Saudi Wants 200,000 Hectares Of PH Ricefield

[voldemort]

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Saudi Wants 200,000 Hectares Of PH Ricefield

By MARVYN N. BENANING
May 9, 2012, 10:03pm
A Saudi company is interested in leasing up to 200,000 hectares of rain-fed government land and private farms to produce 1.2 million metric tons (MMT) of rice for the Saudi Arabian market.
Dante Delima, assistant secretary at the Department of Agriculture (DA) and coordinator of the National Rice Program (NRP), has already endorsed to Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala a proposal to create a technical working group (TWG) to study the matter.
The proposal for the long-term land lease was advanced by Dr. Khalid Abu al-Saud of Dar Al-Maskukat Trad¬ing of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, through a letter dated April 1, 2012 and coursed through Dr. Eduardo C. Sison, chairman of the Madecor Group of Los Baños, Laguna.
Al-Saud broached the idea of entering into a joint venture agree¬ment (JVA) with the government for large-scale rice production, with the Saudi side, saying the volume to be produced would be equivalent to the country’s annual rice imports.
Saudi Arabia heavily favor basmati rice varieties, the very same varieties that the DA is now seeking to propagate in at least 10 rice-producing provinces nationwide.
In response to al-Saud’s letter, Alcala’s letter dated May 7, 2012 said: “We share your enthusiasm toward this project, considering that such a joint venture will definitely boost our farmers’ income and provide opportunities to modernize their production and post-harvest capabilities.”
Alcala added: “We recognize that in the long run, this partnership could result in a mutually beneficial arrangement for both our countries as we cope with the international realities of food scarcity.”
In all probability, the JVA offer could spur the production of basmati rice varieties, three of which are now being propagated, with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) developing the seeds for distribution to rice farmers.
Alcala also told al-Saud that the proposal will be considered in the light of the special rice varieties re¬quired by Saudi consumers and “the availability of large tracts of land that can be leased on a long-term basis.”
Delima submitted a memo to Al¬cala on the same day to suggest the creation of the TWG, arguing that a thorough study should be undertaken “considering the possible impact on our rice sufficiency campaign vis-à-vis our desire to encourage invest¬ments, boost agricultural production for the export market and raise farm¬ers’ income.”
The TWG, Delima stressed, would “study, validate, evaluate and imple¬ment the preparatory work for this prospective JVA.”
He proposed that the members of the TWG come from the following: DA Secretary’s Technical Advisory Group, DA’s International Relations Division, NRP, Agricultural Market¬ing Assistance Service (AMAS), Na¬tional Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor), Philippine Agricultural Development and Commercial Corp. (PADCC), and a representative of Dr. Khalid Abu al-Saud.

Saudi Wants 200,000 Hectares Of PH Ricefield | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online

Is this good for us? What's your take?

[walker]

The best soil for growing the best Basmati rice is in the Hindustan region.. not here.

[high_heels]

our local farmers can't even supply the rice requirement of our own population what more leasing a vast rice farm for another countrys consumption. I doubt if this will materialize.

As far as I know the Philippines is STILL importing rice from other countries because we cannot supply our own demand plus our complicated weather condition and the floodings have been the major issues of our farmers. Let's face it, we cannot feed 100 million filipinos with our own rice farms. We depend on countries like Pakistan, Vietnam, Thailand and including Cambodia where a pilot shipment of 50 M/T of rice is shipped for this year.

[fragilegurl]

trade sa ilahang oil rigs.

[bleedingboi]

My thumbs up for this.

Please do not dwell on the negative side, like " RP farmers cannot sustain or feed our population " this is BS. Since we have sustained ourselves, and we still can. Only these greedy distributors and wholesalers are making the boat flip due to rice hoarding, being kept in warehouses to control the demand/supply, thus increasing revenue. And cheap rice is being imported from other countries ( due to lack of research in RP on how to grow cheaper varieties and increase yield), which will soon be resolved.

But on the current issue, this is actually very helpful for our farmers and Filipino researchers, First, since Saudi will likely fund DA for hybrid Basmati rice production, funding will be millions of dollars, instead of OUR own budget used to fund researches.
Basmati rice was originally grown in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, notable for its fragrance and delicate, nuanced flavour.

Second, this will include propagating Basmati rice varieties that yields twice as much crops per year, thereby doubling farmer income. (Basmati Case Study)


And third, Basmati rice have a medium glycemic index from 55 to 69, and is recommended for Diabetes patients. This can help lower the Diabetes epidemia in the country.

Fourth, 200,000 hectares is relatively a very small area to panic about. So leasing this area for Saudi wouldn't be a big thing. At least we are paid, foreign investment as proceeds to our economy.

[jcgoyong]

our local farmers can't even supply the rice requirement of our own population what more leasing a vast rice farm for another countrys consumption. I doubt if this will materialize.

As far as I know the Philippines is STILL importing rice from other countries because we cannot supply our own demand plus our complicated weather condition and the floodings have been the major issues of our farmers. Let's face it, we cannot feed 100 million filipinos with our own rice farms. We depend on countries like Pakistan, Vietnam, Thailand and including Cambodia where a pilot shipment of 50 M/T of rice is shipped for this year.

cant seem to agree with this. kay as far as i remember, pnoy already fixed the flaws and corruption of rice production... we are actually producing more than we know. shortage happened due to gloria's corrupted government. philippines would start exporting rice within 2 years...

or did i got the info wrong?

[bleedingboi]

cant seem to agree with this. kay as far as i remember, pnoy already fixed the flaws and corruption of rice production... we are actually producing more than we know. shortage happened due to gloria's corrupted government. philippines would start exporting rice within 2 years...

or did i got the info wrong?

You nailed it right. We are starting to pump rice for ourselves and for exports.

[Metz]

My thumbs up for this.

Please do not dwell on the negative side, like " RP farmers cannot sustain or feed our population " this is BS. Since we have sustained ourselves, and we still can. Only these greedy distributors and wholesalers are making the boat flip due to rice hoarding, being kept in warehouses to control the demand/supply, thus increasing revenue. And cheap rice is being imported from other countries ( due to lack of research in RP on how to grow cheaper varieties and increase yield), which will soon be resolved.

But on the current issue, this is actually very helpful for our farmers and Filipino researchers, First, since Saudi will likely fund DA for hybrid Basmati rice production, funding will be millions of dollars, instead of OUR own budget used to fund researches.
Basmati rice was originally grown in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, notable for its fragrance and delicate, nuanced flavour.

Second, this will include propagating Basmati rice varieties that yields twice as much crops per year, thereby doubling farmer income. (Basmati Case Study)


And third, Basmati rice have a medium glycemic index from 55 to 69, and is recommended for Diabetes patients. This can help lower the Diabetes epidemia in the country.

Fourth, 200,000 hectares is relatively a very small area to panic about. So leasing this area for Saudi wouldn't be a big thing. At least we are paid, foreign investment as proceeds to our economy.

agreee kaayo ko ani.
at least if mahuman na ang contract naay mga nindut nga facilities ma acquire.
di kaayo ta kaasa sa ato gov't for funds.

[reptoid]

This is good news, but I would feel a lot happier knowing that every Peso was accounted for in 100% transparent and verifiable records.

[rockrhyan1982]

mindanao would benifit this project..a vast of ricefield and good soil.