New Rice Varieties Destroying Native Farming Practices

Ina Endena is concerned at the impact of the new rice varieties on Agawa community life. Since the introduction of the biit, the synchronized planting season has been inexistent. During a community holiday for example, the farmers usually break the ubaya or community taboo just to tend their fields for the application of needed fertilizers or pesticides.

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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts
Vol. VI, No. 36 Oct. 15 - 21, 2006 Quezon City, Philippines

BY ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat

I've seen her many times in different occasions involving grassroots organizations � in Mountain Province or in any part of Cordillera and elsewhere. In most of these activities where I had seen her, human rights issues were the main topics in the discussions. She comes from a place that had often been militarized and as a consequence, human rights violations were usually reported.

On the day before the celebration of our paper�s fourth anniversary as a weekly and 17th as a news dispatch, Baket Endena � a leader of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) in her native Mountain Province as well as the Innabuyog-GABRIELA � came with a pizza to share with the Nordis staff, who were then busy preparing for the occasion.

This time, my conversation with Ina Endena, as most fondly call her, is focused on agricultural practices in their village in Agawa, Besao in Mountain Province.

I am touched at how she laments that new rice varieties are slowly displacing indigenous varieties. She is saddened at the thought that her community practices are slowly disintegrating due to the introduction of these new varieties into the Cordillera interior.

At first, it is hard to comprehend how the entry of the new varieties has weakened indigenous practices. But she explained with such clarity that I realized that we have to respond to an urgent call from this 82-year-old elder who is still active in grassroots organizing.

Ina Endena described the role of the dap-ay, an indigenous socio-political system where elders gather and talk about the beginning of the agricultural activities.

In end-September, the elders declare three days as ubaya or community holidays. They perform a ritual, observe signs, and if all the indications appear good then they start the rice seedbed preparation in the padog (rice field specifically designated for that purpose). The ubaya also starts the land preparation. Work is done simultaneously in all rice fields. The community residents do the preparation, planting and harvesting in synchrony with the environment. A tradition of thanksgiving is also performed after every harvest.

Outside influences, she says, contribute to the weakening of their indigenous practices. She observed this in what is happening to their indigenous rice varieties called the bayag (literally, a long period of time). These are slowly being set aside, she says.

These varieties include the tupeng, ginolot, yangaw (sticky rice). She observed that those varieties already lost are the sabsaba, kinison and matiko.

These old varieties are being replaced by taiwan, walay (sticky rice) and others called biit (short) as these may be planted twice a year.

She admits that it takes a longer wait to harvest the bayag variety, but she prefers it to the introduced biit because these are raised with just natural fertilizers like sunflower leaves, and a local variety of grasses, among others. She pointed out the biit, though planted twice in a year, need more commercial inputs like fertilizers and pesticides. She observed that these inputs are not only expensive but makes the land barren and therefore, dependent on these agro-chemicals.

Ina Endena is concerned at the impact of the new rice varieties on Agawa community life. She observes that since the introduction of the biit, the synchronized planting season has been inexistent. In the declaration of a community holiday for example, the farmers usually break the ubaya or community taboo just to tend their fields for the application of needed fertilizers or pesticides.

She also observes that indigenous agricultural practices are environment-friendly.

Before our interaction ended with lots of lemon grass tea and brewed coffee that washed the pizza down our throats, I felt the need to heed her recommendations to adopt indigenous systems. After all, these practices have been proven to be cost-effective and environment-friendly by indigenous communities like Agawa in Mountain Province. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat

Simple Vegetable Fried Rice

This has to be one of the easiest of fried rice recipes. This recipe comes from my mother and you can call this an Indo-Chinese dish.

I’ve tried this recipe when I cook once in a while and it comes out well most of the time.

The taste is neither too spicy nor too bland. It is best eaten with tomato ketchup or a hot and sweet sauce.

You can cook this for either lunch or dinner. It is a light-weight alternative to heavy foods.

Original recipe from my mom is below.

Vegetable Fried Rice

Ingredients

• Raw Rice or Basmati Rice - 2 cups
• Onions - 5 Nos.
• Beans - 1/4 kilograms or 10 to 12 Nos.
• Cauliflower - 1/2 (small)
• Capsicums - 1 or 2
• Peas (optional) - 1/4 cup
• Ajinomoto (Chinese salt) - 3/4 teaspoon
• White pepper powder - 1 teaspoon
• Salt - as required
• Soya Sauce - 3 to 4 teaspoons
• Oil - 4 to 5 tablespoons

For Vinegar Chillies:

Note: Mix all these ingredients 2 to 3 hours before serving

• Long variety green chillies - 4 (cut into thin round pieces)
• Plain Vinegar - 1/2 cup
• Salt - 1 teaspoon
• Soya sauce - 1 tablespoon

Method:

1. Cook rice in pressure cooker. For 2 cups of rice, add 3 cups of water.
2. Allow the cooked rice to cool completely by spreading on a brad plate. Separate the grains.
3. Cut the vegetables into even-sized and small pieces.
4. Cut onion into 1/2 inch pieces.
5. Heat oil in a broad frying pan and fry onions and capsicum in the quantity given.
6. If you are using peas, cook the peas separately and then add it to the frying pan.
7. While frying vegetables, add 1/2 teaspoon of Ajinomoto.
8. Fry in a high flame for a few minutes (till the vegetables become tender).
9. Add cooked rice, salt, pepper, and another 1/4 teaspoon of Ajinomoto.
10. Sprinkle Soya sauce and fry in a high flame till rice is fried well.
11. Serve hot with vinegar chillies and tomato sauce.

How to Cook Brown Rice: The Experiment

When I was a kid, our church had a potluck lunch every Fifth Sunday (i.e., if a month had five Sundays, we at lunch together on the fifth one). Every family would bring a couple of dishes, and since there were a lot of good cooks in our church, we always had quite a spread. My favorite dish from those lunches was brown rice: white rice, onions and mushrooms cooked in beef consommé. Mmm. When I was home from my grandmother’s funeral last fall, I hid out in the kitchen with some of the ladies from church and ate brown rice out of the casserole dish with them as we cleaned up.

It wasn’t until high school or college that I realized that there was actually a type of rice called brown rice. The first time I tried it I really did not like it - so dry and bland compared to what I had grown up thinking brown rice was. However, once John was on a gluten free diet I became worried about whether he was getting enough fiber and I started cooking brown rice instead of white. Over time our palettes adjusted and now we love the stuff! Especially with tamari. *

We’ve been making brown rice so frequently that we bought a rice cooker off of Ebay. While it does make a big pot of rice, we have to watch it closely and the results are not consistent. So tonight I did some research to see if I could find a way to make a really good pot of rice on the stove-top.

It turns out that there are four major variables in brown rice recipes.

Water to rice ratio: I saw recipes that called for as little as 1.5 cups of water for each cup rice, and as much as 2 cups of water for every cup of rice.

Cooking time: One of the recipes that I tried tonight called for only 20 minutes of cooking time. Others that I looked at said the cooking time could be one to two hours/!

Precooking preparations: Some recipes instruct you to soak the brown rice for an hour before cooking. A few recipes that I found had you toast the rice in oil before cooking the rice in water.

How to combine the rice and water: Most recipes instructed you to combine the rice and water and then heat to boiling. The recipes in which you toast the rice beforehand have you boil water in a teapot, and then add the boiling water to the rice.

The Contenders

1. The recipes that I selected for tonights experiments are all very different. Steve Pavlina’s recipe for brown rice uses a 1.5:1 water to rice ratio, a very short cooking time, and no precooking preparation.

2. Just Hungry has a instructional post on how to cook Japanese rice in a cast-iron pot. This recipe called for a 1.5:1 up to 1.8: 1 water to rice ratio; a cooking time of at least an hour; and, a precooking soak of at least one hour. Needless to say, since we were incredibly hungry I altered this recipe a bit which may be why the results were less than spectacular. I used the 1.5:1 ration, but skipped the pre-soak. I also toasted the rice in oil and then added boiling water before cooking for a rather brief 40 minutes. Now that I’m writing it out, I really didn’t follow her recipe that well all all =)

3. The third recipe is my usual method of cooking brown rice. I really thought that it had no chance of winning, but included it as a control.

The Results

I was skeptical about Steve’s recipe. Although he’s been cooking brown rice this way for 10 years, I thought that the 1.5:1 ratio would be too low and that the 20 minute cooking time would be too short. He does state in his post that he likes his brown rice on the chewy side and that’s exactly how it turned out. The rice grains were almost al dente, but not undercooked. The grains tended to stay separated rather than sticking together which could be good or bad depending on how you want to use the rice. A bit of water was still in the pot when I took it off of the heat, but most of that had been absorbed by the time I removed the cover.
Grade: A- This is a solid recipe, and great if you need brown rice quickly. Total “to the table time” was 30 minutes. I like my rice a bit more chewy, so this would not be my first choice if time was not a factor.

The rice that I cooked in my cast-iron casserole was definitely the one that we were the most anxious to see. When I added the boiling water to the toasted rice the water made a loud hissing noise, steamed up the entire kitchen, and boiled as hard as I have ever seen water boil. So hard that I was afraid it was going to lift the cast-iron top off of the pot! I think that a lot of the water evaporated at that point, and I really expected to have a pot of burnt rice. Fifty minutes later John removed the top and we both said “Burnt!” at the same time. After I fluffed the rice we realized that it wasn’t really burnt; it was just a lot darker than the other rice because I had toasted it first. The rice was well cooked, but on the dry side. The grains were completely separated and reminded me of the rice at our local Mexican place. Toasting the rice grains gave this batch a distinctly nutty taste, which I enjoyed.
Grade: C- mainly due to my experimentation. However, I liked it enough that I’m sure I will be experimenting with this cooking method in the future.

I was very surprised that I liked my recipe this best. I really didn’t expect too, and am slightly embarrassed that it turned out this way. The main difference in my recipe is that I place couple of layers of paper towel over the pot before I cover it. The paper towels help to absorb some of the moisture so that the finished product is not watery. My rice was more chewy than Steve’s due to the longer cooking time, and it was more sticky, which I think was due to the extra water.
Grade: A This rice takes longer to cook - probably 45 minutes from start to finish, but I really like the chewiness and slight stickiness. My recipe is below if you’d like to give it a try.

Naturally Gluten Free Brown Rice

Yield: 7 - 8 cups

2 c. brown rice
4 c. water

1. Add the brown rice and water to a large pot, and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. As soon as the water begins to boil, turn the heat to low. Place two layers of paper towel over the pot, and then cover with a lid.
3. Simmer at low for 40 minutes, then remove from the heat. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.

Coriander rice

Coriander rice

This rice is perfect for lunch boxes.It is a one pot meal and can be prepared in a jiffy.It has the aroma and flavor of fresh coriander leaves combined with spices.It tastes great with raita and chips.

Ingredients

Coriander leaves - 1 big bunch
Rice - 2 cups
Green chillies - 4
Ginger - 1 inch grated
Garlic - 4 cloves
Coconut - 3 tablespoons grated
Tomatoes - 2
Cloves - 4
Cardamom - 3
Bay leaves - 2
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Salt to taste
Ghee/Clarified butter - 1 tablespoon

Directions

Wash and chop the coriander leaves.Also chop the onions,green chillies and tomato..

Wash and soak rice for atleast hal an hour.

In a pan, add the ghee and once it becomes hot add the coriander leaves and green chillies.Saute for about 2 minutes until the raw smell disappears..Allow the mixture to cool completely.

In a mixie grind the coriander-chilli mixture along with the ginger,garlic,coconut and a little water.

In a pressure cooker/ kadai / cooking vessel,heat a little oil. Add all the spices and fry for a minute until you get the aroma of the spices. Take care they do not burn.

Add the chopped onions.Once they turn translucent, add the ground masala. Saute for about two minutes.Add the chopped tomatoes.Allow it to cook well.Then add the soaked rice and saute again.Add the required amount of water(about 4 cups).Add salt to taste.

Cook till the rice absorbs all the water.Fluff with a fork to seperate the rice grains.

Serve hot with raita and chips!

Fried rice

I think I found as much different variations for fried rice as much a recipes I found. This is my interpretation based on the ingredients I found in the fridge :)

Ingredients

• rice (red rice in this case)
• eggs
• vegetables (I used cauliflower in this case)
• soy sauce (just a pinch)

Preparation

As an idea I think the proportions should be: for 1 cup of boiled rice, 1 egg and 1/2 cup of vegetables but I leave this to your imagination.

• boil the rice
• boil the vegetables (not very soft)
• prepare scrambled eggs
• add the rice and fry for a while
• add the vegetables and some soy sauce
• enjoy (I did so with some fried chicken)

Yellow rice (geelrys)

• Pasta, Rice and Grains
• South African
• Recipes

Aromatic and beautifully coloured, yellow rice is essential with bobotie and the perfect companion to chicken pie.

Ingredients

1 cup (250 ml) rice

• 4 cups (1 liter) water
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) turmeric
• 1 cinnamon quill
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) seedless raisins or currants
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) butter
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) yellow , brown or raw sugar

Traditional Method

1. Boil water.
2. Add salt, turmeric, and then the rice and boil rapid for 20 minutes.
3. Use a colander to drain water.
4. Add cinnamon and raisins and steam for an hour over boiling water.
5. Remove cinnamon and add butter and sugar.
6. Serve warm.

Quick Method

1. Boil 3 cups of water.
2. Add all the ingredients, and boil until the water has been absorbed.

Amy Karol's Rice Cooking Method

If you've ever struggled with how to cook rice, try the method described by Amy Karol on Angry Chicken--it involves boiling the rice like pasta, then steaming it the rest of the way until it's perfectly done

Thai Rice

Thai Long Grain Parboil Rice 5% Broken

What is OREC?

The denomination Organisation of Rice Exporting Countries (OREC) describes

a project that to organize 21 rice exporting countries to create a homonymous

organisation. The group is mainly made up of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos

and Myanmar but there are other rice exporting countries to be invited. The

project came to the attention of international media after remarks made publicly

by Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on the 30th April 2008.Unlike

unfounded rumors and baseless worries that the Organization was created in order

to increase rice price like OPEC, the objectives of OREC are in fact very humane,

noble and reasonable

Some indications on the organisations' programmatic future may also be found in the statements

of one of its first promoters, Mr. Ngô V?n Tân (poet Tan Van). In early 2005 he wrote an article

in which he promoted the Ideology of Rice Power in Vietnamese language M?nh Vì G?o

(Rice Power). He paid special attention to the hardship of peasants in rice producing

and exporting countries facing price pressures from international buyers
In another article appearing in the Vietnamese newspaper Saigon Tiep Thi on May 30, 2007 he

suggested Vietnam and other rice exporting countries to establish an organization called OREC in

order to make rice price "reasonable" and supply stable, thus creating a win-win

situation for both buyers and producers. The alternative would discourage farmers

from production, thus causing future shortage. The same article appeared again in various

Vietnamese newspapers and websites on March 30, 2008. Ngô V?n Tân also promoted

the idea of using a portion of profits from rice trade to fight food shortages in poor areas,

a form of food redistribution that make the world more fair and just.

Unlike what people suspected of an OPEC cartel that tries to squeeze from

people's pocket for their food, the OREC that Mr. Ngo Van Tan (poet Tan Van) initiated would

invite all the 21 rice exporting countries worldwide to organize themselves into an alliance to help

increase rice production efficiency and prevent human starvation that might happen in the future

with the unforeseen climate changes and disasters. Those countries are:

Thailand export 10 million tons (34.5% of global rice exports)
Vietnam … 4.5 million tons (15.47%)

India … 4.4 million tons (15.12%)
United States … 3.1 million tons (10.6%)
Pakistan … 1.8 million tons (6.3%)
China (including Taiwan) … 901,550 tons (3.1%)
Egypt … 836,940 tons (2.9%)
Italy … 668,940 tons (2.3%)
Uruguay … 609,170 tons (2.1%)
Spain … 346,030 tons (1.2%)
Argentina … 257,750 tons (0.9%)
Guyana … 256,330 tons (0.9%)
United Arab Emirates … 164,350 tons (0.6%)
Belgium-Luxembourg … 157,190 tons (0.5%)
Myanmar … 150,030 tons (0.5%).
Guyana … 256,330 tons (up 59.2% in 2004)
Argentina … 257,750 tons (up 45.1%)
Egypt … 836,940 tons (up 42.9%)
United Arab Emirates … 164.35 (down 14.6%)
Spain … 346.03 (down 9.4%)
Uruguay … 625 (down 2.5%)

This organization is unique and has common aim to increase rice production and exportation.

Thanks to it, rice supply and demand will harmonize, price will be stabilized

and beneficial to both consumers and producers. As you know that peansants in

exporting countries have suffered with unreasonably low price in the past, many peasants

in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia lived in poverty for their hard work, had to sell

their daughters in order to survive because rice farming was a money loosing business

that made many of them in debt lifetime! In the meantime, low rice price was a factor in

wasting this essential product in many cities especially in North America if you go to

a Chinese restaurant, a lot of cooked rice (often overserved) left over by customers

was thrown in garbage. In the meantime people in Asia and Africa starved because of rice shortage.

Thanks to reasonable price, rice peasants can benefit and therefore continue to

produce actively instead of quitting the farm, thus guarantee undisrupted supplies.

As a humanitarian person by nature, I also suggested that those farmers and their

exporting countries reserve a portion of profit to pool together to help subsidize poor

people worldwide so they can afford this essential product.

Thanks to profit farmers can modernize their cultivation with machinery, newly developed seeds,

fertilizer and feel happy to cencentrate in producing rice to feed the world instead of worrying for

their future. BANGKOK (Thomson Financial) April 30, 2008- Thailand has agreed in principle to form

a rice price-fixing cartel with Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia as costs of the staple grain

surge, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said on Wednesday. The grouping of nationswould be

called the Organisation of Rice Exporting Countries (OREC).

'I have talked with Myanmar and invited them to join the rice exporting countries cartel, which

will include Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, to form the group,' Samak told reporters.

Myanmar's Prime Minister General Thein Sein, in Thailand for an official visit, has agreed to join

the group, even through the military-ruled nation is not currently a large rice exporter, he said.

'Thailand will help
them in terms of technical support to improve their production for export,' Samak said.

Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have also agreed to join, and Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon

Pattama said OREC should begin meeting soon. Thailand is the world's largest rice exporter,

shipping an estimated 9.5 million tonnes of rice overseas last year.

Prime Minister Hun Sen: Orec can solve world hunger

Phnom Penh (Agencies) - Cambodian Prime Minister

Hun Sen said on Monday that the Opec-style rice cartel proposed by Thailand would ensure

global food security, not increase hunger and poverty as critics say. Prime Minister Samak

Sundaravej said last week there was an agreement in principle to form what he calls Organisation

of Rice Exporting Countries by Burma, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. The Mekong-region nations

hope they can run a group similar to the oil cartel Opec. Hun Sen said during a university

graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh that the cartel would never try to manipulate markets

like Opec. It would only seek to ensure global food security. "We will not only ensure food

security in each of our own countries, but will help solve the entire problem of (food) shortages

across the region and the world," Hun Sen said. "When there are shortages, we will not stockpile

the rice or increase prices," the premier said. "We really want to help ensure food security."

The Asian Development Bank said it hated the idea. Senior Philippines officials have blasted the

proposal as "anti-poor", designed to increase hunger and poverty. Hun Sen urged them to stop.

"The formation of the organisation is not meant to strangle the throats of countries that do not

have rice," he said. The five proposed members of the cartel will discuss the organisation at

regional talks in October, Hun Sen said, adding that the Mekong river nations would export up

to 15 million tonnes of rice a year - 10 million by Thailand. Hun Sen last week appealed to

farmers to grow more rice in order to profit from the increased global food crisis

.

RICE CARTEL AIMS FOR COMMON PRICE: CAMBODIAN MINISTER

PHNOM PENH - An organization of rice exporting countries (OREC) including Thailand, Cambodia,

Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar will aim to set common price for their rice exports for more benefits

of their own and the world, national media said on Monday. A Common price for rice will enhance

OREC's capability to produce rice, provide a chance to help settle the world food crisis and

increase the incomes of farmers, Chinese-language newspaper the Commercial News quoted

Cambodian Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Chan Sarun as telling a rural products exhibition

in the southern province of Takeo on Sunday.

Rice research another step forward for green revolution

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Field tests have shown that a new system of planting different varieties of rice plants can dramatically reduce problems with the most important fungal disease of rice, with implications for greater rice production around the world and m ore food for literally billions of people.

These rice plants are infected with the fungal disease blast, which causes portions of the plant to die and reduces yields. Oregon State University researchers say use of several varieties of rice in fields can significantly reduce these problems an d help provide more food for billions of people.

Studies done in Yunnan Province of China, the results of which were just published in the journal Nature, show that losses to the fungal disease "blast" can be almost eliminated in some of the types of glutinous rice in which it was the most severe proble m, at times destroying entire crops.

"This approach was really a phenomenal success, much more effective than anyone predicted," said Chris Mundt, a professor of botany and plant pathology at Oregon State University and co-author on the study. "This is not a new concept, but it's a sound app lication of ecological principles to crop agriculture and it was astounding to see the scope of disease reductions that were a result."

It may also be possible to dramatically reduce the use of chemicals on a sustainable basis and significantly increase the income rice farmers are able to earn from the same area of land, researchers say.

Rice is a primary food and leading source of caloric intake for more than half of the world's population, and is clearly the most important single food crop on Earth.

But rice production has historically struggled with blast, a fungus that causes lesions on rice plants, reduces yields and in severe cases can kill the entire plant. Total crop losses are possible, especially when the crop year is unusually cool and wet, and a 20 percent loss in rice yield is routine, Mundt said.

Blast can affect either the glutinous, or more "sticky" varieties of rice, experts say, and the non-glutinous varieties that are the types most commonly sold in groceries around the world. Different varieties have been developed in attempts to find some t hat showed more natural resistance, but the fungus often overcame that resistance within a short time. And use of chemicals to control blast has become both pervasive and expensive, especially considering that this is a cheap, mass-produced crop for use a s a dietary staple.

A study done by Chinese and Oregon State University researchers found that different varieties of rice plants in these rows from a crop in Yunnan Province, China, hold considerable hope for reducing problems with blast, a major fungal disease of rice .

Normally, rice producers in China might choose to produce about 20 percent glutinous varieties to meet market demands, Mundt said, but in some regions problems with blast have caused growers to almost give up trying to grow the glutinous rice varieties.

In the United States, Mundt is an expert on fungal diseases of crops. He has had considerable success mixing different types of wheat and barley varieties to reduce plant disease problems in those crops. When he spoke about these approaches to some crop s cience experts in China, they became interested in trying the same concepts with rice.

Researchers say that the blast pathogen specializes in particular "genotypes," or varieties of rice, some of which are glutinous and some of which are non-glutinous. During the past few years they used several known varieties of rice in one of the largest experiments on rice ever conducted, interspersing rows of one type of rice with other types to slow down the movement of blast fungi through the field.

The results amazed researchers. The yield losses to blast in glutinous varieties of rice dropped an average of 94 percent. The losses in non-glutinous varieties dropped by 25 percent the first year of the experiment and by 55 percent the second year.

"That's another part of this study that was so encouraging," Mundt said. "The results of the approach actually worked better the longer we did it and the more acreage on which the system was used. Some theoretical studies in the past have predicted that t he benefits of crop diversification should actually increase as the approach is used on a larger spatial scale, but this is one of the first large experiments to clearly demonstrate that concept."

Deep concerns over the problems with blast and desire for increased rice production in this province of China, Mundt said, caused growers to show an extraordinary level of voluntary cooperation with the experiments. The amount of land on which the approac h was tested quadrupled from the first year to the second year.

At the same time, growers who had been using fungicides from three to eight times a year to fight blast reduced their chemical use to a single treatment the first year of the experiment, and no chemicals used at all in the second year. Overall, gross inco me per hectare of rice in this region of China went up by an average of 15 percent, Mundt said, and this does not even include the substantial reduction in fungicide costs.

Collaborators with OSU on this research included the Yunnan Agricultural University, with funding support of $1.3 million over three years from the Asian Development Bank. The project was proposed and organized by the International Rice Research Institute .

"There's evidence and good reason to believe we can sustain these results," Mundt said. "Scientists will also continue to develop new, blast-resistant varieties of rice that should further assist with this approach of crop diversification. This should cle arly be good for the environment, good for rice farmers and a major step forward for feeding people around the world."

Rice Genome Landscape: Overview

Introduction

The goal of this report is to contribute to public awareness of intellectual property issues surrounding the genetic sequences of rice. Rice is an important economic crop, as well as a major subsistence crop for large populations. Because rice is a close genetic relation of other cereals such as wheat, maize (corn), and sorghum, patent claims over genetic sequences of rice can result in exclusionary treatment of genetic resources of these cereals. Also, as the first cereal genome that has been sequenced, the patenting behaviour of rice sequences may serve as a model for how sustenance crop genes are patented in the future.

Although the rice genome is relatively small compared to other flowering plants, we found hundreds of patent applications claiming rice sequences. As a part of our analysis, we mined the sequences claimed in U.S. patents and patent applications and identified sequences that had significant homology to the rice genome and provide links to these patents.

Because of the volume of patent activity in this area, a detailed discussion of all the patents and patent applications is beyond the scope of this landscape. Though our analysis of patents and patent applications below is not exhaustive, we highlight issues from which users can perform additional self-directed investigation.

Rice and Intellectual Property

Due to a variety of factors, such as drought, climate change, soil erosion, urbanization, and pollution, rice growers are faced with the challenge of producing more rice for more people, but with fewer resources. While government-based rice breeding operations have done extraordinarily well improving rice yield and quality using more traditional breeding methods, biotechnology will likely be a essential component of strategies aimed at meeting this challenge.

In the advent of gene patenting, access to enabling technologies may be impeded by intellectual property, material transfer agreements (MTAs), or other contractual arrangements. Gene patents, in particular, have the potential to monopolize genes and proteins associated with desirable agronomic traits. Patents also impact the gene-based tools needed to improve rice, such as transformation and genotyping techniques.

The inherent relatedness of plant genomes has the potential to expand the reach of patent claims well beyond their expected scope. In particular, the similarity between the rice genome and the genomes of other cereal makes it possible that patent claims to rice sequences will also literally extend to other crops. Similarly, patent claims to the genes of other crops may encompass portions of the rice genome.

Intellectual property also has an impact on a larger scale by shifting the demographics of rice research from publicly-funded organizations to private companies. This shift has changed who solves problems for whom, and who has access to the tools of innovation.

In addition, patent craft has evolved in the era of sequence patents. New patent strategies have emerged, and old ones have been re-tooled to claim biological sequence "inventions" as broadly as possible. For example bulk sequence applications, which we define as those claiming more than 1,000 sequences, are frequently filed although they are likely to issue with claims to only a few sequences. However, during the pendency of the application, the uncertainty of which sequences will be claimed in the final patent may be used to influence contracts and agreements that often have limitations and consequences far greater than an enforced patent.

Access to Patent Data is Limited in Rice-Growing Jurisdictions

Access to patent sequence data in the major rice-growing jurisdictions is limited or non-existent, which makes it extremely difficult to fully assess the impact of patents where they matter most. Since the vast majority of rice produced in the world is consumed in the same country that it was produced, domestic patent laws are key for determining access to innovation tools.

For example in India, it is currently not possible to conduct a full-text search of domestic patents or patent applications; only bibliographic information is available. How can anyone assess whether they have freedom-to-operate in India if they cannot access the claims or specifications of Indian patents? The uncertainty regarding the metes and bounds of patents can lead to exploitation of parties not privy to the inner workings of the Indian patent office.

CAMBIA’s Analysis

CAMBIA’s goal is to facilitate access to science-enabled innovation by creating tools that promote patent transparency. To this end we have created the Patent Lens, which includes a free patent search tool that allows users to search the full text of patents and applications from the United States, Europe, and Australia as well as world (PCT) applications. In addition, we provide a BLAST-type tool that permits searching of sequences that are disclosed in the specification or recited in the claims of U.S. patents and patent applications.

The rice genome patent landscape outlines many of the key issues associated with patenting of the rice genome. Inspired by the analysis published by Jensen and Murray in 2005 (Science 310: 239-240), we have carried out an analysis of genes that are claimed in both U.S. granted patents and patent applications. Unlike Jensen and Murray, we included patent applications in our analysis.

This landscape cannot provide an exhaustive treatment of rice genome sequences patented in all jurisdictions. Because the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) provides sequence data in electronic form, we were able to do this analysis with U.S. patents and applications, and we have supplemented this with some information we were able to find on counterpart filings in other countries that report to a European Patent Office (EPO) database. Unfotunately, however, many jurisdictions do not make sequence information available electronically. For example, although sequence information for China filings has been discussed in a peer-reviewed journal article, we found it is not actually available.

Our analysis of U.S. patent applications shows that around 74% of the rice genome is recited in the claims of patent applications, but very small percentage ends up in granted patents. Numerous bulk sequence applications claim more than 100,000 rice genome nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences. Bulk sequence applications create uncertainty as to which sequences will issue when the patent is granted. While the application is pending, agreements can be made that benefit from this uncertainty. However, the patent office is stemming the tide on bulk sequence applications by limiting the number of sequences that are claimed in a granted patent to fewer than ten, and in many cases, only one or two sequences.

Our analysis of granted U.S. applications shows that a number of promoters, transcriptional activators and important structural genes are encumbered by patent claims. Pages in our landscape contain tables that provide information about these granted patents, as well as links to the Patent Lens.

Implications

One of the most important lessons in compiling this landscape was how difficult it was to access and analyse the data. If it was difficult for us, how difficult would it be for a small business enterprise wanting to enter this research area?

There are three major obstacles in our ability to conduct a thorough analysis of the rice genome; the lack of available patent data in key rice-growing jurisdictions, the lack of public information about patent licensing, and a lack of knowledge of case law in the rice-growing jurisdictions. While it is usually possible to determine who is the initial assignee of a patent application, it is virtually impossible to determine who is the rights holders of a granted patent with any degree of certainty. This makes it difficult to determine how to best conduct any negotiations regarding the patent.

This landscape is a work in progress, as the patent world is dynamic as new patents are filed, published, granted, or abandoned, and continuation applications are filed every day. Also, the landscape is changing as patent jurisdictions are increasing their capacity for search and analysis by individuals outside the patent office. CAMBIA plans to facilitate access to patent data from difficult jurisdictions and create new interactive patent landscaping tools to simplify the creation of new, dynamic, interactive patent landscapes.

Harvesting in the middle hills During the main trekking season in October and November it is harvest time in the middle hills. Crops that were planted in the spring have grown to maturity during the hot and humid monsoon that engulfs Nepal during the summer. The Sherpa people who live at higher elevations are already finished harvesting their potato and wheat crops by this time, and they are ready to make some cash in the trekking business. For the people of the hills these two interests compete. For instance, at Nara's farm in the hills west of Kathmandu his family and his sibling's families do the harvesting while Nara brings home the tourist dollars.

	Rice. Rice is the staple food of most Nepalis and it is widely grown in the hills. During the fall trekking season, rice is being harvested everywhere. For the trekker, a challenge is to try to score fresh rice for dinner, which is much tastier than last year's stuff.

Millet. Millet is also widely grown. Some of it is roasted and ground up to make tsampa, a breakfast cereal that is reconstituted with boiling water. Millet is also fermented to make booze. Thongba, a specialty of eastern Nepal, is fermented millet which is scooped into a big beerstein. Boiling water is added, and once the brew has percolated, you drink it up though a bamboo straw that acts as a filter. Tastes pretty good once you've had a few.

	Corn. Corn is dried and ground into corn flour. I never saw corn eaten fresh in Nepal.

Cutting and bundling rice stalks. The whole family participates in the harvest. Although is is backbreaking work there is lots of banter and laughter.

Threshing. Threshing is quite primitive: the bundles are whacked on a stone. The rice kernels are then scooped off of the ground. For some reason many people don't put plastic sheeting beneath the threshing site. Even though women spend many hours picking out bits of gravel from the rice, I still managed to chip a tooth when I bit down on a stone.

Rai farm. Corn cobs are drying on a rack. The brown stuff lying on the ground is millet drying. On the roof is a basket of chilis. The vine on the right produces fruit that looks like a green bell pepper but it is starchy like a squash. Nara says there is no English name for it. It is often curried (tarkari) and served with rice and beans (dhal bhat).

Water buffalo. At lower elevations, water buffalo are the beast of burden. They provide milk and meat, and are used for ploughing fields. Yaks and yak-cow crossbreeds are used at higher elevations. The only place I saw cows in Nepal is in the streets of Kathmandu. They have been released by pious Hindus there. The cows like to browse on garbage, and they lie down and chew their cud in the middle of traffic

Photos: Rice paddy art harvest

On September 30, about 900 volunteers participating in a hands-on rice farming tour began the annual harvest of the Inakadate village (Aomori prefecture) rice paddy art, which this year depicted a pair of famous Hokusai woodblock prints created with four different varieties of rice.

Peasto (Pea Pesto)

Sounds a bit unusual doesn’t it? Pea pesto.

Well it’s actually surprisingly tasty — and it even has a few health benefits that regular pesto doesn’t have. But I’ll talk more about that in a minute. First let me tell you how we came up with the idea in the first place.

I’ve talked previously on this blog about my deep affection for pesto — especially home made pesto. But it’s always nice to mix things up a little, so Trudy and I sometimes make variations of classic pesto by using other types of nuts instead of pine nuts (such as cashews or walnuts), or other herbs instead of basil (such as flat-leaf parsley or cilantro), or by adding other ingredients to the base recipe (such as sun-dried tomatoes or olives).

But never before have we added peas to our pesto. What actually gave me the idea was that years ago Trudy had shown me a guacamole recipe in a food magazine that used a mixture of peas and avocado to reduce the calories and up the protein and fiber content. Even though we didn’t end up making the recipe, for some reason the whole idea of using peas this way stuck in my head.

Anyway fast forward to last week, and we were making a decision about what to have for dinner. We often have our meals for the week planned out in advance, but sometimes we just fly by the seat of our pants and rely on whatever ingredients we’ve got on hand in the pantry and refrigerator. (Luckily we’ve always got a well-stocked MediterrAsian pantry.)

We were both really in the mood for pesto, and we had most of the ingredients needed: pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. But we didn’t have any fresh basil.

However, as I mentioned, it’s easy to make tasty variations of pesto by using different herbs — and we’ve found that flat-leaf parsley works especially well as a replacement for basil. Luckily, flat-leaf parsley grows like a weed in our garden, so it was no problem just picking some and using that.

But we’d done that a few times before, so we really wanted to try something different. That’s when the whole pea and avocado guacamole idea came into my head. “If peas can be used in a green sauce like guacamole,” I thought, “why couldn’t they be used the same way in pesto?”

Green peas are sweet and juicy as well, so I thought they’d add a unique character to the pesto. When I also worked out in my head that this concoction could be called “peasto” (pronounced pee-stow), the deal was sealed — we had to make it!

So we decided we’d use a combination of green peas and parsley, and also a little bit of mint (which also grows profusely in our garden) because it goes so naturally well with peas.

After we blended it up we were impressed with how vibrantly green it looked. Then we tossed it with fusilli pasta, chunks of canned tuna and some roasted red pepper. It tasted really good, although fairly different in texture and consistency compared to regular pesto because of the high water content of the peas. But we actually quite liked that. In fact we had the rest of the pesto the next night tossed with spaghetti, zucchini and a little diced bacon. (The smokiness of the bacon worked particularly well with the peas.)

The peas don’t just reduce the amount of calories in this pesto (1 cup of peasto contains around a third less calories than a cup of regular pesto), they also add a whole lot of nutrients. Peas are a terrific source of plant protein, and contain many healthy-giving vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, folate, iron and potassium. And peas are a very good source of dietary fiber, which helps keep you regular, reduces the risk of heart disease and some forms of cancer, and also fills you up without filling you out.

Peasto

Makes 1 1/4 cups (enough to serve 4)

• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 cup packed flat-leaf parsley
• 4 fresh mint leaves
• 1/3 cup pine nuts - lightly toasted
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cloves garlic — roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

POUR boiling water over the peas and stand for 2 minutes, then drain. PLACE the peas, parsley, mint, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor and drizzle in the olive oil as you blend until well combined.

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Feta & White Bean Dip

Posted by Ric in Mediterranean recipes, Sauces & dips. August 27, 2008

I adore cheese in more ways than can be counted. There’s something about the creaminess and the “mouth feel” of real full-fat cheese that I find purely addictive. Cheese also has a magical ability to add multiple dimensions of flavor to food from pasta dishes to bakes and risottos.

But isn’t eating full-fat cheese bad for me? Well, no, actually. For thousands of years people throughout the Mediterranean region have been enjoying full-fat dairy foods like cheese and yogurt, yet rates of heart disease are traditionally very low.

The main reason is because dairy foods have never been eaten in great quantities. A common trait in cooking throughout the Mediterranean region is that the flavor of the food should shine through. Instead of drowning food in cheese, for example, it’s used sparingly and often it will be a full-flavored cheese like Parmesan, where a little goes a long way.

Other diary foods like milk, butter and cream have rarely been consumed in Mediterranean populations because these foods easily spoiled in the warm Mediterranean climate in the days before refrigeration (so the milk was turned into cheese and yogurt to help preserve it).

And that’s pretty much how Trudy and I enjoy dairy foods too. We eat full-fat cheese and yogurt regularly, but in small amounts. This way, we get the satisfaction of eating real food, while only consuming small amounts of saturated fat.

Now on to the recipe, and I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that it contains cheese! One of my favorite cheeses actually, feta. I’m a huge fan of Greek food, and part of the reason is because I love feta so much. Its crumbly yet creamy texture makes it such a unique cheese — and it also happens to be lower in saturated fat than most full-fat cheeses.

This feta and white bean dip is velvety smooth, and ridiculously creamy. In fact you’d never know it contains white beans at all because its texture is similar to cream cheese. Yet the white beans add lots of fiber, protein and goodness.

You can use this dip for dipping (of course), or it makes a great spread on top of bruschetta or whole grain crackers. When you combine it with fresh, crisp salad vegetables it also makes a great filling for sandwiches and wraps.

Feta & White Bean Dip

A creamy combination of feta cheese and white beans with herbs and a hint of garlic and lemon.

Makes 1 1/2 cups

• 7 oz (200g) feta cheese
• 1 cup canned white beans (such as cannellini) - rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic - minced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water

PLACE all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

Layered Rice Pilaff With Dried Fruits & Chestnuts / Parcha-dosheme Plov

Eziz Qonaqlar, Meclisimize Ash Gelir! Ok, no panicking, it’s in Azeri, I’ll translate, word by word: Dear Guests, Pilaff is Entering Our Ceremony! This is how the Tamada, a Toastmaster always announces the appearance of a festive Pilaff at the Azerbaijani wedding ceremony. Royal treatment, you would say? Now, listen to this. Beautifully presented and mouth-watering pilaff is literally escorted to the reception area with one person at the head (a dancer in a national costume or a waiter) carrying the pilaff plate and others following with torches in their hands. This plate is placed on the bride and groom’s table. And of course, all this is accompanied by beautiful music and the happy cheering of the guests. Now, this is royal!

Yes, Rice Pilaff is the king (or the queen of all the food in Azerbaijan. It is not prepared on a daily basis, but there is hardly any celebration, ceremony that would not have pilaff on the menu.

Azerbaijani cuisine boasts countless versions of it, with every region having its own special recipe. Typically, long grain rice is steamed with saffron on top and a layer of golden crust called Gazmag (in Azeri: qazmaq) on the bottom. Traditionally, a crust is prepared from eggs, flours, butter and yogurt. Or, if you are pressed with time, simply lay peeled sliced potatoes or flat bread - lavash on the bottom, then scoop the rice on top and steam it.

Usually this type of Pilaff is served with additions, known as ashgara (ashqara) or khurush, prepared separately from the rice. Meat, dried fruits, fresh herbs, fish, vegetables and aromatic spices are cooked in many different ways to make the addition, which, when ready, is piled on top of the cooked saffron rice on individual serving plates.

Some recipes call for the addition to be cooked with the rice, inside the same pot. Like the one I am posting today. It is a simplified version of a layered rice pilaff called Parcha-dosheme Plov in Azeri. The origianal recipe requires a crust on the bottom before other ingredients are layered on top. In our family the following simplified version of it is cooked more often. No crust, but still delicious! Make it a part of your Novruz table!

LAYERED RICE PILAFF WITH DRIED FRUITS & CHESTNUTS
Parcha-Dosheme Plov

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Servings: 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS
3 cups long-grain white Basmati rice (you can also use long-grain American rice)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup peeled chestnuts*
½ cup pitted dried apricots (you can half them, too, if they are too big)
1 cup dried sour plums, pitted
½ cup pitted dates
½ cup golden raisins
1 ½ (700g) pounds skinless, boneless chicken cut into 2-inch (5cm) cubes
1 medium onion, peeled, cut in half lengthways, then thinly sliced in half-circles
1/3 teaspoon ground saffron threads*, dissolved in 3 tablespoons hot water
salt
ground black pepper

VARIATION 1: You can also use lamb in this recipe instead of chicken. Boil the lamb it in a pan with water for about 5 minutes, skimming the froth with a slotted spoon, then drain and use as directed in the recipe. This is done to remove the unpleasant smell and to get rid of the excessive froth lamb releases.

VARIATION 2: You can substitute dried sour plums with dried barberries (in Azeri: zirinc) or dried pitted sour cherries.

1. Pick over the rice carefully, removing any stones or other extraneous particles. Place the rice on a fine-mesh strainer or colander and wash thoroughly under lukewarm water until the water runs clear (as close to clear as possible). The rinsing process removes the starch so that the rice grains will remain separate after cooking.

2. Soak the rice in a large container filled with lukewarm water mixed with 1 tablespoon of salt.

3. While the rice is soaking, prepare fruits and chestnuts. In a medium frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add peeled chestnuts and stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Add dried apricots, plums and dates and stir-fry for another 3 minutes. Add raisins (add them last because they brown fast and can be easily burned) and stir-fry for 1 more minute. Remove from heat.

4. In a large non-stick saucepan, combine 10 cups of water and 2 tablespoons salt. Bring to a boil. Drain the soaked rice (do not rinse) and add it, in batches, to the pot. Boil for about 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, to prevent rice grains from sticking to the bottom. Watch the rice closely so as not to overcook. The rice is ready once it surfaces to the top. Try one grain to see if it’s ready - it must be barely done - not fully cooked and not too soft (VERY IMPORTANT). Drain the rice in a large fine-mesh strainer or colander. Set aside.

5. Rinse the pot you boiled the rice in. Melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Tilt the pan to distribute it evenly. Arrange meat in one l layer at the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste. Follow with the layer of sliced onions. Simmer over medium heat uncovered, without stirring, for about 3 minutes to let the flavors develop.

6. Place half of the rice in the pot over the onion. Arrange the dried fruits and chestnuts in one layer on top of the rice. Pile the rest of the rice on top of the fruits, mounding the rice nicely in the shape of a pyramid. Pour 1 tablespoon melted butter over rice.

7. Place a clean dishtowel or 2 layers of paper towel over the pot and cover firmly with a lid to absorb the steam. Lift the corners of the towel over the lid as shown in the picture below.



8. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes. Then open the lid and sprinkle the saffron water on top of the rice.
9. Cover again and simmer for another 30 minutes. When ready, meat should be cooked and lightly golden on the bottom. The onion will almost melt into the meat and will not be that visible. Rice grains should be separate and fluffy, and not sticky.

10. When ready to serve, gently take 1 spatula full of rice, fruits and meat at a time, placing it on the large serving platter. This Pilaff is delicious served with pickles, vegetable salad or fresh herbs. Nush Olsun! Enjoy!

Rice culture in Japan

Rice culture in Japan
Planting the rice
Rice field underwater	Planting the rice
Planting the rice	Sunset on a planted rice field
Harvesting the rice
Rice field	Harvesting the rice

Why Don't You Spice Up Your Rice!

I do admit that my usual everyday diet is never without rice. I am very much an obsessed rice-eater. I don't know if it is because I am Asian or probably it is what my stomach cravings can only satisfy. Why not!

Anyway, you'll find here a lot of yummy, fabulous easy way recipes on how to make your typical rice dining experience a more exciting one. Who'd thought with just a plain white cooked rice you can actually create an endless mixed rice recipes in a total different twist?

So, I will not keep you hanging around. What are you waiting for? You better try some of this delicious mixed rice recipe, web related links, and even do your own. How about that?

Thank you for visiting! Happy eating.