RICE

Rice (the grass species Oryza sativa) is one of the most popular food in the world. 

• Rice has a long history and it is mentioned in the Vedas.
• Rice is grown in Asia, Africa, South America,  and some parts of North America.
• There are many folk lore, culture and tradition related with the rice cultivation.
• It is main staple food of about 2.5 billion people.
• More than 90% of rice is consumed in Asia.
• Most of the rice is consumed where it is produced  like India, China, Japan. Only some countries like Thailand, Vietnam and USA export rice to other countries.
• There are 140,000 varieties of cultivated rice. Basmati rice is famous for its sweet flavor.
• Rice is water intensive farming. For each kilo of rice production  5,000 liter of water is needed.
• Rice production (in million metric tons)
• World 476
• Asia-430
• India  and China -215
• Nepal-4

Regarding rice farming in Nepal it is one of the oldest agricultural practices. There are about 3000 varieties  of rice in Nepal.Out of 75 districts in Nepal only 3 districts are without rice farming.Rice is grown in 1.4 million hectare of land producing about 4 million metric ton. Chandannath rice is grown in Jumla and  it  is the highest rice planting area in the world(about 3000m above sea level).  

Rice is one of the most important food and has the great influence in the economic sector  (25% of GDP). This is the reason why the Nepal government has started commemorating Asar 15 (June/July) as the National Rice Festival for last 7 years. It is to be noted that Asar 15 is also celebrated as the Dahi Chiura Khane (Curd and beaten flake rice eating ) festival and traditionally rice plantation festival.This year rice production is expected to be of 90 billion rupees.

The Japan Earthquake March 11, 2011- Part 3

On 11 March  2011, Japan was severely rocked by earthquake of magnitude of 9 Mw It is also called "Eastern Japan Great Earthquake Disaster" (東日本大震災 Higashi Nihon Daishinsai).  It is already 5 months. The latest casualty figures include

• 23,000 deaths (if included   4,666 missing people)
•  5,715 injured 

There have been more than 1200 after shocks after the event and many include earthquakes of magnitude over 6. It is to be noted that most of the casualty in the event was primarily due to the tsunami rather that the building damage caused by the shaking. 

According to Japanese government, estimated loss is 16.9 trillion yen and this does not account  loss  caused by the Fukushima nuclear plant accident. Since the earthquake caused tsunami and subsequent affect on the nuclear power plant it is more complex to investigate the true situation. It is the first ever kind of accident in human history.

In this tragedy all the international communities stood behind Japan and help in all ways they can. Many countries have offered help and support. and even international celebrities come forward like Lady Gaga supported by making "We Pray for Japan bracelet" and raised more than 1 million dollar for relief works. As per the data released by Japan Red cross (as of 5th August 2011) 489 million US dollar has been donated (38.6 billion Japanese yen)  through National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world. 

In the ray of hope for which man is always craving is that there have been continuous countermeasure against the debacle. Japanese government has formulated the reconstruction plan under the title of  Towards Reconstruction “Hope beyond the Disaster. World is eagerly watching Japan with all the great belief and hope that Japan can overcome the all the odds as it has shown the endurance after 1923 Kanto earthquake, after World War II as well as aftermath the 1995 Kobe earthquake.