
The government should invest more energy and resources in promoting agriculture, which has long proved to be a backbone of the country. But so far, governments have tended to introduce short-term measures, which at times hurt farmers because they distort the market prices. An example is the domestic rice price support programme, which caused Thai rice export prices to escalate and thus made Thai rice non-competitive overseas.
Some planters are also fed up with the short-term policy. Chanthaburi cassava grower Usa Pitaraphodhi was quoted as saying that cassava planters were suffering from unclear government policies regarding guaranteed prices. The market speculation over the policy direction on farm prices made prices fluctuate.
In addition to the problems discussed above, short-term government price intervention tends to lead to the smuggling of commodities from neighbouring countries. A large volume of cassava from Cambodia is said to be brought into the country because some middle-men want to benefit from the pledging scheme. Besides this, price intervention tends to invite corruption as the scheme normally involves a large sum in handouts.
Previous governments have floated the idea of a national agenda for farm producers. But an actual plan to achieve the goal has never materialised, thanks to the frequent changes in government and the immediate political problems they have to deal with.
But it's imperative for the government to think of a national agenda to develop Thai agriculture over the long term. The focus should be turned to improving crop strains and increasing yields per rai. If farmers succeed in doing so, they will have a good degree of immunity against fluctuating farm prices. Otherwise, it won't take long for the Thai agricultural sector to lose out further, even though it remains one of the most promising sectors of the economy. It's time for the government to focus on the national agenda for farm policy and turn it into an effective action plan
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