Study points to Africa’s opportunities to increase rice production
Africa’s rice sector has major opportunities to increase its yield gains through improved agronomic practices while avoiding massive land conversion, a study by international scientists including a Husker co-investigator finds. The production advances can be important in meeting Africa’s projected food needs and reducing dependence on imports, the researchers concluded.
Rice demand in Africa is projected to more than double over the next 25 years due to population growth and increased rice consumption. At present, Africa imports nearly 40 percent of its rice.
“Nearly 15 million hectares of rice are waiting for yield improvement in Africa, but no yield gain can be achieved without better agronomy,” said Patricio Grassini, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln professor of agronomy who coordinated the team working on the research study, “Intensifying rice production to reduce imports and land conversion in Africa,” published in Nature Communications.
In tea production northern region becomes 2nd position
Tea plantation is increasing every year in Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari districts.
In the recently concluded (2023) season, about one crore 79 lakh 47 thousand 230 kg of tea was produced at 30 tea gardens and more than 8 thousand small scale gardens in the northern part of the country. The production is one lakh 65 thousand 226 kg more from the previous year. About 12 thousand and 132 acres of land is now under tea cultivation in the districts.
This region has been ranked the second in production for three consecutive times.
Amir Hossian, development officer, Panchagarh office, Bangladesh Tea Board, confirmed this to risingbd on Thursday (February 1).
The region has already gone ahead of Chattogram in terms of gross annual production of tea. It is now second only to Sylhet, and according to data from Bangladesh Tea Board, tea from the region accounted for about 17.44 percent of the country’s tea production. Tea was cultivated on about 13000 acres of land in gardens of the northern region. The production capacity of the entire area will increase manifold if more land can be brought under the coverage.
It is good to see that many farmers in the northern region are now happy as they see profit. A number of farmers in the district have reportedly opted to grow tea instead of traditional crops which did not bring much profit.
Afghan oil production jumps
A Chinese energy company’s investment of $49 million in Afghanistan’s oil production has helped boost the country’s daily crude oil output to more than 1,100 metric tons, but the funding is just one-third of what Beijing originally pledged.
One year ago, China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co, or CAPEIC, signed a major oil extraction contract with Taliban authorities in Afghanistan. That 25-year contract requires CAPEIC to invest $150 million by the first year and a total of $540 million by 2026.
According to a top Taliban official who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity, the company fell short of its investment target due to inaccurate estimates of material and labor costs, as well as a three-month delay in the approval of its financial plan by Afghan authorities.
“The investments will add up as the contract stipulates,” the official said, adding that the Taliban’s treasury earned about $26 million from the project last year.
Thai sugar production likely to decline
Thailand’s sugar production, the world’s third-largest sugar producer, may fall short of expectations this season due to dry weather conditions affecting sugarcane growth.
Director of the Thai Sugar Millers Corp Rangsit Hiangrat forecasted that the production for the 2023-2024 crop season would only reach 7.5 million tonnes, significantly lower than the forecast issued by the firm in November 2023 by 500,000 tonnes, and only about one-third of the production volume from the previous season.
As reported by the Bangkok Post, raw sugar futures last month capped the biggest monthly gain since April on a tighter supply outlook, and smaller output from Thailand will strain the market further. Thai millers are seeing the lowest yield from crushed cane in at least 13 years, according to government data.
Thai millers have produced 4.9 million tonnes of the sweetener from about 49.57 million tonnes of cane crushed since the season started on December 10, as per the Office of the Cane and Sugar Board. That amounted to a sugar recovery rate of about 9.9 percent as of February 1, down from 11.8 percent last season.
Big iron ore’s long-term strategies
Growing steel decarbonisation momentum is prompting three of the big four iron ore miners to increase supply of high-grade iron ore. The other is more focused on floundering carbon capture technology, while investor pressure on Scope 3 emissions continues to build.
Much of the focus on the outlook for iron ore naturally emphasises shorter-term economic performance and steel demand in China – by far the largest importer of iron ore globally. China is the destination for 85 percent of Australia’s iron ore exports.
However, along with declining long-term steel demand and plans for increased recycling of scrap steel, there is another trend emerging in China. In January 2024, it was announced that China Baowu – the world’s largest steelmaker – has begun commercial-scale production of direct reduced iron (DRI) in Guangdong province. Using Energiron technology, the plant has been built hydrogen-ready.
China’s tougher coal mining rules
Stricter regulation of Chinese coal mines to reduce fatalities could raise the risk of renewed supply disruptions and higher prices in the world’s biggest market for the fuel.
A string of disasters over the last 12 months, including 53 deaths in a landslide at an open-pit mine in Inner Mongolia, has refocused the authorities on accident prevention. More than 2,000 investigations into mine safety were conducted last year. From May 1, the penalties for breaches will include forced closures and fines of up to 20 million yuan ($2.8 million).