Food & Agriculture Clippings: Asia Needs to Produce More Food with Less Water

Asia

Asia Needs to Produce More Food with Less Water - ADB Conference, WBR, Oct 12

Asia’s ageing irrigation systems must be revitalized to produce more crops with less water in the face of the region's surging demand for food (a 70-90% increase to 2030), a rising population, and stressed water resources, say new studies released at a conference here today.

The studies were tabled at the Water: Crisis and Choices - ADB and Partners Conference 2010, organized by the Asian Development Bank. The 5–day event has brought together over 600 water professionals and policy makers from around the world to examine the critical water challenges facing Asia, and the measures needed to overcome them

Asia accounts for 70% of the world’s irrigated land and is home to some of the oldest and largest irrigation schemes. It also draws 80% of its available freshwater resources. But most systems were built before the 1970’s, function poorly and often fail to match the needs of farmers. "Asia’s population will reach 5 billion by 2050 and feeding 1.5 billion additional people will require irrigation systems that generate more value per drop of water," says the study Growing More Food With Less Water: How Can Revitalizing Asia's Irrigation Help?.

The study - authored by Aditi Mukherji, David Molden, and Colin Chartres of the International Water Management Institute, and Thierry Facon of the Food and Agriculture Organization - notes that while the total area under irrigation continues to rise in most parts of Asia, systems are irrigating less land than originally intended, water productivity is low, crop output has stagnated and many farmers are exiting formal schemes. With water resources pressured by urbanization, industrialization, pollution, climate change, and competing demands from other sectors, Asia needs to find ways to make its irrigation systems more efficient and productive without tapping more water.

Brunei

Seminar to raise awareness of entrepreneurs on Seafood Safety, RTB News, Oct 12

Food safety and quality products for the people of Brunei Darussalam either from local or foreign sources are given serious attention by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam as stated in a Titah in conjunction with His Majesty's 64th birthday anniversary. The Minister of Industry and Primary Resources said this at a Seminar to raise awareness of entrepreneurs on "Seafood Safety" this afternoon.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya said it is His Majesty's desire to ensure that there are no substances hazardous to health in the food such as preservative like formaldehyde and metal like mercury, lead, zinc and chemical. As precautionary measures, the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources through the Fisheries Department will impose conditions that all imported seafood must have health certificate and food safety approval. The measures are to ensure that the imported seafood are safe for consumption.

Brunei Proposes Recognition Of Halal Seals Among Neighbours, BruDirect, Oct 13

Brunei has proposed that the Religious Affairs Ministers of neighbors Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore (Mabims) reach an agreement on mutual recognition of each of their halal certification and logo.

The proposal, based on Mabims' strategic viewpoints, is one out of the 11 proposals and working papers to be discussed at the 35th Senior Officers Meeting (SOM) today.

This was disclosed by Acting Deputy Permanent Secretary Hj Ismail Hj Abd Manap in a press conference for the Mabims scholars' muzakarah (discussion) session for the 14th informal Mabims meeting yesterday. However, no further details of the proposal were disclosed.

The proposal and nine other working papers will be presented today and tomorrow by representatives from the four Mabims member countries.


Indomie noodles safe, says Brunei distributor, AsiaOne, Oct 13

INDOMIE instant noodles are safe to eat, the manager of Brunei's Indomie distributor said yesterday in reaction to Taiwan media reports that the Indonesian noodle products allegedly contained "banned" preservatives that cause vomiting.

Hong Kong's The Standard news website reported yesterday that Taiwan authorities had announced the recall of the noodles on Friday, after two "forbidden" preservatives, methyl p-hydroxybenzoate (E218) and benzoic acid, were found in Indomie products.
Indomie instant noodle products are widely distributed in Asia including in Brunei.

"The preservatives are only allowed in cosmetics," the report said. These preservatives have been banned for use in food in Taiwan, Canada and Europe, the news website said. "If consumed, the preservatives can cause vomiting," the report said. "Furthermore, if they are taken for long periods or in substantial amounts, they may cause metabolic acidosis a condition due to too much acid."

The Hong Kong report added that two leading supermarkets, ParknShop and Wellsome, have removed all Indomie products from their shelves. Indomie importer, Fok Hing (HK) Trading, said the noodles met the food safety standards of Hong Kong and that of the World Health Organisation. It cited quality examination done in June this year that did not find banned preservatives.
"The Indomie noodles are safe to eat and they entered the Hong Kong market via legal import channels. The poisoned products found in Taiwan are suspected of being imported in illegal ways," the report said.

Cambodia

Biofuel Plan Delayed, The Phnom Penh Post, Oct 6

CAMBODIA’S only biofuel production plant has pushed back its reopening by two months, as the price of cassava remains high.

MH Bio-Energy plant, a Kandal province factory owned by South Korea that uses cassava to produce ethanol for sale on EU markets, first opened in November 2008 with an initial investment of US$30 million. However, its doors have been closed since May because of rising crop prices.

Boeun Thy, chief of MH’s administration office, said: “We will continue to be closed until December because the price of cassava remains high.” He said dry-chip cassava was fetching US$230 per tonne, compared US$178 to $181 per tonne early this year. “We cannot make any profit if we buy the cassava at such a price,” he said.

The situation, he said, was about to change. By November, the firm would be able harvest its own cassava from Kampong Speu province, where it had planted on 8,000 hectares of land, enabling it to bypass market prices, he said.

Chov Tav, 57, a cassava farmer in Banteay Meanchey province’s Thmar Pouk district, said: “I hope that I could sell fresh cassava for at least 2,500 baht [about US$82.70] per tonne early next year.” The current price is about 2,250 baht [about US$74.40] per tonne.

Co-firing of bio-oil and biogas for power generation in Cambodia, The Denki Shimbun, Oct 8

The Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc. has started the testing of co-firing power generation using bio-oil and biogas at the campus of the Institute of Technology of Cambodia. The test uses refined bio-oil extracted from Jatropha curcas seeds and biogas produced from residues generated after oil is extracted from the seeds.

The test is being conducted by Chugoku Electric Power jointly with a Japanese research institute. The utility began a power generation test using bio-oil fuel in December last year, and recently started the testing of co-firing of biogas with bio-oil after pieces of new equipment have been added to process seed residues after oil extraction and produce biogas from the residues. It plans to continue trial operation until February next year and examine methods to achieve stable operation.
Cambodia - Pigs destroyed, Meat Trade News Daily, Oct 13

In Kandal Province pig carcasses were burned after four pigs that were tested were discovered to have been infected with Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), also known as blue-ear pig disease.The burning of the carcasses took place on Saturday. The pigs were taken away by Muk Kampoul district police on 22 September from a trader who imported the pigs from Vietnam, according to the deputy director of the Department of Animal Health and Production at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Has Piseth.

Blue-ear disease discovered
“We tested four of the 49 pigs and found that they had blue-ear disease. We ordered officials and the police to burn the bodies to prevent the disease from infecting other pigs,” said the deputy director.

Banned
Prime Minister Hun Sen placed a ban, on 4 August, on the importation of pigs from Vietnam and Thailand so that there is no occurrence of the spread of PRRS.

Indonesia

Indonesia probes illegal logging role in Papua floods, Reuters, Oct 11

Indonesian officials and forestry experts are to investigate claims that illegal logging contributed to floods that have killed at least 145 people, the Forestry Ministry said on Monday.

This comes ahead of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's visit to the flood-wreaked district in Papau province this week. Recent floods have left more than 700 injured and 123 missing and flattened houses and civil infrastructure in Wasior district, in the western half of Indonesia's easternmost Papua province. Over 4,300 people have been left homeless.

"We want to know the causes of the disaster and we want to know whether illegal logging was the cause or not," said Masyhud, a Forestry Ministry spokesman, who, like many Indonesians, has only one name.

Indonesia has struggled to curb widespread illegal logging of its forests, which exacerbates damage caused by flooding.
Conservationist group Greenomics said in a statement that a logging 'mafia' was partly to blame for the floods.

Forests are cleared in resource-rich Papua to make way for mines, plantations or local infrastructure but its remoteness, vastness and system of semi-autonomous government have made monitoring difficult.

Indonesia - Palm oil exports Meat Trade News Daily, Oct 12

INDONESIA'S palm oil exports in August rose 6.2% from a year ago on strong demand from its traditional buyers, India, China, and Europe, data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers' Association (GAPKI), showed today.

Crude palm oil and other edible oils accounted for about 15% of total exports in August, up from 8% in July, data released by the statistics bureau showed, and made a significant contribution to the better-than-expected export figures for that month.

Laos

Paradoxical risk perception and behaviors related to Avian Flu outbreak and education campaign, Laos, 7th Space, Oct 12

In Laos, small backyard poultry systems predominate (90%). The first lethal human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) occurred in 2007.

Few studies have addressed the impact of outbreaks and education campaigns on a smallholder producer system. We evaluated awareness and behaviors related to educational campaigns and the 2007 HPAI outbreaks.

Methods: During a national 2-stage cross-sectional randomized survey we interviewed 1098 households using a pre-tested questionnaire in five provinces representative of the Southern to Northern strata of Laos. We used multivariate analysis (Stata, version 8; Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA) to analyze factors affecting recollection of HPAI educational messages, awareness of HPAI, and behavior change. Results: Of the 1098 participants, 303 (27.6%) received training on HPAI. The level of awareness was similar to that in 2006.

The urban population considered risk to be decreased, yet unsafe behaviors persisted or increased. This contrasted with an increase in awareness and safe behavior practices in rural areas. Reported behavior changes in rural areas included higher rates of cessation of poultry consumption and dead poultry burial when compared to 2006.

Conclusion: We report a paradoxical relationship between unsafe behaviors and risk perception in urban areas, as well as exposure to HPAI training and message misinterpretation. Future educational campaigns need to be tailored to specific target populations and farming styles, for example, small holder farms as compared to commercial farms.
Malaysia

Palm oil exports up 21% in September, The Star, Oct 12

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s palm oil exports rose by 21.16% to 1.47 million tons in September against the previous month, in line with the expected increase in the commodity export value this year.

Year-on-year (yoy), the palm oil export for Sept this year reflected a 10.9% climb compared with the same month last year.
According to a report by Bernama, Malaysia’s palm oil exports are expected to reach RM65.2bil this year from RM49.5bil in 2009.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok was quoted as saying that the forecast was based on the growth in output and export volumes.

“In the first nine months, palm oil production rose 2% to 11.10 million tons while exports increased nearly 6% to 10.94 million tons compared with the corresponding period last year,” said Dompok

Myanmar

How mangrove forests can prevent flooding – Examples from Myanmar, India, and Pakistan Reliefweb, Oct 12

13 October: International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction

Cologne. Every Euro we spend on disaster risk reduction does not only save lives but also helps us save five Euros which we would have to spend for emergency relief later on", Ingo Radtke, Secretary General of Malteser International, the relief service of the Order of Malta for worldwide humanitarian aid, states on the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on 13 October. With regard to the increasing frequency of natural catastrophes all around the world, Malteser International carries out more and more relief missions to assist people in acute need.

In Myanmar where cyclone „Nargis" ended more than 130,000 human lives two years ago, Malteser International is implementing various disaster risk reduction measures: Mangrove forests are being reforested. Adapted to seawater, these trees and bushes are able to function as a shelterbelt and forestall erosion. Simultaneously they can be used as firewood and serve as a habitat for fish and shrimps. In addition, Malteser International promotes new stoves in the villages; these stoves need considerably less firewood than the transitionally used ones. With regard to new flooding, evacuation routes have been developed in cooperation with the local authorities and the village communities and then prepared for save evacuation. They facilitate the quick evacuation of the people from afflicted coastal areas into the hinterland.
Singapore

Fish culture leading local food resilience efforts, Today, Oct 12

The future of food resilience in Singapore is being increasingly underpinned by the advances made in fish culture.

Four out of 11 projects approved by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) went to commercial fish farm Barramundi Asia, which currently operates aquaculture sites off Pulau Semakau and, in future, off Pulau Senang. Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said yesterday that targets for fish supply look promising. Singapore, he said, has a good aquaculture industry, good base stock for fish farms and clean waters.

Barramundi Asia is one of the 11 successful applicants that accepted AVA's Food Fund, a $5 million initiative launched in December last year to provide funding for projects with potential to contribute to Singapore's food supply and to support efforts to secure food from different sources. Most of the projects involve upgrading the capabilities of local farms.

Barramundi's first project under the funding, which begins this month, will place large round cages in open waters off Pulau Semakau and have the space to produce 200 metric tons of fish compared with the 80 metric tons from its current square cages, its spokesperson told MediaCorp.

Its other projects include a site evaluation for deep water fish farming in high currents off Pulau Senang, an automatic feeding system at its open water fish farm off Pulau Semakau and an automating fish sorting, grading and vaccination process. The latter will reduce the use of unskilled labor and improve productivity. With the funding, Barramundi hopes to produce 3,000 metric tons of fish each year by 2012 - up from 500 metric tons currently.

Vietnam

Vietnam to Raise Rice Export Floor Price, MB Com, Oct 11

Vietnam will raise the export floor price for 25 percent broken rice to $445 a ton from $435 from Tuesday, the Vietnam Food Association said, as supply tightens ahead of possible demand from the Philippines and Indonesia.

The new floor price will apply to deals with loading in October, the food association said in a statement on Monday, confirming a state media report at the weekend. The minimum price for 5 percent broken rice is unchanged at $475 a ton.

The new floor is imposed on the variety often bought by the Philippines. A state-run newspaper said on Friday the Philippines and Indonesia were looking to buy up to 2.2 million tons of rice from Vietnam.

Vietnam has secured deals to export a record 6.8 million tons of rice so far this year. It shipped 5.55 mln tons in the first nine months of this year and around 1 million tons should be shipped in the fourth quarter, giving a total of 6.5 million to 6.6 million tons by the end of the year, the food association estimated.

The remaining volume would be loaded in early 2011 along with any grain sold in deals with Indonesia or the Philippines

Pepper tumbles on sluggish demand, Commodity on Line, Oct 12

Fresh arrivals from Brazil and sluggish overseas demand are keeping the pepper prices pressurized since past few weeks. Price quotes of Brazil are lower than Indian quotes in the international market. In the short term (till October) prices will depend on the demand from the domestic market and pepper quotes of major origins such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Brazil and India in the international market.

Lower stocks of pepper with Vietnam will be supportive for the price trend in the domestic if, demand revives from the overseas market in the short term. Vietnam according to the pepper trade board have exported major portion of its pepper supplies of 2010.

In medium to long term (November onwards) prices will depend on the stocks of pepper with the major suppliers particularly Vietnam and Indonesia. Prices will also take cues from the Indian pepper production projections. According to market sources Indian Pepper production in 2011 is expected to be higher.

END MEMO