Cambodia Organic Rice Program in the news

Article in Thai language from the news site of the Manager abouth the organic rice program and potential rice export from Cambodia. The news is mentioning the "famous Certification instutute BCS-Oeko Garantie from Germany"
Unfortunatly the article is partly not really up to date

to article (in Thai)

Story of Stuff

Something I found interesting and entertaining
It's a nice, funny and educational clip, downloadable from this site

clipped from www.storyofstuff.com What is the Story of Stuff? From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

Organic Farming Sprouts Slowly

today in the Bangkok Post under "Top Stories" this article on organic farming and certification.

Organic farming sprouts slowly

"With demand for organic foodstuffs in developing countries rising at 25 per cent per year, Thailand has been slow to jump on the organic gravy train, according to GTZ, which has started a programme to facilitate Thai organic exports to Europe.
To date, there are only a handful of Thai companies specializing in organic foodstuffs and even a smaller number in the export market..."

Contains some views on how and why organic production is still under-represented in Thailand, a country which is claiming to become the "kitchen of the world".

also one part is factually not correct in this article:

"To meet international organic certification standards, such as those set by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), or BCS Oko Garantie of Germany, organic farms need to be at least 20 metres away from conventional farms, a tall order in Thailand's patchwork of small-holdings."

Such standard would be really difficult to meet by small paddy farmers in South East Asia. Fortunatly such standard requirement does not exist. There are more differientiated and complex rules on how an organic farmer has to minimize risk of contamination.

Coffee Minimum prices raised

clipped from www.fairtrade.net Thursday 13. of December 2007 FLO International Adjusts Fairtrade Minimum Prices for Arabica Coffee to Cover Costs of Sustainable Production Fairtrade continues to address the needs of coffee producing communitiesFairtrade Minimum Prices for Arabica coffee will be adjusted upwards to ensure Small Farmers’ Organisations continue to receive a price which covers the... Category: Important News [more]

New Mandatory Labelling For Fruits And Vegetables to the EU

From 1st of January 2008, the country of origin must be stated for all kinds of fruit and vegetables in the EU.
A change in European law (Article 2, paragraph 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1182/2007) means that all types of fruit and vegetables now have to be labelled with their country of origin.
This mandatory labelling previously applied only to fruit and vegetables subject to EC marketing standards.

Vietnamese Experts Recommend Farmers to go Organic

Oryza sent out some news on organic in Vietnam. That will probably help to solve the supply bottlenecks in some sectors of the organic rice trade - still we can only hope that it would not blur quality development efforts

Experts in Vietnam's agricultural industry have come out strongly in support of organic farming saying that wide use of organic farming will not only protect people’s health and the environment, but also boost the country’s exports.

Scientists, agricultural managers and farmers had gathered to discuss the use of organic products and the sustainable development of the domestic agricultural sector.

Experts also gave presentations on the importance of the use of organic products in agricultural production, particularly micro-organism fertilizers, and Viet Nam’s current agricultural practices. (source: Oryza)

First European Fair Trade fair

Equi’Sol and its European and French partners invite you to the first European Fair Trade fair.. 1-3. Feb 2008

Organic undersupply stunts market growth, OTA

Unreliable organic supplies are stunting the growth of over half of US organic food manufacturers, according to a new report by the (US) nation's industry association.

But despite supply challenges, the market continues to see strong growth, mirrored by the expansion in the range of organic products available, and the retail outlets that carry them

According to the Organic Trade Association's (OTA) 2007 Manufacturer Survey, organic foods are one of the fastest growing segments in the industry, with sales in 2006 increasing 21 percent to reach $16.7bn.

But results from the group's latest survey of organic manufacturers reveal that as more organic products are being churned out onto the market, securing raw materials is becoming a growing challenge.

Some 55 percent of survey respondents in 2007 said that a lack of dependable supply restricted their company from generating more sales of organic products. This compares to 52 percent last year. (more)

Global Fairtrade sales increase by 40% benefiting 1.4 million farmers worldwide

clipped from www.fairtrade.net Bonn, Germany, 25 July 2007. Consumers worldwide spent 1.6 billion Euros on Fairtrade Certified Products in 2006, according to Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO). This is a 41% increase on the previous year, directly benefiting over 1.4 million producers and workers worldwide.

Further Fairtrade product ranges at Sainsbury’s

clipped from www.organic-market.info Sainsbury’s has announced that 100 % of its own-brand tea will be converted to Fairtrade, followed by 100 % of roast and ground coffee and in a separate move, certified cotton will be sourced for its best-selling T-shirt in the TU range.

Threat for Thai Hom Mali (Jasmine) rice

This is irritating but not so clear news from the Bangkok Post today. If this means that they start to release GMO rice to farmers the northeast, than this will have a serious effect on organic and fairtrade rice producers in Thailand as well as generally for rice exports from Thailand to Europe - Are they concious? - I'm afraid not!


Super khao hom coming (Bangkok Post)

Thai researchers at the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (Biotec) are developing a breed of fragrant jasmine rice that is resistant to pests and diseases, as well as to flash floods, drought and salinity, the Science and Development Network reports.

The ongoing research, which uses laboratory techniques to back up traditional breeding methods, was presented at the international BioAsia 2007 conference in Bangkok earlier this month, according to the SciDev.net article.

Thailand is the world's largest rice exporter, with jasmine rice the most popular. But the country's rice plants often have to struggle against severe flooding or drought, as well as damage by the brown plant hopper (BPH) and bacterial leaf blight (BLB).

The experimental rice withstands nearly three weeks of flooding and is resistant to BPH and BLB, says Apichart Vanavichit, director of the Rice Gene Discovery Unit in Thailand, who is leading the research. His team are now looking for genes that enable other rice plants to tolerate salt conditions and drought.

(NOTE: To visit the website of the Rice Gene Discovery Unit click here: www.biotec.or.th)

Vanavichit said they hope to release their "super rice" with the whole set of resistance genes by 2012.

The scientists use genetic marker techniques to locate the desired genes in different rice varieties, which helps them identify the best parent plants for breeding.

Work began in 1998 with the identification of flood-resistant genes in a local Indian rice variety.

In 2001 the researchers conducted a field trial, and last year gave the flood-resistant rice seeds to farmers in northern Thailand.

Meanwhile, researchers crossbred plants with BPH- and BLB-resistant genes from a wild Sri Lankan rice and samples from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), before combining those traits with the flood-resistant jasmine rice.

"What would happen if India hadn't allowed us to use its rice variety? The sharing of genetic resources is definitely beneficial," said Vanavichit.

Surawit Wannakrairoj, a member of the Thai National Plant Variety Committee, told SciDev.Net that the results showed that Thailand does not need to embrace genetic-modification biotechnology.

Duncan Macintosh, a spokesperson for IRRI, says the development of flood-resistant rice is progressing well in several countries, so the chances of success in Thailand are high. "But the main challenge will be to maintain the quality of jasmine rice," he told SciDev.Net

Fairtrade Tea Minimum Price Standard

FLO International inaugurates Fairtrade Minimum Pricing for tea

From February, 1st, 2008, the first Fairtrade Minimum Prices for tea will be integrated into the Fairtrade Standards.
Tea is one of Fairtrade’s most diverse products, with grades and types of tea ranging from the fine-grade...
[more]