Food & Agriculture Update: APEC Tackling New Food Security Challenges

• As Thailand's political turmoil continues, acting government officials are still moving to compensate farmers under the rice-pledging program of the previous administration. Thus far, the government has cleared 130 billion baht of its 200 billion baht debt, which still leaves approximately 720,000 farmers still awaiting payment. Over last weekend, the government auctioned off over 432,000 tons of rice, with another 220,00 tons set to be auctioned off next week, but the low prices at auction mean that other sources of funds must be found. To that end, the Ministry of Finance is looking to borrow more from the Farmer's Assistance Fund and the central budget; the latter having already been tapped in February. In the meantime, farmers are having to plant again, and many who have gone without government payment are having to access credit to do so. This is causing some to demand, in addition to money already owed to them, that they be given additional compensation in the form of lower interest rates and longer repayment-periods. Government officials are thus hoping that future rice auctions will fetch higher prices, which may be a possibility given the prolonged drought that Southeast Asia has been experiencing. 
   
• According to Lisa Drier, Senior Director of the World Economic Forum's Food Security Development Initiatives, Southeast Asia in among the world's most vulnerable regions with respect to food insecurity due to climate change, while being at the same time a region with enormous agricultural potential. With respect to climate change, specific risks are posed by the probability of more frequent and severe storms such as Typhoon Haiyan, which had devastating effects on the production of coconut, sugarcane and banana in the Philippines. In addition, rising sea levels threaten Vietnam's Mekong Delta, where half the country's rice is produced, and where farmers are already dealing with salt-water intrusions into paddy fields. While there may be many ways to deal with these problems, many experts are saying that enhancing ASEAN regional connectivity could be an effective way to deal with such a region-wide problem. Such connectivity may be secured through a variety of means, from developing 'hard' infrastructure so that farmers can efficiently bring products to market, to developing more liberalized trade policies, which would allow nations to export efficiently, thus generating foreign exchange that may then be used to acquire food on international markets. 

World Economic Forum exec notes impact of climate change on SE Asia’s potential to produce food Inquirer 20th May 2014
Southeast Asia has enormous potential in food production on the international stage but it is also among the most vulnerable regions when it comes to climate change, a Senior Director of the World Economic Forum (WEF) said Tuesday. “Southeast Asia plays an extremely important role on the world stage when it comes to global food security. A lot of the growing population will be here so we know there will be increased demand by consumers,” Lisa Dreier, Senior Director of WEF Food Security and Development Initiatives, said in an exclusive interview with INQUIRER.net. “With their rising incomes, those consumers will also be demanding more variety and more quality of food, so that can be a positive thing in providing strong markets for agricultural produce,” she said. Dreier noted that Super Typhoon Yolanda (International name Haiyan) caused widespread destruction to the agriculture sector in the Visayas region which could take more than a year to recover. “Climate change is definitely one of the biggest threats that we are facing to global food security,” Dreier said.

APEC tackling new food security challenges Relief Web 15th May 2014
APEC member economies are deepening public-private collaboration to improve industry production and supply chains to ensure access to safe, high quality food supplies across the Asia-Pacific, the world’s largest agricultural marketplace. Agricultural officials and industry representatives from the region, who met this week in Qingdao, underscored the importance of advancing innovative development within the sector to keep pace with changing regional and global conditions and meet long-term food security requirements. APEC Senior Officials are addressing related policy avenues here through Thursday. APEC economies account for about forty per cent of the world’s population which is expected to jump from 7.2 billion today to 9.6 billion by 2050, according to the United Nations. It is estimated that food production will need to increase by 70 per cent to meet demand at that time. “Population growth and increasing domestic consumption as incomes around the region rise, characterized by a shift to more protein-rich diets, are compelling the public and private sectors to work together to meet the food needs of tomorrow.” said Dr Han Jizhi, Chair of the APEC Policy Partnership on Food Security.

Palm oil industry aims for higher biofuel output Jakarta Globe 20th May 2014
Domestic palm oil producers, experts and potential investors will focus on biodiesel production, trade certification and increasing palm oil output during an upcoming international conference in Jakarta. Representatives from the palm oil industry will push for these points to be addressed during the fifth annual International Conference and Exhibition on Palm Oil (ICEPO) from May 26 to 28. Indonesian Plantation Entrepreneurs Association (GPPI) chairman Soedjai Kartasasmita said the production of biofuel was the top priority to provide a solution to the country’s energy problems, such as high oil imports and ballooning fuel subsidies. “What we need now is research, funded by the government, to harness palm oil full potential. We must not focus on palm oil [solely in its main form]; we also need to look at its wider potential,” Soedjai said at an ICEPO press conference on Monday. Soedjai, who is also the chairman of the ICEPO advisory board, emphasized that in order for biofuel to compete in the energy market, the government had to provide funding for research.

Food Security a Priority for Poorer Regions: Leaders Jakarta Globe 19th May 2014
Leaders and experts declared food security a global policy priority at an international conference in the Ethiopian capital that concluded on Saturday, as climate change, natural disasters and humanitarian crises take their toll on agriculture. The conference “Building Resilience for Food and Nutrition Security,” brought together at least 140 speakers and 800 participants from developing countries to address the impacts of climate change, natural disasters and humanitarian crises, such as civil war, on food security. “It is poor regions that will suffer the most [from climate change, however] they don’t have resources, capacity and access [to cope with the impacts].” said Shenggen Fan, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), which hosted the event. Fan suggested a three-pronged approach to dealing with these impacts. “We need new technologies that can reduce [the use of] water or less water [in agriculture] and at the same time we also need new types of technology that can increase nutrition. So it’s not just about increasing productivity but also increasing its nutrition,” he said.

Chocolate Consumption in Indonesia Seen Doubling in Three Years Bloomberg 16th May 2014
Chocolate demand in Indonesia, the world’s third-biggest cocoa producer, may double in three years because of an expanding middle class and increased incomes. “Supermarkets, mini-markets are growing everywhere,” Muhammad Lutfi, the country’s trade minister, said at an industry conference in Bali, Indonesia. “They sell chocolate and people will buy more.” He didn’t give consumption numbers. Increasing demand for chocolate in Asia has spurred expansion of cocoa-grinding capacity in Indonesia. That may cut the country’s bean exports, deepen a global shortage and extend a 23 percent advance in New York futures in the past 12 months. Rising bean prices would potentially boost costs for confectionery makers such as Nestle SA (NESN) and Lindt & Spruengli AG.

RI Tobacco Exports Shrink Tempo 16th May 2014
The Agriculture Ministry said the country’s tobacco exports had been declining in the past five years. According to the ministry, the Indonesian tobacco exports had shrunk by 66 percent from 110,000 tons in 2008 to only 37,000 tons in 2013. “The free-fall ensued from the dropping quality of tobacco produced by farmers,” said Gamal Nasir, the ministry’s director general of plantation, on Friday, May 16, 2014. Gamal said there were also other factors that prompted the plunging exports. “Among them is the decreasing foreign demand for Indonesian tobacco,” he said. Gamal added the government would need to take strategic measures to deal with the situation to elude a boomerang effect. “The downward export trend can force Indonesia to import tobacco in the future,” Gamal said, adding that the country could lose US$1.5 million in potential export revenue. Gamal explained Indonesian tobacco had been one of the favorite commodities in foreign markets, with largest export-destination countries comprising Malaysia, the United States, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.

Government to Boost Cassava Production Tempo 16th May 2014
The government will increase cassava production in 2015-2019 from 18-20 tons per hectare to 30-40 tons per hectare. "In the Agriculture Ministry’s strategic plan for 2015-2019, we set cassava as a commodity that will be accelerated nationally," said Pending Dadih Permana, director of Post Harvest Crops at the Ministry of Agriculture, yesterday. According to Dadih, production has to be increased so that Indonesia does not need to import cassavas to meet the needs of domestic industry. "Naturally we also plan specific supports for cassava-based food industry development." Those supports include the ease of doing business and opening new land. Cassava farmers have been facing difficulties in land ownership despite potential land reaching 193 million hectares. "That consists of wetland of 8.3 million hectares, large dry land and suboptimal land," he said. Suboptimal land in South Sumatra has even been developed to plant elephant cassava seeds from East Kalimantan. "There are around 100 hectares of land there that will keep developing," said Dadih.

Output to be boosted as RI moves beyond rice Jakarta Post 16th May 2014
The government will accelerate the production of cassava because it is believed the crop can alleviate challenges such as food and energy shortages. The Agriculture Ministry’s post-harvest director Pening Dadih Permana said on Wednesday that the ministry was currently putting together a strategy for the 2015 to 2019 period, which includes expediting production of several strategic commodities including cassava. “The ministry is focusing on the development of bio-industrial farming, which can produce food and energy,” Dadih said, adding that cassava could be converted into bioethanol.

Oil Palm Industry Estimated To Contribute RM200 Billion To Malaysia's Export Value By 2020 Bernama 22nd May 2014
The oil palm industry will continue to be important to the Malaysian and Sabah economies, as the industry is projected to contribute an estimated RM200 billion to Malaysia's export value by 2020, about three times the current value. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said this was expected to be achieved by way of replacing aging oil palm trees with higher yielding oil palm fruits, improving the oil extraction rate, mechanisation in plantations to raise productivity and the promotion of downstream value-added products. "Sabah is Malaysia's main crude palm oil producing state with 1.44 million hectares planted with the crop. In terms of yield, Sabah's plantations produce an average of 20.4 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches per hectare, compared with 19 tonnes in Peninsular Malaysia and 16.6 tonnes in Sarawak," he said at the opening of the 5th Palmex Malaysia here Wednesday. The Palmex exhibition at the Sandakan Community Hall showcases the participation of 38 companies from Malaysia and other countries including Germany, Singapore, China, the United States and India.

Sugar producer MSM’s Q1 earnings 9% lower The Star 21st May 2014
Sugar producer MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s earnings in the first quarter ended March 31, 2014 was lower by 9% year-on-year, coming in at RM56.3mil compared to RM62mil. Revenue slipped 3.2% to RM498.2mil from RM515mil previously, and profit before tax fell 13% to RM71mil from RM82.8mil. Earnings per share for the quarter was 8.01 sen compared to 8.81 sen previously. No dividend was declared. MSM said the lower revenue and profit were due to lower domestic and export sales.

PureFoods Seeks to Expand Footprint in Indonesia, Myanmar mmbiztoday 21st May 2014
Philippines-based conglomerate San Miguel’s food unit, PureFoods Co Inc, is looking to ramp up its regional operations through a potential acquisition in Southeast Asia’s largest economy Indonesia. The firm is also looking at potential expansion in Vietnam and new markets like Myanmar and Cambodia, PureFoods president Francisco Alejo III told reporters on the sidelines of the company’s stockholders’ meeting, Filipino media reported. “I think there’s an opportunity, especially with an ASEAN community,” Alejo was quoted as saying. PureFoods is particularly keen on expanding in Indonesia where it has existing operations through subsidiary PT San Miguel PureFoods Indonesia. In Vietnam, he said the company would like to grow its existing operations but noted that it was still “problematic.” By 2015, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) community has committed to pursue a regional economic integration through Asean Economic Community (AEC). The vision is to create a single market and production base and turn the region into a highly competitive economic block with equitable economic development and is fully integrated into the global economy.

FDA launches food investigation The Nation 16th May 2014
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating food items including cooking oil and snacks in markets in Mandalay, Lashio and Muse. Investigators will be collecting samples, whicinclude snacks made in China, to check for banned dyes and funguses. "We will go to the markets and take the samples. As we can't read ingredients of snacks made in China, these will also be tested. We will announce the list of dangerous items after the test is done," said an official from the FDA. The FDA has opened a mini-laboratory at the 105 mile Border Trade Zone located near the Myanmar-China border and has started to scrutinise food items from China. They plan to open more labs in other border trade zones.

How can we strengthen food security in Southeast Asia? Philippine Star 21st May 2014
This week at the World Economic Forum on East Asia, held in the Philippines, the region’s governments and senior leaders will explore ways to accelerate sustainable agricultural growth and achieve food security through market-based multistakeholder initiatives. Home to 600 million people, Southeast Asia has enjoyed vibrant and fast-paced growth. The member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) form the eighth-largest economy in the world, with region-wide GDP growth at five percent. The region comprises highly developed economies such as Singapore and Brunei, growing middle-income countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, and emerging economies such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The one thing they all have in common is that, on average, more than half of their population lives in rural areas (rising to 80 percent in Laos) and primarily depends on the agriculture sector for employment as well as income. While millions in the region have been lifted out of poverty, a third of the population still lives on under $2 a day and food security remains high on the agenda.

Grow Asia Agriculture Forum opens today Philippine Star 21st May 2014
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala will deliver the welcome remarks at the opening plenary of the Grow Asia Agriculture Forum today (May 21, 2014) at the New World Hotel in Makati City, in a run-up to the 23rd World Economic Forum on East Asia. Around 150 government, business and thought leaders – including agriculture ministers from other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia – are expected to explore ways to accelerate sustainable agricultural growth and achieve food security through market-based multistakeholder initiatives, under WEF’s New Vision for Agriculture (NVA) framework. Through its NVA initiative, WEF has been bringing together agents from private, public and civil sectors to work on market-based solutions to the development of inclusive and sustainable agriculture in the region.

Singapore firms eye local investment Business Inquirer 19th May 2014
Eighteen Singaporean companies were in the Philippines last week to explore more investment opportunities in food and beverage retailing, franchising, and distribution in the domestic market.

DA eyes Mindanao for expansion of Virginia-tobacco production Business Mirror 18th May 2014
DRIVEN by the need for area expansion and increased yields of 4.46 percent from 2012 to 2013, tobacco production has been growing over the past two years, according to the National Tobacco Administration (NTA). “Though the Ilocos region has a vibrant tobacco industry, private-tobacco firms continue to search for areas to plant tobacco, particularly the Virginia type,” the NTA, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA), said in a statement over the weekend. The Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC) has established its first Virginia-tobacco experimental farm, covering 10 hectares in Barangay Ane-i, Claveria, an interior municipality in the eastern part of Misamis Oriental, in January 2012.

'Independent rice agency needed' The Nation 17th May 2014
The promotion of value-added rice may be an option for farmers, but in order to achieve a comprehensive and lasting solution, rice management should no longer be dependent on official policy-makers or any government - otherwise farmers will continue to be a political tool and the sector will never be developed. While other countries such as Vietnam, one of Thailand's major rice-export rivals, have a clear policy and direction to manipulate rice production and other parts of the industry, Thailand stepped backwards by relying on short-term subsidies, which caused a loss of strength and status as the world's largest rice exporter, due to low rice quality and uncompetitively high prices.

Ministry race to pay farmers The Nation 16th May 2014
The Finance Ministry is rushing to raise funds to pay farmers for their pledged rice, while the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives has found through a survey that farmers are using their credit cards for investment and are seeking other occupations while waiting for their money. The Commerce Ministry has already returned Bt20 billion to the Finance Ministry that it had borrowed from the central budget to make some of the payments that are overdue under the rice-pledging scheme.

Acting PM urged to settle farmers' arrears The Nation 15th May 2014
The Commerce Ministry wants acting Prime Minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan to seek approval from the Election Commission for the allocation of Bt30 billion to Bt40 billion to pay some farmers what they have long been owed under the rice-pledging scheme. They are still owed a total of Bt70 billion. Caretaker Deputy Commerce Minister Yanyong Phuangrach said the ministry would ask for further special budget allocations to help get the farmers' arrears cleared quickly, and as Niwattumrong is scheduled to meet with the EC today, he should raise this issue.

Pollution from dairy farm forces families to relocate Vietnam News 21st May 2014
About 700 families living near TH Milk Food Joint Stock Company in central Nghe An Province will be evacuated, after being hit by horrible odour and pollution from the farm. Chairman of the Nghia Dan District's People's Committee, Vi Van Dinh, said that moving these families to other places was the best way to ensure their health. The statement followed a letter by a resident living near the dairy farm in Nghia Dan District's Dong Lam Village to CEO of the company, Thai Thi Huong. In the letter, the resident accused the company of polluting the water sources. The letter also claimed that a horrible smell emanated from the factory, which affected local residents. The letter had been shared widely on Facebook recently. Ly Hong Duong, head of Dong Lam Village, said that the letter was a true reflection of what locals had to suffer.