Vasant Bharath verbatim - Warrenville, Friday 19 Aug. 2011
There has been an alarming trend of rising global food prices over recent months, coupled with a shortage of world rice supplies.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Food Price Index reached 234 points in June close to February’s record level of 239.
This measure looks at a range of essential foods including cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar. And the rising index indicated a rise in the price of rice. Rice is a basic staple food and this therefore places it as a priority crop towards the attainment of food security.
The recent price spikes are as a result of partial bans placed by India and Vietnam - two major exporters - thus restricting global supplies.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Food Price Index reached 234 points in June close to February’s record level of 239.
This measure looks at a range of essential foods including cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar. And the rising index indicated a rise in the price of rice. Rice is a basic staple food and this therefore places it as a priority crop towards the attainment of food security.
The recent price spikes are as a result of partial bans placed by India and Vietnam - two major exporters - thus restricting global supplies.
The export bans and restrictions were primarily imposed to slow the rate of increase in food prices, which was largely due to rising demand and incomes in several major Asian developing countries, including China and India.
This was further compounded by high fuel and fertilizer prices.
It has also been noted that rice prices have been further boosted by several major importers, primarily the Philippines, the world’s largest rice importing country, attempting to purchase large amounts of rice to assure adequate supplies and limit food price increases.
This trend of international soaring food prices is of serious concern to all of us, since we are living in a global village and this situation can affect our food security.
In particular, net food importing countries such as ours are especially vulnerable in such situations. For even if we do have the financial resources to purchase the food items, these said items may not be readily available for purchase.
Thus there is an ever pressing need for us to be self-sufficient and to increase our food security.
The Draft Rice Production Policy of 2008 recommended the encouragement of small farmers into the rice seed production as one of the possible ways to revitalize the rice industry...
Through our Revised Incentives Programme, for the first time ever, we now offer a guaranteed price of $2.99 per kilogramme of rice seed to our farmers.
The Policy also identified the mechanization of farms and implementation of production technology as a critical success factors in reducing the cost of production and realizing economies of scale, leading to increased efficiency and productivity.
We have Mr. Richard Singh, a young rice farmer and executive of the Agricultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago (ASTT) piloting the use of new equipment in cultivation and harvesting.
One of the key areas identified for the resuscitation of the rice industry was new and revised incentives. In our package of revised Incentives, we now offer some critical support for the rice industry.
We have an incentive of twenty-five percent (25%) of the cost of clearing new lands, whether by mechanical or manual means, up to a maximum of $2,000 per hectare. This we anticipate will encourage more persons to return to agriculture, and put more lands into productive agriculture, including rice cultivation.
We are also providing an incentive of up to a maximum of two hundred thousand ($200,000) for combined harvesters for harvesting grains. This is to encourage mechanisation and adoption of new technology on rice farms.
While encouraging the adoption of new technology, we are also seeking to encourage responsible actions towards our environment.
This was further compounded by high fuel and fertilizer prices.
It has also been noted that rice prices have been further boosted by several major importers, primarily the Philippines, the world’s largest rice importing country, attempting to purchase large amounts of rice to assure adequate supplies and limit food price increases.
This trend of international soaring food prices is of serious concern to all of us, since we are living in a global village and this situation can affect our food security.
In particular, net food importing countries such as ours are especially vulnerable in such situations. For even if we do have the financial resources to purchase the food items, these said items may not be readily available for purchase.
Thus there is an ever pressing need for us to be self-sufficient and to increase our food security.
The Draft Rice Production Policy of 2008 recommended the encouragement of small farmers into the rice seed production as one of the possible ways to revitalize the rice industry...
Through our Revised Incentives Programme, for the first time ever, we now offer a guaranteed price of $2.99 per kilogramme of rice seed to our farmers.
The Policy also identified the mechanization of farms and implementation of production technology as a critical success factors in reducing the cost of production and realizing economies of scale, leading to increased efficiency and productivity.
We have Mr. Richard Singh, a young rice farmer and executive of the Agricultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago (ASTT) piloting the use of new equipment in cultivation and harvesting.
One of the key areas identified for the resuscitation of the rice industry was new and revised incentives. In our package of revised Incentives, we now offer some critical support for the rice industry.
We have an incentive of twenty-five percent (25%) of the cost of clearing new lands, whether by mechanical or manual means, up to a maximum of $2,000 per hectare. This we anticipate will encourage more persons to return to agriculture, and put more lands into productive agriculture, including rice cultivation.
We are also providing an incentive of up to a maximum of two hundred thousand ($200,000) for combined harvesters for harvesting grains. This is to encourage mechanisation and adoption of new technology on rice farms.
While encouraging the adoption of new technology, we are also seeking to encourage responsible actions towards our environment.
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