PM urges farmers to go organic/New non-GM blast resistant rice

FOCUS ON ASIA
http://www.gmwatch.org/asia.asp

There's a lot of GM rice research aimed at producing blast resistance, but non-GM blast-resistant rice is already available - item 2.

1.PM urges farmers to use organic fertilizers
2.New non-GM blast resistant strain to help lift output
---

1.PM urges farmers to use organic fertilizers
http://etna.mcot.net/query.php?nid=30708

BANGKOK, Sept 11 (TNA) In a bid to make Thailand the 'Kitchen of the World', Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra today urged local farmers to switch to using organic fertilizers, instead of chemical ones.

Mr. Thaksin's comments were made during his weekly radio program, "Premier Thaksin talks with the public", broadcast nationwide this morning, in which he said using the organic fertilizers had become the national agenda, and trial had already been launched in the northeastern province of Surin.

The country has to import chemical fertilizers worth 25 billion baht and insect pesticides valued about 7 billion baht annually, he said.

The use of chemical fertilizers does not produce satisfactory output for crops, while it causes a lot of danger such as cancer and a difficulty in breathing.

Organic fertilizer is cheap, and it will help farmers reduce production costs, he pointed out.

Farmers can produce organic fertilizers by themselves, while agricultural officials in provinces will also assist them to make the fertilizers on a large-scale basis, and that serious production should start from now. (TNA)--E111
---

2.New strain to help lift output
by Phusadee Arunmas
The Bangkok Post, 8 Sep 2004
http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/08Sep2004_biz66.php

A new Hom Mali rice strain that resists blast disease, a contagious infection that damages about one-third of the country's total premium output each year, will be introduced late this year, according to the Department of Agriculture.

The yet-to-be-named jasmine rice strain will help farmers reduce the waste ratio, a major factor behind low yields per rai of 250-300 kilogrammes currently.

With the new strain, output is expected to rise by up to 60% to 400 kg per rai, said department director Piroge Suvanjinda. The department researched the new strain for six years in co-operation with the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute. It has been tested at experimental fields in Ubon Ratchathani.

The department initially will focus on farmers in the Northeast, who primarily grow conventional Hom Mali rice and Kor Khor 6, a sticky rice strain with no resistance to the disease.

The department said that in the 2003-04 crop year, Hom Mali paddy made up around 5.53 million tonnes, up about 6% from the previous crop, and milled rice three million tonnes.

Cultivation areas were estimated at 18.6 million rai, up 1.5% year-on-year, while the yield per rai was 296 kg, rising by 4.2% from the previous crop.

Vichai Sriprasert, president of the Rice Exporters Association, said higher yields would help farmers reduce costs. "The lower the production cost, the more competitiveness for Thai farmers," he said.