48View
2m 48sLenght
0Rating

SHOTLIST May 2, 2008 1. Wide of Philippines President Gloria Arroyo being given a tour of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) 2. Mid of Arroyo (in hat and sunglasses) during tour 3. Tilt up from rice stalks to Arroyo with group 4. Mid of Arroyo holding rice stalks 5. Crowd applauding 6. Wide of signing of agreement 7. Arroyo witnessing signing 8. IRRI Director-General, Robert Zeigler and Agriculture Secretary, Arthur Yap, shaking hands after signing 9. Cutaway of crowd 10. SOUNDBITE (English) Arthur Yap, Agriculture Secretary: "The plan is similar to past strategies in that it focuses on irrigation, technology, extension services and credit support for our farmers. The plan is however new and unique in four areas: scope, advances in current rice technology, funding commitment and management approach." FILE: May 2007 11. Wide of entrance to IRRI grounds 12. Wide of IRRI experimental rice fields 13. Caretaker checking on rice crops May 2, 2008 14. Set-up of Zeigler 15. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Zeigler, IRRI Director-General: "It is an effort to reinvigorate aggressively the rice production in the Philippines. There is a number of technologies that PhilRice (Philippine Rice Research Institute) and IRRI have developed that we know can raise rice yields in the near future, actually in this season." FILE: May 2007 16. Various of IRRI employees putting on demonstration for students May 2, 2008 17. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert Zeigler, IRRI Director-General: "There is no question that there are rice shortages. That is the reason behind the rapid increase in prices. If you cannot purchase it on the market and the prices keep going up then by definition there is a shortage. The world has been consuming more rice than it has been producing for a number of years now. That shortage has been addressed by drawing down global stocks of rice, now those stocks are at very low levels now so it is necessary to really get back to increasing productivity in the production levels." FILE: May 2007 18. Various of rice farmers STORYLINE The Philippines has enough rice to cover this year's domestic shortfall, the country's agriculture chief said on Friday, as the government signed an agreement with rice experts aimed at making the country self-sufficient in the staple grain. Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the Philippines, the world's top rice importer, has already secured 1.6 (m) million tons of rice to make up for a 10 percent gap between domestic production and consumption. The price of rice from Thailand, the world's biggest exporter, topped 1000 US dollars per ton this month, nearly triple the January price. In a bid to keep the prices from rising further, Yap said the Philippines is prepared to reject any bids that are too high or unreasonable. The agriculture secretary made the statements in Los Banos, the site of the International Rice Research Institute, which has been developing rice varieties that can withstand drought or floods to help farmers across the world. Yap signed an agreement with the institute to accelerate rice production in the country, from the current average of 3.5 tons to five tons per hectare (acre). "The plan is similar to past strategies in that it focuses on irrigation, technology, extension services and credit support for our farmers," Yap said of the plan outlined by the agreement, which he said, involves a joint breeding program to create high-yielding varieties and mapping new rice-growing areas. "The plan however is new and unique in four areas: scope, advances in current rice technology, funding commitment and management approach," he added. The signing of the agreement was attended by President Gloria Arroyo. ago. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/90bfd603205ff072990dc411e194ca74 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork