Farmers in China Wrestle With Drought
The corn has grown to only half its normal height on Yan Shuqin's ranch in the hills of Inner Mongolia this year, as a swath of northern China suffers its worst drought in 60 years.
The ruddy-faced woman said that even before the rains stopped, the groundwater in her region had been sinking, from 20 meters (about 70 feet) below the surface just a few years ago to as much as 80 meters (260 feet) this past summer. While she can still eat and sell the corn, lettuce and other vegetables on her farm, the yield has shrunk.
"If the grass doesn't grow and the vegetables die off, who's going to be able to live here?" Yan asked outside her family's spotless two-room house. "My mother and her mother lived here. My family has always lived here. What are my children going to do?"
After a season of record-breaking drought across China, groundwater levels have hit historic lows this year in northeast and central parts of China where hundreds of millions of people live. Reservoirs grew so dry in agricultural Henan province that the city of Pingdingshan closed car washes and bathhouses and extracted water from puddles.
But this is no one-time emergency. Farmers like Yan and water-hungry industries have been wrestling with a long-term water crisis that has dried up more than half the country's 50,000 significant rivers and left hundreds of cities facing what the government classifies as a "serious scarcity" of water.
Half a billion Chinese live in a handful of provinces, largely in the northeast, where coal-fired power plants, steel foundries and other water-gulping industries already burden reservoirs and aquifers. Widespread chemical runoff and other pollution have contaminated 60 percent of the country's groundwater.
The country's climate is also warming, particular in its populous northeast where rain levels have fallen, according to a 2011 study by Chinese, French and British researchers. Meanwhile, the country's south has seen its rainfall concentrated in shorter bursts, which has made it harder to predict water supplies.
As a result, per capita water availability in the megacities of Beijing and Shanghai as well as their surrounding provinces equals that of dry Middle Eastern countries such as Israel and Jordan, said Feng Hu, a water analyst with the Hong Kong-based research group China Water Risk. By comparison, the average U.S. household has access to nearly five times more available water than Chinese households do.
"If we continue with our business-as-usual model, the demand will exceed supply by 2030," Feng said in a lecture in Beijing last month. "The water crisis is a real risk."
Already, Chinese farmers have lost an estimated $1.2 billion this year due to drought, while China has slowed plans to tap its vast deposits of shale gas, which sit in areas with the greatest scarcity. The water crisis is also hitting China's main energy source, coal, which requires large amounts of water to extract and convert into power.
Heavy rains over the past week helped lift some of the immediate crisis in central China, flooding cities that just days earlier had been struggling to keep taps flowing. But fields remain bone-dry and parched in Inner Mongolia and other northern regions.
In response to the country's water woes, Chinese authorities have called for solutions that include relying more on imports for foods that require lots of water to produce, such as grains and vegetable oils.
They also are betting on more than 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles) of canal that when completed will move trillions of gallons of water from the rivers of China's south to its dry north. One branch of the canal leading straight to Beijing is expected to be done this fall.
Many water experts remain skeptical about the project, however, with some warning it could wreak havoc on southern aquifers and watersheds.
But Fuqiang Yang, a senior adviser with the U.S.-based National Resources Defense Council, said the canal could relieve water shortages in some northern cities such as Beijing, if launched with conservation and water reuse measures. Without the canals, metropolitan Beijing only has enough water for 15 million people, not the 20 million who now live there, he said.
"This has always been a regional problem," Yang said. "Groundwater is going down very quickly ... These areas will not be able to solve the problems themselves. So this canal will provide some important help there."
But Feng said Chinese authorities also need to encourage conservation by ending its subsidization of water consumption by all users, from households to farmers to industries. The average price of residential water in Beijing, for example, is a fifth of that in New York. And although China's per capita consumption rate still falls below the global average, it is rising steadily as the country's economy expands.
Industry and agriculture make up 85 percent of China's water consumption.
"For something so scarce, water in China is not priced at the level it should be," Feng said.
The canals still won't help farmers in remote regions such as far western Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia where the drought has hit the hardest. Despite the arid conditions there, China's government actually hopes to stimulate more water-dependent industries such as coal-fired energy production that will compete with farmers for meager resources.
In Hexingten county in Inner Mongolia, people say they've already seen radical climate shifts. Last winter went by without any significant snows to replenish streams and groundwater, followed by a drought-plagued spring and summer.
A 40-year-old farmer in Hexingten who would only identify himself by his family name of Bao said everyone there is wondering how long they can survive in these grasslands.
"The environment was good before," Bao said. "The grasses grew so tall. Now, it doesn't even rain anymore."
Source: Associated Press Date: 2017-06-28
Seminar seeks to develop productive, quality agriculture
A seminar on developing quality and productive agriculture took place in Hanoi on June 27 as part of the Vietnam Economic Forum 2017.
Speaking at the event, permanent deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Cao Duc Phat said the agriculture sector grew strongly in the 2011-2015 period with improved farm produce quality and increasing number of agricultural firms.
However, high-tech agriculture tends to stall due to barriers regarding land, market and capital access.
Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoNRE)’s Department of Science-Technology and Environment, said the State has issued a number of policies to facilitate high-tech agriculture, but administrative procedures and the lack of insurance for the field pose difficulty to the effort.
She suggested encouraging firms to establish research centres and forming close linkage between businesses and technological organisations to promote high-tech application.
Thuy stressed the need to increase negotiations and the signing of trade deals to facilitate businesses’ access to markets.
Participants called for reviewing and amending regulations on hi-tech application in agriculture and the Law on Land, as well as providing incentives for hi-tech farming enterprises.
The southern provinces of Hau Giang, Phu Yen and Bac Lieu are currently home to three hi-tech agricultural zones approved by the Prime Minister.
The MoNRE has granted licenses to 26 hi-tech firms while Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces have devised plans to establish hi-tech agricultural zones.
As of late March, the State has provided 156.3 billion VND (6.79 million USD) for 15 hi-tech projects in agriculture.
According to the MoNRE, firmed invested more than 21.2 trillion VND (921.7 million USD) into 25 hi-tech agricultural projects from June 2016 – February 2017.
The event was co-hosted by the MoNRE and the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission.
Source: VNA. Date: 2017-06-28
ENLIST CORN TRAIT APPROVED FOR IMPORT TO CHINA, AVAILABLE FOR 2018
Enlist corn will be available for farmers in the U.S. starting in the 2018 growing season. Dow AgroSciences made the announcement after China approved the import of corn grown with the new trait. The announcement was made yesterday along with approval for Monsanto’s Vistive Gold soybeans and renewed approvals for 14 other GMO crops.
China promised a speedier approval process for GMO crops last month as the U.S. announced that China would resume U.S. beef imports.
“We appreciate the efforts of the U.S. and China governments under the 100 Day Initiative,” says Tim Hassinger, president and CEO Dow AgroSciences. “We look forward to continuing to work with China and its regulatory process for additional trait approvals so we can bring farmers new and much-needed technology.”
Developed for use with Enlist corn, cotton, and soybeans, Enlist Duo herbicide is designed to manage herbicide-resistant and hard-to-control weeds. The herbicide has been optimized for on-target application using Colex-D technology. Among other benefits, Colex-D technology minimizes the potential for physical drift and provides near-zero volatility. Enlist Duo herbicide is currently registered in 34 states.
The Enlist corn trait will be available as SmartStax Enlist and PowerCore enlist hybrids.
Dow is still waiting for final import approval from China and the European Union before it launches Enlist Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans and Enlist E3 soybeans. The Enlist cotton trait was launched in 2016 in PhytoGen brand cottonseed varieties.
China Pushes Public to Accept GMO as Syngenta Takeover Nears
- National poll in June tests view on genetically modified crops
- Media campaign will promote safety of GMO to skeptical public
China will carry out a nationwide poll next month to test the public’s acceptance of genetically-modified food, a technology the government says would boost yields and sustainable agriculture in a country that’s seen consumption soar.
Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University and two other Chinese colleges will carry out the survey, said Jin Jianbin, a professor at Tsinghua’s School of Journalism and Communication. The poll, sponsored by the government, will be carried out in tandem with a campaign on social media to broadcast basic knowledge on GMO technology, which is widely misunderstood in the country, Jin said.
China is the world’s fourth-largest grower of GMO cotton and the top importer of soybeans, most of which are genetically modified and used for cooking oil and animal feed for pigs and chickens. But public concern over food safety issues and skepticism about the effects of consuming GMO foods have made the government reluctant to introduce the technology for staple crops.
A 2012 trial of so-called Golden Rice -- a yellow GMO variant of the grain that produces beta-carotene -- caused a public storm after reports that the rice was fed to children without the parents being aware that it was genetically modified.
“Many Chinese turn pale when you mention the GMO word,” said Jin in his small office. Some still believe GMO food can cause cancer and impair childbirth, due to misleading reports in newspapers and social media, he said. A recent decision by a local legislative body against growing GMO crops has added to public confusion, Jin said.
‘Half-Cooked Rice’
The national survey aims to discover what the public’s concerns are so that the government can resolve the confusion, Jin said. “If the government pushes ahead before the public is ready to accept the technology, it would be embarrassing -- like offering a pot of half-cooked rice to eat.”
Jin said he expected the poll result to show that the general public’s perception of GMO is still negative, but “as more people get to know the technology, more would be willing to accept it.”
The lack of an authoritative scientific institution to answer questions, the widespread illegal cultivation of GMO crops, and public mistrust of government authorities after a series of food scandals have all contributed to skepticism about GMO, Jin said.
Producers of GMO crops claim they offer improved yields, enhanced nutritional value and resistance to drought, frost and insects. Critics have raised concerns over safety and potential adverse ecological effects. Last year, the U.S., the world’s largest producer of GMO crops, mandated that food makers label products with modified ingredients. EU lawmakers this month objected to imports of herbicide-resistant strains of corn and cotton.
Syngenta Strategy
Syngenta AG, which produces genetically modified seeds for corn, is gearing up for rapid expansion in the country after shareholders accepted a $43 billion offer for the Swiss agribusiness by China National Chemical Corp. The Chinese state-owned company is expected to complete the deal this month.
The American Chamber of Commerce in China had complained that U.S. strains of GMO suffered from slower and less predictable approval for import into China. Chinese and U.S. officials have agreed to evaluate pending U.S. biotechnology product applications by the end of the month, including corn and cotton.
China itself has spent billions on research of its own GMO technology over the past decade, but has not allowed commercial production of grains, with scientists citing public resistance as part of the reason for the delay. China has said that it will allow commercial production of modified corn and soybeans by 2020.
Government officials have said that the country would introduce the use of the technology first on feed grains after cotton. China’s corn consumption is estimated to grow nearly 20 percent in the coming decade on demand for protein-rich meat and dairy products.
Source: Bloomberg. Date: 2017-06-27
Fruit, vegetable exports grow strongly, exporters still worry
Vietnam saw significant rise in exports of fruit and vegetable products in the first half of 2017 but local exporters still cannot find themselves at ease over unstable supply and food safety issues.
According to statistics by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, exports of fruit and vegetable products hit over 1.68 billion USD in the first six months of 2017, a year-on-year increase of 41.4 percent.
The future of the fruit and vegetable industry looks every promising this year as the sector targets to ship abroad 3 billion USD worth of the products for the entire year.
The country has enjoyed impressive growths of fruit and vegetable exports in some foreign markets, including the UAE (93.6 percent), Hong Kong (China) (89 percent), and Laos (69 percent).
China remained Vietnam’s biggest buyer who imported 1.1 billion USD worth of fruit and vegetable products in the first five months of this year, up 50.5 percent year-on-year and making up 75.5 percent of the total exports.
The United States was far behind with 44.7 million USD, up 23.5 percent. It was closely followed by Japan with 43.3 million USD, up 56 percent.
Japan is emerging as a promising market though Vietnam’s fresh fruits and vegetables still struggled to satisfy its quarantine standards. Japan has allowed imports of some fruits with seed from Vietnam, such mango and dragon fruit.
Meanwhile, Vietnam plans to export 104 million USD worth of fruits and vegetables to the US in 2017, up 21 percent from 2016. However, the figure is believed to be below the real potential of Vietnam as well as demand of the US market.
Besides fresh products, Vietnam produces juices together with frozen, canned and dried fruits to suit needs of different markets. While the US market appears to like most of the products, the EU seems to prefer juices and frozen products.
In spite of the bright outlook, the fruit and vegetable producers face a bumpy ride due to unstable input supply and prices. In reality, when China purchases a large volume of a fruit, immediately making the price go up; then fruit processing factories cannot collect enough materials for production throughout the year.
On the other hand, unstable prices also make it tough for the local exporters to fill orders from foreign partners as the two sides will have to negotiate and sign contracts months before harvest season.
Lack of large-scale farms has led to unsteady source of supply and low food safety standards, especially in frozen products which are more likely to have bacterial problems, a business from Tien Giang said.
Source: VNA. Date: 2017-06-27
Vietnam to export poultry products to Japan
Japan has agreed to import poultry and processed poultry products from Vietnam’s Koyu & Unitek Co Ltd, a move that allows Vietnam to export poultry for the first time to the international market.
The nod has come from Japan’s department of animal health, after a series of introspection of the quality of processed poultry products in Vietnam.
In a statement to the Vietnam Agriculture News, Pham Van Dong, director of the Department Of Animal Health in Vietnam, said that the department has been guiding and supporting Koyu & Unitek since June 2016, with an aim to build up a self-contained chain of production.
The plan was then submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for its approval to export the processed poultry products to the Japanese market, which is known to be one of the most difficult markets in the world.
The animal health department in Vietnam collaborated with Koyu & Unitek, aiming to draw up a surveillance plan for poultry diseases and food safety.
Dong said that the mission was to ensure that the company’s processing plant complies with Japanese food safety standards.
Following this, a Japanese team of inspection delegation came to observe and assess Koyu & Unitek’s poultry production chain. After a series of evaluation, the team agreed that the Vietnamese poultry meets hygiene requirements for export to the Japanese market.
“After a year of negotiations with Japan and preparations to meet their requirements, Vietnam has completed all procedures to export poultry and processed poultry products to Japan, a market which has very strict food safety requirements compared to other countries,” Dong added.
He further commented that the animal health department in Vietnam will continue to support and guide Koyu & Unitek to export poultry to the European Union and other international markets.
In addition, Vietnam is looking forward to expanding its processing plant in the southeast region of the country, with an aim to fulfil the requirements of the countries importing the products.
Source: Far Eastern Agriculture Date: 2017-06-27
Mexican officials keen to bolster agricultural trade with China
Mexican officials agree that it is high time to bolster agricultural trade ties with China, as the country needs to diversify its trade, given the uncertainty of its relationship with its northern neighbor.
"Opening and strengthening the channels of trade with powers such as China is very important for us," and so is "not relying on a single trade relationship," Federal Deputy Cristina Gaytan Hernandez told Xinhua.
Hernandez, a member of the opposition Democratic Revolutionary Party, urged producers and business owners from Mexico and China to forge closer ties, especially in the agricultural sector, which offers "great" potential.
The only thing missing is to foster "friendship, trust and respect so that in the field of trade our countries can find great economic advantages for their communities and for the comprehensive development of both nations," said Hernandez.
Agricultural trade with China continues to center on soybean, but as China's economy expands, so does the purchasing power of its urban middle class with accompanying changes in lifestyle and consumption, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Hernandez's remarks were echoed by Adriana Herrera Moreno, director of international trade negotiations at the Ministry of Agriculture, who emphasized the importance to "talk about increasing trade and creating opportunities for China and for Mexico."
"Agriculture is one of the sectors that would win (from expanded trade ties), because China offers a growing market that demands products that Mexico can supply, such as meats, fruit and high value-added products that offer our producers opportunities to diversify their incomes," said Moreno.
Though Mexico has no trade agreement with China in the area of agricultural commodity, it is working to meet China's phytosanitary requirements with an eye to opening the Asian market to Mexican-made produce.
"We will continue to work hard to strengthen our sanitary protocols towards China, and that is important because it provides us with the guidelines to be able to export and create real market opportunities" for the national industry, said Moreno.
The ministry is also committed to investing in promoting any new export products in the Chinese market, as it has with tequila and avocados, she said.
Mexico's China-bound agricultural exports mainly consist of cotton, beer, tequila, pork, avocados, cranberries, raspberries and blue berries.
Mexico City's Secretary of Labor Amalia Garcia Medina admits that bilateral trade with China is currently minuscule, offering great potential.
"Trade exchange is still very small. The agricultural figures ... can still grow enormously. That is to say, the potential to expand it is great and that is why the opportunity exists," said Medina.
What's more, Mexico's government has shown its willingness "to strengthen trade ties with China," in mind of its current over-reliance on its northern neighbor, according to Medina.
"A substantial portion of Mexico's trade is with the United States. If it does not diversify, it will weaken our country because any political flux in the country with which we have the largest part of trade, has an impact on us," she said.
"The positive side of our current situation is the possibility of opening up trade exchange and building substantial ties with China," said Medina, a leading voice of the Mexican left.
According to official figures, 80 percent of Mexico's agricultural exports go to the United States and Canada.
However, geographic convenience is no longer enough to sustain the country's trade ties, said Sergio Palacios, head administrator at Mexico City's Central de Abastos, Latin America's largest wholesale market of produce and foodstuffs.
"China and its provinces represent important markets where Mexico must consolidate its presence," said Palacios, adding that Mexico can offer the Asian market "many high-quality products."
To expand bilateral ties, it is essential for Chinese trade delegations "to come to Mexico more often and for Mexican delegations to go to China and learn what the opportunities are. I think they are two nations that, despite distance, have much in common and share a great friendship," added Palacios.
Earlier this week, Mexico's Chamber of Deputies hosted a bilateral agricultural exchange and cooperation forum between Mexico City and the southwestern province of Sichuan to strengthen trade between the two regions, the very first of many such encounters.
Source: Xinhua. Date: 2017-06-26
China drone king sees agriculture as area of growth
Drone maker DJI is betting on flying machines that shoot pesticide instead of photos to fend off growing competition in the global market for remote-controlled aircraft.
The world leader in the civilian drones sector is switching its focus from leisure photography to more professional uses for its unmanned aerial vehicles - and it sees agriculture as the future for the industry.
DJI's campus lies in a high-tech park in the southern city of Shenzhen, China's Silicon Valley, where its showroom features a wide array of drones. Half the space is dedicated to recreational machines such as those in the Phantom series; the other half shows off "enterprise" drones for agriculture, public safety or professional photography.
Propelled by rotors, the tiny crop-dusting aircraft can carry a liquid payload of 15kg to spray fields.
"Within five years, we went from drones that only took photos to machines specialised in first aid or agriculture," DJI vice-president Paul Xu told Agence France-Presse.
DJI was founded in 2006 by Mr Frank Wang, then a young graduate with a passion for model planes.
It now makes almost two-thirds of the world's civilian drones, according to estimates by market research company Frost & Sullivan.
Overall revenues reached US$1.5 billion (S$2 billion) last year.
Mr Xu boasted that DJI "created a new market" in 2013 when it launched its Phantom drone with high-definition cameras.
Some 75 per cent of its drones are sold abroad, mostly in the US and Europe. They are popular with people who fly them for fun or to take aerial photos. A drone that landed on the lawn of the White House in 2015 was a DJI Phantom.
The US authorities issued new rules last year that clear the way for small, commercial drones to operate across American airspace, while EU regulators are trying to catch up. With competition rising, DJI is seeking new markets. In 2015, it launched Agras MG-1, an octocopter, or eight-rotor drone, which can carry pesticides or fertilisers.
"A drone can monitor energy networks in hard-to-reach areas," said Mr Xu.
Worldwide drone sales soared by 60 per cent last year, according to the Gartner consulting company. Sales are expected to reach US$6 billion this year and nearly double to US$11.2 billion by 2020.
Source: Agence France-Presse. Date: 2017-06-26
Use of antibiotics in poultry and livestock to be reduced
Irregularities in the use of antibiotics in poultry and livestock in China will be strictly monitored to reduce drug resistance, according to a national plan released by the Ministry of Agriculture on Friday.
Authorities will push for a reduction in the use of antibiotics for poultry and livestock by 2020. Antibiotics for both human and animal use, and antibiotics that can easily cause cross-drug resistance will be gradually banned in China, according to the plan on controlling animal-sourced drug resistance.
Authorities will also take measures to research, develop and promote more than 100 kinds of new drugs for animal use that are safe and highly effective, and more than 100 kinds of high-risk drugs for animal use will be banned, the plan said.
By 2020, more than 97 percent of poultry, livestock and aquatic products in the domestic markets are expected to pass tests for antibiotics residue, the plan said.
Authorities will intensify supervision in the inspection and approval of new antibiotics for animal use, and further regulate drug application by veterinarians. Authorities will also establish eight national labs across China to improve the monitoring of drug resistance caused by the use of animal antibiotics, the plan said.
Agricultural authorities will also intensify communications and cooperation with international organizations such as the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to control the spread of drug-resistant bacteria among countries, it said.
China is a major producer and user of antibiotics for animals. Bacteria drug-resistance is becoming increasingly serious in China, forcing the use of more drugs in the poultry and livestock industry, which brings serious threats to public health, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Source: China Daily. Date: 2017-06-26
Cooked Chicken from China: Free Trade a Two-way Street, Says NCC
As a result of an authorised deal where the US can now export beef to China, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it will allow imports of frozen, fully cooked and refrigerated chicken to the United States from Chinese poultry processing companies.
Upon the announcement of the USDA's proposed rule to allow imports of chicken from China, National Chicken Council (NCC) President Mike Brown says: "NCC and our members support free and fair trade. In order to be effective, free trade must operate as a two-way street. Any country that is able to meet the stringent food safety standards set by USDA should be able to compete in a marketplace free of protectionism and artificial trade barriers."
Mr Brown has shown optimism about negotiators continuing the dialogue with China, and believes that US broiler access issues to China will be resolved expeditiously.
US chicken has been blocked by China since January 2015, when the country issued a blanket ban on all US poultry over issues related to avian influenza. Poultry exports to China peaked in 2008, with an export value of $722 million.
Mr Brown said: "The United States is the most efficient producer of poultry products in the world. Our comparative advantage in producing and marketing these products derives from both our access to America’s abundant production of high quality feed grain and soybean products which are used to feed our flocks; and from America’s technological leadership in poultry genetics and breeding, precision feed formulation, and animal health practices. Because of our significant comparative advantage, it is difficult for other countries to compete both here and abroad and as such, the US imports very little poultry products.
"According to the rule, 'The immediate impact on the United States consumers and domestic producers is likely to be minor, as the low volume of trade is likely to have little effect on supply, demand and prices'.
"FSIS still must take a number of steps, the first of which will be the publishing of the proposed rule in the Federal Register along with a comment period, before it can make a final determination as to whether China is equivalent and thus eligible to export poultry to the United States that was slaughtered and cooked in Chinese establishments. NCC looks forward to reviewing the details of the rule and providing comments to the agency during the 60-day public comment period."
Source: The poultry site. Date: 2017-06-23