> I want to become a rice farmer. Where, who do I go to see to get a piece of
> land to rent at a good cheap rate?
> "pluto" <pl...@yahoo.com.sg> wrote in message
> news:01elv3ts3vsn4iinfjsv79mkb6r01bbua6@4ax.com...> Fear of rice riots as surge in demand hits nations across the Far East
> http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consu...
> ds/article3701347.ece
> > Armed guards for rice deliveries will become a common sight in many
> countries in
> > East Asia
> > Leo Lewis, Asia Business Correspondent
> > Any farmer in the Philippines caught hoarding rice risks spending the rest
> of
> > his life in jail for the crime of "economic sabotage".
> > Meanwhile, on the streets of Jakarta, Indonesia, thousands of makers of
> > traditional tempeh soyabean cakes strike in protest as their livelihoods
> are
> > destroyed and their countrymen starve. In Malaysia, where immense palm oil
> > plantations stretch as far as the eye can see, panic buying of palm oil
> has
> > stripped stores bare.
> > Chinese, Korean and Japanese companies are preparing to compete in a
> desperate
> > "land grab" for agricultural land across the globe. Japan already owns
> three
> > times more farmland overseas than in its home territory; Seoul is keen to
> do the
> > same.
> > For Asia's 2.5 billion people who depend on rice, these are anything but
> > isolated incidents. They are what happens when huge sections of society
> move
> > into the cities, when farm productivity growth halves over two decades and
> when
> > bad weather or disease exposes fragile dependencies on the exports of a
> few
> > nations.
> > The more than doubling of China's average meat consumption since 1985, for
> > example, has created an equivalent leap in demand for animal feed.
> > The US Department of Agriculture believes that the world will suffer a 29
> > million tonne discrepancy this year between what it needs to feed itself
> and
> > what it can actually produce. Markets have been quick to recognise this
> and the
> > traditional Asian staples of soyabeans, palm oil and pork have all soared.
> > Many grain and edible oil markets have also been squeezed by what some
> observers
> > believe is an unsustainable conflict between cars and stomachs. Land that
> might
> > previously have been used to feed people is increasingly planted with
> crops
> > designed for conversion to biofuels, forcing unexpected rises in the
> prices of
> > everything from tofu to instant noodles.
> > But perhaps more unsettling has been the suddenness with which Asia's
> exposure
> > to a food crisis has emerged. Countries that, until a few weeks ago, could
> rely
> > on substantial imports of rice from India, Egypt or China are scrambling
> to cope
> > with a new reality in which they cannot do so.
> > Nations such as Japan and South Korea that were running food economies
> with
> > small self-sufficiency ratios have taken only a few weeks to react
> bitterly to
> > the new situation as the world's food stocks-to-consumption ratio plunges
> to an
> > all-time low.
> > India - which traditionally has exported millions of tonnes of rice - has
> > decided to set aside a special strategic food reserve on top of its
> existing
> > wheat and rice stockpiles. Vietnam, the world's third-largest rice
> producer, has
> > been forced to curb exports and Cambodia has banned them completely.
> > In Thailand, the world's largest producer of rice, rising concerns of a
> shortage
> > have sent rice prices more than 50 per cent higher over the past month.
> When
> > Samak Sundaravej, the Thai Prime Minister, appeared on his weekly
> television
> > cooking show over the weekend he told Thais there would be "enough rice
> for the
> > Kingdom".
> > It was not a message designed to calm nerves elsewhere in Asia where Thai
> rice
> > exports are an essential part of the diet.
> > Amid these highly visible signs of government-level panic, Asian countries
> that
> > have rarely faced severe conflicts of "resource diplomacy" are accordingly
> > readying themselves for showdowns.
> > Analysts give warning of governments across the region resorting to a
> > "starve-your-neighbour" policy in an effort to becalm rioting domestic
> > populations, and the UN International Fund for Agriculture has previously
> said
> > that food riots will become commonplace.
> > In the Philippines and Sri Lanka, both nations that are heavily dependent
> on
> > rice imports, politicians and business leaders are racing to strike deals
> with
> > the likes of Vietnam and even Burma in their bid to secure rice supplies.
> > Troops and special police are expected to be used in the process of
> distributing
> > rice to regions where supply was never an issue.
> > 33% Rise since January in price paid by Philippines for rice from Vietnam
> > 3 billion People worldwide who rely on rice as a staple food
> > 40% Rise in rice price in Thailand this year
> > 19.2% Rise in consumer prices in Vietnam last month, against March 2007
> > 8.4% Rise in food prices in the Philippines last month, compared with
> March 2007
> > 854 million Number of people worldwide who are "food insecure"
> > 1 billion People globally who survive on less than $1 a day, defined as
> > "absolute poverty"
> > Fear of rice riots as surge in demand hits nations across the Far East
> > Food prices rise beyond means of poorest in Africa
> > Skyrocketing corn prices hit ethanol profits
> > ==============================================
> > caveat fair use notice:
> >http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
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